Ilaiyaraaja: A song has to be like a blossoming flower

In a brief media interaction, legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja spoke about a variety of topics, wonderfully touching upon the reason for a lot of songs to still remain fresh in our memories. "Its been 38 years since Mundhanai Mudichu released. It;s been 40 since 16 Vayadhiniley released. Many are listening to a single song again and again. They are listening to songs composed decades ago. Why?" asked the Maestro, before continuing on to one of his trademark philosophical reasonings. "A song has to be like a just-blossoming flower. If it is like an already bloomed floor, it will wilt after a few days."

Ilaiyaraaja added, "The heart always gravitates towards newness and doesn't really go back to old things. So, if people are still listening to old songs, it means it is still fresh in their hearts." 

He also took this opportunity to talk about the work in his new studio, and pointed out about our overall sense of apathy towards our musical icons. "If you lok at the West, there is a museum of sorts where you can see the kind of instruments played by the all-time greats of their regions. They conserve the houses of important musicians. Here, do we have such conservation?" asked Ilaiyaraaja, adding a pertinent point about how we forgot to pay the required respects to the art of celebrated musicians. "Do we have the Tambura that Saint Thiagaraja played with? Do we have the veena played by Muthusami Deekshidhar? I brought this up with the then CM Karunanidhi in a film function, and requested him to conserve the legacy of our music. It became a Governemnt Order too, but nothing much has happened since then," said Ilaiyaraaa in a resigned tone.  

On a lighter note, his recent viral videos with his granchildren was brought up and discussed, and Ilaiyaraaja, in his inimitable style, said, "I am not teaching them anything. In  fact, it is them who are teaching me a thing or two about music."

The maestro has several films in his pipeline across Tamil and Telugu, including Viduthalai, Maamanithan, Kadaisi Vivasayi, Ranga Maarthanda, Thamilarasan, Son of India, Gamanam, and Thupparivaalan 2, among others.