Ilaiyaraaja offers diamond crown and golden sword at Mookambika temple: ‘Whatever I have got in life was a gift from the goddess…’

Also Read | Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan are ‘like brothers’, says Suhasini Maniratnam: ‘If Kamal gets injured, Rajini sir will immediately call me and ask…’

Ilaiyaraaja’s profound devotion and surrender to the divine stand in stark contrast to the resistance he displayed toward spirituality in his younger years. In an interview with The Times of India, legendary violinist L. Subramaniam reflected on the composer’s tryst with spirituality. He said, “My brother (music director L Vaidyanathan) was very spiritual. Initially, Raja and his whole family did not believe in God. Whenever we used to come from the US and play in the Music Academy, Raja (Ilaiyaraaja) used to come. There was also a famous Kannada actor Rajkumar, who would come to Chennai only to listen to the concert. Raja told me that once my brother took him to Mookambika. My brother used to go there regularly. My brother told him, ‘Even though you do not believe in God, you just accompany me once.’ Raja told me once he stepped in, something happened to him and he felt some vibrations. Even though he was already a composer by that time, post his visit, there was a big change and transition in his compositions.”

Also Read | Madras HC issues interim order restraining makers of Ajith Kumar’s Good Bad Ugly from using Ilaiyaraaja’s songs

Subramaniam added, “From then on, everything he composed clicked with the public and his life changed. He also went with my brother to Ramana Maharshi in Tiruvannamalai. Raja said, going there, whatever question he had, got answered. Raja became completely spiritual and used to go to these two places from that time onwards.”

Ilaiyaraaja has completed 50 years in the film industry. To mark the milestone, a grand celebration will be held on September 13 at Chennai’s Nehru Indoor Stadium. The event will see the presence of cinema legends including Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.