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Translation of IR's interview in Vikatan ....
When Shri Illayraaja soulfully sings "Nama shivaya Vazhga " ,the
spiritual vibrations of it fills the whole house.When he
finishes singing and comes out of that state ,his eyes are moisted
with tears .
Says Ilayraaja " This Thiruvasagam project is a result of my intense
desire to do something for the youth generation.
(Gives an example ) If you don't clean a house for days ,dust starts
accumulating ;If it is left as it is for four days ,then spiders and
dirt starts accumulating ;Left unclean for a month ,rats and mouse
settle there ;If its unattended for a year ,even if its a palace it
will be ruined !
"(Having Known this fact) ,we haven't preserved our cultural treasures
we have for centuries together !Our precious cultural treasures have
withstood for centuries inspite of our ignorance and negligence -thats their power .
Having known these facts ,we should keep our house clean .We should prevent
our culture getting damaged by external infleunces and so called new
-civilization inputs from the outside world.Well ,i thought on these
lines and Thiruvasagam project was born !"
This project is a journey that continued for four years -But the
actual work(composition ) was done in just 12 days .During those 12
days ,i used to start writing music from 4 in the morning to 10 30 in
the night .The day on which i completed writing the score was the guru
Poornima day of Manikka Vasagar ( who wrote thiruvasagam) -Thanks to
God ,thanks to his blessings !
<Question >Film Music ,Thiruvasagam music - which one gives you the
soulful satisfaction ? <Questions>
<Answer> Both appears to be the same .I have done Thiruvasagam kind of
music in films and vice versa.You perceive the difference .It appears
the same for me .Like the breeze is the same everywhere <Answer>
<Question >What attracted you to Thiruvasagam so much ? <Question>
<Answer>As the snow melts and disappears when sunshine pours in , a
man's lower form of ego ,selfishness flies away when he reads
Thiruvasagam.A person of the stature of Manikka Vasagar ,who has
realized god and is always in union with god ,describes himself as a
person 'who is inferior to dog ' and he surrenders to god.When you
read this in our wonderful tamizh language ,you are shaken by the
humility and you are moved to tears -It will be surprising if one is
not attracted to this wonderful treasure! <Answer>
<Question >How did you turn your mind towards god ,when your youth was
spent in Communist meetings ? ( as a musician )<Question>
<Answer>I don't have to search anything now .Having known where is
'God' .what is there to search now ?People search only those things
that they don't have !God has blessed me with its unique gift of music
to immerse in the 7 swaras of music and compose music for others ! It
is a blessing from god that i will be immersed in it and forget
everything else! <Answer>
<Question >How was the expereince of working with musicians of other
countries ?(like hungary ,US ) <Questions>
<Answer>This is not the first time that iam working with them .But
this project has one primary difference-thiruvasagam is a
treasure that represents Indian culture -I have to make them feel the
Indian culture in thiruvasagam and they have to work with me having
understood its importance and essence .Tamil Maiyaam decided that they
will use world class technicians for this project.The sound
engineering was done by Five Time grammy award winner Mr.Richard King
and the orchestra was conducted by world famous conductor Mr.Laslo
Kovacs.He (Laso Kovacs) commented that i write notes in such a speed
that this ( speed of writing notes) will find a place in Guinnes book
of world records !I was concerned that they might play without
understanding the beauty of this treaure(Thiruvasagam) .But ,everybody
performed wonderfully .I was happy when they said " We never knew that
such a treasure exists in India "
<Question > How was the experience of working with a christian priest
( Fr.Jegath Gasper ) for composing a symphony for hindu literature ?
<Question>
<Answer> This musical form which is used in this project is not of
'symphony' type .This form is called 'Oratorio' .perhaps ,this is the
first time in India that a musical piece of this form is coming.But we used a full fledged orchestra for this and hence
they started calling this as symphony.I was involved in this project
for the past five years .Well ,this project required good financial
backup .And my nature did not allow me to sell this commercially .Some
people approached me with some commercial gains in mind and hence the
delay ( as i don't prefer that ) .
Catholic Father has huge intrest in Tamizh Literature and devotional
respect for Thiruvasagam. By chance ,i mentioned to him about this
idea -Its divine play that who says what and who does what !After he
was ready to manage the project financially ,the one thought that
flashed in my mind " God is above all religions ' !
<Question >Do you have any plans to compose for any other tamizh
literature works ? <Question>
<Answer>(Gives an example) Thiruvalluvar did not pre plan to write
Thiru Kurral.It just happened naturally ,without any conscious
effort.This is how any good work will come .I don't carry a list of
'to-do' items and then execute it.To be open ,this format of music (
in which Thiruvasagam is composed) is new to you .When i first read
Thiruvasagam ,i did'nt read it literally -instead ,thiruvasagam verses
appeared to me in a musical form that you are going to hear in this !
<Answer>
<Question > After you ,so many peopel from the current generation have
come to the cine music field !-What do you think about that ? <Questions>
<Answer>Its a good thing ! Whetever passion i have for music is from
my (music ) ancestors .With no conscious effort ,quite naturally ,my
veins are filled with the music of Pavalar Vardha Rajan ( his late
brother ). I appear tall if i stand on the shoulders of my
ancestors.If they keep me down ,iam just as like anybody .Like an
illayraaja came from Pavalar ,a Yuvan Shankar Raaja from Illayraaja !
<Answer>
Illayaraaja's Thiruvasagam is going to get released in the 'Music
Academy' on Jun 30 rd th .Raaja says that 'This is the penance of my
life .My dream '
Well ,for us it is a boon !
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Mumbai Ramki, thanks for posting the interview
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Pl. visit www,tis-usa.com for a special call for volunteers for USA Launch!
We need dedicated people from every major city,
Please help us!
With your help we will besetting an unique record in the world wherein the entire project has been funded, marketed and made into a successful one just by common people like us!
Please, one last time!
YIA!!
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This is the appeal. YIA!!
"Dear Friends,
On behalf of the TiS-USA team and Tamil Maiyam I would like to thank
you for
your patient and continuing support of the 'Thiruvasakam by
Ilaiyaraaja' project.
Here is an opportunity for you to be further involved in this historic
project. At this
time we are seeking volunteers who can act as the primary
sales/distribution
contact for 'Thiruvasakam by Ilaiyaraaja' in their local cities
starting July 2.
As you may now by know, 'Thiruvasakam by Ilaiyaraaja' will be
officially released
in the USA on July 2, at the Annual Tamil Convention to be held in
Dallas, Texas
(http://www.natt.us/). For the benefit of all the eager fans in the US
and Canada,
the TiS-USA team is planning to ensure that the CDs are available in as
many
cities during the same weekend (July 2-4).
We will initially be releasing the special edition CD package
containing the audio CD,
a 25 minute DVD on the making of 'Thiruvasakam by Ilaiyaraaja', a Hymn
book hand
written by Shri Ilaiyaraaja and a small booklet with an article by
Shri Ilaiyaraaja and comments by celebrities. Each special edition CD
will cost $20.
There will be an extra special edition which includes all of the above but the CD is an 'IIR autographed" one, the cost of which will be $50.
If you can sell more than 10 CDs in your local area please get in
touch with us ASAP by replying to this email or calling me (Dr. Sankar
Kumar) at 413-3913. An advance
payment in full for the first 10 CDs ($200 or 500) and $10/$25 for each
additional CD is suggested.
However even if you cannot make an advance payment we encourage you to
send
us an email. For smaller orders we will also be setting up a page to
accept credit card
payments on our website (http://www.tis-usa.com) by the end of next
week (June 16).
We will be eagerly looking forward to a positive response from you to
this call for
volunteers. Your participation at this moment is crucial to the
success of this project.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sankar Kumar
(for TiS-USA team)
919-413-3913
tisusa@gmail.com"
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Hi All,
I am surprised about TiO has been released. Also the sales of TiO by Mastreo has been started in online.
http://www.dvdunlimitedonline.com/sh...d176e07d22c420
It is priced at near 12 USD.
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it is $20 per special edition CD...
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how come it is already released? Or is it something like a pre-order?
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Anticipating the Cd release as of April 14th, our friend in NJ, 'DVDonline' has set up that pre-order page in his website! The price he had quoted is with a disclaimer if you notice. Anyhow, we will be talking to him to change that with the new format. Pl. bear with us for this confusion. Thanks.
And, as 'Vijay had rightly said, the price is $20 & $50 for the special edition packages respectively as noted.[plain and autographed] We are trying to get CD only offer also for $15 and will let you know in a day or two.
YIA!!
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This is the Disclaimer on DVDonline:
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PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Please note that this product is expected to release on Jun 30th in India. It is expected that this product will be available widely in USA by July 15th. Availability and subsequent release of this product is subject to change.
Price of this product is also subject to change. Any changes to the price will be notified prior to processing your transaction.
The price of this product is expected to be lower than the listed Price. If the price lower, your pre-order price will also be lowered.
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yesterday i talk to the folks in dvdonline and they said they are not sure whats going on with TIS, specially after the deal moved from Saregama (where dvdonline has closer relationship,so better price) to unknown company. they said there wont be any profit in dealing with "TIS" but he is doing because of personal interest as an IR fan. I placed order with them for the DVD version in his store and he mentioned taht the price would be whatever the price TIS-USA decides.
