Her wrinkles may have spread, her walk may have become less sprightly and her reflexes may have
slowed down slightly. But when she’s on stage, shut your eyes and let Lorna
touch your soul (it doesn’t take any effort) transforming you to a surreal
universe where the heart sings its tunes rendered by a voice which reverberates
in the core of every Goan. Lorna! Not a name, but the spirit of Goenkarponn.
The daughter of late Teófilo and late Cecίlia Cordeiro, from Saligao, Lorna turns 75 today.
Norman Cardozo is the music director who
has been with Lorna for every single show for the past 15 years. She has been
performing with his band since 2004, starting with their first show in the
United Kingdom. “After making her comeback with Ronnie Monserrate in 1995, she
was backed by a band called Status Four. Since I have been with her, we have
performed in Canada, Portugal, France, USA, Kenya, New Zealand and Australia,
including almost all countries in the Gulf. Mozambique is in the pipeline,”
says Norman, who has just returned to Goa after a performance with Lorna in
front of a 15000-strong crowd at the UK Goan Festival.
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“A wonderful thing I’ve noticed is how
delighted people get to watch her performing live. Some of them can barely
believe that they are getting the opportunity to witness a live performance of
a singer who has also dazzled their grandparents and parents with her talent;
that itself keeps them going and she is blessed to be our legend and this is
all god’s plan and miracle that she is performing at this level at the age of
75”, gushed Norman.
I don’t know if we will have that sort of
strength when we touch 50 years but whatever she is doing is amazing, with the
same voice and energy. People want to dance and come very close to the stage
and roar and shout out her name and she loves it. She also roars back. There
are many Goan singers but no one has the same legacy,” Norman states,
recreating the vibe of being onstage with Lorna.
“The birthday wish I would like to give her is that I only pray
for her good health,” he adds.
Bardroy Barretto’s film ‘Nachom-ia Kumpasar’, which was a major
hit across the globe, was based on the lives of Lorna and Chris Perry and
featuring 20 songs of the duo. Bardroy says, “By default, she is one of the few
who come once in a lifetime. Her raw talent and voice is outstanding. You don’t
get a Lorna every day and we don’t have anyone else like her. She is still
pulling the crowd with her voice and the legacy left behind when she and Chris
Perry were together. She practises and puts up shows and can go much further.
Her voice is still strong and booming.”
His quest for the magic the duo created on stage led him to
research and direct the film. “‘Nachom-ia Kumpasar’ started as a film on Chris
Perry and Lorna. Then in between doing that research, I got to know about the
rest of the musicians. But and by that time, Chris Perry had passed away and
there was no way I could get their story. It is based purely on the songs. I
found the story in the songs and whatever rumours I heard as a kid. This is not
a true biopic. These songs stuck with me as a kid and there were many musicians
during the radio era. If you look at them individually and then together, what
they created was magic,” adds Bardroy.
Bond Braganza from Mapusa worked with Lorna to record a ten song
album, ‘Tuzo Mog’, in 2009. The father of Veeam Braganza, who herself is said
to be a younger version of Lorna, he wrote the lyrics, composed the tunes and
described the ten songs to Lorna, convincing her to get back in the studio
after a three year break. Bond worked with music maestero late Josihno, to add
a little bit of Chris Perry’s magic to the songs.
“Lorna’s magic continues to work on the younger generation.
Today, the youth are with her and dance to her tunes. Lorna used to do live
shows even when I had cut the album with her, but now she is more in demand in
foreign countries. There is no one to replace her with that calibre to stand
out from the rest. She can really entertain and give your money’s worth.
“I would like to wish Lorna on her birthday and tell her that I
had the best time with her at the recording and got to know more of what she
has achieved,” says Bond.
However,
once the curtains come down, Lorna is a different person. She keeps herself
busy with her house chores and in the company of her sister, Clementine, and
nephew in Mumbai. Her unique and irresistible voice has enthralled Goans for
over five decades and we wish to hear more of Lorna’s soulful unforgotten voice
in the years to come. Happy Birthday, Lorna!
