During the rehearsals yesterday there was this short session where Hari ji, Aslam and Dr Narayan were sitting around and Hari ji was like giving us a mini class on how to execute speed. It was enough to just hear him sing. I had grown up on a staple diet of his Ghazals.
I got to sing Kaadhal Rojave, Vaaji and Vennilave with Hari ji, Maduraikku pogadhedee with Benny and Tere Bina. There was an unplugged session with Chitra and Hari ji after which I sang a few lines of Sahana in a scale God knows where I caught from!
After the concert, Mom and I happened to get talking to Neeti and when she was saying there are thousands of people out there who are dying to be standing on the same area as Rahman sir, not to mention sing with him. Also, this was Rahman sir's first concert for 2008 and it happened in Chennai. This is also my first major concert for this year, though I did have a couple of corporate shows earlier in January.
2007 started at Bombay at the Nokia New Year's eve concert with Rahman sir, and the year was brilliant. Somehow I attach quite a lot of sentiments as long as Rahman sir's concerts are concerned. I wish I could have sung better, somehow and the depression is going to last a few months at least. These are times that I wish the earth would swallow me up or that I never existed at all. bleargh.
YMCA concert was fantastic and i was extremely lucky to get a pass. There were only 14 rows which divided me and AR Rahman...!!! I couldn't believe it at all.The performance of the artists were too good and of course the unplugged session was a surprise gift.
ReplyDeleteSadly i also forgot to bring my camera.I was about to ask your autograph when you were standing behind the stage and posing for photographs but the crew asked us to vacate :(
Any way a wonderful evening to cherish for a life time.
Still expecting you to render a classical malayalam song in near future
All the best
waiting for channels to telecast it. (curse of being a NRI)
ReplyDeleteAlways you are the best. Congrats. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteHey Chinmayi, Am sure you did very well...good luck for more concerts & more of singing!
ReplyDeleteDid everyone forget the camera? Perhaps a few borrowed pics...maybe?
ReplyDeleteHey! I was there for the AR Rehman's COncert. It was amazing..and you sand really really well..!! Untill yesterday I never knew you could sing..Thought you were just a host for shows..But you were amazing
ReplyDeleteThey did not allow anyone to take photos..we took out our camera and one guy started screaming at us..ha ha!
ReplyDeleteila: dont think it will be telecast anywhere !
ReplyDeletesaras: thanks!
chitra: thanks!
rishika: au contraire !! I am just another singer who became presenter :) the concept was that they needed a playback singer to present the talent hunt :)
rtandons: thank you very much !
titto: please have a look at my audioblog. There is one song there :)
ReplyDeletehello chinmaye..
ReplyDeletesinger megha here...
your singing was really really good, last night....
there were very many technical issues, i'm guessing... and i'm mighty sure the stage monitors sucked!
nevertheless, Rahman's magic came across beautifully to all of us... and you guys did a fantastic job! dont let tis depress you! :)
Gotcha...Fantastic piece.Wonderful lyrics.I got the video from youtube too :) :)
ReplyDeleteYou got great flexibility, rendering of malayalam was pretty good.
Waiting for more such variety albums and film songs not only in tamil but also in other languages.
A small query.
ReplyDeleteWho was the female singer who sang mayya in guru ?
Was it tanvi or ujjaini ?
She danced beautifully
titto: the girl who performed this song is neeti Mohan.. you would know her from the band AASMA.
ReplyDeleteMegha: the stage monitors were great.. there are never any issues with sound :D
I was at the concert and I thought you were particularly very good. I thought the crowd was a bit rubbish yesterday.
ReplyDeleteFew questions if you wouldn't mind answering them.
Who was the female singer of "Nee Marilyn Monroe"? I thought she was brilliant. Is she the one who sang the original song?
Why didn't you sing Mayya Mayya?
Not taking anything away from Neeti Mohan(I'm quite sure it was her.. it was her, right?) who was fabulous. She's so hot :(
Best song of the night for me was 'Azeem o Shan Shahenshah'. It was
crazy good.
Ujjaiyini. And she was the one who sang the song originally.. I didnt sing Mayya Mayya because the song has been choreographed around Neeti for several shows now. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteI was the one who posted anonymously(by mistake) last time.
when you sing, you vary your voice a lot. I've not noticed this in any other singer.
My friend who was sitting next to me went, "dude, she's singing in a different voice.".
and I'm still not over Neeti Mohan.
You looked tensed a bit but rendering was pretty good.I felt Hari didn't start out quite well but Tamizha and Venillavey were blemishless..ARR rocks..You are gifted. Keep it up..I had a wonderful evening with my wife..
ReplyDeleteI was blessed with a pass too and was truly delighted to be a part of the Rahman experience!!
ReplyDeleteYour singing completely bowled me over yesterday. Especially,your rendition of Maduraikku pogadhadee and the opening of Kadhal Rojave. You have great versatility in your voice and that showed in all the songs that you sung yday. Count me in amongst your long list of fans! With due apologies for shamelessly accepting the same after a long long time :)
Thanks
ReplyDeleteCongrats chinmayi!
ReplyDeleteAruthi.
chinmayi ,
ReplyDeleteCongrats fr being a part of Rahmans show!!! I missed the show.Anyways one day in my life time,i ll surely watch ARR live in concert n fulfill my dreams!!!waiting fr that day....i am a gr8 fan of ARRahman ji n hariharan ji!!!Hope u sing a song with hariharan ji in near future!!!Please tell me which song u like the most in rahman jis(both hindi n tamil) composition and hariharan ji(both hindi n tamil)voice..
Always an ARR fan,
Bharath
thanks everyone :D
ReplyDeleteHi Chinmayi, you had mentioned that this was A.R.Rahman's first concert for 2008. Are there more concerts in the pipeline?
ReplyDeletewhy do folks india refer to colleague's/bosses/Legends with a 'Sir' or a 'Ji' or a 'Anna' appended to the name .
ReplyDeletewe all know that these people are Legends - then why the appended name. well i dont see it happen in the west - so just thouught it was funny.
Weekend Warrior: No idea boss. If I know I ll post it here :)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: Weird that you find it funny.. In case you don't know its considered as a mark of respect. The culture in the west is different from ours.. Rahman ji is like my Guru. Unlike a lot of people, our culture has tameez. Do you know what that is??
Chinmayi, check out galatta.com, good review about concert.
ReplyDeleteyou carry respect in your mind and heart - i don't see that becoming less or more with appended names.
ReplyDeleteIts a sense of confidence to adderss your boss / guru with his respectful name. Like calling my people i look upto as John Sir is probably not as appropriate as John....doesn't mean I respect him less ...just means that you can be great, but we could be normal people to each other...
but well well...its whatever one chooses too...
I apologize if my comment offended you in any way - its just an observation I made on many blogs and I happen to stumble on your blog as well.... but I guess everyone has a different perspective on how they look at things....
ReplyDeleteanonymous: Not a problem, as long as you understand everyone has their own perspective and habits that they cherish, we are good to go :) As I said, its in my culture to not call someone I respect, and someone I hold in the position of a Guru by name. There is a practise with classical musicians, that if you take your Guru's name even to mention it to someone, as in who you are learning from, you touch your ear, symbolic of asking forgiveness for saying his/her name. This is the tradition I have imbibed in me, and I will pass it on to the next generation as well.
ReplyDeletesathish: It happens on its own.. not that I try to do it.. as long as its good, I ll live!
ReplyDeleteboredtechie: thanks
ramya: thanks, I am truly glad :)
bharath: there are too many, cant choose one!
Thanks Chinmayi for the response. Eagerly waiting for a live concert in the US. This is an account of the fabulous experience in Oakland/SFO last year. Just wanted to share the magical experience.
ReplyDeletehttp://urbancell.blogspot.com/search/label/A.R.Rahman
Chinmayi,
ReplyDeleteLucky girl..
Hope they telecast in SUN /VIJAY.
I have seen u in the similar dress - sleeveless tops,long skirts and a dupata - here pink and in jilunu oru sandippu STAR VIJAY - black colour....Do u like this dress code?.Suits u well...
Hi Chinmayee..
ReplyDeletePity that I couldnt make it to the Chennai concert.. but the last one was at Toronto and was very memorable... hope I catch you on stage sometime.. kudos !
THE A.R.REHAMAN LIVE LIFE CONCERT - CHENNAI 2008
ReplyDeleteHAI U ALL CAN SEE THE PROGRAMME HERE
http://www.videofundas.com/view/525/ar-rahman-s-first-live-concert-in-2008-chennai/
thats wonderfull concert.. unfortunately i couldn't able to make it there..ur song selection was too good chinmaye..tere bina shud hav rocked along with AR bhai..do u hav any idea in which channel its telecasting..will make my presence in the next concert..
ReplyDeleteIts not telecasted in TV. U can watch it in the below link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.videofundas.com/view/525/ar-rahman-s-first-live-concert-in-2008-chennai/
hey chinmaye
ReplyDeletebig fan of yours
congrats on the arr concert
hope u work on more films of his!!:)
Hey Chinni.... We missed you so badly in the sharjah show which rocked yester night. this is the 2nd show im witnessing after the 2003 show in chennai CPT grnds. I think Only ARR & Sachin are the only legends who compete each other to be most humble & down to earth. Truly my role models. I had goose-bumps when ARR apperared in stage yester night. i flew frm Muscat only for this. Standing & waiting in queues for 3 hours & all the frustration jus disapperared when we heard his voice... truly heavenly...Biju
ReplyDeleteHey chinnamaye,
ReplyDeleteYou perfomed great at that concert.I was very curious to know about the dance group that perfomed that day.Do you know the name of it.That was a great performance right????
Hi chinmayi can you tell me the Hindi songs rahman sir sang in this concert. I am a great fan of yours. Sara Sara song is my favourite
ReplyDelete