Music is a universal language. And Bollywood composer AR Rahman has proved this by breaking barriers. Here is a proof of how he has achieved this. Guru, the Hindi movie was most talked about for various reasons. One of the reasons was also its music. Maryem Tollar, this name definitely rings a bell to most Canadians.
But in India too, these days her name is recognized. Says a journalist friend Dilnaz Boga, her song Mayya, Mayya is top of the charts and the other day we were wondering where to get her CDs from. There are requests from friends in India for her CDs. That surely is one proof of music breaking barriers.
Born in Cairo, Maryem, an extremely versatile artist grew up singing Broadway style musicals. And now, she has added a Hindi song to her repertoire. Maryem, met AR Rahman by chance. This chance meeting was due to a co-musician and friend, Levon Ichkhanian, who played for Rahman for The Lord of the Rings. Levon told Rahman about Maryem. The next thing Maryem knew was, she was singing a Hindi song and gaining a new experience. “I have never sung in Hindi language and it was a challenge for me. There are lots of subtle sounds in Hindi which I have never heard before.” Maryem adds that she is open to singing for other Bollywood composers. But her priority is her family. Her Husband Ernie is a musician. The couple has two children Omneya and Joska. Indian music always has this spellbinding energy to it. This energy appeals to both Ernie and Maryem. This is one of the reasons, Ernie is into Indian music. He has briefly lived in India and learnt carnatic music. “ I have heard classical music being played at home because of Ernie. We also went to the famous Tyagaraja music festival and heard concerts.”
|
