A.R. Rahman thrills masses at Parramatta Park

RAIN did not spoil the musical parade of Indian superstar A.R. Rahman as he thrilled tens of thousands of people in his concert extravaganza at a packed Parramatta Park.

Part of the Sydney Festival, the free concert had everything from Bollywood jive, hip hop-influenced grooves and traditional Indian sounds as (see photos here) Rahman and his entourage of colourful dancers captivated the crowd from start to finish on Saturday night.

That finish to the two and a half hour production came in the form of crowd favourite `Jai ho’, which saw fireworks light the sky while concert-goers danced and chanted the chorus.

The Slumdog Millionaire composer addressed the crowd before the finale on what he had earlier in the night called ``one of the most historic concerts of my life’’.

``Thank you for being part of change,’’ he said, a reference to his wish to end the attacks against Indian students in Victoria.

``I want all of you guys staying here to bless the children of India with love.’’

Rahman also asked the crowd to spare a thought for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

``Life is just like that. Anything can happen,’’ he said.

``So Jai ho, God bless you all.’’

They were words of wisdom to his adoring crowd, (see photos here) mostly expats from the subcontinent who came from across Sydney and interstate.

The crowd stretched over 500 metres through a tree-lined corridor in the park, many families seated on picnic rugs.

Most people stayed to the end of the concert, albeit some with umbrellas. Black clouds loomed overhead and light rain fell a couple of times but few revellers left early.

Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh commented on the mammoth crowd in his welcome speech before the concert.

``I’ve never seen so many Indian people here, it reminds me when I was in Calcutta,’’ he told concert-goers.

He asked Australians to embrace all people who come to their country, and called Rahman ``the Sachin Tendulkar of music’’.

A spokesperson for NSW Police said there had been no reports of major incidents on the night.