Renowned music composer Ilaiyaraaja graced the book launch of Maalyada in Chennai alongside Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Serving as the keynote speaker, Ilaiyaraaja humbly shared insights, expressing a departure from pride. The event marked a convergence of literature and music, as attendees witnessed a unique blend of creative minds.
At the event, the musician said that people think of him as a musical genius. While he is grateful for that, he does not think of himself that way. He said that he had thrown away all that pride. He said, “I have worked for 30 days of the month with one song in the morning, one song in the afternoon and one in the evening.” He would get the call sheet and work. He said that nowadays, there is no call sheet and it takes six months to make a song.
He further added that he is not the only musician to have come across Carnatic Music. He even questioned if he deserved to be called a musician. He does not think of himself that way and throws away his pride at a very young age. He shared an anecdote from his childhood where he used to play harmonium at concerts. People would applaud him and it used to make him proud. He kept training hard and the applause grew along with his pride. After a point, he began to wonder if the applause was for him or the composer of the songs, M S Viswanathan, sir. He realised that the real applause was for the composer and that was the day all his pride went away.
Ilaiyaraaja is a prolific musician, composer, arranger, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and singer whose works are famous in the Tamil and Telugu film industry. Over an illustrative career of over 47 years, he has composed more than 7,000 songs and worked in over 1,000 films. He is nicknamed Isaignani, which means, the musical sage. He is also referred to as Maestro. His craft has earned him many accolades and awards ranging from National Film Awards, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
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