(From top) A R Rahman with his mother, Kareema Begum at the unveiling of the WorldSpace signature tune; the launch of the Creative Expressions art portal

For a true musician, music can be found just about anywhere. It could be in the crashing of the waves on the sea shore, in a bird’s chirping, or in the chanting of fishermen. These are the very elements to which celebrated music director A R Rahman turned, to draw inspiration for his signature tune for WorldSpace. The resulting melody was unveiled recently at The Oberoi in Delhi, and Rahman, the brand ambassador for the satellite-based digital radio service, made a rare appearance to present his tune. The tune was played out by guitarist Christy, vocalist Suzanne and sarod player Abrar Husain. It will be used in a communications campaign and is all about the ‘everyday’ and ‘everywhere’ nature of music. “I’ve been listening to WorldSpace for the last four years. When asked to make a tune for it, I didn’t hesitate,” said Rahman.

Tedros Lemma, corporate vice president of World Space said of the association with the master musician, “A R Rahman has come to personify quality music. So he is part of our communication campaign towards building a strong brand presence in India,” he said. The campaign even includes commercials shot with Rahman in Kerala.

Art online

It’s a virtual gallery, which promises to be a one-stop space for artizens. Creative Expressions (CREX) is a web portal that aims to be a search engine of sorts for Indian art lovers. The site was launched at The Imperial in Delhi. The portal, www.artizensworld.net has several features, but the most important is its visual gallery.

What does the portal do? According to Ajay Mahajan, managing director, CREX, it’s the first website that combines information and services related to art. It offers services specifically designed to cater to the needs of artists.

The portal carries information on 49 art forms and the good news for potential users is that it doesn’t charge a 10 per cent commission for services as most galleries do. The event was also marked by an exhibition of the works of Mohammad Ferozuddin, one of the most celebrated miniature Mughal painters.

Photograph of A R Rahman by Rupinder Sharma