A R RAHMAN - a true genius and significance of OSCARS for me.

Sleep deserted me on the night before the academy awards ceremony and tiredness gave way to anticipation mixed with fear on the fateful morning as the program started. Hugh Jackman is a favorite but i waited restlessly for his act to end so that the real action unfold. Gandhi happened when I was a 2 yr old so this was going to be the biggest Indian moment for me wrt OSCARS. Resul won and got his award from Will Smith and my hopes soared high. Then Rahman performed and it was a treat to watch. Then came the gorgeous Alicia Keys with the High School Musical star Zac Effron with nominations for the best music score and lo A R RAHMAN was an OSCAR winner. After that i was sure the second trophy had to go to JAI HO. Rahman created history that day and became the toast of high and mighty of Hollywood. Rahman has created masterpieces countless times before and we in India have always known his calibre. Indeed he should have won the Oscar ages ago as surely many of his compositions had at least the same merit as his work in Slumdog Millionaire. Nevertheless the west had to wake up one day to his magic and he has asserted his place of supremacy in music firmly. Jai ho to RAHMAN a true musical genius. Some people feel that OSCARS are overhyped and should not be given much importance countering it with something like their movies not getting filmfare award and see it as an unnecessary hunger to seek appreciation from the west. Shekhar Kapur on his blog says that RAHMAN is bigger than the OSCARS and i fully endorse his views that Oscars were more honoured in presenting the award to the great man rather than the other way around. But still i feel THE OSCARS retain a certain charm and aura and it does give a sense of pride and happiness that we got those OSCARS. I am not ashamed to say ki meri chhati garv se chaudi ho gayi us din.

Since childhood while going through GK BOOKS i read how BHANU ATHAIYA was the lone co-winner of OSCAR for GANDHI and SATYAJIT RAY got lifetime achievement Oscar. So guess i feel VINDICATED for us. The last Olympic Gold ,the last Oscar and the last Cricket World Cup all happened before I was five. And it took about 25 years to see it accomplished again in this YOUNG INDIA by REHMAN and RESUL , ABHINAV BINDRA and MS DHONI and HIS BOYS . It has been a long wait and while to some it may look like an odd deal in that for a billion people one olympic gold and a world cup in a game played by handful of nations or again an award which we should be indifferent to creates such a massive hooplah among others i can quite recognise and appreciate the enormity of these efforts and proudly proclaim to belong to the latter category. MAY INDIA GROW BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.JAI HO BHARAT.