By:Femina Razack
SAN JOSE: For the first time, music lovers of the Bay Area got an opportunity to see Iayaraja perform live last week. And the maestro didn’t disappoint the near-capacity crowd at HP Pavilion, home of National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks.
The four-hour show, featuring legendary singers S.P. Balasubramaniam, K.S. Chitra and Hariharan, among others, included more than three dozen Ilayaraja hits in Tamil and Telugu. The songs performed included hits such as Azhagu malar aada, Naanaga naan illai and O Priya, Priya.
The concert was part of the composer’s three-city North America tour that kicked off in Toronto last month and also included a live show in New Jersey, Ilayaraja’s first ever performance in the United States.
The concert, presented by the Bay Area Telugu Association, Kalalaya and Swagath Foundation, was initially scheduled for last November, but was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast.