Tamil Nadu CM Stalin meets Ilaiyarajaa ahead of his debut symphony in London

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin presents a memento to Ilaiyarajaa.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Ahead of the much awaited-debut symphony live performance of Ilaiyarajaa in London, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin visited the ‘maestro’ at his residence in Chennai on Sunday morning (March 2, 2025.)

During their meeting, Mr. Stalin presented a shawl on his behalf and that of the Tamil Nadu Government and former CM M. Karunanidhi. Both of them posed for a photograph, as CM presented a memento to Mr. Ilaiyarajaa.

Later in the day, the Chief Minister took to the social media to share about his meeting with ‘Isaignani’. “Mr. Ilaiyarajaa’s debut symphony in London later this week would be what none from Asia did,” Mr. Stalin said.

“I visited him in person to appreciate this feat of Isaignani, who is the pride of Tamil Nadu. He showed me with happiness the music notes he composed with his hands for the upcoming valiant symphony,” Mr. Stalin said. The Chief Minister further said he wished Mr. Ilaiyarajaa, who has blended with the lives of the Tamils living across the globe and said the debut symphony live performance would take the top spot in his list of achievements.

In a video that was shared by the Chief Minister, both of them were heard sharing how late DMK leader and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi coined the sobriquet Isaignani for Mr. Ilaiyarajaa and how that lasted through the test of times.

They also recalled how Mr. Ilaiyarajaa changed his birthday to June 2, even though he originally shared the birthday with the late DMK leader on June 3.

Mr. Stalin recalled how he was recently presented a CD with songs by late playback singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and pointed out how music for many of the songs were composed by Mr. Ilaiyarajaa. “I keep listening to them these days, whenever I’m on the car.” In December 2024, Mr. Ilaiyarajaa announced his debut symphony live performance that is set to be held in London on March 8, 2025.