Nirvana

Latest update on A.R.Rahman’s 3-D tour - Oct 8 2005, Palace Grounds, Bangalore.

India Classic Arts

Enjoy!

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If this isn't a reason enough for me to be in Bangalore in October, nothing else is! The one and only A.R. Rahman in "Namma" Bangalore, which event could be bigger than this? Yoohoo Bangalore, here I am come!If you have never been to a live concert of ARR, you will never comprehend this sense of euphoria. It's the greatest, exciting and most entertaining event you would ever be in, in your life by any terms - Believe me, I am not exaggerating, I would know. I had been to his live concert at Nassau Coliseum in New York a couple of years ago.

I vividly remember driving to New York along with one of my friends - for 40 lousy bucks, it was a steal. It was raining when we reached the place at 6 pm and I saw desis all around us. It was the largest congregation of Indians in US I have ever seen - Tamilians, Gujuratis, Kannadigas, Teleguites, Punjabis, they had come to be mesmerised by the unassuming magician behind the keyboard for the next three hours.

The stage had a picture of ARR dressed impeccably in white in a large background and had two large boomboxes on either side of the stage. There was seating all around the arena and the place probably had a capacity of over 3000, it was filled to the brim. We were seated a distance away on the balcony but everyone had a good view of the maestro and the singers.

Guess who started off the proceedings? It was our own SPB singing "Muthu" opening soundtrack, enough to make all the tamilians whistle, wave their hands, hum along and tap their feet before they settled down on the seats. Udit Narayan, Vasundhara Das, Sadhna Sargam, Sonu Nigam, Chitra, Sukhvinder Singh formed the rest of the cast as Rahman kept us under a spell for over four hours - Saathiyaa, Lagaan, Roja, Gentleman, Indian, Dil Se, Sapnay, Kadhal Desam, Kannathil Muthamitaal and many of his other brilliant compositions.

I had shouted myself hoarse at the end of the concert, singing along Tamil and Hindi songs. A Kannadiga family was seated next to me and they were looking at me as though I was delirious. They were conversing in kannada about the noise I was making and I stifled my eagerness to shoot back in their own language. I did not care that night, I was there to have fun and no one was going to stop me.

Sivamani entertained us with percussion and in middle of it all stood the colossus - ARR himself. I recall ARR playing the piano and singing 'Vellai Pookal' from Kannathil Muthamitaal towards the end for world peace. And the biggest surprise of all, Americans (Yes, blondes, Afro Americans) from a Miami school performed Lagaan's "Chale Chalo" at the end, I kid you not. They sang with such verve and clarity, the audience was up clapping their hands at the end of the performance.

At around 1 am, ARR ended the show with the audience begging for more. This was one night they wished would go on forever.

One of my 26 wishes is going to be consumed this October. Be there or be square!

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