I❤️ARR

Oakland

A-R-R, A-R-R!, the Oakland Arena roared

Shrinidhi

“A-R-R, A-R-R!”, the Oakland Arena roared when the maestro stepped into the spotlight, being his absolute humble self. He gives a coy smile, the lights go out, and with a flash he becomes this beast of a performer and he alongside AR Ameen, Jonita, Rakshita and Haricharan set the stage ablaze- Jai Ho!

This fire remained untamed as Jonita and ARR got the crowd to go wild to Muqabla. I’m no Prabhu Deva, but they turned even people with two left feet like me, dancing and grooving! This segued to upbeat numbers from Yuva- Hriday and Rakshita’s Baadal, conjured up a storm amidst the Californian summer. The storm mellowed down to a poetic Sandalwood breeze, with Haricharan singing Yenna Solla Pogirai/ Yemi Cheyamanduve.

It’s no cakewalk for a creator to cater to Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z alike- but ARR does it

It’s no cakewalk for a creator to cater to Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z alike- but ARR does it with such ease that it leaves us enchanted at his wizardry. Param Sundari is one such exemplary piece of art. The empowering-groovy-number had us waving our hands and dancing, in hopes we look like Rakshita and Jonita being absolute divas on stage.

And suddenly I hear ARR’s voice from the radio- Maahi Ve.. e e e e ay ay yo

This next one made me travel back to a time when I was going to give my English board exams in my car, playing FM radio. There was a point when I completely blanked out as if someone took away access to all the words I’d learned to speak, and there I was, in tears, panicking how I’m going to face my exam. And suddenly I hear ARR’s voice from the radio- Maahi Ve.. e e e e ay ay yo. I’d easily say that’s the second time I learned how to speak, singing along to Mahi ve with him. I can probably write a separate blog to express how blessed I was to hear my savior in flesh and blood, singing the song I now call therapy. I’ll just say, emotions took over me, and I thank the emotion gods for signaling me to take a handkerchief to the concert.

The Indian Classical Music geek in me, has a favorite pastime- guessing which Ragams ARR has used in his songs, and reading about the Ragams and analyzing why he chose to compose that way- and never did I dream I’ll get to see the legend himself take the baton, and challenge and educate me and thousands of others like me, live, and add a major section in the concert dedicated to this! Yaman, Bhatiyar, Charukesi, Bihag, Chalanattai, Shuddh Sarang, Dharmavati, Purya Dhanashree, and my absolute favorite, Bhimpalasi, were the ragas they performed, but I wish this list were never ending!

After the “Aag in Tann and Mann”(re: radha Kaise Na Jale in Bhimpalasi), ARR quietly started to fiddle with the keyboard. I recognized Jog Raga, and couldn’t contain my excitement. The amping bass also amped the arena, because now everyone knew the “Meethi Si Mushkil” that was to come. Words can’t describe the impact that this performance had, (or rather, still has). Listening to the stadium sing Dil Se only left me with “Santhosha Kanneer” (aka more work for my handkerchief).

Starting with Ameen’s flawless Mustafa Mustafa

Starting with Ameen’s flawless Mustafa Mustafa, it was yet again a bittersweet nostalgia trip. While on one hand I was busy dancing and jumping and singing along to superhits like Humma Humma, Chhaiyya Chhaiyya, and Take it easy Urvashi, on the other, what truly hit me, was that I now had to brace myself to face the end of this rollercoaster of an evening. Miles away from motherland, Vande Mataram took us back to the goodbyes we bid to our homes. It was evident in the fervor with which every single person in the stadium sang the song. It is yet again difficult to express what the emotions felt like. Maybe like letting go of our parent’s hands before leaving for school? Or that one last hug we gave our loved ones before boarding our flights to this land so far away?  And there I was, smiling, with tears brimming in my eyes, taking it all in to cherish in my memories forever. And like this, we bid adieu for now, and I get back on the road, blasting Maahi Ve on speakers, knowing he’ll always be there for me, and for you, and for all of us- in radios, and phones (well, until the next concert), but more importantly, our hearts- forever!

“Bagunnaaraa Oakland!” posted the maestro on Instagram. Heart thumping immediately

Sanjeev

“Bagunnaaraa Oakland!” posted the maestro on Instagram. Heart thumping immediately, I checked my tickets a few times and there was no information of the arrival time or other instructions anywhere! I had also upgraded to the VIP experience just to get a glimpse of my idol and all it said was the concert begins at 8PM.. 8PM?! Come on, as a performing musician myself, I know sound check happens at least 4-6 hours before the concert! So I moved every commitment out to another day, packed my bags with water and nutri bars and left for the venue at 2PM.. I am the first person to arrive at the venue from the audience! A proud moment for me to tell the world that I am Bay Area’s biggest ARR fan 😉

Once in the venue, my security QR code couldn’t get scanned because the gates open only at 6PM and I was way ahead of time

Once in the venue, my security QR code couldn’t get scanned because the gates open only at 6PM and I was way ahead of time! But somehow I used to my convincing skills for the security to let me in and I think my Indian look helped somewhere 😀 Desperately trying to get inside the venue after roaming around in the sun for a good 2 hours, a security finally came and said that I can stand in the line for the VIP entrance.. The proud feeling of being first in line to enter the VIP stand for an AR Rahman concert – indescribable!

Fast forward to 6PM, one of the organizers came out and said “No photos or videos of the soundcheck.

Fast forward to 6PM, one of the organizers came out and said “No photos or videos of the soundcheck. If you remove your phone, AR will stop singing”. Boom! I was disappointed but who cares, my eyes can still capture sir if not for my phone. After all, you don’t get to use your phone in Tirupathi while having God’s darshan right! 😉

Entering the sound check.. I saw a man in a blue shirt with his head bent down working on some chords on his keys.. Is that him?? Yes! Then I saw Ranjit Barot, Haricharan, Rakshita, Nakul, Nilanjana, Ashwin, Hriday and Ameen.. It was happening. I was indeed in the sound check with ARR sir and the band!! He played some notes to Nilanjana and was trying to fix some stuff on ‘Mangta Hai kya’ .. and then he took the mic and started singing the swaras! I was super thrilled to see all this coming together live! I know the intensity with which we need to check the song mixes.. We musicians get restless during sound checks and yet sir looked at the few of us and waved his hand.. Unable to control myself I went “love you sirrr!!” 🙂 He then left after 2 songs and the band continued to check for another 45 minutes.. So we pretty much heard half the concert there 😉 and we get to hear the same pieces twice, bingo!

8:30PM .. the man enters with a bang! 14,000 people go berserk! I am constantly telling my wife ‘do you know anybody else who can pull in such crowds?’ 🙂

8:30PM .. the man enters with a bang! 14,000 people go berserk! I am constantly telling my wife ‘do you know anybody else who can pull in such crowds?’ 🙂
Every song, every moment was a nostalgic drive. And for someone like me who was born in July 1992, this moment was literally a run through of my entire life, musically! His music is the definition of my life! What a birthday gift I gave myself!! 😀

The best part personally for me was the raaga section. Having been a crazy fan of ARR’s classical based songs, it was euphoric all the way. As a special mention, reethigowla has been my favorite raaga since forever! To have ARR sir sing the aarohaNam-avarohaNam was nothing short of magic! Deep respect for having introduced such a wide range of audience to our classical raagas. From Yaman(Kayani) to ChalaNattai to ReethiGowla to ShuddhSarang to Behag to PuriyaDhanashree to Bhimplasi (Abheri) , it was just magic!

Finally, Vande Mataram.. Listening to it on the other side of the globe far away from the motherland.. No words! 14,000 people stood up in respect for the man, the mother and the motherland! Goosebumps!