When he joined Dhanraj Master as a student to learn musical instruments, the master changed his name to 'Raaja'. Ilaiyaraaja chose to celebrate his birthday on 2 June to leave 3 June entirely to Karunanidhi, the politician who called Ilaiyaraaja 'Isaignani', Īt the time of joining school, his father changed his name from Gnanathesigan to 'Rajaiya', and the people in his village called him 'Raasayya'. Ilaiyaraaja was born as Gnanathesigan in a Dalit family belonging to Pannaipuram, in present-day Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, on 3 June 1943. He is a nominated Member of Parliament in the Indian upper house, Rajya Sabha, since July 2022. In 2010, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour in India and was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 2018, the second-highest civilian award by the government of India. In 2012, for his creative and experimental works in the field of music, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performing arts.

Several awards for his works throughout his career. Ilaiyaraaja is nicknamed 'Isaignani' (the musical genius) and often referred to as ' Maestro', the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. Reputed to be one of the most prolific Indian composers, in a career spanning over forty-five years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films, apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil & Telugu films.

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