Since the mid-1970s, Ilaiyaraaja—the great maestro of Tamil film music—has composed thousands of songs on his trusted harmonium. Along the way, he’s taken in a whirlwind of genres including the South Indian folk of his childhood, the European classical music he studied, Carnatic ragas, rock, jazz and any other style that caught his well-trained ear. But his greatest gift has been blending those styles so seamlessly that a unique quality has emerged: music that is boundlessly beautiful and open to all. Coming from humble beginnings (he was born in 1943 in Pannaipuram), the young R. Gnanathesikan cut his musical teeth while touring with his brothers as a performing troupe. Later he got his foot in the industry as a guitarist with music director Salil Chowdhury and an assistant to Kannada composer G. K. Venkatesh, with whom he explored orchestration and composition. Ilaiyaraaja’s debut as a Tamil film composer, 1976’s Annakili, opened new doors and he became increasingly innovative over the following decade, reimagining folk and classical numbers for a new generation and experimenting with all sorts of instrumental combinations from East and West. Among his best-known work are three films that each won him a National Film Award for Best Music Direction—1983’s Saagara Sangamam, 1985’sSindhu Bhairavi and 1988’sRudra Veena—as well as his Bollywood debut Sadma in 1983 and 1991’s Thalapathi, for which he scooped the Filmfare Awards South’s best music director gong. In addition to composing songs for more than 1,000 movies, Ilaiyaraaja stands out for his pioneering non-film work, including arguably the first Indian oratorio—2006’s Thiruvasakam in Symphony—alongside Carnatic kritis and devotional songs. He’s been honoured with a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his services to the arts and a Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour. Most importantly, though, Ilaiyaraaja’s music has won the hearts of fans worldwide in a career that spans six decades.