Hey Nazeef!! That's cool yet interesting writeup man!! I almost felt like I was there in to the concert... Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Regards Avinash --- In [email protected], "naztitude" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Who says that this world is out of sweet people?! > > Somehow reach the backstage of an ARR concert and I'm more than sure > that the above question will be answered! The sweetest I've met are > a part of the ARR family. This > > should be a good starter, bear with me for being detailed-it's on > the request of a few members. > > > > Friday, 16th November 2007-Rehearsal > > > > Met the first sweet person of the trip in the airport-Varun Nair of > our group. Now that's what is called a coincidence, meeting a group > member for the first time, that too in an airport going for the same > concert in the same flight. After a series of lies and saving up > money-I finally reached Delhi. And the first thing we see when we > landed was this huge AR Rahman Live In Delhi hoarding!! It was > convincing that the event was going to be big!! Thanks Varun for the > wonderful hospitality, can't be greatful enough for your sweetness. > > The afternoon I met the group co-ordinator of the group Pawan > (Pawancumarr). Needless to say another sweetheart-Thank you Pawan > for all that you did, on behalf of the group let me thank you for > receiving us well in Delhi and entertaining us ( Vijay, smile > please!!). Varun and Pawan, to the two of them this was the first > concert and the excitement was obvious, so was mine-but having > worked in the Bangalore concert-I knew that much more than the > actual concert the rehearsal day is more pleasant for the fans. > > It seemed like we were entering some fantasy land then-or should I > say, It was a fantasy-to be walking and talking with the people who > together with ARR give us what we get to hear and to be under this > wonderful community. > > Forgive me again for writing this on a very personal viewpoint, but > I hope you guys understand what it is to be with such people. The > first one in the list was Sayanora Philip. > > Thankfully acquainted with her-the entry into the musical camp was > even easier. We spoke for almost an hour-snapped photos, one of the > best ever! For those who are not familiar with this name-Sayanora is > the voice behind Sivaji's Athiradee and a few other popular non ARR > numbers in both Malayalam and Tamil. We got introduced to Tanvi Shah- > the stunning voice that sang Fanaaa fron Yuva/Ayutha Ezhutu > complimentary to ARR's high pitched voice and numbers like Jillunu > oru Kadhal to name a few. > > A few more clicks. A few more smiles and poses. Tons of > satisfaction. But most importantly, it's the feeling that Humbles > you down-that people who share the stage with ARR, are here with us > for an hour or more-talking about our group, Rahman, the malls and > the dust in Delhi!! I'm sure Varun and Pawan agree-it was almost > like we knew Tanvi and Sayanora for ages. > > Artists entered one after another-Aslam, Hariharan, Blaaze, Murtaza > and Qadir, Neeti, Kailash Kher and the rest made entry one by one. > Most of them we were able to catch up with, talk to and take snaps > with-while the others were just too busy rehearsing. > > Blaaze recognized me-all I had to say was Yahoo! And Bangalore and > almost like lightning he comes up with " Aah Dude-Yo! I remember! > How can I forgot you guys!??" > > He spoke to for us a long time again-and more interesting trivia on > ARR-how he works and how he makes things work. He spoke about how he > unexpectedly made his debut with B to the A to the B .and no looking > back after that-rightfully as put by some newspaper "BLAAZE- Blaazing > with Rahman!!" Guys don't shoot me for this one-Blaaze showed us and > spoke to us about some upcoming surprises by ARR!! All I can say is > I can't wait! And as promised to Blaaze, we won't talk about it. And > let it all come as a surprise-worth the wait! By this time we were > all lost in a new world-dashing shoulders with singers and bumping > into media people who would just have one question " Has ARR > Arrived?" > > Almost half past seven-A Black 5 series BMW, sleek and long makes an > entry. And quietly putting his left foot down was the man whose > music features in TIME's all time top ten, whose music lists as > multiple entries in the oscar and the same man who brought us all > together- AR Rahman. The first thought was-I can die right now and > I'll have no regrets, the happiness you get when one sees this man > is multi-himalayan in heights! > > But No! Wait for the rehearsals. The stage was not completely ready- > the production team was working-hammers and tools. The musicians > were busy tuning their instruments and Mr. KJ Singh and H Sridhar > were busy checking for minute specifications, whilst ARR dressed in > a black Formal Blazer supervised the whole stage. It looked chaotic- > everyone one stage running about-the mics kept on and you can hear > commands in Hindi English and Tamil. There is a sudden silence and > there was a familiar sound-it sounded like JA-or was it running in > your mind-again it played and yes it was-Marhaba!! > > 40 drummers and a huge chorus lead by Rahman played this masterpiece > Marhaba-over and over again. And each time they played, we wanted > more and each time they made a mistake Rahman restarts and we so > prayed they make mistakes-just to hear this over and over again. > However the audio will release soon, but the effect this piece of > musical arrangement gave-nothing satisfies us better! This turned > out to be a medley, Marhaba plus rukkumani plus veerapandi > kottayile!! The best ever performance in a concert. > > The rehearsing continued breakless. All songs except VM was > rehearsed. The clock showed way beyond twelve. Rahman calls for a > break-and comes down. After seeing the intensity with which the > entire crew worked, the technicalities and the fractional > perfection, the sounds the lights and the singing-you realize the > truth behind an ARR concert. Without disturbing him-we just spoke a > few words to the magician. The one thing that caught his attention > was-when we mentioned we were from the Y! group-he turns around in > an instant and " OH!! Is it!? Lovely!!" And the smile that followed > was enough-million dollars and the satisfaction to reach home to > look forward to a better tomorrow. > > Almost 2 in the morning. I don't wish to comment on the difficulty > of reaching somewhere in Delhi if you don't have a car of your own!! > But no doubt-the entire day I made a big list of really sweet and > down to earth people. > > > > Saturday!!! > > > > The morning was not much. The addition of a few more sweet people to > make the list bigger made the afternoon. Vijay Gopal Shiva Sirish > Ravi and Prabhu (who had just left his Ferrari back home!! ;) > Sorry!) Lunch at the TDI mall. Concert Venue. I really don't feel > like writing about the difficulties Gops and Vijay and the group had > in entering the venue initially because what followed was worth > every second of the waiting. Dear readers-patience is the mother of > all virtues! > > Nevertheless, good luck enough, we all got oursleves into the venue. > The stage was complete and looked stunning. It commonly reminded us > of the Bombay Dreamz stage set and production. Please Excuse me for > not elucidating the entire Saturday schedule as all that we did was > wait and wait and wait. But again, it was all worth it. > > The crowd filled in slowly, surprisingly the dearer tickets filled > faster than the lighter ones. Slightly later than schedule the > concert kick started with Jaage hain. > > Let me tell you in common, each and every song rocked (self > explanatory!!) It goes without saying that the quality of songs > performed was unmatchable. > > The list of songs performed are as : > > > > >1. Jaage Hain Der Tak - Chitra, ARR > > > >2. Khalbali - ARR > > > >3. Mangal Mangal - Kailash Kher > > > >4. Roja Jaaneman - Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam > > > >5. Vaaji Vaaji (Hindi and Tamil) - Hariharan, Madhushree > > > >6. Paathshalaa - Blaaze, Naresh Iyer, Mohd. Aslam > > > >7. Kehna Hi Kya - Chitra, ARR > > > >8. Yunhi Chala Chal - Kailash Kher, Hariharan > > > >9. Chanda Re - Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam > > > >10. Roobaroo - Naresh Iyer, ARR > > > >11. Kabhi Neem Neem - Madhushree, ARR > > > >12. Barso Re - Neeti Mohan > > > >13. Dil Se Re - ARR > > > >14. Athiradi - ARR, Sayonara, Dr. Narayan, Naresh Iyer, Mohd. > Aslam, Chinmayee, Tanvi > > > >15. Chaiyya Chaiyya - Rayhana, Kailash Kher, Naresh Iyer, Mohd. > Aslam, Aslam Khan > > > >16. Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah - ARR, Naresh Iyer, Vivek Agrawal, > drum ensemble > > > >17. Veerapandi Kottayile (Bit) - ARR, Naresh Iyer, Vivek Agrawal, > drum ensemble > > > >18. Pray For Me Brother - ARR, Blaaze > > > >19. Unplugged - Shauk Hai - Soumya Rao > > > >20. Unplugged - Tu Hu Re - Hariharan, Chitra (Hindi and Tamil) > > > >21. Unplugged - Naina Neer Bahaye - Sadhana Sargam > > > >22. E Hairate Aashiqui - Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam > > > >23. Saiyyan Chhodo Na Mere Baiyan - Parul Mishra (Fever 104 FM > Voice Hunt winner) > > > >24. Maiyya Maiyya - Neeti Mohan > > > >25. Ni Main Samajh Gayi - Neeti Mohan, Kailash Kher > > > >26. Chupke Se - Sadhana Sargam, Ghulam Murtuza Khan, Ghulam Quadir > Khan > > > >27. Tere Bina - ARR, Chinmayee, Ghulam Murtuza Khan, Ghulam Quadir > Khan > > > >28. Chandralekha - Tanvi, Neeti Mohan (Hindi and Tamil) > > > >29. Ghanan Ghanan - Hariharan, Chitra, Sadhana Sargam, Aslam Khan > > > >30. Ik Omkar - Chitra > > > >31. Rang De Basanti - Chitra, Aslam Khan > > > >32. Humma Humma - ARR, Blaaze > > > >33. Vande Mataram - ARR, all artistes > > > > The stage had moving roll over props which brought artists on moving > objects. It also had different elevations where artists were given a > chance to make entries from these levels. Altogether it was pleasant > to watch the whole appearance. > > Initially the crowd seemed dull-being in the north and majorly > Punjabi they needed some peppy numbers and not melodious but not for > too long-before we could hear the roaring we definitely heard > comments like "Aunty" and "uncle" and "himesh better hai" , the man > gave them what they deserved-A mouth shut! Khalbali just took them > off the ground. The mindset changed. They danced-from six to sixty!! > It never stopped till Humma Humma!! As mentioned by Gopal and I, the > medley was the best-you cant have enough of it! > > Neeti's performance was commendable. More than just applaudable!! > Every singer contributed in gigantic proportions and every song was > just too good. > > The highlight was PFMB followed by ARR's dedication to Y! fan Club. > Vijay and Gopal were called on stage and were honoured. It was so > touching yet exciting. We shouted on top of our voices. We jumped!! > We looked up!! It seemed like the heavens were smiling at us!! > Well , it was-ARR was talking about us. Gops and Vijay-kudos! Three > cheers for u-here goes HUMMA HUMMA HUMMA !! > > We sank into his music-gave us a high and we were just lost!! There > was no better feeling in this world!! Humma humma was another > variated song-super performance, Rahman almost went breathless with > the chorus. He closed with Vande matram and this song gives me a > mixed feeling-the happiness in hearing my most favorite composition > and the sadness in knowing that this extravaganza ends. We ran > backstage soon after the song-to salute to the man who gave us a > night to remember for a lifetime! True-like all other multiples of > tens of thousands of people who came for the evening-This was easily > the best ARR concert ever!! > > And I should say-I'm destined. No more to explain what this meant to > me.The Tamil numbers performed made the crowd go mad-they understood > no lyrics and the tune was maiden to them-but they danced to > athiradee as though it was their lifetime favorite.So much did the > crowd love the song that they began asking us about the release and > the lyrics-we'll all that we said was "WAIT!!" > > > > This was the best day's of my life. Thanks to all who made this > possible. From Rahman to you fellow Rahmaniacs. Gopal And vijay for > being such great friends and you guys made us proud. > > Vinay and Pawan for the hospitality. Shiva Sirish Prabhu and Ravi > for putting up and bearing with me. > > > > Thanks again. I'm sorry if I've missed anything or forgot to mention > anyone-it's unintentional and it's exams. In few hours from now-I > hope to sit in the middle of an engineering college that say's > MOBILE PHONES NOT ALLOWED. Haa! But who cares-I'm lost in the middle > of West gate mall ground rajouri gardens where Marhabaaaa > reverbrates and resonates!! > > > > I Don't like the Delhi Police.(ban them all!! Blaaze im singing this > with you!!) > > Vijay , thanks for the wonderful company and the secrets shared.I'm > Zipped!! > > > > Comments anticipated. > > > > > > Love > > > > Nazeef > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
