*Baron of the Baton* http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=228564 ** *Pallavi Jassi*<http://www.expressindia.com/about/[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Seat him at a piano and he can create symphonies that invoke seraphim. But AR Rahman divests himself of all celebrity air. Wearing black and a Zen attitude, he smiles and says, "It is Rahman with an 'a', not an 'e'. Or else it will never reach me", as he patiently repeats his e-mail id to fans. Rahman has flown down from Glasgow, Scotland, to unveil the latest edition of the Limca Book of Records. The music composer — along with George Abraham, who works with the visually impaired, boxer MC Marykom, cardiologist Devi Prasad Shetty and tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi — figures on its list of the "People of the Year". [image: Advertisement] <http://banners.expressindia.com/adsnew/adclick.php?bannerid=2646&zoneid=470&source=&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fads.mediaturf.net%2Fevent.ng%2FType%3Dclick%26FlightID%3D24931%26AdID%3D86475%26TargetID%3D13450%26Targets%3D13450%26Values%3D414%2C1153%2C1264%2C3418%26Redirect%3Dhttp%3A%252F%252Fclassifieds.sulekha.com%252F%253Futm_source%253Dexpressindia%2526utm_medium%253Dbanner%2526utm_content%253Dsulekha_select_mar07_300x250>Right now, however, Rahman is excited about the theatre production of The Lord of the Rings , for which he has composed music with the Finnish folk band Varttina. The musical on Tolkien's Middle Earth will be opening in London's West End on May 9. "The Lord of the Rings is an experience that I will never forget in my life and I consider it one of the most important steps in my career," he says. He is also looking forward to the release of Jagmohan Mundhra's Provoked. "There is a single Alive that has Heeru, a blind girl, and Radha singing. They have a beautiful voice. I met them just two weeks before the recording, when I was visiting an NGO in Chennai," he says. He just took the girls for a rehearsal and the song just worked. Rahman had composed and sang Pray for me brother, the UN's anthem for its Millennium Development Goals campaign — it was the first time he was singing in English. "Singing is a nightmare for me," says Rahman, shaking his head in anguish. "I'm not comfortable singing in any language. But I do practise a lot, especially before concerts." And why was he wearing shades in the video? "I had to wear them as something had happened to my eye. It makes me look cool as well." Rahman says he works on albums to fund his NGO, the AR Rahman Foundation. "Education is one issue that needs a lot of attention and I'm trying to make a contribution." The seraphim are waking up.
