Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries, hailed music director A.R. Rahman a true ustad here on Friday.
A guest of honour at the launch of Rahman’s music college, The KM College of Music and Technology in Arumbakkam, Mr. Ambani said, “You have taken on the role of a teacher and are going to be the guru of a whole new generation of musicians.”
The other guest of honour was his wife Nita Ambani.
The evening began with the Ambanis cutting a ribbon, declaring the college in Arumbakkam open.
This was followed by a rendition of sufi songs including Rahman’s ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’ by students of KM Music Conservatory.
Rahman, who has launched the college after five years of teaching Western and classical music in Chennai through his KM Music Conservatory, said there would be degree, diploma as well as preparatory courses offered at the college. “We will also have some seats for underprivileged children,” he said.
Four of the college’s faculty members also performed at the launch, demonstrating their talents in various forms ranging from classical piano to operatic singing.
“We managed to create a lot of interesting music from our old office in Kodambakkam including a full-fledged opera performance. Now, this state-of-the-art college will help us create world-class musicians,” said Adam Greig, academic director of KM.
“At Reliance, we are working on creating next generation internet. And technology has democratised music. It has changed the way we relate to music in the sense that in the future there will be many people making music for many different types of audiences. Rahman realises this more than anybody else. I am glad that he has started a music and technology institution for the way forward in music is with technology,” Mr. Ambani said at the end of his talk at the launch.
