No speech is ever considered, but only the speaker. It is so much easier to pass a judgment on a man than on an idea. Though how one passes judgment on a man without considering the content of his brain is more than what I can ever understand.

The shortest distance between two individual points, is not a straight line, but a Mediator. Yes. A Mediator. Inept and Tripe as it may sound, but such is the sad and current state of an individual’s creative and intellectual capacity, that the necessity and opinion of a Mediator becomes more paramount than faith in oneself.

Everything around me is evaporating. My whole life, my memories, my imagination and its contents, my personality - it’s all evaporating. I continuously feel that I was someone else, that I felt something else, that I thought something else. What I’m attending here is a show with another set. And the show I’m attending is myself.

The Mozart of Madras

Rahman.

It ends there at that. Do I need to say anything more?
Yes I do.

A.R.Rahman

Allah Rakha Rahman, born Dilip Kumar, a convert, a struggling music director's son, is who stands before you in a piano-finish platform in MTV Unplugged, commanding over a fleet of musicians with strange faces and stranger instruments.

I personally do not encourage flattery, but this man deserves a salute! from every Indian.
Sheer talent, Pure hardwork, Extreme diligence. Stands before you, a short, dark and a forever-clean-shaven man, with brush-like eyebrows, a preposterous pout and with a supreme reign over the Indian music industry. One of the most globally respected artists. And why not? He is a man who is in love with his work. He knows and speaks nothing else but Music. With a slightly husky robotic voice, he sings as though he yearns for something, as if he is in search of something and he is trying to find it out exercising his vocal chords. 

It all started with Ad Jingles. He slowly took over and got recognition. He stepped his yeti foot on bollywood with Roja, a classic. Then followed Bombay, then Dil Se, and then only success after success.

Rahman knows how to use his artists. It was a breather listening Lata singing to his tunes in "Khamoshiyan Gungunaane Lagi" after her previous associations with Lakshmikants, Pyarelals and Burmans of this world. Asha Bhosle claims that he is her favorite music director. Quite obvious and evident in the way she enjoys his direction. Remember "Tanha Tanha" which left a cool breeze on your face and in your ears, every time you heard it? Hariharan who transitioned to sufi music over the years longs so much to work with Rahman, His "Tu hi re" touches your romantic nerve so easily and effortlessly. Shankar Mahadevan won a national award singing his tamil score "Enna Seiyya Pogirai".

Kollywood (TamilNadu Film Industry) movie directors like Shankar & Mani Ratnam never make a movie without pulling Rahman in. They afford to reschedule their dates according to Rahman's availability. That's how bad he's needed. He partnered the famous drummer Siva Mani, who was his childhood friend, He encouraged Rappers like Blazee in Tamil music. Yes, Tamil Music Industry!! The Ilayaraja epoch never imagined music with rap and hip hop genres. A.R.R. never winces to use new talents, he finds them, he nails them, and he extracts the very best out of them, and they are only thankful to him in the end. Every artist has enjoyed his/her works with Rahman SIR. He generates respect when he makes way for new talent. Shankar Ehsaan Loy (The second best music directors in India, according to me) scored a song "Aaj Ki Raat" for the movie DON. Rahman, in full modesty, used their song in Slumdog Millionaire. There was no ego quotient. Only admiration for fellow artists. Tells us a lot about his character.

Have you heard his Qawwalis/Sufis styles? No? You should.
Piya Haji Ali (Fiza)
Noor Ul Allah (Meenaxi)
Khwaja Mere Khwaja (Jodha Akbar)
Arziyaan (Delhi 6)
Kun Faya Kun (Rockstar)
To name a few...

The best part about Rahman is his adaptability. From highly carnatic "Kannodu Kaanbadhellam" (Jeans) to sweet jazz "Tu Bole" (JTYJN) to hardcore punjabi "Nachle" (Lakeer) & "Rang de Basanti" (RDB) to hindustani "Bhor" (Delhi 6); The way he swings over is just mind blowing. Mind blasting, I'd rather. How can a mortal do it? How can someone achieve so much conviction to his work? If it is "work" in the first place.
Ever watched him performing? He just caresses his music away. He loves it, every bit of it. He was made for it. And he is justifying his life through his pure, enchanting, lasting music.

Grammy award is too less for him. Rewarding him in any form is in itself would be injustice to him. Such doyens should never be scaled, gauged or judged. 
I think it is only fair to just let him be.

I am a Rahmaniac, Are you too?

Creativity

That's the word.."Creativity"
It's astonishingly been on everyone's mouth lately (and in everyone's mind too). Not that it was never there, but there has been a sudden surge.

Everyone wants to be creative. They say they want to brandish a brush and attack the canvas, they say they want to learn to develop a perspective and capture moods and moments on print, they say they want to strum away strings to eternal bliss..

This is the general and popular usage of the term. The horizon they understand for the word creativity, is seemingly quite limited. Is the word so obvious and does it end with a countable set of activities? And the fun part is the way people brand themselves creative. They reproduce famous paintings, they play acclaimed tunes, they take photographs of photographs, and they call each-other creative, and they manage to get a good audience too. They copy. How can people be creative when they don't create but copy? 
"Good artists copy, Great artists steal"
They must have taken the idiom pretty seriously, and are probably learning the transition from good to great.

Art, music and photography are just a form of expression, of emotions. Centuries back, when mere words could not suffice to deliver the message to the intended, emotions took various forms. It was vented out and unleashed through music and dance forms. Each time, there was a meaning to the act. Every time, there was a creation, either to be seen, or to be heard, and to be visualized, understood, and to be marveled at.

It does not end there. There are many and more forms of creativity. The very world in which we live, was Created. They say "God created the world". I wouldn't know. But the word to be stressed and noted here is "Created". He sure must be quite an interesting fellow, to have come up with a thing like that. Lord Shiva's Damaru "created" sound, music in another sense. He is also called "Nataraja" the god of dance. His "Tandava" is quite famous. All, original. All, created.

Now to cater to atheists' and agnostics' doubts and speculations, Monalisa & The Last Supper by Da Vinci, Fur Elise & Requiem by Beethoven and Mozart respectively, Bedroom In Arles & The Yellow House by Vincent Van Gogh, all were creations in various original forms. We hear and see "inspirations" & "reproductions" of these masterpieces very often in our current life. Hah! Who has the time to create? We only have time to rip 'em off and call ourselves creative.

But i still feel it is not justified to limit the word to just these stunts. Creativity, according to me has got a great deal of psychological thingie too. Anyone can be creative, all he needs to do is create something, anything, passionately. The Idea has to come from within. It may be driven by inspiration, motivation, wonderment, admiration, confusion, or any other emotional imbalance. When emotions touch absolute saturation or drop down, it comes out, in one way or another. It is only then, that something beautiful is created.

Every creation is dear to the creator. He cannot dislike it, until it goes awfully wrong. He is passionate about it, right from the moment when the idea takes birth in his mind, to all the way till it takes a shape and form. Then he only marvels at his own effort. That, is creativity.