Har Har Mahadev! Ilaiyaraaja Charges Up The Atmosphere At Kashi Vishwanath Temple Concert

Rajya Sabha MP and Padma Vibhushan laureate Ilaiyaraaja presented a concert from the precincts of the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, yesterday, 15 December. 

Raja said that he was indeed fortunate to obtain the darshan of Kashi, Maa Ganga and Baba Vishwanath all together at the same time.

He added that though he has done many programmes over the world and received many awards, presenting his music in front of Baba Vishwanath in Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham was the fruit of a previous birth. 

Raja began his concert with famous bhajan Janani-Janani. After this, the performances of Bho Shambhu, Shivoham-Shivoham, Har-Har Mahadev charged up the atmosphere. 

The almost two-hour long concert was attended by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, Divisional Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, District Magistrate S Rajalingam, and Chief Executive Officer of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham,Sunil Kumar. The event was moderated by Venkataraman Ghanpathi.

This concert was organised as part of the ongoing, month-long Kashi-Tamil Sangamam. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust formally requested Ilaiyaraaja for this event. 

"People from all over the country have been visiting this temple for countless centuries. There are many who are blessed by Vishwanath and take a dip in the holy Ganga. Likewise, many sages, Siddhas, yogis and sages like Buddha, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Kabir Dasa visited this Kashi.

"I have got the first opportunity to conduct a music programme which has never been held before in the temple premises. I feel like Lord Shiva has blessed me. I feel Lord Shiva called me to listen to my music. It makes me ecstatic that the people of Kashi are going to listen to my music”, the legendary composer had said while accepting the invitation. 

The performance on 15 December followed Illaiyaraaja's short performance as chief guest at the inauguration of the Sangamam on 19 November.

Ilaiyaraaja, the 79-year-old composer, has composed more than 8,000 songs over a career spanning more than four decades. He has been conferred with many prestigious awards over the years, including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2012, Padma Bhushan and then Padma Vibhushan in 2018.

He recently became a nominated Member of Parliament in the Upper House.