CHENNAI: Jeeva, wife of the legendary musician Ilayaraja, breathed her last due to cardiac arrest on Monday night, in the city. She was 68 years old. The body has been flown to her native town Pannaiyapuram in Theni district, where her last rites will be held on Wednesday.
Jeeva Ilayaraja died only a month after her second son Yuvan Shankar Raja’s got married at Tirumala.
Jeeva complained of chest pain and was taken to a private hospital, but it was of little avail. She had three heart attacks before, and a byspass surgery was earlier conducted. Her husband Ilayaraja, who was recording for a film in Hyderabad when the news of his wife’s demise came, could take a flight and reach Chennai only on Tuesday morning.
Several film personalities visited the maestro’s T Nagar residence to pay their last respects to Jeeva.
Actors Kamal Haasan, Kushboo, Suhasini, Sathyaraj, Sivakumar, Arun Vijay, Bharath, Bhagiaraj, Dhanush, Karthi, filmmakers K Balachandar, Bharathiraja, Vijay, Bala, Balu Mahendra, Jananadhan, singers P Susheela, Sujatha, Unni Krishnan, Chinmayi, music composers S A Rajkumar, Ganesh of the Shankar-Ganesh duo, lyricists Vaalee, Vairamuthu were among those who caught a final glimpse of her. DMK chief M Karunanidhi, former deputy CM M K Stalin, MDMK leader Vaiko, former minister RM Veerappan were among the statesmen to express their condolences to the Isaignaani. Conveying his condolences, Kamal Haasan said it was an immense loss for the musician and he must try to overcome this loss. Several other film personalities including actors Kushboo, Jayam Ravi and Sidharth also expressed their condolences on Twitter calling Jeeva a wonderful soul who complemented the maestro well.
Jeeva is survived by Ilayaraja, children Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, and Bhavatharini. She is incidentally maestro’s sister’s daughter, and will be buried close to his mother’s samadhi near Pannaiyapuram.