Monday, February 23, 2009

From the 81st Oscar Awards, a new message for the troubled world

Resul Pookutty who won the Oscar for sound mixing said in his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony that history was being handed over to him. Yes. He is the first Keralite to win the recognition. Two more Indians received Oscars.


Allah Rakha Rahman (41) was awarded two Oscars, for Best Music (Score), and Best Music (Song) along with Gulzar (72). Incidentally, the former was originally named AS Dileep Kumar but changed it when he converted to Islam. Gulzar is a pen name. His real name is Sampooran Singh Kalra.


That is not all. The best feature film and best short documentary awards were won by India-based stories – Slumdog Millionaire and Smile Pinki respectively. Incredible. As Gulzar said, who would have thought a Hindi lyricist would win an Oscar?


The star of the show was AR Rahman. He is God’s own man. His profession is divine. Like the million colors in nature, the Creator has packed the world with musical notes. But He has bestowed the gift of catching the notes and arranging them into great compositions on only a select band of humans. And Rahman is one among the chosen few.


Music is the sound of love. This is perhaps the point Rahman stressed in his acceptance speech at the Oscars Awards. He said words to the effect: I had two choices in life, love and hate; I chose love and I am here.


A hate-filled Rahman could not have crafted soul stirring melodies. There can be no music in the hearts of gun-wielding, bomb-throwing men.


There was a slogan ‘Make love, not war’ that was very much in use in the 1970s and 1980s. Now Rahman has given us a better one,

Choose love, not hate’.


That is a slogan which should, in my opinion, be given maximum publicity.


Where there is true love, there can be no evil.


Jai ho.


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Also see:

M.S. Subbalakshni – The Queen of Song



4 comments:

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

Well said. Love is the base of all creativity.

Krishna Vattam said...

I greatly admire your literary talents, the manner in which you have spoken all about music, is simply superb.Krishna vattam

Unknown said...

Raji, thank you.

Unknown said...

Krishna Vattam, thank you. But I don't deserve such a compliment.