Nice.. Just like him.
Here is my short account of my encounter with ARR.
Dec 19, 2003 :
I was on my way to India to catch up with family but took a week to explore
Istanbul and stopped over. I backpack a lot so Istanbul was always on my list.
I am muslim so went over for Friday Prayer to the beautiful Blue Mosque in
Sultanahmet. After getting done with my prayers as I was getting out, I noticed
an indian guy sitting there and instantly found him to be AR Rahman. I was
wondering what he was upto here. So, I lingered around in the mosque.
Man! does ARR pray! he was there for an additional half an hour in the mosque
and I should be ashamed I don't devote as much time to God as I should! A
lesson there - however big you get in this world, you are still nothing in
comparison to the almighty !
Anyways, he got out of the mosque and I went and met with him and shook his
hand and took a few pictures. He was there with a friend of his.
So, before I could ask anything starts asking me questions - where you from,
what you doing here, how long have you been here etc. etc. and I walk with him
back all the way to his hotel. he was staying at the Four Seasons Istanbul (
one of the best hotels in the world!). He told me he came for a week to attend
the Rumi Festival in Konya.
Rahman is very very down to earth. I don't know how the time went but he talked
as he was havign a conversation with anyone on the street.
My only regret is not having to continue the conversation. I would have surely
learnt a lot about him and his simplicity.
Well - for those interested in meeting him - there is a hint - get to Konya's
annual Rumi festival every mid december and you might get some alone time with
him! :)
ARR fan,
Mansoor
----- Original Message ----
From: Thulasi Ram <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2008 10:13:09 PM
Subject: Re: [arr] The Night when I met AR RAHMAN sir- A Celebrity par
excellence..
what an amazing experience! m simply touched with this..
apart from his music, ARR's character makes him stand lightyears from others in
this industry.
On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM, rakesharr <[EMAIL PROTECTED] com> wrote:
Hi Dear Rahmaniacs.. I just wanted to share with u all my meeting with AR
RAHMAN sir..
I'm a student of Loyola College and more than that I'm an ardent follower of
Rahman sir's music. On the 18th of sept, A friend of mine and me went to invite
Rahman sir as a chief guest to our college cultural event. After a long wait of
over 4 hours, at 11 PM, we were called in.. We went in and there HE was.. It
was the second time I was meeting him up close..
He called us in and asked us to take our seats. We briefed him about the reason
of our arrival.. He smiled and said "I would've loved to be there. But i have
so many pre commitments." I knew about all his big projects so i didn't talk
after that. My friend told him that he just had to come to the college for 5 to
10 mins. Just to light the lamp. HE said, "Coming for 5 minutes is not at all a
problem. But my work requires me to be really focussed. If i come for 5 mins
also its like I'l lose the whole day. I get easily distracted and then it
becomes difficult for me to work." He explained to us like he knew us before,
with so much clarity and such ease. When many other celebrities find it a
matter of pride to talk to a fan, here's a world class celebrity sitting and
explaining y he can't make it. I mean who else would care to do such a thing?
That's RAHMAN for u. The Rarest and the most UNIQUE Celebrity in all of
World.He never, even unknowingly hurts
anyone. When we asked one of the helpers he said, tht it was AR who wanted to
cal us in, when he knew tht we had been waiting for so long. My friend cried at
AR's character saying that there can't be a sweeter Human Being on the
planet..I know we all know of this Great Man's character, but to be there and
feel it is an altogether different experience..
The best part was when he was leaving, I wished him Eid Mubarak and he smiled
and patted my backIt was one of the best days for my friend and me. Although he
couldn't make it to our college, he wrote us an Autograph addressed to the
College.
I'm sooooo Proud to be a FAN of such a great Personality. He's the Best..
Hail AR RAHMAN sir..
