What makes Ilaiyaraaja greater than A R Rahman?

To those who are ardent lovers of music there is a constant debate which happens and this is about who among the two music composers is great. We are talking about the duo of Ilaiyaraaja and A R Rahman. Though both hail from Chennai, Ilaiyaraaja is called the legend while Rahman is being called the new age music guru.  But fans of both music directors have their own loyalties. If a comparison has to take place then some of the senior music analysts say that the music of Ilaiyaraaja has a lot of depth and there are various layers of music in each song. Due respect is given to the vocals and the orchestration.  In the case of Rahman, there is good melody but then the depth is lacking and the choice of instruments is more on the electronic and technology side than the authentic musical instruments that Ilaiyaraaja uses. That way, it is not just about his experience but the way Ilaiyaraaja composes music which makes him better than Rahman.