Partha had long dreamed of meeting A.R. Rahman, the legendary composer. His chance finally arrived on July 8th, 2009, thanks to his friend Sam. At the event, Partha had the opportunity to meet and interact with Rahman, as well as witness the composer’s humble and charming personality. Follow along as Partha shares the exciting and memorable experience of meeting his hero, A.R. Rahman.
“It was my friend Sam, a member of Audio League and the winner of the Oh La La 2008 contest, who promised to introduce me to the great legend, double Oscar winner, and triple doctorate A.R. Rahmanji. Though the day arrived later than expected, it turned out to be a great day for me on July 8th, 2009.
At 10:45 am, I saw one of the guests at the event, Shruti Haasan. I took her photo and called out her name, complimenting her on her beautiful song in Luck. She thanked me with a big “Thanks.”
As I waited for someone even more special to arrive at the event, Rahmanji finally entered the room. He was wearing a deep purple shirt and black pants, looking very simple but with a very attractive charm on his face. He was surrounded by several journalists and photographers as he took his seat. I ran up to him, not worrying about whether anyone would stop me from meeting him.
I greeted him with a “Good morning, Rahmanji,” and he replied with a smile. I couldn’t stop myself from telling him, “Rahmanji, I am blessed to see you so closely.” He smiled again. I recorded his moments with my handycam and then asked if I could take his autograph. He replied by saying to come forward.
I stopped recording and quickly pulled out the ticket to his Calicut concert, which I had bought on May 3rd, 2009, and gave him my permanent marker. I told him that I had attended his Calicut show recently and collected his autograph. I had it laminated and stored it safely in my bedroom.
During the event, I took a few photos and recorded Rahmanji’s speech. I captured all his photos and video recordings very closely. After the event, even before Rahmanji was leaving, I almost held his hand and begged him for a photo. He almost stopped for a second or two, but my camera malfunctioned at the same moment, which was very disappointing.
But no matter, I don’t want to show the whole world that I took a photo with Rahmanji. Instead, I am very happy that I spoke to and saw him very closely. I will never ever forget such a lovely moment in my life. I was almost in tears when I shared this with my mom and dad over the phone. They were also very happy. I am very grateful to Sam and his band Audio League for giving me this opportunity.
Rahmanji is a man of very few words. He is definitely a shy guy. I don’t have words to express my happiness. I will definitely talk to him for some more time in the future. Therefore, I plead with the almighty to bless me in this regard.”
Do you have a personal experience with A.R. Rahman that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it. Send your story to story@rahmaniac.com. Don’t worry about formatting or length – we’ll take care of that for you.
