Why Ilaiyaraaja's music still feels like home to every generation

Dubai: Some composers create melodies, and then there is Ilaiyaraaja, who built universes out of sound. For nearly five decades, the maestro has been the pulse of South Indian cinema, a legend whose music transcended language and geography. From Tamil to Telugu, Malayalam to Hindi, Ilaiyaraaja scored the emotions of generations.

For those of us who belong to Gen Z, calling him the “OG” feels natural because his music has always felt timeless. I grew up listening to En iniya pon nilavae and Nilaave vaa playing softly in the background of family dinners and Sunday mornings. His songs were more than just melodies, they were moments of stillness, nostalgia, and quiet understanding.

My mother’s generation saw the baton pass from M.S. Viswanathan to Ilaiyaraaja, witnessing a revolution in sound, the synthesisers, the string sections, the haunting harmonies. But my generation grew up in a different era, one of Rahman’s global flair, Anirudh’s youthful energy, and Yuvan’s emotional edge. Yet, whenever Rasathi unna kanatha nenju played, or Sorgame endralum athu namma ooru pola varuma drifted through the speakers, something in me softened. Ilaiyaraaja, somehow, always feels like home.

Maybe it’s because his music understands the human condition, the ache of heartbreak, the comfort of belonging, the innocence of first love, the melancholy of change. He mastered navarasam, the nine emotions, long before streaming algorithms tried to categorise our moods.

Ilaiyaraaja’s genius lies in his duality. He could make a flute whisper the language of longing in one song and let violins roar with rebellion in the next. His orchestral arrangements were cinematic in scope but deeply personal in feeling. Every note feels handcrafted, every pause intentional.

To me, his music is more than nostalgia, it’s a reminder of who we are and where we come from. It bridges the past and present, carrying the warmth of a tape recorder’s crackle into the age of Spotify.

As long as there are stories to tell and hearts that break and heal, his music will keep playing, somewhere between memory and magic.

Step into an evening where nostalgia meets symphonic brilliance. Experience the living legend Ilaiyaraaja live at Dubai Opera, as a full orchestra performs his Symphony No. 1 – “Valiant”, hailed as India’s first full-scale Western classical symphony.

Audiences can also look forward to a special segment curated exclusively for this concert, a tribute to the timeless melodies that made him the “Maestro of Emotions.”