Happy Birthday GOD!

(Picture Courtesy: arrahmanfans.com)

I wish I had a story similar to my dad’s regarding the first time he heard God’s music. In his own words:
I was walking down the road of Thiruchendur to the car when I suddenly heard this song being played in a tea shop. The song had lines ending with aasai. “Definitely not Ilayaraja”. Who could it be? Which movie was this? Two days later, the same song was being played on TV and then all the other information was told to me by your mother – music is by this new guy called A R Rahman. Simply breathtaking!
For me, on the other hand, it was nothing so dramatic. Any Mani Rathnam movie was a cause for celebration – be it the music release or the movie release. I walked into this audio cassette shop in Tuticorin (which incidentally had a photo of Ilayaraja on the board), and bought the tape of Mani’s then latest – Roja. I wanted to check the tape’s quality before I paid the money. He played the initial lines of Chinna Chinna Aasai…and there it was…CLICK.

Just a click. And I was hooked.
Literally as I couldn’t be prised away from that tape for weeks running.
Figuratively as I still can’t be prised away from God.

Now, it’s been nearly 14 years since that day. And the enthusiasm hasn’t dampened one bit. He continues to weave his magic as only he can. He provides those goosebumps just like only he can. In fact that is what separates the God from the mortals.

Listening to the “dil to aakhir dil hai na” or the “vaanukkum yellai undu natpukku illaiye” or the “manmael manjal velicham” has that effect. I would have loved to end this post by listing out some of my favourite songs/albums. As I began to sit down for the task, did I realized the enormity of the task. I do not want to get into such a thing and end up hurting my other favourite songs. So I shall end this post with a simple “Happy Birthday!”

Here’s wishing him the best of birthdays and hoping he continues to enthrall us all with his Godness.