Music director A.R. Rehman administering drugs to a TB patient in New Delhi on Wednesday.

When the king of melody, A. R. Rahman, stepped into the NDMC polyclinic on Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg in New Delhi on Wednesday, the music composer was without any starry airs one would usually associate with the rich and the famous.

Dressed in black, with his "Stop TB" badge shining bright red, Rahman, the global ambassador for TB, managed to do what he is best at - "touch the hearts of the people".

Speaking during the hour-long interaction ceremony, Rahman asserted that there was urgent need to tell people about the fact that TB is completely curable and that the stigma attached to the ailment was only hampering its treatment.

And as he sat down to answer questions about his responsibilities and what he has learnt after his short association with the campaign, Rahman explained: "As an ambassador for spreading awareness about the ailment, my priority is to ensure that everyone knows about the ailment and also to tell the world that having TB is not the end of the world."

Speaking about his responsibilities in his new role, he added that he would work closely with his partners to come up with strategies to combat the ailment. "What I plan to do is `sugar coat' the information about the ailment and to give it to people in the way that they understand best. I believe that music reaches and touches the hearts of people in several ways and we should look into the possibility of using this resource to our advantage. I plan to do spots for TB prevention and treatment and also come up with an anthem," said Rahman.

And as is often said about him, the talented composer came, saw, and managed to conquer the hearts of everyone - all this while he was being bombarded with information about TB and was then shown a slide of the TB bacteria and later also administered two select patients with their regular TB drugs.

Rahman, meanwhile, also managed to please enthusiastic autograph seekers. Even the health officials took the opportunity to take the maestro's signatures on their promotional material, "all for the cause, of course".

"I want to do all that it takes to eradicate this ailment and make sure that I do my bit. I am sure that I would be able to spread the message and information about the need to take full treatment for the ailment and to impress upon the people that there is an urgent need to take a positive approach to the treatment procedure," said Rahman.

By Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Photo: V. Sudershan