BENGALURU: Armed with a violin, the sixty-two year old from Assam is geared to stop violence. With music, he has boldly spoken against the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) militancy in Assam in the 90s and ever since, there has been no looking back for Kishour Giri. He has been travelling around the country spreading the message of love and peace.
It was the disturbing New Year’s eve incidence in Bengaluru that prompted Kishour to come to the city. He conceptualised the theme of ‘Violin Against Violence’ especially for the city. Before this, the hybrid musical instrument player used to perform on the theme — ‘Music Against Militancy’. He has performed in all the eight states of the North East, raising questions of the hour and in support of the iron lady of Manipur Irom Chanu Sharmila.
He sings his own compositions, which is mainly written in Hindi, English, Assamese, Nepali and Bengali. He writes songs against all kinds of violence; be it against exploitation of women and children, extremism, nuclear power, religious divide or the ongoing crisis in Kashmir.
Kishour had initially planned to perform in Kashmir, but because the permit for the same seemed unlikely, he decided on Bengaluru. After his performance in the city, he will be going to Kashmir, he says. He believes the music will bring in the required change of heart the world needs. “I consider violin the queen of instruments. This queen shall rule over its subjects and calm violence,” says Kishour. How will that happen? Every one will listen when the queen speaks and everyone wants peace, adds Kishour.
He will be performing in Cubbon Park near the fountain on June 4 at 9 am and this shall be his first performance in Bengaluru. Kishour has performed in other cities including Delhi and Kolkata where he sang about violence of video games.
“I enjoyed a lot in my initial 30 years of my life. I did not always get what I wanted and this way I got a pretty good guidance,” he reminisces. “Now I see all kind of needs get immediately fulfilled. The parents leave their child alone with technology and a few of the content corrupt minds,” adds Kishour.
The song about violence also includes a message for parents and the intro of the song reads “Parents are the key for a peaceful tomorrow”.