Void - Anish Kapoor's Installations

Maverick. Unorthodox. Nonconformist. Artistic genius.

Call him what you wish, but Anish Kapoor stands alone in the art world. Identified variously as an artist, sculptor, space thinker, Anish has evolved as a master of three-dimensional space. His imagination boggles one's notional milieu in that his conceptual sense of scale and colour gives new meaning to the phrase: thinking outside the box.

Sandhini Poddar, art historian and the first Assistant Curator of Asian Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York describes Kapoor as a post minimalist, known for his seminal contributions that are contemporary and site-specific. Till recently on display in Berlin, Kapoor's Memory will be re-created in New York for the Fall season to commemorate Guggenheim's 50th anniversary. The minimalist era was when art and music were stripped down to their fundamental premise between 50's and 70'with post minimalist starting around the 80's.

Imagine 24 tons of Cor-Ten steel sculpted into154 seamless tiles with 10 bolts resembling a percussion instrument such as a mridangam or a tabla. Part of his signature Void series, Kapoor's Memory makes one wonder how the monumental installation was conceived and created. Clarifies Poddar, "A giant jigsaw that compels the viewer to physically move from one section of the museum wall to another in order to comprehend the art," this masterpiece makes one think. One is not a mere spectator -- one becomes a participant -- in an interesting and even intriguing search for where uncertainty begins and where the curvaceous seduction ends.

On permanent display at Millennium Park in Chicago since July 2004, Kapoor's stainless steel Cloud Gate that weighs over 110 tons, consists of 168 stainless steel plates (66 ft. long; 33 ft. high) is another example of the artist's visual prowess.

Mumbai-born, Kapoor, 55 attended Doon School in Dehradun, later moved to Britain to study art at Hornsey College of Art and Chelsea School of Art Design. In 1991 he won the Turner Prize for contemporary art and in 2003, the British government awarded him a CBE (Commander) for his giant Marsyas (satyr in Greek mythology) that was displayed at Tate Modern Gallery in 2002. This huge 3-steel ring structure held by a PVC membrane made one think about space in a different light.

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Canada, Seoul and India.)
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RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

Younger Indian artists come into their own

While art writers tend to concentrate on the Husains, Gaitondes and Souzas of the contemporary art world, known for their originality and longevity, it’s time perhaps that we also talk of the younger breed of artist such as a Shaw or a Harsha…

These are Indian artists knocking on the doors of high value, and from an investing standpoint, these are “sure bets” for art galleries and collectors. Kolkata-born Raqib Shaw, 35, who grew up in Kashmir from the time he was six months old, but now settled in London, set the art world aglow in 2007 with his The Garden of Earthly Delights III painting that sold for US$5.49 million. This Raqib montage was a risque tapestry of splendid colour with humans, animals, birds and other creatures in plainly suggestive racy activity.

Raqib is outrageous in his underwater creatures as well that is seen in The Garden of Earthly Delights, X, with nipples and genetalia, and the artist makes no apologies for his art. Heir to a carpet fortune that also deals in jewellery and shawls, Raqib, who studied art at Central Saint Martins at University of Arts, London, gave up his shares in his family’s company and preferred to become an artist – a vocation he clearly revels in and loves.

Artist N.S. Harsha, 40, lives in Mysore and is involved in large scale installations and community projects. His Cosmic Orphans, completed in December 2005 for the Singapore Biennale was a painting-cum-installation at the Sri Krishnan Temple in Singapore dedicated to the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. Here. the artist created sleeping figures in the inner sanctum, on the terrace, and on the temple tower (gopuram). For the terrace exposed to the elements he used flat colours.

Harsha won the £40,000 Artes Mundi Prize in April 2008, UK’s highest award at the National Museum in Cardiff, Wales. Artes Mundi, an international contemporary arts initiative, encourages artists to participate on the world’s art stage. Known for his storytelling abilities, Harsha’s keen sense of detail on everyday Indian life, juxtaposed with contemporary world events and images has been a major plus. His winning painting Mass Marriage was a subtle, amusing narrative on Indian marriages, but also reflected in a realistic manner the complex nature of human relationships all over the world.

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Canada, Seoul and India.)

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RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

Spring Sales Lukewarm at New York Auctioneers

Raj S. Rangarajan

The temperature in New York was cool, it was not yet spring, and the uncertain economy did nothing to lift the mood of collectors and art lovers. Gallery owners and aficionados with a feel for the art market were

enthusiastic about this year’s Asia Week auctions held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s between March 17 and 20.

Kitagawa Utamaro, Ehon Komachi-biki (Picture book: Pulling Komachi), New Year 1802.

Compared to last year’s total of US$126.4 million and US$129.3 million in 2007 for Asia-centric art-oriented lots, this year’s total of merely US$43.62 million was a sign of the times. On the bidding floors, while some items with impeccable provenances sold well investors and collectors were biding their time, perhaps waiting for the fall sale in September. (All figures indicated are with Buyer’s premiums.)

At Christie’s, An Important and Very Rare Blue and White Basin from the Yongle Period (1403-1425) that sold for US$2.32 million was among the highlights at the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art category that included Jades from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The 10-1/8 in. (25.6 cm.) diameter cloth box sold at three times the high estimate of US$600,000. It is well potted with deep, rounded sides, fluidly painted in the center with interior showing leafy scrolling stems bearing three lingzhi heads. Ninety-one percent of the lot that fetched US$18.32 million was sold by value. Also, A Very Rare and Important Doucai Petal-Lobed Vase, Zun, Yongzheng Period (1723-1735) sold at 12 times the high estimate of US$150,000. An Asian trade buyer picked it up for US$1.81 million. The globular body, trumpet-form neck and spreading pedestal foot which is raised on a circular foot ring molded with thirty-two lobes divided into eight vertical sections by narrow ribs (10-1/8 in. or 25.9 cm. high).

Tina Zonars, International Director of Chinese Works of Art and Joe-Hynn Yang, Head of Department, Chinese Works of Art said, “international participation was a testament to the prestige of the private collections offered including those from the Estate of Walter Hochstadter, a North American Chinese Family Collection and Harvard Art Museum.”

At Sotheby’s sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Specialist and Head of Sotheby’s Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Sales, North America, Dr. Caroline Schulten, was “thrilled to see such strong competition for 18th century Imperial mark and period porcelain” as evidenced with the sale of “The Conquests of the Emperor Qianlong,” a set of sixteen engravings after Castiglione et al. and eighteen panels of Calligraphy, 1769-74 – that sold at $164,500 at four times the high estimate. Each engraving is approximately 20-3/4 x 35-1/2 in. (52.7 x 90.2 cm.). A Fine and Rare Pair of ‘Famille-Rose’ ‘Eight Daoist Immortal’ Jars and Covers, Qianlong Iron-red Seal Marks and Period (height 10-1/4 in., or 26 cm.) was sold at $632,500 at 1.5 times the high estimate.

The catalogue explains that the jars depict the Eight Daoist Immortals as they cross the rough sea after attending the Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West. Rather than traveling by their clouds, they combined their powers to sail pass the tempest. The proverb is a lesson on how individual strengths and gifts can be used to tackle a common obstacle.

With provenances always a key factor it was not surprising that at Christie’s sale of Fine Chinese Art from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections totaled US$10.87 million. Dr. Sackler, who died in 1987 was a psychiatrist and philanthropist. A Very Rare and Important Painted White Marble Buddhist Votive Stele, Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577) which is 66-7/8 in. (169.8 cm.) high sold at US$1.73 million, thrice the high estimate. A set of four hanging scrolls (ink on satin) of Birds and Ducks by artist Bada Shanren (Zhu Da: 1626-1705) was bought at $1.20 million. Each scroll is 81-7/8 x 21-5/8 in. (208 x 55 cm.) However, a Rare Yellow and Pale Russet Jade Archaistic Hinged Twin, Bi (Qing Dynasty: 1644-1911), 9½ in. (24.2 cm.) long sold for $422,500, a phenomenal 28 times the high estimate of US$15,000.

Theow H. Tow, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s Americas and Asia said: “The results have proved that rare and exceptional works with excellent provenance continue to generate huge interest and demand from collectors throughout the world. Clients responded confidently to the museum-quality pieces of rare bronzes, jades, and paintings with 99 percent sold by lot and value.” Occasionally, abstract art seems to sell better than figurative art though it is not fair to compare.

Rise of Indian Painting

At Christie’s sale on March 19, an Untitled, ’65 piece by Indian artist Vasudeo Gaitonde (1924-2001) sold for US$482,500. Abstractions always succeed in making one think. Gaitonde has always motivated one to stretch one’s imagination: is it a boat or the moon? Is it intrigue or uncertainty? Or is it plain confusion? Commenting on the “strong results,” Hugo Weihe, International Director and Head of Indian and Southeast Asian Art, said, “buyers continue to be selective and to focus on quality for mid-level price ranges.”

Considering that he is in his 90’s, artist M.F. Husain continues to be the endurance runner in contemporary Indian paintings with many of his oils yet selling at loftier prices than high estimates. This was noticed at Sotheby’s in the Indian & Southeast Asian Art category with Husain’s Untitled (Two Women) (painted in mid-70s) that was acquired for US$374,500. Also performing well was F.N. Souza’s oil-on-board, Untitled, 1954 selling for $302,500 and Akbar Padamsee’s Untitled (Nude), 1960 which was sold at $242,500.

Sales on the Indian and Southeast Asian Art series at Christie’s totaled $2.16 million and the top lot was A Gray Schist figure of a Bodhisattva, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century that sold at $US122,500. This elegant figure is deeply carved, is wearing necklaces, his armlet concealed beneath the folds on his upper arm, his face with crisply outlined features and a benign expression (39 in. or 100.2 cm high). The sale of the Star Collection from India to Indonesia totaled US$883,250, and the top lot was a Gilt Copper Figure of Padmapani, Nepal, 14th century (10-1/2 in. or 26.5 cm high) that sold at US$182,500. It is a bronze from the Malla period (late 13th/early 14th century).

In the Japanese art category that totaled US$1.74 million, top lot was an album of twelve erotic illustrations by Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806) that was bought by an anonymous buyer for US$242,500. Title was Picture Book: Pulling Komachi (each sheet, 25.2 x 37.6 cm.), New Year 1802 that Christie’s catalogue explains as Komachi-biki – that derives from Komatsu-biki – a New Year ritual at the Heian court of Komachi’s time that involved “pulling up” (hiki) of young pines (komatsu). “Pulling Komachi” means to grab hold of a beauty, embrace her and make love to her.

Kanagawa oki nami ura (In the well of the great wave off Kanagawa) by artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) sold at US$68,500 at more than three times the high estimate of US$20,000. This was part of a series Fugaku sanjurokkei (The thirty-six views of Mount Fuji). The only Korean piece in the top ten was A White Porcelain Brush Rest from the Joseon Dynasty (19th century), which was purchased for US$88,900. It is modeled on the Diamond Mountains known in Korea as the Geumgang mountains that has a lustrous clear glaze with blue flecks.

Zara Porter Hill, Director, Head of Sotheby’s Indian & Southeast Asian department in New York said, “it was encouraging that 100 percent of the top ten lots were bought by, or for, established collectors, highlighting the strength at the top end of the market.” Case in point: at this Indian & Southeast Asian Art sale, Scenes from the life of Buddha Shakyamuni Stone, Eastern India, Pala Period, 12th century (height 7-1/2 in or 19 cm.) was bought by an American buyer for $98,500 at five times the high estimate of US$18,000.






(A New York based writer, Raj S. Rangarajan covers trend stories on art and reviews films, books for media based in New York, Toronto, Seoul and India.)

Former Maharaja's Carpet Fetches $5.45 million

India has been in the news in the international art arena. One of the items that made a mark was a former Maharaja's pearl-and-diamond-studded carpet.

India is much in the news these days on the international art front. A month ago, auction of Mahatma Gandhi's personal belongings by New York auctioneer, Antiquorum created a buzz in certain circles. Few weeks ago, a former Maharaja's pearl-and-diamond-studded carpet was bought in Doha for a record US$5.45 million (19,873,662 QAR - Qatari riyals) at auctioneer, Sotheby's first-ever foray into the kingdom of Qatar. For reasons of privacy buyer's name is never released but bidding started at around US$5 million.

According to Sotheby's this masterpiece that measures 173 x 264cm. (5ft. 8in. x 8ft. 8in.) was once commissioned (1865 circa) by the former Maharaja of Baroda, Gaekwar Kande Rao. Imagine your normal knotted carpet at home from Kashmir or Jaipur or Persia. This regal one is perhaps of the same size as mentioned but with a silk and fine deer hide foundation that is densely embroidered in strings of natural 'Basra' pearls, measuring approximately 1-3mm, with coloured glass beads. For the curious: total estimated weight of the pearls is 30,000 carats and diamonds are estimated to be 350-400 carats in total - all set in silver topped gold or possibly blackened gold. Over 2.2 million pearls and beads have been used to decorate the small area. Sotheby estimates, the number of pearls employed in the design is perhaps 1.2-1.5 million.

From a provenance standpoint, this pricey rug descended to The Maharani of Baroda, Seethadevi Holding until 1988, and was displayed at Indian Art Exhibition, Delhi (1902-1903) and at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1985-1986). Several writers and admirers have covered in detail the magnificence of this unique carpet. Embellished by seed pearls known as "Basra" pearls originally collected from the waters of the Persian Gulf, this symbol of hedonism defined wealth, sophistication, opulence and grandeur of the days of yore.

Susan P. Mattern in her book, Rome and the Enemy: Imperial Strategy in the Principate, says, "Besides being a magnificent manifestation of the taste and power of the maharajas, the Pearl Carpet of Baroda is also a reminder of the flourishing pearl-trade that existed between the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Gulf."

Another scholar and collector, and Curator emeritus of Islamic and Indian art at the Harvard Art Museum, late Stuart Cary Welch said, "The Pearl Carpet of Baroda reflects the confluence of many Indian decorative traditions in addition to being one of the most luxuriant works of art ever created."

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Canada, Seoul and India.)

RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

Asian Contemporary Art a Bright Spot at Subdued Hong Kong Sales

                    

      Vol. XXXIV, No. 17                                                                                                                       by Raj S. Rangarajan

Asian Contemporary Art a Bright Spot at Subdued Hong Kong Sales

NEW YORK—Sotheby’s spring sales of Asian paintings, held in Hong Kong April 5–6, were not as robust as those in recent seasons. This year’s sales totaled HK$317.33million ($40.6 million); the spring series a year ago took in HK$1.78billion ($227.5million) and in 2007, the total was HK$1.06 billion ($135.3million). However, some high prices, including several records, were posted for contemporary Chinese art, defying recent reports that this market has all but collapsed. The auctions also had solid sold-by-volume and sold-by-value rates that came as a surprise to some observers.

This year’s offerings included Chinese paintings, which took HK$129.77million ($16.6million);20th-century Chinese art, which realized HK$92.7million ($11.9million); contemporary Asian art, which totaled HK$66.4million ($8.5million); and modern and contemporary Southeast Asian paintings, which brought in HK$28.44million ($3.6million)

The auction of contemporary Asian art on April 6 was 74 percent sold by lot, 81.4 percent by value. A work by Chinese-born French conceptual artist Huang Yongping (b. 1954) scored a new auction record. Sixty-Year Cycle Chariot, 1999–2000, of copper, iron, wood and cloth, sold for HK$3.4million ($432,539), twice the HK$1.5million high estimate. A work by Chinese sculptor Sui Jianguo (b. 1956) also set a record: Legacy Mantle, 2005, a sculpture of a jacket cast in iron, sold for HK$3.14million ($401,826) on an estimate of HK$2.5million/3.5million.Yayoi Kusama’s painted ­fiber-reinforced-plastic Pumpkin, 2007, sold for HK$2.72million ($348,078), a record for a sculpture by the artist (estimate: HK$1.5million/2million).

The top lot was an untitled 2006 oil by Zhang Xiaogang, which sold for HK$4.8million ($616,815) against an estimate of HK$4million/5.5million). Yue Minjun’s oil Armed Forces,2005, was sold for HK$4.6million ($586,103), within the HK$3.5million/5.5million estimate.Evelyn Lin, Sotheby’s head of contemporary Asian art, said bidders came “from all over Asia as well as Europe and America.”

The auction of Chinese paintings on April 5 was 89.2 percent sold by lot, 96 percent by value. The top lot was Drunken Monk, 1943, a hanging scroll by Fu Baoshi (1904–65), which was sold to an Asian collector for HK$6.26million ($801,092), well above the high estimate of HK$5million.

The ink and pigment on paper Mount Jiuhua, 1979, by Li Keran (1907–89) was sold for HK$3.9million ($493,964), and Flowers and Insects by Qi Baishi (1864–1957) was bought for HK$3.62million ($463,251). C.K. Cheung, Sotheby’s head of Chinese paintings, called the results “an encouraging sign for the market that quality works are highly sought after.”

The auction of 20th-century Chinese art on April 6 was 80 percent sold by lot, 98 percent by value. Two artist records were set: the first for Lin Fengmian (1900–91), whose oil paintingFishing Harvest, circa late 1950s–early 1960s, sold for HK$16.34million ($2.1million) on an estimate of HK$3million/3.5million, and the second for Zhu Yuanzhi (Yun Gee, 1906–63), whose oil-on-silk mounted on board The Last Supper, circa early 1930s, was bought by an Asian dealer for HK$6.02million ($770,379), well above the estimate of HK$2.5million/3.5million. The latter was originally commissioned by St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in the Bronx, New York, and had been believed lost until it was rediscovered in a U.S. private collection.

Freshness to the market played a role in the strong prices. Lily Lee, Sotheby’s head of 20th-century Chinese Art, said eight of the top ten works had never appeared at auction before.

The auction of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art on April 5 was 76.8 percent sold by lot, 86 percent by value. Indonesian painter I.Nyoman Masriadi (b. 1973) led the field withNegosiasi (Negotiation), 2008—an homage to director Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West, the artist’s favorite movie—selling for HK$1.7million ($217,950) against an estimate of HK$600,000/800,000. Another work by Masriadi, Ingin Menang Harus Curang (Want to Win, Must Cheat), 2001, an acrylic-on-canvas depicting an illegal tackle in a soccer game, sold for HK$1.6million ($202,564). Both works sold to private Asian buyers, according to Sotheby’s.

Oh Boy, 2009, an oil painting, by Filipino artist Ronald Ventura (b. 1973), sold for HK$836,000 ($107,179), four times the high estimate of HK$180,000. Mok Kim Chuan, Sotheby’s head of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian paintings, said that there were “exceptional prices achieved for top-quality paintings by masters,” adding that this market “remains vibrant” and ­noting interest from U.S. and European collectors.

Why A. R. Rahman is a Musical Genius?

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Raj S. Rangarajan

Allah Rakha Rahman (ARR) has finally reached. But does he think so?

With two Oscars in the same year – one for Best Original Music Score and another for Best Original Song, “AR” as he’s affectionately known in the industry, has put India on the Hollywood map for music. At 43, looks like he’s just getting started. Rahman said recently, “I have many more notes to compose and create.”

On the first day of this year, 2009, visually-impaired children appeared on a television station in Chennai and asked the music maestro some pertinent, inspiring questions. One of the first questions was, “since our world is basically ‘sound’ we feel we need to ask you what is your definition of sound.”

Known for his unassuming earthiness and willingness to work with anyone whether an accomplished artiste or a potential wiz kid, AR said, “it could be anything as long as you learn to dream.” Among the words he used to describe the experience were “ragam”, soul, language, spiritual, mind’s eye. “Music with its methodology or ‘isai’ (notes) is universal but is difficult to describe. Let me just say, music happens. It could be the pitter-patter of rain, birds in a forest, the strain of a tambura. It could be human connectivity between souls where one doesn’t need to see: all one needs is an open mind and a fertile imagination.”

At the 81st Annual Academy Awards last month ARR attributed his success to his mother’s blessings and his decision to always choose love over hate. Born a Hindu, A.S. Dileep Kumar converted to Islam at 23 and took over the name, Rahman. This keyboard artist, pianist, synthesizer, guitarist et al. was first recognized for his talent with a National Award when AR was merely 26. Around this time, based in Chennai he obtained a distance learning degree in western classical music from the Trinity College of Music, London. At a SAJA (South Asian Journalists Association) blog radio interview in December 2008, AR emphasized how music is often needed to express anger or perhaps change a tense situation with a sudden shocking sound. In passing, he clarified that his music degree was obtained in Chennai, not in London.

Ph.Ds Comment on Rahman

To obtain an intellectual dimension to Rahman’s wide range of talents this writer spoke with two doctorates – Dr. Natalie Sarrazin of College at Brockport (SUNY) in upstate New York, and Dr. Pavitra Sundar of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire – both of whom specialize in Rahman’s music and on Bollywood.

Sarrazin says, “AR’s light, jazz style borrows heavily from other styles and as a student of his music I am yet trying to figure out if he has a signature style, for he has this large repertoire (West African, South African, Japanese, wrap and hip hop). He happily borrows from folk music in a seamless Hindu/Muslim/western node in a post-modern identity. To a question if AR will continue to rule the waves, Sarrazin says, “only one (musical) giant at a time – remember – we had S.D. Burman then we had R.D. Burman.” Talking of giants, AR’s one ambition was to sing with Lata Mangeshkar which he fulfilled when he performed the duet with her in Rang De Basanti.

Dr. Sundar agrees that Rahman is a significant musical phenomenon. He has almost single-handedly changed the sound of Hindi film music (specially since he produces much of his music on a synthesizer). Hindi cinema had not heard such a distinct, catchy sound – and such a shift from the current style or sound of film music – since Bappi Lahiri and his disco beats of late ’70s.

Conceding his weakness for the keyboard, AR in fact told his young admirers in January how music has to be adapted to the period – whether it’s a movie on Subash Chandra Bose or Bhagat Singh or Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth, the Golden Age – just as costumes have to be adapted for differing periods. AR’s versatility and international flavor is evidenced with his score for Warriors of Heaven and Earth, a Chinese film as also his creation for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage presentation of ‘Bombay Dreams’ in New York few years back.

Sundar’s dissertation entitled, “Sounding the Nation: The Musical Imagination of Bollywood Cinema” examined how the music of Hindi cinema (i.e., not just the lyrics and visuals of film songs, but the instrumentation, arrangements, voices, etc.) draws on and expresses ideas about gender, sexual, racial, and national identity.

Sarrazin’s thesis was on Rajasthani folk music that spoke of trance music of one of the local ‘devatas’ with analysis and rituals. At his powwow with aspiring singers in January, AR elaborated, “just as music has no limits nor sound have any bounds, folk music or folk dance is universal. There is a certain magic when we think of folk music whether it is Tamil, Gujarati or Turkish or even Irish folk music.”

Jai Ho – Not AR’s Best

By many accounts in India and the West ‘Jai ho’ was not Rahman’s best musical effort – a sentiment echoed by both Sarrazin and Sundar in that Natalie feels AR had a better score in Lagaan (‘Mitwa’ was nominated in 2002 but didn’t win). Adds Pavitra, “it didn't work for me as a song. I thought ‘O Saya’ the other song that won him an Oscar nomination was great, though. It really captured the excitement and frenzy of the chase through the slums which the camera captured dynamically.”

Commenting on AR’s creativity, Natalie says, “what resonates in India is not necessarily resonating in the diaspora. Rahman was the first person to change the musical language of Bollywood and around the time when the Indian economy was turning around in the early ’90s, home video sales were also on the increase even in the U.K. and coincidentally, AR was a fresh sound on the airwaves.” He helped introduce Bollywood music to the rest of the world and what “I would call musical theater.” Sarrazin teaches musicology and the piano, has studied classical music theoretically and created courses for Bollywood. Her book, Indian Music in the Classroom, published in 2008, covers the gamut from Hindi-Pop to bhangra to the bhajan to the Urdu ghazal.

Rahman shows great respect for the director and the scriptwriter since “I have to base my music and nuances on what the movie aims to accomplish and more so since the sound track plays a vital part in many Indian movies.” To a question if Rahman’s success is a mere flash in the pan, Pavitra Sundar hails him as a leading composer in Hindi and Tamil cinema since the mid-1990s (Mani Ratnam’s Roja in Tamil was released in 1992, a film that made him a household name in urban India). He’s also good at “diversifying” – at finding new avenues for his work (e.g., his leap from advertising to cinema to Broadway) and forging new connections with prominent musical performers from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to Andrew Lloyd Weber to M.I.A., already popular in the West now.

But Rahman attributes his success to his basic multi-culturality. He says, life is about human redemption and the film Slumdog Millionaire brings hope and love and a certain positivity in today’s hard times. His mantlepiece is surely fighting for space with a legendary amount of awards from all over including Indian government’s civilian honor of the “Padmashree” in 2000. For India’s 50th year of independence AR created “Vande Mataram.” Also legendary are his hits in Tamil (Roja, Bombay, Alaipayuthey, Kandukondein Kandukondein) and in Hindi (Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Yuva) – to name a few.

According to Sundar, A. R. Rahman’s and Slumdog Millionaire’s Oscar awards signal the U.S. mainstream’s first real foray into popular Indian musical consciousness. Hindi cinema has been attempting to lure audiences in the West (mostly South Asians in the diaspora) for years. Films such as Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake, and Lagaan drew the attention of art house audiences in North America and “I should say that critics in the U.S. lauded the music of all of these films. The Kronos Quartet’s album with Asha Bhosle, ‘You’ve Stolen My Heart’ gave audiences a taste of R. D. Burman’s music, but none of these films or music albums, caught the imagination of mainstream U.S. media and the blog-world the way Slumdog did.” Significantly, Rahman’s recent win is not the first Indian attempt to capture the U.S. market – it’s actually the first time such an attempt has been granted recognition by a Western audience.

From Amjad Ali Khan to Gulzar to Grammy winner and soul singer, John Legend (who performed Peter Gabriel’s nominated song from the animation movie Wall-E in February) it has been all aces for AR. The stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings with music co-composed by Rahman was voted one of the 10 greatest musicals of the last 30 years in an online poll conducted by Dress Circle, a website that covers theater in the U.K.

Rahman has been involved with charitable causes as well. In 2004, he was appointed the global ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership, a project by the World Health Organization (WHO). As a producer on the single ‘We can make it Better’ by Don Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota, he showed his soft side with all the proceeds going to tsunami victims, as did his 2004 tsunami relief concert in India. The A R Rahman Foundation, launched in 2001, aims at eradicating poverty and in this pursuit, his song, ‘Pray for me Brother’ is quite popular. Rahman has opened a western conservatory in Chennai where he trains about 100 students on the ABCs of music and music scores. His love for people and the underdog are constantly being demonstrated.

As AR reiterates, “Rhythm, melody and the resonance that a listener experiences is the best feedback a person needs. Whether the composition is spiritual or light, whether it’s a fusion of Carnatic music and western or a song by a fisherman about to launch his early catch, I have to think creatively.”

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Republic of Korea and India.]