ISSUE
Friday, August 1, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 70
We couldn’t have had a better example of music transcending languages and cultures than seeing the musician father-daughter duo Yempee (better known as Antony) and Diya Antony strum their guitars to a string of golden hits by Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar at the “Old is Gold” concert in Auckland last month.
It was fascinating to watch the two guitarists perform effortlesly to numbers like Na Ja Kahin Ab Na Ja and Main Hoon Jhum Jhum Jhumroo, despite Hindi being alien to both of them.
“I can’t understand Hindi nor does my daughter but we can play in any language. If we like the music, we play it,” says Antony, who moved to Auckland in 2003, from Kerala. A resident of New Lynn, Antony has been performing with his daughter,
Diya, at various concerts in Auckland, ranging from Hindi and Tamil to Sri Lankan ones, from the past few years. While Antony takes the lead, Diya provides middle easy leads to her father “to give him more effect”.
It’s been eight years since this 14-year-old has been playing guitar and she owes her musician skills to her father.
“It is because of his teachings that I have been able to reach this level. I wasn’t interested in guitar when I started off but have gradually developed interest over the years because of his encouragement to learn the instrument,” said Diya, who is also a student of the New Zealand Modern School of Music.
Music is pretty much in the blood of this family – while Diya and Antony play the guitar, her younger sister plays the piano. “I have been playing guitar since 14 to15 years and have just picked up how to play from my own interest,” says Antony
“I didn’t get the opportunity to learn music in a systematic way as I was born and brought up in a small village, where there were no teachers. Hence, I am coaching my daughters by sending them to a music school. I want them to learn music in a methodical way by knowing how to read notes, etc,” says Antony.
A former lead guitarist of the Auckland band Swarangal, Antony works in the Ministry of Primary Industries for a living and dedicates his spare time to perform in concerts.
“With work, it gets difficult though as it easily takes two to three months to prepare for a concert,” he reveals. But no matter what, he makes sure to keep the interest for music alive in his daughters. Thanks to her frequent performances at concerts with Antony, Diya not just enjoys old Hindi numbers but prefers the current Hindi songs to English ones. “In Western music, I like fast paced numbers but when it comes to guitar, it’s mainly Hindi songs for me. I like singers Chitra and Shweta. But for shows, I listen to old songs,” says the teenager, who intends to keep music as a hobby and make medicine her profession.
As for her daddy dearest, it’s Pankaj Udhas all the way. “I enjoy Pankaj Udhas’ music,” says Antony.
We couldn’t have had a better example of music transcending languages and cultures than seeing the musician father-daughter duo Yempee (better known as Antony) and Diya Antony strum their guitars to a string of golden hits by Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar at the “Old is Gold” concert in Auckland...
We couldn’t have had a better example of music transcending languages and cultures than seeing the musician father-daughter duo Yempee (better known as Antony) and Diya Antony strum their guitars to a string of golden hits by Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar at the “Old is Gold” concert in Auckland last month.
It was fascinating to watch the two guitarists perform effortlesly to numbers like Na Ja Kahin Ab Na Ja and Main Hoon Jhum Jhum Jhumroo, despite Hindi being alien to both of them.
“I can’t understand Hindi nor does my daughter but we can play in any language. If we like the music, we play it,” says Antony, who moved to Auckland in 2003, from Kerala. A resident of New Lynn, Antony has been performing with his daughter,
Diya, at various concerts in Auckland, ranging from Hindi and Tamil to Sri Lankan ones, from the past few years. While Antony takes the lead, Diya provides middle easy leads to her father “to give him more effect”.
It’s been eight years since this 14-year-old has been playing guitar and she owes her musician skills to her father.
“It is because of his teachings that I have been able to reach this level. I wasn’t interested in guitar when I started off but have gradually developed interest over the years because of his encouragement to learn the instrument,” said Diya, who is also a student of the New Zealand Modern School of Music.
Music is pretty much in the blood of this family – while Diya and Antony play the guitar, her younger sister plays the piano. “I have been playing guitar since 14 to15 years and have just picked up how to play from my own interest,” says Antony
“I didn’t get the opportunity to learn music in a systematic way as I was born and brought up in a small village, where there were no teachers. Hence, I am coaching my daughters by sending them to a music school. I want them to learn music in a methodical way by knowing how to read notes, etc,” says Antony.
A former lead guitarist of the Auckland band Swarangal, Antony works in the Ministry of Primary Industries for a living and dedicates his spare time to perform in concerts.
“With work, it gets difficult though as it easily takes two to three months to prepare for a concert,” he reveals. But no matter what, he makes sure to keep the interest for music alive in his daughters. Thanks to her frequent performances at concerts with Antony, Diya not just enjoys old Hindi numbers but prefers the current Hindi songs to English ones. “In Western music, I like fast paced numbers but when it comes to guitar, it’s mainly Hindi songs for me. I like singers Chitra and Shweta. But for shows, I listen to old songs,” says the teenager, who intends to keep music as a hobby and make medicine her profession.
As for her daddy dearest, it’s Pankaj Udhas all the way. “I enjoy Pankaj Udhas’ music,” says Antony.
Leave a Comment