I was on hajj and I heard a man saying mayya, mayya, mayya. I heard music at once. Later, I realised he was selling water and saying the word in Arabic. So I told myself that one day I would record a song mixing Arabic, Turkish and Indian music. That is how the song was born.

The singer Maryem Toller lives in Toronto and sings in a band. I think she is from Yemen. I was working there last year on the stage musical The Lord of the Rings, and got her to record her part of the song there. I added music to it in Chennai.

Maryem's voice is also heard at the start of Rang De Basanti.

Tomorrow: How Mani Ratnam made Rahman sing

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