AR Rahman's mother Kareema Begum died in Chennai on Monday, said sources close to the family, reported news agency PTI. The music maestro, on Monday afternoon, shared a photograph of his mother on his Twitter profile without a caption. Reacting to his tweet, his friends from film and music industry offered their condolences to the singer. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK President M K Stalin also paid tributes to Kareema Begum on Twitter.
AR Rahman was raised by his mother after his father and music composer RO Sekhar died when he was only nine years old. In many interviews, the Mozart of Madras had expressed that it was his mother who first recognised and nurtured his musical gifts.
"There is a Hindi dialogue, mere paas ma hai, which means 'I have nothing but I have a mother'. So my mother is here, her blessings are there with me. I'm grateful for her to have come all the way," -Rahman while receiving Oscars
