AR Rahman: The Quiz

Chander Ram (nearly) aces Indian Link Radio’s quiz on ARR, live on air with RJ MANOJ

What’s AR Rahman’s daughter’s name?

Khatija

What’s Rahman’s first composition?

Roja, but he had an unofficial composition called Set me free before that.

No! It was a Malayalam film, but Roja did catapult him to fame. Rahman was called Dileep then.

His music academy’s name? KM Conservatory. Correct, he launched it in 2008.

You obviously know Rahman’s birthday.

Of course, I do. He invites his fans to his place and celebrates his birthday with them with cake etc. Two of my friends work as assistants for Rahman, which works great for me.

It’s 6 Jan 1967.

Rahman shares his birthday with someone very close to him. Who?

You put me on the spot! I don’t know the answer.

Rahman’s son, who was also born on 6 Jan in 2003.

There’s a specific window of time when Rahman composes his music. When’s that?

Only at night. He also has the habit of lighting the candle when he composes. I’ve tried doing it myself when stressed and have had to concentrate for work. It does help!

Correct answer! The only time Rahman made an exception was when he was composing/recording with Lata Mangeshkar.

BY SNEHA KHALE

At around 4.30 pm on 27 January 2017, Krishan Lal was returning from a breast cancer-related fundraiser in Newcastle when he collided head-on with an oncoming truck. What followed was the stuff of nightmares, interspersed by a series of serendipitous events. Krishan was flung off his motorbike and landed next to a guardrail on a high and remote mountain road. Port Macquarie, the nearest point of help, was over 100kms away. With no cell reception, Krishan’s only hope at that point was some form of miracle. And the “powers that be” somehow delivered!

A man on a BMW motorbike was riding along when he saw Krishan lying on the side of the road, surrounded by a few people who were only conversant with basic first-aid. The rider didn’t have any medical skills either, but he did possess something very useful – an emergency beacon, which they used to call for help. There had been a dangerous amount of blood lost by then, and although emergency services were on their way, Krishan was struggling to stay alive. As luck would have it, a guardian angel, in the form of orthopaedic surgeon Dr MaxLeibenson, happened to be driving by. He helped pull Krishan from under the guardrail in the most medically-efficient manner, re-broke his femur bone (without any pain medication, mind you) and controlled the bleeding long enough for emergency services to arrive and airlift him to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle some 380kms away.

That last part wasn’t easy. The paramedics from the local hospital, who were convinced Krishan’s injuries were so bad his legs would have to be amputated, wanted to take him to the nearest hospital. Dr Max had to convince them to fly him to John Hunter (where he worked) for Krishan to be treated without amputation. High on ketamine, which puts users in a trance-like hallucinogenic state, Krishan spent the next 1.5 hours in the helicopter hallucinating about everything around him burning, and imagining the paramedics as people with horns, purple skin and carrot hair!

He recalls, “I looked out the window of the helicopter and everything was on fire, as if it was the apocalypse. I couldn’t feel