Today is my agha's birthday. I started calling him Agha a few years
ago after meeting him. I was reading a book at the time by an Afghani
author and came to learn the word as meaning big brother or Sir. I
had decided that he would hate to be addressed as Sir and after
meeting him I realized that such was indeed the case. He is far too
modest for it. Agha was a perfect fit to his colorful profile. After
all, he is a Tamilian belonging to the Sufi Muslim faith and it
hardly gets more diverse than that. He probably has no idea I call
him this and will never know of all the fantasies I staged in my mind
of how I would meet him and the several things I would say to him.
I would want him to know that Luka Chuppi from RDB is
brilliant and that Tere Bina from Guru is an immeasurable
accomplishment. I would complain about his introverted life and his
soft spoken personality that makes him a humble human but at the same
time, a frustrating one for me as I would like an account of
everything he involves himself with. Then I would finally tell him
that he is a gift from Allah and I don't remember music before him.
Alas when I did meet him I said nothing. I simply stared, listened to
him fix my camera and hand it to my friend to take our picture. He
signed my scrapbook but it looks like doodles and I cannot figure out
what it says. However, the fact that his hand blessed my book with
their touch is reason enough for me to be content. After
lamenting and regretting over saying only a few words to him I
realized that I have no room to complain. I met him, heard him
practice, stood by him as he sang on stage and loved every minute of
it. Maybe one day I will have the courage to form words in a letter
that I will post to his residence with everything I want to say:
praises, ponderings, complains and good wishes.
But for now my Agha I wish you a very very happy birthday.
Inshallah you will have many many more and you will continue to give
me your music-the source to my energy, inspiration and happiness.
Samidha Redkar
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
