You guys are totally awesome!
--- 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. >
