Love beats hate: AR Rahman’s ‘The Wonderment Tour’ concert in Chennai champions unity on Valentine’s Day
The Hindu
AR Rahman’s ‘The Wonderment Tour’ in Chennai promotes love and unity, captivating fans on Valentine’s Day with unforgettable performances.
Long before streaming began to define how we consume music, AR Rahman (and Ilaiyaraaja) was part of my everyday routine. Even today I take a few seconds to pick the right song to set the mood for my morning commute. But as I left for Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday evening, I refrained from playing anything. Instead, I let the noise cancellation of my earphones drown all external noise — I had to cleanse my mind, prep it to absorb whatever Rahman and his team were to send coursing through me.
It was hard not to think about what this concert meant to every Rahmaniac; the man who gave ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ and put Indian music on the global map has had to face the wrath of a clan that has attempted to polarise India. I knew Rahman’s The Wonderment Tour in Chennai wasn’t just any other concert. It was a celebration of the love that annihilates hate, and a Valentine’s Day date with an artiste emblematic of that love.
AR Rahman performs at The Wonderment Tour concert in Chennai on February 14, 2026 | Photo Credit: The Meraky Collective
Everything changed as I made my way to the stadium through thousands of Rahman fans — what had been a personal ritual had turned into a mass pilgrimage. Amidst the excitement, I also felt fear of the ghosts of 2023, because marakuma nenjam. Fortunately, the crowd management was good.
And so the show began. The Mozart of Madras ascended the stage to the beats of ‘O Yuva Yuva’. An electric guitar solo from Keba Jeremiah charged through the collective vein. Beats-heavy and playful tracks followed; the dance choreography of ‘Muqabla’ particularly caught my eye, while Rahman, along with Nisa Shetty and Rakshita Suresh, made me wish they would sing ‘Fanaa’ once more.
Of all the hats he dons, Rahman is a true-blue showman who can hold the pulse of a crowd, and The Wonderment Tour was proof of it.
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AR Rahman’s ‘The Wonderment Tour’ in Chennai promotes love and unity, captivating fans on Valentine’s Day with unforgettable performances.
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