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MUSIC MAESTRO
Any guess that who is this Pitchaimuthu from Palayam Pannaipuram a rural hamlet near Theni in Madurai? Well it is the original name of Music Maestro Ilayaraja who has now been forgotten following the Oscar winning performance of AR Rehman. I bought a CD of Music Maestro Ilayaraja containing the divine hymn Thiruvasagam set to scintillating music. Ilayaraja himself has sung the songs which pierces through the soul in the background of music. Ilayaraja dispelled a common notion that music is the exclusive preserve of high caste Hindus- after a very long time since the days of Thyagaraja Bagavathar. Bagavathar was known as Ezhisai Mannar( King of Seven swaras) . After him no one else has scaled greater heights than this humble but prolific composer from a rural hamlet in Tamil Nadu. He rose to prominence by his musical score in Annakili which was a runaway success. He brought forth a new form of melody unheard of in Tamil Cinema till then using rural instruments. His compositions were lively, vivacious and beguiling. He has a huge mass following equivalent to that of leading heroes of the day. He brought forth a new form of fusion in Cine Music- a rarity- because his songs were based on Carnatic music ragas. shanmukhapriya is one such raga which was extensively popularised by this genius in many of his film songs. Malayamarutham in Kanmani nee vara kathirunden song was a pleasing rendition by Jesudas and Uma Ramanan.
Ilayaraja has a strong conviction. He is a confirmed theist. He refused to do music for a film on Aethist Periyar. He donated huge sums of money through his music performances for the Sri Rangam rajagopuram renovation/construction. He is an ardent devotee of the late Kanchi sankaracharya Sri Chandrasekara Saraswati. He has mesmerised the music world through is prowess. His album How to name it is compared to Beethoven's symphony. Certainly it is god's gift that he was bestowed with such expertise and I am proud that he is a Tamil.
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