Saturday Special - On Ilaiyaraaja's second symphony - What you must know

Dear Reader,

Way back in 1993 to be precise, Ilaiyaraaja came home from Europe to a rousing welcome at the Chennai airport. He was among the first - perhaps the first - Asian to have composed and recorded a symphony.

The who's who of Indian film and even Carnatic music came down to felicitate him, and as a surprising anti-climax to all the celebrations Ilaiyaraaja chose to not release the symphony! It would be years before his fans found out why.

Valiant, Ilaiyaraaja's second symphony, therefore is a more interesting project than you imagined. What exposure to Western music does a man born in the mofussil lands of deep south Tamil Nadu have to be on equal footing with the masters of the Western Classical?

I don't want to give away too much of the story or the article - I fully recommend you spend 15-20 minutes reading K Balakumar's tasteful chronicle of Ilaiyaraaja's journey over the years.

A note on our March print issue:

This piece is the cover story in our March issue. Our print issues are now a collectible consisting of 20 to 25 of the finest pieces from Swarajya which you can have it delivered at your doorstep for Rs 200/month.

Please do subscribe, if you like uninterrupted access to all that Swarajya has to offer -- from monthly print copies to apps to podcasts.