“Paatukku naan paadupatten andha paatukkal palavidhamdhaan…”
AR Rahman is coming to scenic NJ this Friday. We’ve had tickets to his concert for months. When I first shared this exciting news in my cousins’ WhatsApp group, my cousin B from Florida responded with a picture of her cuddling ARR. Well. Not exactly cuddling and my BIL was right there with her, let the record show, but you get the picture. Apparently, B knew some folks who were volunteering at the ARR event in Florida. Kind-hearted girl that she is, B offered to help out and got ARR’s group some Starbucks too. In return, there she was, standing mere inches from the God of Music and (I couldn’t tell clearly) putting one arm around him too. B has also hosted Bombay Jayashree and other musical types in her house. So let’s just come out and say it. I have a lot of music envy directed at B. 😊
I have told you before that N is big time into Lego creations. I am considered having a Lego exhibition in our house and charging people for entrance, that’s how many (actually cool looking) Lego projects N has going on. N is also a huge fan of ARR. In fact, way more than I am. He put his two interests together and came up with a really fabulous Lego creation of ARR.
This hangs over little A’s piano in our living room right now.
I was blown away by N’s creativity. His birthday was coming up so I decided to do something special for him. I found ARR’s marketing person. “Ooooh tamil lady, this seems promising” I thought (Ada che, why won’t she be tamil lady? He is tamil too and they are all sitting together in Chennai to boot. But this all didn’t occur to me until much later). So. I sent her a lovely confiding note and a picture of N’s ARR Lego creation and gently asked if we could possibly see ARR backstage during the concert. I was greeted with…
Radio. Silence.
Bloody Hell (read that with a British accent please to understand the full extent of my feelings).
“Mommy, what did you expect?” said the practical little N when I whined to her one day on FaceTime while she was away at college. “Just because you and Dad were fans when ARR was doing jingles for bleach commercials, doesn’t mean he needs to care about you now. There are millions and millions of fans like you who want a few minutes with him, and he can’t be responding to all these sorts of requests.” I was wildly discontented but, of course, it all made sense. What to do, I moved on.
Well. Sort of.
The concert is this Friday (I told you before). I had this vivid dream last night. We are hosting ARR at our home (eat that, B!). ARR is comfortably dressed in N’s green and blue checkered lungi (which N hasn’t worn in years, if ever). ARR is trying to take a nap on a low bed with half his body on the bed and half hanging out (like Winston when he naps – che, I should’ve know right then!). ARR’s staff keep trying to talk to him while he is resting, and he is replying to them pleasantly. My sister, V, has somehow materialized from the west coast and she is trying to take pictures of a sleeping ARR. After all this interrupted resting, ARR decides to join me in my kitchen to make some matcha. We stand around in companionable silence pouring in the green powder. ARR thinks that I have poured too much powder in and he reaches over to remove some, slightly scorching his hand in the process. I tell him – wait for this – “kiduki iduthukkongo” (take the tongs).
smh.
Woke up at this point feeling mildly satisfied with the whole ARR hosting situation (B, girl, you have totally messed me up).
Can’t wait to see him on Friday – maybe will bring him some matcha from Starbucks and crash backstage.
Wish me luck! 😉