John Anthony has been a prominent figure in the music circuit for many decades. He has also held gigs in several countries including China, Russia, Germany and Sri Lanka.
But the ace musician would rate his concert on the premises of the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station on Friday as “one of my most satisfying shows.”
The band
The grand finale of the 61{+s}{+t}Railway Week celebrations witnessed John leading his band kARNATRiix with members, Jyothikrishna S. and DJ Raul, and performing alongside veteran singer Jesudasan Rajasekaran and Bryan Jacob Daniel on the drums before many hundreds of people, mostly passengers.
The concerts were complemented with live painting performances by Pavy Sankar at all venues.
The programme marked the culmination of a five-day long musical outreach that was based on the theme ‘Swacch Rail-Swacch Bharath’ during which kARNATRiix conducted half-an-hour long live concerts at the Thiruvananthapuram Central, Alappuzha, Aluva, Ernakulam junction, Thrissur, Kottayam and Kollam railway stations.
“It might have been a hectic few days for the team, which also included two teams of sound engineers, but they were the most memorable ones. Everything fell into place without any sort of glitches. Our renditions of folk songs, all of which stressed on the importance of ecological conservation, were very well-received at the stations. There were passengers, even tourists, who chose to skip their scheduled train journeys to witness our shows. Those are moments to cherish for us,” says John, who is regarded as one of the pioneers of new-age world music in the country.
The veteran guitarist has been an ardent supporter of movements for environmental conservation.
Social causes
John has also been part of social causes, prominent among them being the ‘No More Bhopals’ concert to address the struggle of survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the ‘Share the Love’ concert in Sri Lanka, to highlight the plight of children who suffered immensely during the civil war in the country.
He, now, looks forward towards collaborating with the Forest Department for a programme planned to mark the World Environment Day on June 5.
