Ilaiyaraaja Quotes

Genuine music, to me, is the one which has no purpose. It should be as natural and as purposeless as the flow of the river.

In whosever presence you find peace of mind, devoid of fear, only that person can be your guru.

To me, music is that which connects human hearts. It is something that takes you to unknown levels.

Many great composers have died in poverty. I have not faced hardships, like having to struggle for food, thanks to reasonable producers.

Any form of classical music is made for youth.

For me, my music is part of me, and which is why it seems second nature, and my compositions are instinctive.

Western, jazz, folk, or tribal music, whatever the form, they all have the same sapta swaras as the basis.

A good mind should tell the difference between noise and music.

The dictionary contains thousands of words on Tamil music. I am not familiar with most of the words, but it shows the rich past of Tamil music.

My music is religion, and my religion is music. They are one.

The Gen X thinks history is a waste of time. This is instant world where only readymade things are valued.

Thyagaraja was not a professional musician. He did not sing for situations. He was music himself.

Music reigns supreme. It does not need a visual prop. While listening to a number, do you enjoy the tune, or do you enjoy it because you imagine someone singing it? In fact, quite a few hits of mine are from films that no one has heard about. The songs still rule, though.

Government should take necessary steps to add music into school syllabus and impart knowledge to the students.

I think of the Tamil poet Subrahmanya Bharati every day, and he is an inspiration in my musical creations.

I always felt music to be universal and undifferentiated – Western classical, folk, Carnatic or Hindustani and so on.

Sometimes, entire songs are ready in just about five minutes.

I don’t believe in making two songs similar. Every composition must have its own unique character.

I truly believe that music or art, in general, is the only thing that can unify a world that is plagued by war and violence, and I believe that it should be taken to more people.

The challenge for a good musician is to bring out compositions that seem fresh to the listener, even if the listener has heard the song or the composition before.

My music is for the world. Let them enjoy it.

Music happens. It cannot be made.

Composing is an emotional thing.

For musical compositions to reach a high level and to derive from spontaneity, of course, one has to do the necessary steps to learn the rules and regulations of composing high quality music.

Only I hold the right to all my songs.

I consider all women as mother. I compose poems for any female considering her as mother.

Some people love money, and some people love other things. I love music, and we are all lovers.

Everyone’s music is made of their own life experiences.

Music is a continuous process. You evolve with every song.

No saint in the world lived like the great saint Ramana Maharishi. They say Jesus Christ was resurrected and rose again from the dead. But there’s no proof of it. Ramana Maharishi is the only Mahan who has resurrected in life, and that, too, at the age of 16.

Anyone who holds a pen these days thinks he or she is a poet.

My commercial viability, coupled with my reputation, gives me enough freedom to assert my right as a composer.

Questioning the origin of music is like asking why the breeze is soothing, why you shiver in exhilaration when the spray from the waterfall hits you.

Music has done much more for me than I have for music.

Traditional musical forms like ‘Parai Isai’ and ‘Villupattu’ are unique, and they need to be protected and nurtured.

Ideally, the music composed these days should sound much better because of the technology, right? But that’s not the fact. The sounds that you hear out of technological recording are programmed sounds coming out of a computer.

Mere recording of an event will not make it a historical document. It will become obsolete with time. Only those that emotionally connect with the audience will stand the test of time.

To me, music is more like a spiritual seeking that takes one to unknown levels.

You can realise God as you progress in music; nothing in between.

When directors tell me they want a song like one, I tell them no song should be like another. I don’t listen to directors.

A director should concentrate on his storyline and his characters.

Can someone do music for 24 hours at a stretch and never get tired? It’s me. Because I don’t ‘work’. I enjoy what am doing. It’s not like a regular job.

Music should come from the heart. It should happen. That should be automatic, and if you labour on creating music, it will not have soul.

In India, most people are not aware or are unconcerned about copyright laws. This has proved disastrous for the music fraternity.

Music has the power to divert the violent minds.

My parents were simpletons. Everyday living was a big thing in that small village where I was born. They had no clue about music.

Till 2010, there was one national award for Best Music Direction. I have received it thrice – for ‘Sagara Sangamam,’ ‘Sindhu Bhairavi,’ and ‘Rudraveena.’

Isn’t composing music akin to film direction?

I would like to inform the public that I have entered into a licensing agreement with Agi Music for manufacturing and distributing my songs in any format and have also granted the license to distribute my songs on digital and new media formats, including mobile ringtones, caller tunes, and online downloads.

You may go to the temple for mental peace. But you may be distracted there and forget the purpose of your visit. But this does not happen when you hear good music.