What to write about someone about whom everything has already been written? What to explore again about a person whose career has been discussed, taking into account every minuscule detail? What to do when every one of the obscure realities about him have become common sense? What else could you at any point say regarding AR Rahman, what hasn’t previously been said? Turns out there’s a lot. The taciturn, era-defining musician has been quietly giving back to society, and on his 56th birthday, we revealed some new dimensions in a conversation with Vishal Chandrashekhar, composer of brilliant albums like Sita Ramam and Jil Jung Jak, who is also a student of the AR Rahman’s KM Conservatory of Music.
Vishal Chandrashekhar was part of the conservatory’s pilot group, founded in 2008. Even before becoming a student of AR Rahman, Vishal had been composing songs, but joined the year-long course to broaden his understanding of music. “AR Rahman was my director. He gave an extraordinary climate and staff for us to thrive… regarding music hypothesis what not. KM is a sort of spot where you track down understudies with differing levels of qualities. Although he had been composing music, my period as a student there helped me to become more refined.”
One of the features of his life is the point at which he introduced his examination paper to Rahman, says Vishal. “This was after I graduated from KM. As I was working on my research paper, I realized how brilliantly Rahman had structured the course because it was useful to me for what he was doing. So when I emailed him explaining what he had done at 11:50 p.m. m., he responded by saying “okay” at 11:55 p.m. m…. in five minutes. More than anything, his gesture stood out because all this is his way of giving back to society ”. Vishal cherishes that answer fondly even now.
When asked to explain how the conservatory is AR Rahman’s way of “giving back to society,” Vishal Chandrashekhar says, “Look, it’s something that no one can imagine doing.” For example, I am recording with many violinists. And every one of them are north of 45 years of age. As musicians we have realized that the new generation of string players is slowly fading away. What he is doing with KM is bringing in a lot of underprivileged students with a good musical sense and teaching them for free. Not many people know. I know because I was there.”
Written by Kirubhakar Purushothaman
Chennai | Jan 6, 2023 08:02 IST
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Happy birthday AR RahmanAR Rahman turns 56.(Photo: AR Rahman/Instagram)
What to write about someone about whom everything has already been written? What to explore again about a person whose career has been discussed, taking into account every minuscule detail? What to do when all the unknown facts about him have become common knowledge? What else can you say about AR Rahman, what hasn’t already been said? Turns out there’s a lot. The taciturn, era-defining musician has been quietly giving back to society, and on his 56th birthday, we revealed some new dimensions in a conversation with Vishal Chandrashekhar, composer of brilliant albums like Sita Ramam and Jil Jung Jak, who is also a student of the AR Rahman’s KM Conservatory of Music.
Composer Vishal Chandrashekar Instagram Image Composer Vishal Chandrashekar.
Vishal Chandrashekhar was part of the conservatory’s pilot group, founded in 2008. Even before becoming a student of AR Rahman, Vishal had been composing songs, but joined the year-long course to broaden his understanding of music. “AR Rahman was my director. He provided a great environment and faculty for us to flourish…in terms of music theory and all that. KM is a kind of place where you find students with varying degrees of strengths. Although he had been composing music, my period as a student there helped me to become more refined.”
One of the highlights of his life is when he presented his research paper to Rahman, says Vishal. “This was after I graduated from KM. As I was working on my research paper, I realized how brilliantly Rahman had structured the course because it was useful to me for what he was doing. So when I emailed him explaining what he had done at 11:50 p.m. m., he responded by saying “okay” at 11:55 p.m. m…. in five minutes. More than anything, his gesture stood out because all this is his way of giving back to society ”. Vishal cherishes that answer fondly even now.
When asked to explain how the conservatory is AR Rahman’s way of “giving back to society,” Vishal Chandrashekhar says, “Look, it’s something that no one can imagine doing.” For example, I am recording with many violinists. And all of them are over 45 years old. As musicians we have realized that the new generation of string players is slowly fading away. What he is doing with KM is bringing in a lot of underprivileged students with a good musical sense and teaching them for free. Not many people know. I know because I was there.”
Also, he adds: “We won’t feel the effect of this at this point. But in the future let’s say after ten years… we’ll find out. He is creating an orchestra that can fight internationally like any Macedonian or Budapest orchestra. I had the experience of shooting in Budapest and Chennai for Sita Ramam. There is a big difference in the understanding of music between us and them. Rahman is bridging that gap by creating new talent that is well suited to not only Indian music but Western music as well. He’s already created a lot of opportunities for musicians here, and after a decade, you get to see a lot more of what he’s been doing all these years.”
As he says goodbye, Vishal says, “We say that Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman are like a vast sea, but after my research work and work experience, they are like the ocean. There is much more to his music than we know.”