Music for the joy it gives, music for the demand it has, is common knowledge. ANANTARA, a light music band that performs only for raising funds for charitable purposes, lends a whole new meaning to music and its purpose.
Started five years ago, the Need Trust was established by Josyula Shekar to support special children, care for the terminally ill and orphanages. The focus is now on pursuing education, employment and empowerment for the differently-abled. Shekar, a successful entrepreneur. had a moment of epiphany when he interacted with cancer specialist Dr V Shanta of the Cancer Institute. That prompted him to establish the Trust to undertake work for the causes, he thought, needed to be addressed.
“I didn’t want to pick just a handful of individuals and help them with funds and finance needed. Instead, it made more sense to look at the cause as a larger issue that needed work,” he says.
Known for its excellent presentation and creative approach towards music, ANANTARA’s shows are popular for their novelty. From fusion of dance and music to using mehfil setups in their performance, the band tries to present the most common things in an uncommon way.
“All assistance through the Trust required funds and to raise funds, it was quite natural that he ventured into entertainment and music, which help him in his efforts. And thus, ANANTARA (the musical wing of Need Trust), whose purpose of existence was solely to raise funds for the charitable causes, was launched.
The band has so far performed at numerous events and several private musical gatherings, with an illustrious list of singers that include Josyula Shekar, alongside Sadhna Sargam, Anoorada Sriram, Suchitra, Shalini, Amit Kumar and Kuldeep Sagar and is making efforts to entertain audiences with retro music and melody, that comes deep from his heart, as expressed by the members of the band. Jaya Rajagopal, a popular artiste in Chennai retro circles is a key member of the team.
Their Jaya Ho programme, which is a weekly retro night at a popular resto bar in the city, is one of the full-house events on Fridays in Chennai.
Making an effort to contribute to the cause in all walks of life, Shekar and his team at Need Trust have also facilitated the employment of differently-abled people at their workplace. Nandini, a partner in his Trust, says, “We make an effort to make the difference that we intend to see in society. But, at times it becomes difficult to make people understand that differently-abled people are sometimes as capable as we are.”
Shekar is also the recipent of the Rotary FMLR award for excellence in music and received the Big Chennaite 2012 award by BIG FM for his social service efforts.
Perhaps, these words by writer Kahlil Gibrain summarises the idea behind ANANTARA, “Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.”
