Rajith Ramnivas is a dedicated fan of A.R. Rahman and has always longed to meet the renowned composer. When the opportunity presented itself through a contest on a local radio station, Rajith seized the chance to meet his hero in person at a concert in Sharjah. Join Rajith as he shares the heartwarming and unforgettable experience of finally meeting the man whose music has played such a significant role in his life.
“I’m a silent member in this group. I’m Rajith, 29 years old, married, and working as a sales executive at a glass company in Sharjah. I know I’m late to post this, but due to my busy schedule at work, I couldn’t post earlier. Sorry about that. I’m a crazy fan of Rahman Sir and always listen to his music with my MP3 player, which I always carry with me.
I can’t sit without his music for a minute. Mostly, I’m in my car and I play his CD. My wife always smiles and says that I love his music more than her, but she also loves his music a lot. My big aim in life was to meet Rahman Sir. When Roja was released, I was in 8th grade. I love those songs and I planned to meet him or get a job there as a driver or something else. I’ve been driving very well since a very young age. Let me start the story.
Four days before the Sharjah concert, a contest began on a well-known radio station, Hit 96.7 FM Dubai. It was named “Meet and Greet A. R. Rahman.” It’s very easy for all Rahmaniacs to answer their question, but luck is also a factor. To qualify as a contestant, they will ask a preliminary question. We have to answer by sending a message. They will select two people with the right answers and start the contest with them. They will play a music bit from a Rahman song and we have to recognize the song and movie. Whoever knows the correct answer must say their name and answer it. If it’s not correct, the other person gets a chance to answer.
Like this, they will play five bits and a minimum of three people must answer. This contest went on in three shows for three days. So they will select nine winners from those shows and they will enter the lucky draw. The lucky draw mega-winner’s name will be announced on the day before the concert (17th Apr).
I tried from the first day, but I didn’t have luck. The second day also passed. The third day was the last day for the contest. They already had four winners in those two days. No one answered all five questions. I prayed to God that I at least want to participate in the contest.
My prayer was answered; I got a call from the radio station and the show “Fun at 1” was on. Arjun was the DJ and he called me and told me to be ready for the contest. I was sure I could answer all his questions. I answered all five and I was the only one who answered all five. Now, the lucky draw is tomorrow and only five people qualified for that. I thought they would announce my name as the mega-winner because I answered all five. But they want to select the winner through a lucky draw only. My mind still said that I’m the winner and I will meet Rahman Sir.
Unfortunately, the winner was not me, it was Smitha. They congratulated her on-air and I became very upset. I couldn’t eat or sleep because I had been expecting this so much. But I thought that I would meet him anyway. I had VIP tickets for myself and my wife, which I had purchased online on March 19th for seeing his performance without any obstacles. On the day of the concert, I told my wife that I wanted to buy a bouquet for him. She discouraged me from that because if I didn’t get a chance to give it to him, then I would be even sadder.
But I told her that we would meet him. I purchased the bouquet and told the guy to make it special, as it was for Rahman Sir. He asked me, “Are you sure?” I replied yes. After collecting the bouquet, I wanted to go to the cricket stadium and see what was going on there, in case Rahman Sir was there as well. We both went there, but no one was there, just some banner work was being done. I saw the VIP area where we had to sit, but it was a little bit far from the front stage.
Anyway, we spent 30 minutes there and returned home. I hadn’t slept the previous night and I hadn’t eaten either. This morning, I also skipped my breakfast. When I reached home, I prayed a lot. The only way to see Rahman Sir now was through something like a miracle happening. I started posting messages to our group saying that we would meet each other before the concert and together we would meet our Boss. I was sure that he would allow our group members to meet him, as we all knew. Some group members started calling me.
You won’t believe this. It was about 12:30 pm when I received a call from Hit FM radio station saying, “Can you please come to Sharjah Cricket Stadium at 2 pm?” I asked them why, and they said that the winner, Smitha, for the meet and greet contest couldn’t participate in that. Because this meet and greet was planned after the concert, but Rahman Sir had to fly back to Chennai the next day and he would be tired after the concert. He himself changed this plan to 2 pm (before the concert). The winner informed Hit FM that she couldn’t reach there by 2 pm and they asked her if they could give this opportunity to somebody else. She said yes and they chose my name as the lucky person to meet and greet Rahman Sir.
I just couldn’t believe what they said. I was out of control and soon got ready to go. I reached there with my wife at 1:45 and was waiting for Jean (he is an RJ from Hit FM who takes me for meet and greet). Jean reached there before 2. And we were all waiting for Rahman Sir. At 2:30 pm, one member from Oasis promotions (they are the sponsors), her name is Sangeetha, came to us and said, “Sorry, we can’t meet him now. He is busy with rehearsals and all, and the program again changed after the concert.” I wasn’t sure, maybe Rahman Sir would say he wouldn’t have time after the concert.
Sangeetha also asked me which category of ticket I had, and I told her that I had a VIP ticket. She then told me that we would upgrade my ticket to a VVIP ticket. I was surprised and confused, asking myself, ‘What is going on?’ I had forgotten to bring my mobile phone with me from my home because of this unexpected surprise. The show started exactly at 8:30 pm, and I brought my handycam with me to take a video.
When the first song, ‘Jaage hain…’, began playing, I saw him for the first time in real life. Oh my god, my hands were shaking and I couldn’t even focus my camera properly. My heart was beating faster and faster, and I didn’t know what was happening to me. He is truly a great person, capable of making people’s hearts feel this way. My wife and I enjoyed the concert thoroughly, and it was a fantastic event. When the concert ended, Sangeetha told us to go behind the stage and meet him. I was trying to go behind the stage, but because of the crowd, we couldn’t get there quickly. Sangeetha asked me where I was, saying that he was asking for me.
Oh my god. Sangeetha told me that I could go to a particular room where he was. In front of the door, his manager was there, and he asked me if I was the one who won the meet-and-greet. I said yes, and he told me to go inside. Oh my god, I knocked on the door and opened it. I couldn’t believe my eyes – it was a big room with a few sofas. On one of them, the great man was sitting and drinking water from a small bottle.
When he saw me, he told me to come closer. I swear to god, I couldn’t control myself and I gave him a bouquet of flowers, falling to my knees and crying uncontrollably. I told him, through my tears, how much I loved him and he responded, saying, ‘I know, I know.’ His expression changed slightly when he saw me crying. He stood up and slowly helped me to my feet, offering me support as I stood. I hugged him after I got up (no one else would allow hugging, except for Rahman Sir).
I became speechless and couldn’t ask him anything. He asked me if I was in the Yahoo group (since I was wearing a t-shirt with the group’s logo), and I said yes. He asked me where I got the t-shirt, and I told him I received it from a friend named Hakeem from Kerala. He also asked me where I worked, how long I had been married, and what my wife’s name was. I couldn’t hear anything he was saying, I was in another world, and my wife had to tell me that he was asking me questions.
Then I started answering him one by one. It felt like I was in a dream. The Hit FM people and Sangeetha took photos of us. Most of the photos were blurry because everyone lost control when they saw him. My hands were shaking too much. He has a divine power, and I could feel it when I touched him.
He is very simple and humble, not boastful at all, and he knows exactly who he is. I love him a lot. I thank god first and then Hit FM for giving me the opportunity to meet and greet him, as well as Sangeetha.
Before I sign off, I want to leave you with the thought that if you admire Rahman Sir and have always dreamed of meeting him, your dream will eventually be realized – God willing.”
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.
