Ragas and symphonies: Indian maestro Ilaiyaraaja is still reshaping music 50 years on

Following the success of Annakili, Ilaiyaraaja produced hits across languages, including Pathinaaru Vayathinile, Olangal, Sadma, Geetanjali, Chinna Gounder and Nayakan. He has composed more than 8,000 film songs, drawing heavily on Tamil Nadu's folk and rural ballad traditions.Last year, he became the first Indian to compose and perform a Western classical symphony in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which described it as a "milestone in global music history". Stills RaviIlaiyaraaja started studying Western music after he moved to Chennai in search of workBorn in June 1943 in Pannaipuram, Tamil Nadu, as R Gnanathesikan, Ilaiyaraaja was raised on the folk songs and ballads sung by his father, a cardamom estate supervisor. He was seven when his father died suddenly."My mother Chinnathayammal bore the entire burden of the household after that. We went through a difficult period," Gangai Amaran, Ilaiyaraaja's younger brother and a celebrated music director himself, told the BBC.Born into a poor, socially marginalised family, Ilaiyaraaja had few opportunities to get ahead. But music was all around him. His eldest brother, singer-playwright Paavalar Varadharajan, performed at Communist Party events in the 1950s, when the party wielded significant influence in the region."We travelled from village to village with our elder brother. That's how we learnt folk and rural musical traditions," Amaran said.When Varadharajan fell ill before a performance, their mother persuaded Ilaiyaraaja to take his place. It was his first public appearance.