Celebrating Konkani with music
After receiving a tremendous response for the first two editions of World Konkani Day, this year, the celebrations will be twice as grand as they are taking place over two days. Café finds out more about the festivities planned, including the line up of performances
World Konkani Day - III, the Konkani World Celebrations,
is being celebrated today, April 8, 2017, and tomorrow,
April 9, in a musical way as various artistes are set to
come together to perform at the third edition of the event
organised by The Music Mafia in association with Ravindra
Bhavan.
“Birthdays, anniversaries and festivals are annually
celebrated with pomp but there are very few events that
celebrate our love for our mother tongue, Konkani. World
Konkani Day (WKD) came out of that thought. April 9 is
already recognised as ‘Vishwa Konkani Dis’, as it is the death
anniversary of noted Konkani activist Shenoi Goembab. The
inspiration behind our festival are the youth and the legacy
of Konkani. World Konkani Day therefore involves the youth
that make up a large part of the 2,500 plus audience we
see every year at our WKD celebrations,” says Joed Almeida,
who formed The Music Mafia with his school friend, Stanley
Marchado, and Sidharth Yaji.
Day one begins at 7pm with a live Konkani debate
with television personality Pramod Acharya as moderator,
followed by a comedy skit by Joanna and Sally. A musical
performance by Augustine Fernandes and his troupe of
students will bring the day to a close. The second day of
the festival will also begin at 7pm with a welcome dance by
Siddhant Gadekar Dance and Fitness Academy, followed by
a live performance by Konkani Rock band ‘Surya Chondrim
Noketram’ led by Roque Lazarus. There will be a solo
performance by Carlos Gonsalves with his project ‘The
Talking Drums’, followed by his felicitation. Popular song
‘Goenkarponn – The Goa Song will be rendered, followed
by the concluding performance by Siddharth Yaji and his
troupe. Hence the line up comprises Emmanuel Antao,
Alacoque Morenas, Sidharth Yaji, Shaistah Thapar, Carlos
Gonsalves, Lazarus Roque, Ashwin Cardozo, Jonathan
Dias, Seby, Glenn Dias, Edwin Ferndnades, Maggie, Celeste
Sanchez and ‘Surya Chondrim Noketram’.
Yaji also plays an important part in organising the event.
He has been with the festival from day one, performing for
the previous two festivals; this year he will he performing a
duet with Celeste. “It has been a great experience. It’s a well
organised, open stage event with a good band and sound
system that entertains a crowd of over 2,000 people. That
is enough for an artiste. Last year’s event drew tremendous
response from the audience. I got requests asking me to sing
a certain ‘kantar’ or a certain ‘geet’, which shows that people
are enjoying the music. That’s what we want to give to the
people. Ravindra Bhavan has always helped us to make the
event a grand success. I will be singing two ‘geets’ and one
duet ‘kantar’ with Celeste this year,” he says.
Every year, The Music Mafia also felicitates a personality
who has contributed to Konkani; this year’s gifted Goan is
Carlos Gonsalves. “I will be performing a drum solo and
will also be playing the ‘ghumott’, which is a true Goan
instrument. I played the ‘ghumott’ at the Santosh Trophy
finals and it piqued the interest of many. A lot of my friends
are coming from abroad for the show as they enjoy the
Goan culture and music,” says Carlos.
Besides the live concert, a pop-up bazaar will also be
open for the festival from 4pm onwards.
World Konkani Day- II, the Konkani World Celebrations
will be held on April 8 and 9, 2017 from 7pm onwards at
Ravindra Bhavan Margao
- | 08 Apr, 2017, 01:52AM