When music felicitated Rahman
MANIGANDAN KR
It was a rare occasion on Sunday as musicians from across
Kollywood gathered to felicitate music director A R Rahman for having
won the Oscars, the Bafta and the Golden Globe.
It was a sight to behold as almost all the legendary music
composers gathered on stage at the Cine Musicians Union auditorium to
praise the man of the moment, even as a packed auditorium cheered
lustily almost everytime his name was mentioned.
The first to bless the young achiever was veteran Carnatic singer
and music director Balamuralikrishna. "I shouldn't praise him too
much, as a father should praise his son only in his heart," he said.
He was followed by Producer AVM Saravanan, who showered praises on Rahman.
However, Saravanan also made use of the opportunity to point out
that the Indian government hadn't honoured veteran musicians like M S
Viswanathan, who had been contributing to Kollywood for the last 70
years, and lyricist Vaali,who had been penning lyrics for the last 50
years.
"I don't know why they haven't been honoured. I believe there is a
committee to look into it. I'd like to use this opportunity to draw
the attention of those concerned to this issue," he said.
Maestro Ilayaraja, who spoke on the occasion,said,"Even if they
place a golden crown on Rahman's head (and he deserves it too) in a
function, it would still not match this evening."
"Not all buds bloom and not all those that bloom become fruits.
Similarly, not all the movies go to the Oscars and not all that go get
selected. Only a select few get selected. This does not mean that
those that have not been selected are inferior," he said.
"Awards have no value without composers. But for the first time, a
person from here has gone to the west and commanded the honour. We
need to honour that," he said, to loud cheers. The veteran music
director also gifted a gold chain on the occasion to A R Rahman.
But the best description of the function came from veteran singer
S Janaki, who said, "Today, music has felicitated Rahman."
In his acceptance speech, Rahman started off with his famous
phrase Ella Pughazhum Irraivanukke. Rahman said that his parents had
sown the seeds and that he had only reaped the harvest. "It's the
aspiration of all the musicians... I think God selected me to collect
the award on their behalf," he added.
Others who spoke on the occasion included director K Balachandar,
music directors M S Viswananthan, Harris Jayaraj, Vidyasagar, Yuvan
Shankar Raja, Bharadwaj and Shankar Ganesh.
Snap: http://i43.tinypic.com/2eaovvm.jpg
Source:
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