Open Apology Letter from a music lover to A. R. Rahman Sir on London Thumakda Crowd Disrespecting Him

By Bal Krishn Birla | July 14, 2017

Dear Rahman Sir,

First of all #SorryRahman.

 

It was some crowd certainly not music lovers who walked out of your concert in London. Yes. You are right. I won’t call them a music lover of any size and shape. That was a crowd. I am sure you will understand that true music lovers never do that and forgive them. Your talent is much beyond such narrow boundaries.

 

My love affair with your music is a very old one. Almost 25 years now. Unlike most of the North Indians it did not start with Hindi songs but Tamil songs. I had a Sri Lankan friend during my college days and he used to have Tamil cassetes like Roza. Out of all the songs heard in those days, these two stand out.

This one just conveys the pathos of a lover even though I did not understand a single word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urr36-p9e5s

 

And this one is just an awesome Rap number, exactly opposite of the one above but creates an amazing feeling. And just listen to the interludes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmQAekjhv4c

 

I was living in Ottowa in 1997 and my room mates were all Tamilians and whenever we drove out Tamil songs was the default choice on car stereo. Thankfully that exposed me to some more amazing music by you.

 

This one is on top of my list. An amazing melody from Iruvar. What an amazing cocktail of sounds. It remains an all time favorite and very tough to forget it.

 

And then what can I say about this song. Unforgettable by you Sir.

 

And this is one of the most sensuous song ever made. Amazing beats and feel.

 

And then came Bombay which was made in multiple languages but I always loved the Tamil version more. Listen to this and you will realize what Lost in Translation actually means.

 

I think I can go on and on but I think the real point I wanted to convey to you Rahman Sir is that you are beyond languages for us. I know it is cliche to say but your music is beyond languages. We all love you and hope you will forgive the London Thumakda crowd.

 

And I am also making a request to all my North Indian music lover friends. Please post a non-Hindi song of Rehman Sir with #SorryRahman tag. Let us unite in our love for him and his music.

 

Birla

Music Lover, nothing more, nothing less