http://www.glamsham.com/movies/features/10/feb/02-why-is-rahmans-grammy-win-special-021008.asp
Why is Rahman's Grammy win Special?
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February 2, 2010 3:40:00 PM IST
Enkayaar, Bollywood Trade News Network
A.R.RAHMAN A
R Rahman is the fourth Indian, who has won the Grammy awards, his
predecessor being Pandit Ravi Shankar (twice), Ustad Zaakir Hussain
Rakha, Pandit and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt But Rahman's feat is indeed
different from his predecessors as it is for the first time that film
given in music by an Indian music director has been considered worthy
enough to be awarded Grammy.
Grammy awards, as a matter of
convention are given for individual excellence in music and it has
happened after a long time that music given for a film has won the
award at Grammy, as it has happened with SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Last time
a film had swapped the Grammy awards was with THE SOUND OF MUSIC. For
this sheer fact the award won by Rahman needs to be savored,
highlighted and is a matter for which every Indian or for that matter
everybody who is associated with Indian film music should feel proud
about.
It is acknowledgement about the outreach of Indian
music and signals its arrival on international platform in a big way.
Before advent of Rahman on the international platform through his
unique style of music, where mukhda, antara do not find any distinct
but all of them merge into each other, the kind of Indian music making
waves at the international levels and coming into contention was that
characterized by emphasis on Indian sounds. The emphasis on Indian
sounds was to maintain the distinctness of the nodes, but Rahman made
the concept stand on its own head as he relied on the western
instruments, fusing them with the Indian sounds to create his own
unique sound, which has literally mesmerized the world of music
aficionados.
Rahman has taken the Indian music to a new
platform and it is for the others to follow upon it. One distinct
feature of Indian music that provides it the edge as compared to the
western music is the difference in the number of nodes. While the
western music comprises 5 nodes, 2 nodes characterize Indian music. The
additional 2 nodes provide the opportunity to the Indian music creators
to strive for additional sounds. Rahman has indeed shown that he is the
wizard as far as production of different kinds of sounds in the
composition of music is concerned, and it is this experimentation with
the sound which has emerged as his hallmark and helped him stamp his
authority at the Grammy awards as well.
To borrow the title
from Rashmi Bansal's book, STAY YOUNG STAY FOOLISH, Rahman's music
spreads the spirit of youth among all the music fans and also provides
them an opportunity to continue to flirt with being foolish so that the
new scales of performances can be aspired for.
