Quotes from Ilaiyaraaja

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.

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

Good music is made with the help of many musicians who express their joy in the swaras.

People forget themselves in my music. It's amazing.

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.

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

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

When you listen to a song, it should make you sit up and wonder, 'Hey, what is this!' or give you an inexplicable feeling of joy or relate beautifully to the music in you.

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

Mere recording of an event will not make it a historical document.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.

In my early years, I would be in the studio till 11 P.M. Come home, have bath and dinner, and write music till 2 A.M. I would wake up by 4, sit down to do my music, and be at the studio at sharp 7 A.M.

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

I had difficulty in grasping how music was made for films. It was a huge learning curve and the toughest phase of my life.

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

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

My practice is to take a sheet, write the song number in the left side, name of the production, and time of recording. Only when I have to fill the name of the singer do we look out to see who is free. When the singers we want aren't there, I end up singing it! That's how I became a singer.

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

Life is not what you expect: it is made up of the most unexpected twists and turns.

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

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

Branding music as 'for the youth' is only an escapist tendency. Preference in music is only about restrictions of the mind.

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

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.