MAESTRO ILAIYARAAJA NEWS & TITBITS VER.2010-2011

[skr]

I am someone from the 80's generation and to be frank till 2007 I hardly knew anything about Raja's music..I was only exposed to Hindi Film songs and the New Tamil ones..After that slowly through Orkut,Mayyam,Blogs etc i started to know more and more about his music and i completely surrendered to him ..
He gave a total new redefinition to my musical taste and i came to realise how much i had missed in life..
He had such an impact over me that for a brief period that I couldnt listen to anything else but his music..(Most Hubbers wudnt have had that feeling since you guys were exposed to him from early on)
He gave me the realisation that whatever i was hearing for over a decade from 90's to mid 2000's were simply put ordinary compared to his works..
Now not a day passes by without hearing atleast one song of his..

This man simply astonishes me..Coming from such a poor background in Pannaipuram Village he has revolutionised CCM and WCM..
And the best part is he didnt know anything much about music till the age of 25 when he came to Chennai to learn Guitar under Mr Dhanraj..
His growth is simply phenomenal and definitely one of the greatest success stories of all time ..

The thing going against him was probably media wasnt so prevelant in the 80's and 90's as how it is today..
This guy used to give on an average 20-25 Films a year..almost 2 releases every week and most of the songs were outstanding..
Both quality and quantity he was simply unmatchable..

Compare it to nowadays MD'S like Harris,Yuvan etc who score just about 5-6 movies a year and still we do not get high quality songs like what we got from Maestro (not even a countrymile close)
His 1980&1981 work alone comprising of Johnny,Moodupani,Nenjathai Killathe,Nizhalgal,Ullasa Paravaigal,Alaigal Oyvathillai,Paneer Pushpangal,Raja Paarvai,Tik Tik Tik,Meendum Kokila,Balanagamma,Nandu,Guru etc(There is much more,am limiting myself) is better than the entire Tamil Film Music which came during the decade of 2001-2010..
[We are not even talking about the 70's,mid and late 80's,his BGM'S,his other language songs ,his albums etc etc ]..

Even nowadays though the quantity has dipped substantially, i find songs from Ponnar Shankar,ASK,Uliyin Osai,Nandhalala etc much bettter than what is being dished out by other MDs..
Its like a cardinal sin to compare him with mere mortals of today..
He may never get an Oscar or a Grammy or a Bharat Ratna but i think he should be placed among the pantheons of all time great musicians like St.Thyagaraja,Mozart etc ..
If Music is God , then God is Ilaiyaraja ..

[skr]

About the younger generation, i have mixed views when compared to Suresh and V_S..
The younger generation also are fans of Raja's music but it is limited to knowing only songs from popular movies which he composed like the quintessential Mani,BR,Kamal films like Mouna Ragam,Mahanadhi,Devar Magan,Guna,Mudhal Mariyadhai etc..
The problem with the youngsters is that they arent willing to explore this ocean and they dont realise that they have just tasted couple of spoons of water and there is much much more..
This is where i feel media should come to the fore and give publicity about this colossal talent..
For eg on his B'day rather than doing a prog by bringing about people like Madhavan,Vikram etc to talk about him without knowing anything about the man , they could have had a programme showcasing his style in composing the songs,his rare songs,his fusions,bass,orchestra etc..

[Vkrish]

Check out for the below recent Ragamalika program held at NGS..from time 5.30...

http://tamilo.com/2011Tamil%20TVShow...ligaJun06.html

[Sureshs65]

skr,

Nice to hear your experience and I slowly seeing some 90s people on twitter starting to appreciate Raja's music. There is hope for this country still

[sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar]

If one allow Raja's Music to reach their ears, then they are normal fans. The moment, they go in search of raja's music, they are special fans. Once they start exploring, its a non-ending ecstatic journey.

[jaiganes]

I am from 80s too.. though born in late 70s..
What I feel despicable in today's listening is absolute lack of patience with a song. every one wants the song packed with
sound , beat monotone start to finish. I sometimes feel that the songs are composed by a stupid dance master and not
a music director ( imagine the "steps saar steps scene from Saagara sangamam). There is no change of rhythm,
no shift in flow of violins, no sudden carnatic harmonium, no scope for sudden shift to a folkish rhythm or
humming in between . it is all one packed monotone...

[par]

I brought in the comparison btw Kamal and raja ONLY in terms of talent, not popularity and success.(that don't mean u need to exclude them but still talent is the discussion-topic) I don't know how deep was MKT's talent analysed but in this digital era, Raja's works are much widely analysed and appreciated. He is the last connection btw the old of the oldest & new of the newest, as told by a hubber here.

There is just no alternative for the human talent Raja possess. Thatswhy i took Kamal haasan, another brainy genius and also said that IMHO, the 3rd to 10th positions are vacant!

Who is 11th on your list? Where would you place someone like, say, PC Sreeram? Or MGR, for that matter. Or Sivaji. Or Susheela. Or Nagesh. They are not less talented. If we can't compare apples with oranges, how can we compare apples with chicken fries?

Sorry if I miss your point here. But I am unable to understand. Maybe I didn't understand your parameters. That's why.

[Sureshs65]

OK. Let's take breather from this debate and bookmark this page for future reference. The highly knowledgeable Violin Vicky and his equally knowledgeable friends have started an official site for Raja: http://www.raaja.com/ This is just a teaser. A first look for us. No content yet. So just bookmark this page and keep checking regularly. Since Violin Vicky is involved in this venture, I am really looking forward to some high class content.

BTW, the photo there is lovely.

[skr]

What I feel despicable in today's listening is absolute lack of patience with a song. every one wants the song packed with
sound , beat monotone start to finish.

I perfectly endorse your views..Infact recently had gone for a plant visit to Thiruvallur from Bangalore with my office colleagues..I and another colleague were playing Raja songs like Raja Magal,Deiveega Ragam etc..The other colleagues said it was putting them to sleep and was boring ..Then we had to stop and they played Hasili Fisili for which a colleague remarked 'Music Na Ippidi Irukanum' and it should have a surrounding effect in reference to Hasili Fisili.. Blood Boiling
Sometime all what ppl want are songs with cheesy lyrics,loud beats and someone shouting ..Like Jai remarked 'it is all one packed monotone'

[skr]

OK. Let's take breather from this debate and bookmark this page for future reference. The highly knowledgeable Violin Vicky and his equally knowledgeable friends have started an official site for Raja: http://www.raaja.com/ This is just a teaser. A first look for us. No content yet. So just bookmark this page and keep checking regularly. Since Violin Vicky is involved in this venture, I am really looking forward to some high class content.

BTW, the photo there is lovely.

I was just about to post that content here ..You beat me to it .. We are in for a feast soon ..