A R Rahman was in Kolkata on Saturday, the city that hosted his first live gig in India in 2003. The Grammy and Academy Award-winner was at his charming best, as he interacted with veteran and young artistes, authors, actors and fans gathered to celebrate his musical and cultural legacy. In a conversation with us, the maestro spoke about his idea of patriotism and more. Excerpts:

I don’t think being India’s cultural ambassador to the world is an entitlement. For the past 32 years India has always been in my heart, in my head, wherever I go.

Even though I had the option to settle in the USA, the UK or the UAE, my choice has always been nurturing young children and giving back to the community in a way as music and education. (Smiles) But all this stuff (referring to the felicitation and a book documenting his impact on the global arena) helps you try to do bigger things.

I think we as a team (with director Bharat Bala) realized that there is a void somewhere and a need to modernize the patriotic songs for younger people. There was a strong sense of dissatisfaction among younger people at that time. They were rebellious and just wanted to get out of this country. The idea was to sell India back to India. How do you make young people feel proud about India – that was our thought. And though it was a great success at that time, it has matured like old wine, fermented, and now three generations of Indians have celebrated that song.

I think there is an honesty in what we did. Also the presentation, the reinventing of the arrangement of the music, the tune, the lyrics and everyone’s contribution that went into it. But also, it was the first time that a song like this appealed to people across religions. It broke the political and religious barriers that are often injected into such ideas. It brought people together as a celebration of inclusivity that is India.

Patriotism in some places today – not everywhere – is about jingoism. Not everywhere. And my approach or path has always been like this – you improve your own house, your street, and your city, and your nation is going to improve. And that is how you counter the polarization that happens. Each one of us first has to look after our own families. Our children. Empower them and turn them into nation builders of tomorrow.

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When my father passed away we went through a healing process. Nobody told us to become this or that. Embracing Sufism was a conscious choice. There is unity there that is beyond religion, which is also there in music. You don’t really know where music is coming from, it just resonates with your heart and soul.