Cheers to Gopal and Vijay !!! - Srinivasa Krishnan
On 5/5/08, kaissiom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Congratulations to everyone for making the group proud!! > > --- In [email protected] <arrahmanfans%40yahoogroups.com>, > Gomzy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > The times of India, Blore edition. page 21 > > > > Mad about Rahman, dil se These fans live and breathe A R Rahman's music, > > finds > > Sharmishta Koushik > > > > It was the year 1992. The film Roja was released and with it, a new > > music sensation blossomed in the Indian film industry, attracting > droves of > > fans, mesmerized by his melodies. Their chotti si asha is simply to > have the > > pleasure of listening to A R Rahman's music and perhaps, watching him > > perform live, and if they were really lucky, say a few words to the > musical > > genius in person. Meet the A R Rahman Fans. > > What started off as an e-group, set up by Gopal Srinivasan, a > > Bangalore-based consultant, is, today, a veritable database of all > things > > Rahman. From several media interviews to rare recordings of his > tracks and > > the inside information on when a new album will be released, these > die-hard > > fans are truly connoisseurs of Rahman's art. "The intent behind > establishing > > this group was straightforward — to use the power of the internet to > network > > with Rahman's fans around the world so that we could share the joy of > > listening to his music. In many ways, it is Rahman himself who is > > responsible for the popularity of this group — his music and his appeal > > cutting across barriers. I am guilty of initially under-estimating the > > global reach of his music — little did we realize that we would have > people > > from so many countries across the world joining in," says Gopal > Srinivasan. And > > indeed, today, the e-group has over 13,000 members. > > On a rather sultry Sunday evening, a few members of the group in > > Bangalore gathered in front of the rose garden in Cubbon Park to > talk about > > their passion. Quite befitting, considering that for most of them, their > > love affair with A R Rahman's music began with the film Roja (rose), and > > like his music, their devotion to his talent has only increased from > > strength to strength. Says Kangan Upadhyay, who works in a software > company, > > "We heard the songs of Roja before they were officially released. And > > although I didn't know the language, I could relate to those songs.'' > > And she gives credit to the music director for her superb scores > in her > > II PU exam. "At that time, the music of Alaipayuthe was released, > and I kept > > listening to it all the time while studying. I scored 99% in Maths. > I kept > > humming the songs in my mind even as I was writing the paper,'' she > recalls > > with excitement. > > The way Rahman's compositions revolutionized Indian film music is > > something the fans immensely respect. "He brought in a whiff of > freshness,'' > > says Balaji Rajagopal, a chartered accountant. "He brought to Indian > films a > > sound which was, until then, only heard in jingles,'' says > Chandrashekhar > > Ganesh, a techie. "Earlier, viewers would walk > > out of the theatre for a smoke when the songs would come on. > Rahman's music > > changed all that,'' says Gomtesh Upadhyay aka Gomzy, a techie. > > "He's even a good singer,'' says Vithun Kumar, a BE student. Adds > > Shahnawaz Gaffoor, a techie, "His music is international.'' > > Not surprisingly, Rahman's concerts are always a grand event, > akin to > > international acts performing in India. And these fans ensure they > are there > > to watch Rahman live. Most of them took off to Chennai recently, > when Rahman > > performed there for a concert organized by The Times of India. In > fact, it > > was during the 2005 concert in Bangalore when the city's fans met > each other > > in person. They volunteered backstage and even had T-shirts created > > especially for the event. > > Rehearsals are when they get to interact with the maestro. Some > of the > > members have even met him at his residence in Chennai. "Once, I went > to meet > > him at his place. As he was busy he told me to come the next day. He > asked > > me if I was a non-vegetarian. Since I wasn't, he ensured that vegetarian > > food was ordered for me,'' says Prabhu Krishnamurthy, a techie. > > During the 2005 concert, they even gifted Rahman a montage of > all his > > album covers, about 94 — both film and non-film scores. It now > adorns a wall > > in his studio. And needless to say, if a fan wants to meet him at the > > studio, those from this e-group are allowed right in. Rahman has even > > dedicated a colouring book for children, released during the Pray For Me > > Brother tour, to the e-group in November, 2007. > > The members definitely deserve such a token of appreciation, > considering > > they have taken pains to count the number of musical genres he has > explored. > > According to them, his music spans about 36-38 genres. > > The Bangalore-based fans meet up from time to time, if someone > gets hold > > of the latest copy of Rahman's album or a rare DVD of his work. They > > recently met to watch a behind-the-scenes DVD of the musical Bombay > Dreams, > > which shows Rahman actually composing some of the tunes. > > "We upload rare tracks on to the website. But it's strictly for > > non-commercial and private use. We always buy the original CDs of his > > albums,'' says Prabhu. "And, of course, we would be the first ones > to buy > > those albums on day one,'' says S Radhakrishnan, a techie. At times, > members > > have heated debates. An unresolved one is about whether Rahman was > the first > > music director to use a bass guitar in his compositions. > > What sustains their immense passion is not just Rahman's music > but also > > the person he is. As Radhakrishnan puts it, "He has never let us down.'' > > > > > > > > RAHMANIACS: These fans are devoted not just to his music but also > the man > > behind it > > > > >
