I❤️ARR

I just want to say Thank you to ARR Sir. I really don’t know what I would do without his music. This has changed my life forever.

Chander

2020 has been an interesting year for the whole world. The year has definitely taught every individual something. The year could have have definitely changed lives and unfortunately, there are many (1000s) who would have lost their lives due to the pandemic.

It hasn’t been an easy year for sure. And just like anyone else. It has had an impact on mine too.

2020 brings back a number of memories & reflections. I had flown down to Trichy all the way from Australia for my idol (A.R.Rahman) Sir’s concert in the month of Feb. The concert as usual was just spectacular. And I had the most amazing time of spending time with the band and also great conversations with my idol. It just felt like I was flying in heaven.

I returned back to Australia with the hope that there will be another concert which will give me another opportunity to travel (I was planning to go for the US concert).

Things started to change from late February. We started to hear about the pandemic spreading in other countries. Around the 1st week of March WHO declared that the pandemic. I started to see vacant streets here in Melbourne which is something that I hadn’t seen (ever) before.

Things started to get gloomy. Things started to change in most organizations (businesses) – restructures, job cuts, pay cuts, employees getting stood down.

Almost everyone started to experience anxiety. I am usually a very optimistic person. I always look for the positives. I also became a victim of getting anxious about things (about various things) and interestingly I was getting anxious about things that were never going to happen either. This could also probably because of all the negativity that was (still is) flying around in the social media and various other forms. I really had to find ways to put an end to it.

I have always believed that music does magic. And more specifically my idol (ARR) Sir’s music. It does something to me (all the time). It takes me to a world that makes me forget about everything else.

I remember around the 3rd week of March (last year) is when 99 songs (ARR Sir’s) album released. This was a blessing in disguise. This album had 14 songs. Each track was loaded with magic. I remember the very first track in the album itself was in an infinite loop for about 2 weeks and then I moved on to the second. (On the whole it took me 8 weeks until I got to the 14th track – nopes not kidding. This is me when my idol’s music releases). This album in particular helped me heal. I was really struggling with everything that was going around me. Work was getting extremely stressful (I work in IT) and due to the pandemic every organization was forced to Digital transformation whether they liked it or not. I work in the Microsoft 365 space. The sudden influx of projects kept me on my toes and I felt I was losing myself.

The sense of anxiety (for no reason) was still bothering me. Although, I used to feel better when I would play music and it would come back again when the music does down. So I decided to play 99 songs 24/7. I still remember playing music at a very low volume even when I was in meetings.

99 songs has helped me so much in the process of getting through the whole of last year. I have grown with it. It has been my go to magic tool.

The whole album has been sculpted so well by Sir and his Team. Years of hard work has gone into. Pick any song for that matter, it’s pure magic.

Last week the Tamil and the Telugu versions of the album released. Once again, each of the tracks have been re-sculpted. You have to listen to the new layers and the new flavors given to the tracks. The lyrics have been thought through so carefully and magic has been just poured over each of the tracks.

Dear ARR Sir please take a virtual bow. You have given me something that helps me smile each day since last year. It has been helping me through the challenges that the life has been throwing at me.

99 songs is a timeless classic. This will be taught in music schools around the world in the future. I can already see it happening.

99 songs will be soon releasing on the big screens. I just cannot wait for the people to witness it. I know I will be watching it along with many of my friends on the first day.

I hope this blogpost helps people tap into the magic ammunition that you may not be aware of. The ammunition I am referring to here is 99 songs. This is the ONLY thing you need right now.

I have linked to the albums below and also the trailer. Let the magic overtake you 🙂

Stay hungry, stay foolish

Namaste

Chander