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This is his third trip. The last was in Dec '94. But the heat of the summer of 2001 was not really getting to Bryan Adams as he walked in calmly to address a press conference.
Dressed in a olive green T-shirt with a Tulsi mala around his neck and vermillion tikka, the rocker looked anything but one.
Talking about his experiences in India, Adams said, "The one memory that I will always cherish in India is walking into a room only to find Jimmy Paige and Led Zeppelin seated there. I can't forget that encounter which happened on my last trip."
"But on the whole, India is an experience at every turn. It's quite special, considering I have been here three times. Though I don't understand the politics in the country, because we wanted to perform in Calcutta and Delhi, and I was told that we couldn't, which is quite sad. But maybe another time!"
Along with his sound and tech team and band members, Adams has also flown down his chef, three assistant cooks and some personal assistants.
Asked whether he liked Indian music and Indian food, Adams said, "I like Indian food. Never tried my hand at cooking it though. But Indian music and musicians is not something that I have heard much of."
About his next album due this year-end, Adams said, "We have recorded eight songs. There are four more to go which we hope to wrap up by July. But one cannot push the creative process!"
And what goes into making a Bryan Adams Album.
"Not much, really! They just happen... Like I met Mel C in a hotel in America and she was looking forward to starting her career solo. That is how A day like today happened. We did have a lot of trouble with Virgin Records on that particular collaboration but it was fun nonetheless."
"Even my techno number with Chicane happened because Nick had remixed a song of mine Cloud No 9 and we decided to get together on Don't give up."
The singer seems to be enjoying his collaborations. Having sung with Pavrotti in Italian, Adams has just released his single, Are you ready for his Italian fans.
When quizzed about the success of Summer of 69, the singer said, "I think it is a great song. Some songs are like that. They do well. Others don't. If I knew why, I would have only hits to my name."
But the singer refused to name his personal favourites. "I am going to be singing all my favourites tonight," he said.
There were a lot of questions on his all time hits. "Does 18 till I die mean that Bryan Adams does not want to grow up?" was one of them.
Unperturbed, the singer said, "It is just a metaphor for life."
And had he composed Have you ever really loved a woman for someone in particular. "No, it was for a movie!"
What did he think of his earlier videos? "Pretty much like watching an old photo album," Adams quipped.
On other artists doing different versions of his songs, Adams said, "I think it is a huge compliment for any singer. In fact, I have even gone out and bought some of them and enjoyed listening to them!"
Does the new talent in the industry bother him? "I just sing and make my music. What really happens around me does not really concern my music," he answered.
The star was not ruffled either by the barrage of questions thrown at him or the heat. "Its not quite summery yet! I am looking forward to tonight. I think there are only good experiences of performing live and I am going to enjoy this one!"
Bryan also revealed a hitherto unknown facet of his personality, which also cleared the air about the mystery of the Tulsi mala. He has a best selling book - Made in Canada - containing black and white photographs of Canadian women, including Celine Dion, Alanis Morrisette, Joni Mitchell and others,to his credit. Bryan said he had been shooting a lot of pictures of India.
"Bryan visited an Indian home. In fact, the Tulsi mala is a gift from that Indian family," said Padma Corum, one of the event mangers and a personal friend of Adams.
The buzz was that the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar was going to meet the Canadian rocker backstage.
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