Global music icon A. R. Rahman was raised almost entirely by his mother Kareema Begum after his father, renowned composer R. O. Sekar, passed away when Rahman was just nine years old. Her quiet resilience and unwavering belief would later play a defining role in shaping one of India’s greatest musical journeys.

In the years following Sekar’s death, the family faced financial hardship. For nearly five years, Kareema Begum rented out her late husband’s musical instruments to sustain the household. Despite repeated suggestions from others to sell the equipment for immediate financial relief, she firmly refused. She believed that the instruments were not meant to be parted with—that her son would one day return to them.

Rahman has often credited his mother for recognising and nurturing his natural inclination toward music. In interviews, he has spoken about how her foresight and decision-making were far ahead of his time. According to him, it was her conviction—not circumstance—that gave him the courage to pursue music as a lifelong calling.

“It was my mother who realised my flair in music and nurtured it,” Rahman once recalled, adding that her clarity of thought and strength guided many of the most important choices of his early life.

That deeply personal bond later found expression in one of his most iconic compositions. In another interview, Rahman revealed that his celebrated patriotic anthem Maa Tujhe Salaam was, at its core, written as a song for his mother. While carefully considering how the song would be received, he ultimately chose to approach it as an intimate offering—like singing directly to one’s mother.

“I decided to do it as a personal song,” Rahman shared. “Like singing a song for one’s mother. That’s how it was created.”

Today, Rahman’s story stands as a testament to the power of belief, patience, and parental faith. Behind the global acclaim, awards, and anthems that moved millions lies a mother who protected a dream long before the world knew it existed.