Divya Agarwal
L to R-Rana Siddiqui Zaman, Author & Sr Jounalist, Ryoji Maruyama, Sales Head, Yamaha Music India, AR Rahman, Yamamoto Taketoshi, MD, Yamaha Music India & Tony Cox, GM, Yamaha Music India
New Delhi [India], March 27: How playing musical instruments meant for renting-out played a vital role in the making of a musical super star – is the story of the making of A R Rahman. The musical genius who helped India achieve global heights by winning Grammy Award for the song “Jai Ho”, of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, just had another Jai Ho moment in his life.
ARR as he prefers to be addressed was declared as the Brand Ambassador of Yamaha Music India early this week. On the stage he shared his secret that he started playing the very brand’s musical instruments from the age of 12, and today he is even being paid to be its Brand Ambassador.
Yamaha Music India made this announcement at a scintillating event in the music maestro’s home town, Chennai. While the event saw the Yamaha leaders unveiling their accomplishments and growth strategies for India, Rahman appeared on stage for a formal signing up.
What followed was a tale of amazing pieces of information that came through a moderated session by Author and Senior Film Journalist, Ms Rana Siddiqui Zaman.
Rahman revealed what made him accept the offer of brand ambassadorship in a poignant tale of a life circle coming to a full. With pride, thrill and nostalgia in his voice, he revealed on a question of what makes him talk of Yamaha with so much excitement. “I have been using Yamaha musical instrument since the age of 12. After the death of my father, my mother used to rent out Yamaha Musical instruments” to run the house. He would particularly play a portable piano for he could not afford one for a long time as it was quite expensive then. Slowly, as life became better with his mother’s dedication to Rahman’s music and his hard work and extraordinary skills, he could not only afford to buy many of them for his KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, as well as have a collection for music making at every possible step of his life.
“What started as a desire, is now a reality.” However, his choice for Yamaha is due to its “high quality and reliability” of the instruments than anything else.
On a question of how Yamaha is strategising its plans for music lovers in India for future, Mr. Yamamoto Taketoshi, Managing Director, Yamaha Music India, answered, “Since, music lies at the heart of Yamaha’s philosophy. India’s rich musical heritage deserves global recognition. Through our ‘Made in India’ initiative and our collaboration with A. R. Rahman, we aim to inspire the next generation of musicians and expand structured music education across India.”
But, what are your plans?, to which Mr. Ryoji Maruyama, Sales Unit Head chipped in, “Our mission extends beyond instruments. We are committed to nurturing music communities through workshops, school collaborations, and rural outreach programs. This partnership reinforces our vision of making music accessible to every aspiring artist. You will soon hear lot of good news from us for India,” he flashed a meaningful smile saying so.
It is interesting to note that Yamaha already runs 500 music schools in India and is going to expand more. This comes under Yamaha’s “Music school project”.
On the kind of legacy Rahman wishes to leave behind, he reiterated that Yamaha’s ‘Made in India’ focus is making quality instruments more accessible. “This initiative is already benefitting the young talents being nurtured at my own KM Music Conservatory and in The Sunshine Orchestra. If we continue to mentor young artists and strengthen music education, Indian musicians can lead on the global stage.”
No longer he says, the sound engineers or new composers, music instrument players will have to run for jobs. “Together, we are preparing a solid background for them”, he said with a glint of pride in his voice.
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