Isidore Dantas' book on the King of Melody keeps the memory of Alfred Rose forever fresh

The late Alfred Rose was a stalwart in the world of Konkani music. His songs are still reverberating across different mediums in Goa and among the Goan diasporas. Capturing his life, Isidore Dantas has authored a book in Konkani, ‘Alfred Rose – The King of Melody’, which was released recently 

 



Isidore Dantas dedicated five years of his life to bringing back the charm that his dear friend the late Alfred Rose had created through his evergreen songs that still touch heartstrings almost six decades after they were first sung. Isidore, originally from Curchorem but now based in Pune, is the author of the Konkani book, ‘Alfred Rose – The King of Melody’, which chronicles the life, songs and achievements of late Alfred Rose, also offering an array of photographs in the book.

Isidore is an author, translator and lexicographer based in Pune, who has been working tirelessly for the Konkani language. He has authored five books, co-authored an English-to-Konkani dictionary and translated two books, which includes ‘Konkani Cholchitram’, a book based on Konkani cinema. The book has been released in the Roman script, Devanagari script and Kannada script versions of Konkani. In May 2019, a website Konkanicinema.com was launched, which renewed interest in Konkani cinema.

After retiring as the Assistant General Manager of State Bank of India in Pune, when Isidore expressed his interest in writing a book on Alfred Rose, Alfred’s wife, Rita, immediately granted him permission. “She had full trust in me and was of great help as she had documented everything systematically, including handbills, photographs and cassettes. She now donated everything to Central Library, Panjim. What interests me is what she wrote on him; four pages about him that are very emotional. The book took two years of research and compilation but the publishing took another three years. It was long time in the making. I had to change so many things because some of the people who had contributed their memories of late Alfred also expired. I had to come to Goa several times for the book,” explains Isidore.

The book is divided into 22 chapters, which include Alfred’s early life, the several records that he created, his tiatrs, musical shows and even what people had to say about the musical legend. There are 409 photographs spread out throughout the coloured book that also features the lyrics and musical notes for 55 songs. The book is for sale only at the Directorate of Art and Culture, Panjim.

“I have broken down the chapters so that people could understand the book in a better way. One chapter deals only with his firsts – first to record a song in English; first to print a comic book in Konkani; first to release a cassette and first to write a novel, among many other firsts. The last chapter is about people from different walks of life, including singers, tiatrists and priests, making their statements about his influence in their life. What people like is his music, so I added the music notes also. I have chosen songs in Konkani and English,” says Isidore.

Speaking about his relationship with late Alfred, he says, “He was a very close friend. I used to bring his tiatrs to Pune in the 1970s, which further developed our relationship. I liked his character; he was very helpful and straightforward and his songs were very clean and that’s why I liked his work. As an author, he has written two novels and songs in books. He has acted in films too. Apart from this, his songs have also been featured on the radio; he was also on TV on Doordarshan, Bombay. I used to write articles on tiatrists and he helped me with his encouraging words. He was the first to go to Africa in the 1960s. At that time, the Gulf was not open but he was also the first to go to the Gulf. He was one of the first tiatrists to go to London, Germany and even had a CD produced in London, called ‘Goencho Mog’.”

The book is very interesting and a boon for Konkani music lovers. But English readers need not fret as Isidore has already translated the book in English. “It now depends on who will publish it and when. I am getting a lot of suggestions as well, regarding the book. I have given the melody but people want the notes of the chords for the guitar of the songs. I am happy to get this follow up so I can improve the book. All NRIs cannot follow Konkani that well so it will be easy for them to read in English, depending on how the book is circulated,” expresses Isidore, who is also working on two more dictionaries and an English version of the book ‘Konkani Cinema’, which will feature all the films that are released till date.

• By Dolcy D' Cruz ; [email protected] | 30 Aug, 2019, 04:15AM