*Exclusive: ‘The Man| The Music| The Magic’* *by Debtaru De* His music is everywhere; but his personal life lies ensconced within the walls of his two-storey bungalow in Kodambakkam!
We try to dig out lesser - known facts about the fiercely private musician A. R. Rahman. Nine-year-old Dileep Kumar a.k.a A R Rahman slept late, played carom and hated waking up at 7 a.m to practice at the piano! Asked to leave school due to lack of attendance, he quit studies at the age of 15. When Rahman’s sister fell seriously ill in 1988, Pir Qadri, who cured her, advised the family to convert to Islam and they did! Dileep had a choice of seven names during his conversion. He chose Allah Rakha Rahman. Call it a filmy coincidence, his name was Dileep Kumar before he converted to Islam and his wife’s name is Saira Bano! Her nickname is Isai Puyal. Rahman is closest to his mother Kasturi who converted to Kareema Begum. A true believer, he offers namaaz five times a day. Is superstitious about starting work according to the prayer time in the place of worship close to his heart! The maestro loves eating rasam-rice. When busy, he eats lunch at 5 p.m and dinner after midnight! Rahman lives in a small two-storey bungalow in Kodambakkam. He has three kids Khatija (13), Rahima (10), and son Ameen (5). His mother spotted Saira at a dargah and sent a marriage proposal right away! Saira Banu is the sister-in-law of Tamil actor Rahman and the daughter of a Chennai-based businessman from Kutch. http://www.indiatarget.com/cgi-bin/slide_shows.cgi?1469:6 -- regards, Vithur
