A R RAHMAN'S MIRACLE CONCERT AT DAYTON-OHIO

1st published in http://www.daijiworld.com.ashe This article is about Indian Music Director/Singer A R Rahman's unique show in Dayton, Ohio. Here she describes her experience at his Cross Over theme concert. Being a keen photographer also, she was sad that no photography or videography was allowed. - Editor-in-chief)
May 4, 2006
Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a music conductor.
Now imagine about 150 White, Afro-American Chinese, and, Indian American college students as performers for your show.
Also, imagine many of these students know nothing about Indian film music and you are teaching all these kids how to sing A R Rahman hits.
Well, Mr. Rahman and the music conductor DrEthan Sperry from Miami University, Ohio did exactly that for a great cause.
I was lucky enough to experience the mesmerizing show of Rahman benefit concert called "Wake up" at the Trent Arena, Kettering, Ohio on April 22, 2006
Along with Eastern Michigan University, MI and from Miami University, Ohio students, Rahman and well known Cellist from Chennai V R Sekar, singer/actor Kailash Kher and Vasundhara Das and many others performed to raise funds for students to travel to India and experience the culture of India.
Major performers didn't charge a penny for the show. Instead they put the money in to the fund set by the organizers.When I heard about this show from Ms Das, I thought it was impossible.
I was doubtful about American students' accents. Even though, at times the songs sounded a bit different from the original, for my surprise, it was just a miracle. All of them did a pretty good job. There were great dancers too.
Some of the songs were from Taal, Takshak, Yuva, Dil Se, Nayak and recent popular movie, Rang de Basanti too. As an Indian American, I feel I have been connected to my Indian roots through music and especially through A R Rahman's. Hopefully there will be more of these kinds of shows in the future.