 A.R. Rahman (qv) composed the tune for the song "Maiyya Maiyya"  while on a tour in Toronto. Later, when he went for the Hajj in  Mecca, he was intrigued by a man near a river who kept on saying  "maiyya" ("water" in Arabic). Impressed by how Indian the word  sounded, he asked lyricist Sampooran Singh Gulzar (qv) to  incorporate the word into the tune. He also personally trained  Lebanese singer Maryem Tollar to sing the song.