wow man!! its because of your efforts. Chance favours the prepared mind they
say, very true in your case. You met rahman and also drove at 170kmph..both are
awesome!!!!
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To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com
From: dinesh.theb...@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:35:24 +0000
Subject: [arr] Re: MY BIG DREAM OF THE DECADE CAME TRUE
it was heart warming reading ur post. truly blessed ! please
do share with us the pic u taken... :)
--- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, "umiesha" <umie...@...> wrote:
>
> 17TH October 2009……
> Diwali – the Hindu Festival of Light……
> My Birthday too…….
>
> NETHERLANDS
>
> My `big dream of the decade' came true…in a most unexpected way.
>
> It was around 4.30 p.m. and I was chatting online with my sister, telling her
> how depressed I was because I was going to miss another chance to see my
> `Hero' – A R Rahman – who would be attending an award ceremony 350km away in
> neighbouring Belgium.
>
> While we were chatting, the doorbell rang, making me jump, so I logged off
> and went to see who was at the door – it was my good friend, Dinesh.
>
> Opening the door, he gave me a big hug and greeted me with "happy birthday
> and may all your dreams come true!" I thanked him but told him that I only
> had one dream and no way was that going to come true! Dinesh asked me what I
> was talking about.
>
> "My Guruji is attending an award ceremony in Belgium", I replied. Dinesh was
> a little upset and said, "He is not only your Guruji but mine too!" I
> apologised to Dinesh and told him that all the tickets for the ceremony had
> been sold the previous week – I have known that since two days before. I
> didn't have a car – or a driving license, for that matter – and if I went by
> train, I would not be able to get back home as the ceremony didn't finish
> until 11.00 p.m. What's more, I did not know anyone in Belgium, so had no
> local support.
>
> "Sorry", my `Rahmaniacs', I didn't tell you what the ceremony was about. It
> was the `World Soundtrack Academy Awards' and was being held in the city of
> Gent.
>
> OK, back to how I could make my big dream come true.
> Dinesh suggested that we call the place where the ceremony was being held and
> ask again about tickets. "OK," I said, "I'll do it" and dialled the Awards
> office number.
> "How may I help you?" the receptionist asked.
> I told her that I was calling from the Netherlands and asked if there were
> any tickets available for that evening's awards programme. I didn't need to
> tell Dinesh that the receptionist's reply had been, "I am sorry to say that
> all the tickets have been sold" – it was obvious from the way I looked at him.
>
> I did not hang-up however but told the receptionist, "Look, I am A R Rahman's
> craziest fan – I don't care if I don't get to talk with him – just to see him
> would be enough. At what time will the guests be at the entrance? Is it
> possible just to stand there to get a look at him? Please help me madam! My
> home is 350 km away from Gent and it will take me almost 3 hours by car to
> get there. Dinesh could hear all this as I had switched my `phone to
> `speaker-phone'.
>
>
> After a while, the receptionist said, "Look, I know how much you guys love A
> R Rahman… let me talk to my colleague". - my face got brighter – "The show is
> going to start around
> 8.00p.m. but the doors will be open between 6.00p.m. and 7.45p.m. and that's
> when all the VIP's will arrive; then there's a break at 9.00p.m….oh, just a
> minute" she said.
>
> After a short time, she came back on the line and told us, "you guys might
> just be lucky…you might get two tickets after the break but I can't promise
> anything because it depends on whether people stay for the second part of the
> ceremony." That last sentence left our hearts racing and I could hardly form
> my words to thank her. She laughed and hung up.
>
> Now, the next problem was the car! Dinesh had a license but did not have his
> own motor. "I'm going to `phone a car rental company", he said, and by the
> time I was going to remind him that today was a Saturday, he was already
> being told, "Yep, we have a car available" and Dinesh told him that he would
> collect it in 5 minutes. I couldn't believe our luck.
>
> I looked at the clock and saw that it was 5 minutes past 5.00p.m and my mind
> could think of nothing except getting the car and driving straight to Gent.
> Dinesh told me he would collect the car and be back to pick me up in 10
> minutes and that I should be ready and waiting on the street!
>
> Although my stomach was churning and my nerves were on a knife-edge, the
> thought of the ceremony in Gent helped reduce the tension. I just wanted to
> see my hero's humble face and tell him, "Guruji, I love you, jai ho!" even if
> it was some distance away from him. That's all I was thinking.
>
> Out on the street, I saw a new Nissan approaching, with Dinesh at the wheel.
> I was jumping up and down as though I had taken the winning catch in the last
> cricket match of the season! Dinesh knew that I was not feeling well so
> suggested I got in the back seat and try to sleep.
>
> To get there at the time the receptionist had advised us, Dinesh had to `put
> his foot down' and at times, I saw we were doing 170 kph! After 20 minutes
> driving, we hit a traffic jam and my nerves started to get to me again.
> "Don't worry", Dinesh said, "we'll soon get through this"…and so we did and
> were once again cruising at 170 kph while most of the other vehicles on the
> road were travelling at around 120 kph. Our high speed, my iPhone and
> Dinesh's `SatNav' all played a part in helping us reach Gent in 3 hours.
>
> I had fallen asleep and Dinesh woke me to tell me we had arrived…in the city
> but not the ceremony venue! The `SatNav' had `gone on the blink' so we would
> have to stop and ask someone how we could get to our destination. As I was
> feeling refreshed from my sleep, I told Dinesh that I would go and ask
> someone how we reach our target. It was 8.25p.m. and the interval was at
> 9.00p.m. Then I thought, "why not call the ceremony office?" As luck would
> have it, the same receptionist answered my call and I told her that we were
> in Gent but didn't know how to get to the venue. This `angel' told us that we
> were quite near and gave us the necessary directions. She also said that she
> would send someone to escort us to the building where the ceremony was taking
> place. What a wonderful woman she was!!!
>
> Sure enough, as we were parking the Nissan, someone came up to us and
> escorted us inside. Once inside, he said, "Have a nice evening and hope you
> might be lucky and meet with
> Mr. Rahman". We shook his hand and thanked him for his help and kindness,
> realising that the receptionist had told him all about us!
> Making our way between Porsches, Lamborghinis and other top marque cars, we
> headed for the entrance and asked the security staff – in the politest way –
> where the Reception was. "Could I see your tickets please", the security guy
> asked. Instead of showing him, I told him the entire story about our contact
> with the lady receptionist and our break-neck drive from Netherlands. He
> replied that while he recognised that we were devoted fans of A R Rahman, we
> could not enter without tickets but said that he would check with his
> colleague in Reception.
>
> I told Dinesh that even if we failed to get in, we shouldn't feel too bad, as
> we had tried our hardest for our Guruji. Dinesh agreed with me but said that
> we should not lose faith. I agreed.
>
> The security guard returned and said, "You guys are really lucky as they have
> had two cancellations". Dinesh and I could hardly believe what the guy was
> telling us. Wow…could it really be happening? He opened the door and took us
> through to Reception, where I noticed the clock showed 8.50p.m. – 10 minutes
> to the interval! Then I heard a voice asking, "Are you the two guys who
> `phoned me from the Netherlands?" It was our `guardian angel' and we told
> her, "Yes, we are the guys" and thanked her for all her help and kindness.
> She laughed and told us how lucky we were, handing us the two tickets. The
> security guard showed us to a waiting area and told us that in a few minutes,
> the place would be full of famous people.
>
> I told Dinesh how grateful I was to him for getting us here. "Yeah, yeah", he
> said, "But now, we have to ask someone where our `hero' is, in this vast
> place". Big screens were showing live telecast but it was already 9.00p.m.
> and people were quietly making their way to the waiting area – where we were
> waiting!
>
> I recognised some of the programme organisers, and I approached one of them
> and said, "Hello sir, we have come from the Netherlands and would like to see
> Mr. A R Rahman". "Hmm", he replied, "You have missed the first part of the
> programme when `A R' received the award for Best Song of the Year". "We just
> need to know where we can see him, even from a distance", I replied. The
> programme organiser told us that at that moment, `A R' and other VIPs were
> having their photographs taken but that he couldn't let us into the VIP area.
> However, he showed us the entrance where the second part of the ceremony
> would take place and said we would definitely meet `A R' if he decided to
> stay for the second session.
>
> I switched on my iPhone, keeping my eyes on the people coming out of the VIP
> lounge with only one hope in my heart…that our Guruji would come through that
> door! As I stood there, my nerves were once again at breaking point – like a
> student waiting for his exam results. It was 9.40p.m. and the second part of
> the ceremony would be starting in just another 20 minutes.
>
> After a few minutes, I saw someone in a blue coat and I called to Dinesh to
> look.
> Yeahhhhhh it was the man himself…
>
> …the golden moment in my life
> …the moment I had waited 13 years for
> …the only humble face I had wanted to see in my whole life
> …the Mozart of Asia
> …the music miracle
> …The One and Only A R Rahman
>
> Yes, he was coming to the entrance for the second part of the ceremony. He is
> just 15 metres away from us. I said to Dinesh, "Oh man, I can't believe this"
> – my whole body was shaking!
> As his eyes met ours, I greeted him in the traditional Tamil way by saying,
> "Vanakkam Sir", shaking his hand with one of my trembling ones, my other hand
> over my heart. Although overcome by my feelings at meeting my hero, I was
> strongly aware of how much I missed my sister, in India.
> When we looked at each other and I took in his humble face, I felt that I was
> on another planet or, maybe even in Heaven!
>
>
>
>
> I knew that Guruji had little time, as he had to return to the concert hall
> for the 2nd part of the show, but I asked him, "Sir, is it possible for me to
> have a photo taken with you?" Without a second thought, and in his typically
> humble way, he said, "Ya, sure".
> Although I was thinking that a photo of me with my Guru would provide enough
> pleasure for the rest of my life, I still couldn't stop thinking about my
> sister. I am the only one who knows how much she adores Guru Ji and how much
> she would have loved to be with me at that time. Still, I thought, "one day,
> she too will meet our hero."
>
> Dinesh and I posed with the great man, while our photos were taken. Photos,
> which undoubtedly, will be the most memorable in my life! Then we had to bid
> our hero "goodbye" as the ceremony organisers and security staff was waiting
> to escort him back to the concert hall for the second session.
>
> After this `golden moment' many other unexpected things happened but not as
> important as when I met our dearest Guruji.
>
> P.S.
> Dear Rahmaniacs, I know all of you dream of the day when you will meet our
> dearest Guruji.
>
> After waking up each day, I used to wonder if this would be the day that I
> would see my hero, and that thought always gave me an indescribably good
> feeling.
>
> Finally I met him!
>
> So my advice to everyone is, "Stay confident and Keep The Faith…one day, you
> will all meet him!"
>
