Thursday, August 27, 2020

A Walk Down Rahman Lane by A M Aravind

If you're here for the first time, please read this post
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The first time I heard this song was when my neighbour used to play it, and  it reached us in a muffled tone - because of the distance and the concrete walls interrupting the sound waves. I was intrigued. The neighbour played it again. And, again. And again. Several times that day. And for the rest of the week. But, I was not able to make out the lyrics or even the language, and I couldn't figure out what song it was. The introvert that I was, I never got around to asking him what it was.

 

What kept me hooked was these lines "Jao humko to Aati Sharm hai, Teri Aisi Adaa Pe to Fida hum hain". I found the way these lines were sung to be so fresh. And addictive. And, the tune, so unique!

 

Later that week, at school, some of my friends were to dance at our culturals, and were rehearsing, with an instrumental track. During a break, they played another song from the same film. And, guess what? It was my "mystery song". I finally asked what song it was. I got the reply, "Don't you know? This is A R Rahman's first Hindi film. And the song is called Hai Rama."

 

Though we were addicted to many of thalaivARR's Tamil songs in the 2-3 years he was in the industry, I wasn't following his work closely, and I was unaware of his Hindi debut. I quickly got hold of the cassette and it was a joy blasting all the songs from the album in our Videocon tape recorder.

 

What a magic Hai Rama turned out to be. If the "trailer" from my neighbour's house got me hooked, the full song blew me away. There was so much more in the song. Hariji and Swarnalatha in top form, accompanied by playful flute (the flute bit in the second interlude - from 4:45 - remained my ringtone for a long time), the vibrant percussion and passionate strings took me to heaven, not just then, but even now. 25 years after it was composed!

 

Thank you, Rahman sir, for blessing us with evergreen songs like this, and surprising us with extra-ordinary experiments, even after 28 years!


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About A.M.Aravind


An A.R.Rahman series without a guest post by AMA? No, Never, Nahin!

A die-hard fan of Rahman, Sachin and Federer, AMA, when not RJing on an online radio station, presenting ARR's songs, is usually in and around Pallikaranai Marshlands or Vedanthangal, marathon-ing.. ie Bird Marathoning. Don’t miss following his series on Youtube, for birders.
Also, have you listened to this song composed by Rahman for AMA? Yes, Nambungaji
Follow engaL Birdman here and here.


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