Within hours after the announcement of Padma Vibhushan Award for his enormous contribution to the music industry, Isaignani Ilaiyaraja met the press and addressed the gathering expressed his happiness for having achieved the second highest civilian honor of India.

 Here is the excerpt of the Maestro's speech:

"A Joint secretary of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of the Union Government called me and said I have been nominated for the Padmba Vibhushan award and sought my consent for the same. I said I am ready to accept the honour. He said the award has been honoured since you have accepted to receive it. I have also accepted to take part in the award ceremony. All of you know what I will think about this award. With this award, the union government lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is honouring the Tamil people and Tamil Nadu."

Raja's observation is indeed true. Honoring the legend is equal to honouring every Tamil speaking person and also the fans of his music.