Reason I was asking about Jaya TV & Sun is because I would consider subscribing to the channels if they broadcast this event on TV. I hadn't thought of a DVD of the event, how silly since this is a DVD forum.

Love the pics of the 2 prime Raja's Is she married or just engaged? The other woman of my life just invited me to her wedding

nevermind DVD, I want concert in Jan!! well, DVD too!! but I know how these Indian camera men are. They aren't trained well enough to cover special events. No organization. Either way, a glipse is better than not having anything at all.

I watched CM's 200 day celebration and they have done a good job. Going with JayaTV standards this will be much better than that. Lets hope they release DVD!

Here's a review of the concert i got as a forward
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October 16, 2005. The Nehru Indoor Stadium was full-packed by 6 PM. The crowd got anxious, as minutes went past 6:05 PM. It was a mild disappointment for those who expected the concert to start on time. Yet, at 6:35 PM, when Ilayaraja appeared from an elevated revolving platform singing "Janani Janani", flanked on both sides by 2 little kids in white frocks, the whole stadium reverberated with applause. Here was the man clad in a white shirt & dhoti, who has proved through his countless genius compositions, that he is no less than Mozart and Beethovan of those days. It was a dream come true for many, seeing the Maestro face-to-face.

SPB kicked off the concert with the mesmerizing "Mandram vantha thendralukku" (Mouna Raagam). Claps came roaring as he started the initial humming of the song. While singing the line “Maedaiyai pola, Vaazhkai alla...”, Raja & SPB smiled at each other, revealing the legendary bonding between them. Ilayaraja commented at the end of it, "You sing better on stage than while recording".

Parthiban (actor) and Mahathi (budding playback singer) compered the event. Mahathi kept giving technical tips about each song and it's raaga.

It looked like violin fascinates Ilayaraja the most! No other instrument dominated the show as much as that group of violins. The utmost seriousness with which Raja conducted those 35 to 40 violinists was amazing. Many times during the show, Raja signalled to the crowd to concentrate on the violin scores. Even a small variation from his notes irritated him.

When the violinists struggled to play the interludes of "Senthoora Poovey", Raja himself dictated the notes aloud "Play Ne Tha Pa..., it's C# B A....". The violinists were a bit fast when playing for Bhavathaarani's "Mayil pola ponnu onnu", and a slightly disappointed Raja remarked to them, "She is a small girl! See how fast you played! Didn't I tell you during rehearsal itself?". Then he turned to the audience so humbly and asked, "How was it? Was it okay?". The applause that followed gave the answer.

SPB came back to sing "Sundari Kanaal oru sethi, solladi innaal nalla thethi" (Thalapathy) - a notable composition in Kalyaani. Earlier, comperer Mahathi was at loss of words describing how Raja had used Kalyaani raaga in such a war related song sequence. SPB recalled the incident, when Raja recorded this song in Mumbai using R.D.Burman's orchestra and the whole orchestra gave a standing ovation to Raja after playing those complicated interludes.

Chitra gave her very best in "Naan oru sindhu" (Sindhubhairavi). The part in the song where the she sang the swarangal in sync with a solo violin - was just too awesome.

The song that came as the crowd's favorite was "Naan theadum sev-vanthi poo ithu", sung by Raja himself. With popular demand for a "once more", Raja laughed & started singing it once more, replacing the lyrics with his own words praising his fans.

Raja called upon Yuvan Shankar to sing a small song, which was more like a classical one. And at the end, Raja jovially remarked, "Yuvan, what is this! You didn't sing this in your style!" and Raja himself mimicked it in pop-style. Yuvan made a futile effort to sing that song again in pop fashion. Although "Drums" Mani tried to increase the rhythm and support Yuvan, it didn't take-off well.

Hariharan, Bhavathaarini & chorus - sang "Kaatril varum geethamey" (Oru Naal Oru Kanavu). They sang the "swarangal" part of the song together, absolutely in sync. Raja really admired them singing it and joined them towards the end.

Good old singer Jeyachandran came with his best "Raasathi Unnai Kaanatha nenju" (Vaitheki Kaathirundaal). With experienced singers like SPB, Hariharan, Jeyachandran, Chithra, etc one could see Raja quite relaxed and at ease.

Then came "Maanguyiley Poonguyiley" (Kara-kaatakaaran). When Raja had composed that tune, its director Gangai Amaran had remarked, "I am your brother, can't you compose a better tune for me?” But Raja had insisted on sticking to that tune, and we know what a hit it turned out to be!

When Bharathiraja came on stage and spoke high words of praise, Raja gently turned down to accept such high praises, and smiled to the orchestra saying “Let’s play our music and keep going, that’s enough!”.

Towards the end, Raja spoke about his perception of music: "A tune should either convey a mood, or it should deliver a message. If it doesn't serve either of these, it is not of any use. Nowadays, well... many pop songs are coming up, let's not talk of those. It is like the difference between a healthy meal and popcorn. But let's not worry why popcorn sells better!"

A brief video on Ilayaraja's biography was shown. Born in Pannaiyapuram village, Raja used to go to the fields in his young days and make flute out of hollow sticks, even without knowing the basics of music. From Pannaiyapuram to Burmingham Symphony - his musical journey is amazing. His unimaginable level of mastery over Carnatic and Western Classical was evident throughout the show!

Inspite of all those showers of praises by so many people who came on stage, Raja bid farewell with a very humble message, "I became a music director not by any of my efforts, but by God's grace". That humbleness said it all - why this man still remains an unbeaten genius.

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There seem to be some factual errors but lets just get the drift

Too bad guys , i could not make it to the function , my uncle thought i will be "too tired" for IR

Anyways , i heard from him that it was the best show he has atteneded in a long time ( he is a regular and a sucker for such shows !) - all the tickets were sold out and it was a packed statdium. I just hope there is another one so i can go

A tune should either convey a mood, or it should deliver a message. If it doesn't serve either of these, it is not of any use. Nowadays, well... many pop songs are coming up, let's not talk of those. It is like the difference between a healthy meal and popcorn. But let's not worry why popcorn sells better!"

I was watching SunTV top10 today and this statement by IR is absolutely true. Kaatrinil Varum Geethamae(IR), Nalla VAzvhu Kidaikumbothu (IR), Mayiliragae (ARR) are at the bottom compared to Mazhai (varsham in telugu), Chanakyar (who is the MD?) and few other junk movies.