When Rahman hits you out of the blue!!!

Men may come, Men may go, “Rah”man goes on forever!!!

There are no words to explain how Rahman captivates you with his music. But so do many with their melodies. Why is Rahman so special?? What makes Rahman stand out is the importance he gives to the layers / tracks beneath the melody line. Somehow over time an intent listener dives into the ocean of his music, penetrating through layers and layers of beautiful tracks, yet realizing that there’s miles to go before you hit the ground….

But sometimes, when you are just listening to the song without concentrating on the musical nuances, a bolt hits you. A small, almost non-existent piece of music just reveals itself to you. It happened to me, when I was recently listening to “Ennavale” from Kaadhalan. We all would have listened to this masterpiece hundreds of times. But tonight, as I was walking along the Gulmohar marg of IISc, caressed by rain, I heard a faint flute bit around 0:44 in the song, between the second and the third repetition of the humming, just before Unni Krishnan takes over with the phrase “Ennavale”. I even thought I was dreaming, or worse feeling schizy, for I have never noticed this bit ever. Like a raindrop, it’s so faint and very shortlived, yet when you notice it, the beauty of it lingers in your heart forever.

As Shree told me on listening to this, ‘ it almost as if it has been overheard from a nearby recording, in a few minutes of silence in this orchestra!’ and ‘its beautiful in the sense that you will rarely find it unless you look for it’…

To me, it is in these moments that ARR will live on forever. Rain gives you joy, but it is the kiss of those tiny drops that give you bliss….