The rhythm of music has a way to touch the heart and Ilayaraja’s point of view during his opening introduction about music at the Dublin Convention Centre, Ireland gave a perspective which I felt is a key factor endorsing this. We listen to music and the choice of songs differs depending on our moods , surroundings, people and it always finds a way to resonate , enhance or give a soothing feeling to the listener.

“It is not my music, this is your music” – says Ilayaraja at the start of the Dublin masterclass.

“Kaatruke ethir varum kaatru isai… nammal elorum oree kaatru dhaan swasikarom , kaatru isai aake vandhe unkal uyire thodaatha , uyirike uyiraake kalandhe isai, athe enode isai endre naan soluvadhude , unkalude isai endre soluvadhe dhaan migavum pramadham”

180 minutes of non-stop music at the famous Convention Centre in Dublin and the audience witnessed the guru guide his disciples with his masterclass. The respect showed by the disciples who themselves have won many regional and national accoldaes showcased the aura of ‘Isainjnani’ Ilayaraja.

The guru and his 17 disciples gave the audience a musical spectacle. The masterclass started with the Maestro taking us through the journey of composing his debut song for the movie “Annakkili“. It was the year 1976 when he got an opportunity to be music composer for the movie after working for 200+ movies in various supporting roles in music composition. He highlighted how he decided to take the then unconventional route and composed with the beat in 1,2,3 tempo and having three ‘charanams’ , all these conceptualised while walking on the beach side, talking about how to hold on to the waves and bring out the music.

83 years ‘young king’, Ilayaraja , is still mesmerising the world with his music and now when he is celebrating 50 years of his musical journey , it is a great time to take a look back at the five decades of countless melodies and endless memories created by the “Maestro”.

Ilayaraja was in a great mood throughout the concert with his unique style of storytelling. The audience got an opportunity to listen to his life experiences and the journey, the audience were left wanting for more as 3 hours was too less a time to cover the entire 50 years of his work.

The star studded singers who were on stage included Gangai Amaren, S.P Charan, Madhu Balakrishnan , Haricharan, Shweta Mohan, Yugendran, Mukesh Mohamed, Vibhavari Anand, Ananya Kudlli, Sarath Santosh, Shenbagaraj, Jithin Raj, Priya, Anitha, Suchithra, Srisha, Vasudevan. These singers have won numerous awards and have been the voice of many hit songs across languages in India.

Maestro gave lessons on stage to the singers, from guiding them to get the pronunciations correct , to nudging them to sing on a different note, to the importance of each word in the song and acknowledged the cheer from the crowd for each and every singer. He ensured each and every singer got an opportunity to showcase their talent on the stage.

The evening ended with the guru giving his disciples an open floor, like the way in which a teacher gives a free class / period in the school , with all the singers coming together to a put together a melody which was the perfect way to close the night on a crescendo.

The evening included his first ever song Annakkili to mega super hit Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu , covering most of the ever favourite Ilayaraja songs including ninu kori, puthu mapilaike puthu yogam, to ever green kanmani anbode kathalan naan ezuthum kadithame.

The orchestra was truly exceptional. The people behind the creations and bringing life to the music. The way they coordinate during the show, the number of instruments carried by them to ensure each and every music note and sound is played to perfection, just amazing work.

It was a musical spectacle for the audience and included Malayalam , Telugu songs as well with Thumbi vaa thumba kudathil.

A special one to end the evening by the Mastero:

The man with the harmonium has now been composing music for 50 years, worked with 290+ lyricists, 550+ singers, 9000+ songs composed, recipient of Padma Vibushan award , 5 times National Award winner , the inventor of Panchamukhi raaga, the “Maestro” Ilayaraja.

The event was brought together in Dublin by Bright AMJ Entertainments.