THRISSUR: Kerala bade a tearful adieu to music maestro Johnson who was buried with state honours at Nellikunnu St Sebastian’s Church on Saturday in the presence of a large number of people from all walks of life.The mortal remains of Johnson, who died of heart attack on Thursday in Chennai, was brought to Thrissur on Friday evening.People thronged the Regional Theatre, where his body was kept for public homage, to pay their last respects.Singer K J Yesudas, who came to to pay homage to Johnson, said, “Johnson was a dedicated music composer."His body was brought to Regional Theatre at 10.15 am. Idavela Babu, joint secretary of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movies Artistes), placed a wreath on behalf of his organisation. He said: “It is sad to see Johnson being accorded with recognitions only after his death instead of recognising his talents while he was alive. Nine out of the 10 best songs from 1985 to 1995 belong to Johnson.”Singer Biju Narayanan lamented that Malayalam films had failed to exploit the talents of Johnson in full scale. Director Siby Malayil recalled that the compositions of Johnson had a unique Malayalam style and he was stubborn on it. Johnson was against adopting modern styles in compositions.“That is why he could not reconcile with the new generation in Malayalam films. His contributions in background scores played a vital role in the success of films."Actors Sreenivasan and Asokan, music composers M K Arjunan, Ouseppachan, Deepak Dev and Mohan Sithara, lyricists Poovachal Khadar and Shibu Chakravarthy, former ministers K P Rajendran and M A Baby, director Thampi Kannanthanam, Mayor I P Paul, City Police Commissioner P Vijayan and others paid their last respects to Johnson at Regional Theatre. Later, his body was taken to his ancestral home in Chelakkottukara. Excise Minister K Babu paid homage to Johnson on behalf of the state government and District Collector V Sanal Kumar placed wreath on behalf of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.Johnson’s funeral rites were performed under the guidance of Mar Joseph Pastor Nellankavil, former bishop of Sagar Diocese.
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