Book Review: A.R.Rahman-Spirit of Music

I managed to get my hands on a copy of the recently released authorized biography of music maestro A.R.Rahman titled "A.R.Rahman- Spirit of Music". Here is a short review of the same.The book was extensively publicized and launched early this year by Mani Ratnam. NDTV had a nice launch interview with ARR that can be found here.I finished the book in a few sittings with a toddler doing his best to disrupt my rhythm almost every time I sat down with the book. The primary reason was that the book is a short read which may or may not appeal to the audience. The book is a set of interviews between the author and the music maestro and feels like a single long interview. Credit to the author for keeping the flow consistent across multiple sittings with ARR. Nasreen Munni Kabir, the author comes to the book with impressive movie biography credentials and it shows in her knowledge of the domain and its current and past players. Her understanding of music across multiple Indian languages also lends credibility to the text.The book has some interesting and rare photos of ARR with different collaborators and his family. The family shots are truly rare given the media shy personality that ARR is (the book has some interesting tidbits on why he chooses to be media shy). Also interesting is his thoughts and experiences collaborating with diverse masters ranging from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to Manirathnam, from Gulzar to Danny Boyle and from Shankar to Ashutosh Gowariker.The best part about the book in my opinion is ARR's struggle to the top and how his family supported him through the process. It is a remarkable journey of a boy with the burden of his family at a young age but also their support through his lean years.A bonus to the book is a CD that comes with some early and some experimental music from ARR's vast archives.Other reviews of the book can be found here, here and here.I liked the book and recommend it.