YAHOO FANS ( Correction : FRIENDS ) GROUP of Rahman is a meeting place of FRIENDS to discuss / debate RAHMAN's music and his life's philosophy in all its seriousness and with honesty.
Loyal fans are certainly an asset for any artist in giving him much needed support and feedback on his artistic output. You will find YAHOO group member in almost all cities and as such the reach is tremendous ! We are NOT FANS of Rahman, we are his disciples as he is our GURUJI ! Let's unite and make this world a better / harmonious place to live...... Rahman, TUM JIYO HAZARO SAAL.... SAAL ME GAANE HO PACHAAS HAZAR.... Jai Ho ! Dinesh Vaidya The Wandering Souls "RAHMANIA" Pune --- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@...> wrote: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/arrahmanfans/3645226305/ > > Our man, Rahman > Musician A.R. Rahman has his own Barmy Army some 15,000 diehard fans > who follow their idol's every move. Anirban Das Mahapatra meets some > of them > > ALL FOR ONE: Members of the A.R. Rahman fan club are all pepped up > before a concert in Calicut this year > Just in case you thought you knew everything about A.R. Rahman and > were his biggest fan under the sun, here's a reality check. Surely, > you wouldn't know anything about the ad jingles he once composed for > brands ranging from Hero Puch to Leo Coffee, would you? Or are you, > for that matter, aware that he's lending the soundtrack to an IMAX > production titled Heart of India? And have you the distinction of > being physically present at all concerts the music director has had on > Indian soil till date? > > Chances are you haven't. That is what makes people like Gopal > Srinivasan and Vijay Aiyar a special breed a breed that has been > steadily growing for the past decade or so to now include some 15,000 > music-crazed men and women who live, breathe and swing to A.R. > Rahman's magic for every living moment. Welcome to the "real" A.R. > Rahman fan club. > > "It's funny how a simple initiative on our part went such a long way > in bringing Rahman fans together," says Srinivasan, a Hyderabad-based > software professional. "All we wanted to do was form a forum where > people could interact with one another and contribute to an > information pool about the life and works of our favourite musician. > But look how far it has come now." > > Srinivasan isn't exaggerating. Even as Rahman, who won two Oscars for > the film Slumdog Millionaire, came to Pune last month to perform at a > high-octane concert that marked the beginning of his Jai Ho world > tour, the army of Rahman fans, led by Srinivasan and Aiyar, created a > unique record of attending each of Rahman's concerts ever performed in > India. "Some of us have even made it a point to be present at his > concerts abroad," says Aiyar. > > For Srinivasan, who's now at the helm of all activity undertaken by > Rahman's own "Barmy Army" a name for English cricket fans who follow > the team the journey began over 15 years ago. As an impressionable > youth in his late teens, he was completely bowled over by music from > Roja, the 1992 film that made Rahman a household name across India. > "The music was so different, so new. It hooked me so badly that I went > mad hunting down every single bit of music that had ever come out of > Rahman's studio." > > Once the Internet arrived in the late 1990s, he logged in only to > receive a pleasant surprise. "The net was full of Rahman trivia, much > more than I knew. Clearly, it looked like a nice platform for > exchanging ideas, and I decided to take my hunt online." > > Very soon, he had struck an online friendship with Aiyar, a music > promoter and another die-hard Rahman fan. The duo decided to form an > online fan club to "create a forum for like-minded individuals to > share thoughts about Rahman," says Aiyar. That was 11 years ago. > > "By 2000, when I joined, there were some 50 emails being swatted > around daily among members, with crazy details and trivia about > Rahman's music," says 28-year-old Bangalore-based software engineer > Gomtesh Upadhye. The group, reveals Aiyar, was eventually taken over > by Yahoo!. Recently, the group went on to open a page on Facebook, > where the membership quickly swelled to 3 lakh. > > Meanwhile, other bonds were being struck. Sometime in 2003, almost > miraculously, Aiyar boarded a flight to discover Rahman seated beside > him. A personal bond was quickly forged. Rahman was slated to perform > in Bangalore the city where most of the group's fan base happens to > be. It was a golden opportunity for the group to get involved in a > more direct way. > > "We helped out with dealing with sponsors, ticketing and even > backstage work," says Upadhye. "There were about 40 of us. We did > everything we could do, for free." > > It didn't go unrequited. The group was treated to a personal > interaction with Rahman after the show, an experience most of them > describe as "awesome." Says Srinivasan, "We learnt that Rahman himself > had been closely following our activity on the Internet. Since then, > he's reciprocated with great warmth to all our activities. It's been a > very special association." > > Rahman eventually invited Srinivasan and Aiyar to handle parts of his > promotional initiatives. Srinivasan is now in charge of all content on > Rahman's official website, while Aiyar manages KM Musiq, Rahman's > music label, apart from doubling as his media coordinator. > > After Bangalore, the group has followed Rahman to all his concerts in > India. "It's a crazy thing, actually," laughs Upadhye. "We get > information about the concerts much before the public does. So we > begin planning our trips and start hunting for air tickets and > accommodation." > > Normally, the resident members of the city where Rahman is scheduled > to perform are sounded out about the group's plans. "These people then > work to organise our trips, arrange for our stays, sometimes in their > homes. And then we assemble at the concert venue, dress in a common > uniform (black T-shirts) that we've designed for ourselves, sing along > with Rahman and his team through the concert and generally have a > blast," Upadhye says. > > Of late, the group has even looked beyond Rahman's concerts to do a > bit of do-gooding. "Some of us in Bangalore get together on Sundays to > do community service and we hand out food packets to the needy," says > Srinivasan. "On Rahman's birthday, we sponsor lunches in old age and > children's homes," he adds. > > Then there are occasional meetings in different cities when the group > gets together to discuss music, or as Bangalore IT professional Arun > K.B. puts it, to cheer Rahman on in his quest for glory. "When he won > his Golden Globe, we met for coffee at a Café Coffee Day outlet to > celebrate," says Arun. "Then, on Oscar night, we hired an entire > lounge bar in Bangalore, where 30 of us walked in at 6 am to watch the > Oscar ceremony. When Rahman got the Oscars, it was like a madhouse > inside. Everyone went crazy!" he exclaims. > > Some might say that's going one notch too far in the name of fanfare. > But clearly, this group isn't listening. And given that it packs in > enough chutzpah to stand out from rank fan clubs, it probably isn't > caring either. Jai Ho to that. >
