Crooning for the cause of autistic children

Lending an ear to the needs of autistic children and their longing for social acceptance, six celebrated music bands from south India led by newly formed Reggae Mars will perform in the city on April 28.

High Hopes, the six-hour live concert planned at Swapna Nagari from 3 p.m. with the participation of seasoned singers, will also mark the launch of Reggae Mars’ one-year-long musical campaign with special compositions supporting the cause of such children in other selected destinations of the State.

“We take up this musical initiative after directly seeing the turmoil of several such children to come up to the mainstream and their true energy to excel in various fields. Other than a suppressive attitude to control them, we need to come out with a considerate approach that can definitely uncover the magical powers in them,” says Asok Ram, founder of Reggae Mars, which is all set to master the theme song. When these leading bands come together and musically urge the community to shake hands with such children, it will definitely usher in a positive spirit, he adds.

The well-known bands invited to the special concert along with Reggae Mars include Aviyal, Chaos, Jhanu, Eettillam, and Collective Conscious.

The venue of the performance will be designed in such a way to reflect the rustic mood. Street magicians will make their appearance with shows matching to the theme. No chairs will be arranged at the venue as the organisers want to create a festive ambiance at the spot with equal importance to all.

Ahead of the mega concert, the organisers are planning to host evening shows covering prominent locations of the city with the support of the Tourism Department. The renovated S.M. Street will be one of the locations. Efforts are also on to enlist the participation of people’s representatives and Tourism Department officials to make it a memorable event. The theme song “The autistic have hopes and dreams...” will be played live at all venues to convey the message.

As part of the year-long special campaign, High Hopes will also reach Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram after the six-hour concert in Kozhikode.

On April 2, 2019, the participating bands will come together in Kozhikode again for the grand culmination of the event, which will also mobilise a special fund for socially and academically backward autistic children.