A Walk Down Rahman Lane by Rajasekar

 If you are here for the first time, please read this post.

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Though I'm aware of A R Rahman's songs and listened to his music right from my kindergarten days (1990 born), I was completely blown away by the sound he produced when my dad bought this Panasonic Five CD Changer and the first album I played was Parthale Paravasam.

I was eleven years old in 2001 so don't even know what heartbreak is and the melancholy associated with it yet the Azhage Sugama number pushed me to listen multiple times. I was addicted to the album (although people only remember KB's Duet with Rahman these days, for me, PP is a close to heart album. Love check, Nee Dhaan En Thesiya Geetham, Manmadha Masam, Nadhir Dhina, Moondrezhuthu would be continuously blasted in 1400W dual speaker in my home)

Back to Azhage Sugama...

Whenever I return from school, I'd listen to this song and strangely, it also gave me peace of mind and tune me to concentrate on the day-to-day homework and studies. For some reason, I used to play this number before entering the exam hall, before preparing for semester exams and it continued till I finished college.

Azhage Sugama... ARR ey Sugama..
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About Rajasekar

A film buff who loves movies as much as he loves Tenkasi kaatthu and ambience, Rajasekar is a film correspondent who writes for Sify and First Post.

A fitness buff who's always on a stringent diet, Rajasekar's loves to click pictures of nature which include Rainbows, Waterfalls, Birds amongst others. Do check them out here and say hi to Rajasekar here.

A Walk Down Rahman Lane by Shrey Jadav

If you are here for the first time, please read this post. 

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The year was 2006 and I was 9 years old going into 10. That age is a very strange one, you don't want to be called a child and you "can't wait for high-school, and college and have your own money." I also felt like that was the time when one get's a slow introduction to emotions that are individual and personal to you; it could be people, events, hobbies, art, music or films. And that was the time when I first felt something very unprecedented, it was poignant and over-whelming, but it was beautiful.

Rang De Basanti was released that year and it was the hot talk in the country and the next thing I remember was my dad, my mum, my sister and I in the theatre. My in my mother's lap because I was small enough still to be a "half-ticket”.  Rang De Basanti is of course a roller-coaster of emotions but then towards the end when Lukka Chuppi played, that song hit different. The music, the melody, the miss-en-scene was so perfect, remember what started as small sobs at intervals turned into heavy weeping and I held my mum’s hand real tight.

At first, she thought I was scared with the idea of death and protest (as shown in the movie) and asked me to shut my eyes. But I knew it wasn’t that. I knew that I was feeling “heavy”, something I wasn’t able to describe at that time. Even with my eyes closed, I heard the music unfurl in the magic of  Mr. Rahman and Lata Mangeshkar and I felt a strange sad, a happy kinda sad - which I knew was monetary and would pass a few hours after the movie ended but I was happy to be in that moment; I felt like I was growing up and I was learning of the joys that one can gain from art and emotions and music. And A R Rahman was one of the firsts to make me realise that. The fact that I can remember this singular incident in detail is an epitome of how these small, personal experiences really shape you. Yes, I wasn’t aware of who he was at that time, nor did I know who was signing, I just knew that the music was stirring something inside of me and I was keen to have more experiences as such.

Image from the video 

The years followed with me singing Lukka Chuppi, Maa Tujhe Salaam, Dil Se Re among many of the Maestro's hits for Mother’s Day, Independence Day etc at school events not knowing the singular link amongst the magic in all these that was A R Rahman.

I love scrolling through YouTube and a lot of my recommendations consist of choir music. Quite recently, I came across some videos of the Berklee Indian Ensemble’s tribute to A R Rahman where they performed some of his absolute classics, Jiya Jale, Kun Faaya Kun and my most favourite the Swades title track. And that was nothing less than a transcending experience, watching Indians and foreigns alike sing, play and grove to these powerful melodies; a supreme reminder of how music is beyond any boundaries and A R Rahman has not only accomplished that within our country, but taken us to the world.

In conclusion, Mr. Rahman GAVE to me, one of my very first coming-of-age experiences that I will cherish for life. And continues to deliver to us those moments of ecstatic surprise every now and then, and that is gold for me.

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About Shrey

Before anything let me introduce you to this ARR song, sung by singer Shrey.

A Digital Content and Social Media professional, Shrey did his Bachelors in Mass Media and started his career as a copywriter. I have had the fortune of working with fun Gen Z folks and Shrey is one of them. When not chatting with bff Katy Perry (no kidding, just check this), he spends his Lockdown time on his fabulous insta-live sessions, singing.

Sing along with Shrey here.

A Walk Down Rahman Lane by Sharanya

 If you are here for the first time, please read this post.

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Very early on in my relationship with this one boy- he spoke to me about how much he was moved by Dil Se. The Gujarati in him hadn't obviously watched the Tamizh version.  Just like he hadn't watched any of his Mani Ratnam favorites in the language it was originally meant to be watched in-my mother tongue, Tamizh. 

Growing up so far away from the home to the language- music became the fastest way for my Bombay waala Bhelpuri Tamil to look at nuance and truly appreciate the 'roots'. "'Rahman is universal, you can't stake claim on him," he would laugh at my being territorial of the same tune in its original form.

Years later, we would be in a dark movie theatre- him passing his ultimate test- sitting between Amma and me-watching his first ever Tamizh padam- for nothing but ARR in all his glory. My mother was impressed.

Months later, my entire extended family was. Five years later, on afternoons when I don't even notice him- I catch him singing - Mana mana mental Manadhil. The original.

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About Sharanya

Sakalakalavalli Sharanya is a singer, radio host, screenplay writer and is a Studio head.
When not planning her next solo holiday, she's busy writing award winning shorts and mentoring a bunch of young creative writers in the team.

Always bubbling with ideas and enthusiasm, this Lockdown period has been quite a busy one for their studio what with releasing back to back shorts on their YouTube channel.


Meet Shar here & here.

Guest blogger's post: My Favourite Brand - Myself

My observation of the typical advertising 'babe'.. Scroll down for Guest blogger's post

Gopal is someone I got to know through the blogosphere. We later realized that we kinda worked for the same organization.. he as a full-time copywriter and me, a half-time vetti aabeesar there. Most of , rather all of our conversations have revolved around these French bearded advertising creatives who float around in pre-production meetings discussing their umpteenth Goa trip, Amitabh Bacchan's greatness as a brand ambassador, Cheeni Kum's 'tongue-in-cheek' (an ad guy's favourite expression) dialogues, Piyush Pandey's brilliant talent as a voice-over etc. When we met up recently, I suggested that he write something for my blog, on what else but Advertising stereotypes. So here it is..Mr.Slogan Murugan doing his first and my first on blog - Guest blogger's post. Oh ya, did I tell you that Gopal loves Goa, discusses only Majidi Majidi's latest film, reads the same page of a fat book on all three days of an ad film shoot and does everything else that makes him yet another Advertising stereotype?

Mr.Copywriter who recently shifted to Bengalooru, is also a 'slice of life' photographer. His blogs are filled with lovely pictures that he clicks on his way to work, every morning. Take a look - here and here

Thank you, G!

-b
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Guest post by M S Gopal

Once upon a time it was one of the hottest professions around. Today it is just one of the old economy professions, like cobblers, painters, etc.

Advertising. It still exists.

However, many still join it for the money and the fun that's associated with the profession. That's the reason most of them leave. After a short while. The ones who survive, probably do it because they are good at nothing else. Or hoping to be a bollywood film director some day.

For the few who are married to advertising, their lives are consumed by it. No, it's not the passion for work, which surfaces from time to time but the advertising professionals love for oneself. An advertising professionals favourite brand is not the ones he or she works on, but himself or herself. And the smart accountant who owns an advertising agency uses the love of an advertising professional for himself to maximise his or her profits.

Each agency usually has a big star or a couple of them. One campaign and the accountant who runs the show gets the PR machine running. It's like a cycle pump that blows air into an advertising creative's ego. And within no time, a star is created. The accountant meanwhile carries the star around and uses him or her to get more business. While the star hopes to use the same to make it into bollywood.

Meantime, the rest of the world should survive the creatives take on film making, music, cinematography, communication, screenplay, casting couch fantasies and more. Stuff your ears with cotton.