Spirituality speaks

A R Rahman after interaction
with media in Nagpur 

Enter A R Rahman. And enter tranquillity. A small man surrounded by tall and strong security guards, he walks to the dais with a contented smile. As Lalit Khobragade makes the introductory speech, Rahman goes through the information leaflet in which it is mentioned that on May 15, Nagpur, the centre of India, will witness Rahman’s first ever live concert in India, after winning the most prestigious Oscars and Grammys.
“In the last two years, I visited as many as 24 nations and coming back home is a great feeling. Great energy, enthusiasm I can feel here. This is something I was missing all this time.”

He weaves small sentences with simple words, and fills the pauses with his signature smile. For most of the questions, he has quick one word answers. For instance, when somebody asks, “After two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and four National Film Awards, what is next? ,” Rahman quips, “Nagpur!”.

Such quick and interesting answers by the maestro, popularly known as ‘Rahmaniyat’ these days, make the press conference more lively. This is the same attitude which made this man reassert the trademark ‘Mere paas maa Hai’ A dialogue from Deewar while receiving the Oscar, and this is the same coolness with which he moved ahead of the ‘Oscar impact’ so early and started composing  yet another record. “Many ambitious Hollywood projects are in hand with a number of Bollywood flicks, too. After the grand Enthiran, I am working for some Tamil and Malyalam movies,” says the composer for whose music, language has never been a barrier. It is because Rahman considers music as a universal phenomenon. For him, it is beyond the language, religion and nation. Just like God!

“Music and spirituality are not different things. Every music, on its highest note, becomes spiritual and every spirituality, at its zenith, turns musical,” Rahman, one of the greatest exponents of Sufiana singing style, speaks out the philosophy in the simplest words. This simplicity makes him great.
When someone asks him about his dream, he quickly says, “I work all through the night, so no time for dreams.” Ask him about increasing number and decreasing quality of reality shows, and he says, “I would prefer to see singers performing happily on television, instead of watching news of war and calamities.” And ask him why he is not joining any reality show as mentor or judge, pat comes the reply, “Because I have lots of work to do!” Each answer gives a glimpse of the reclusive ‘Rahman wit.’

(All Photographs by Anil Futane)

Soft spoken and short in words, Rahman  turns expressive when he speaks about music and faith. A philanthropist, he owns a Foundation which runs a music school where more than 200 students are getting an experience of the world of music with experts. “Out of these, many are from slums and some from poor families. They are getting free education,” he mentions proudly. “Our family believes that music is not just for earning money, but it is a spiritual cause. Teaching it to youngsters is the best way to say thanks to the Almighty who selected us for this holy work,” says Rahman who is happy to perform in Nagpur for the special cause of Bodhi Foundation’s women empowerment project.

“All I know about Nagpur is that this city is just a flight away from Mumbai,” he laughs, a rare spontaneous gesture from the maestro. “Recently, my mother had asked me to take her to Nagpur to visit Tajbagh. I promised her that we will visit this place after my world tour. And fortunately, as soon as my world tour completed, the first ever concert call I received was from Nagpur. This was like Baba Taj is calling,” says Rahman, who directly went to Tajbagh from the City Airport to seek blessings.“We are preparing hard for this concert, as this is going to be the beginning of our ‘back  to home’ series. We are working on several new concepts, and also thinking to include some local talent in the concert,”

Rahman leaves with a positive note for the city's singers.

Cutting of the same news published in The Hitavada on April 29, 2011

Revolution and retirement

Veterans of Nagpur city’s amateur theatre movement, who have dedicated a lifetime on stage take a stroll down memory lane and share a few pearls from their cherished treasure of experiences with me as part of The Hitavada's special series...




Mr Ganesh Naidu (Photo by Tushar Naidu)



Credited for introducing many novel concepts in theatre set arrangement and bringing studied excellence in light effects, Ganesh Naidu, in his late seventies now, is happy to be away from work as according to him, the artistic soul is being dominated by a fake show of colours and hypocrisy on contemporary stage.

‘Charandas Chor’, the iconic play of theatre great Habib Tanveer, was being staged at Dhanwate Rang Mandir. The man handling set arrangement and light effects for Nagpur’s show had a query for Habib Tanveer. “The protagonist loses his arm at the end of the first act. He is shown without an arm throughout the second act. But, he is wearing the same overcoat in both acts. When the entire arm has been separated from the body, how can the coat remain intact?” This came as a surprise for the theatre guru, who already had staged hundreds of shows all over the world. “He kept wondering how nobody noticed such a huge goof-up over the years. Finally, the appropriate change was introduced in the very next show,” recalls Ganesh Naidu, the man behind this change.

Introducing change is a habit for this man who worked behind the stage (as set designer) and before it (as light man) since the last five decades. Naidu believes set arrangement and light effects work as respiration for
theatre. “Breathing is a silent act but important for life. Similarly, stage and light effects are ignored; however,
their significance is no less than direction and acting.” This is why Naidu, who has equal interest and excellence in acting, direction and writing, chose to become a set designer and light man.

His formal education in painting under the legendary Bapurao Athawale (founder of Nagpur School of Arts), proved an asset. “Purushottam Darvekar -- the man behind Nagpur’s theatrical scene was a neighbour which made entry in the field quite easy. Once he asked me whether I could paint the background drape for one of his plays. I said yes, spontaneously, and my journey began,” remembers Naidu.

Since then, he introduced new stage set-up techniques, and soothing but efficient light effects matching the
mood of the play. He won hundreds of awards during his era. Being a studious personality, he worked hard searching for information about the field. “I was working for ‘The Hitavada’ in those days. Here I got to read many international journals about theatre,” says Naidu, who wrote beautiful letters to publishers worldwide seeking information about the field. Even today, many people know him for his excellent handwriting and letters written in flawless classic English. “Theatre activists from all over the world replied positively to my call,” he says proudly. He also called in documentaries from Europe and held screenings here in 1962, which was made possible due to his constant contact with artists through letters.

Naidu spent days and weeks finalising the stage set up and light effects, sitting in a vacant Dhanwate Rang Mandir for hours together. “After many such weird sessions in the dark, I used to finalise the design. Then, I used to prepare a miniature model. This practice is completely out of fashion these days,” he laments.


Remarkably, the models he prepared were used as guiding material at the National Theatre Workshops, where he was a special invited faculty. Naidu was the first one to use thermocol for decoration in Nagpur. He was a favourite with Jagjit Singh, Anup Jalota, and many others as his concept-based stage decoration enhanced the beauty of their performances.

Ruling over theatre for an era, Naidu has now declared his retirement. “I have no regrets. But, I would still say, youngsters should study, involve and then work so that the tag of mediocrity can be removed,” - his Guru Mantra.

The cutting of the same article published in The Hitavada.