The buzzing centre of art, Museum of Goa, Pilerne recently celebrated ten years of making art accessible in Goa through various art forms that showcase Goa’s rich history and culture. Concert for Goa was a sold out musical event, anchored by Susmit Sen, co-founder of the Indian cult band ‘Indian Ocean’ with Susmit Sen Chronicles and was attended by art and music lovers including artists, musicians, filmmakers and writers at Museum of Goa.
Sharada Kerkar, operational head at Museum of Goa and co-founder of the Children’s Art Studio, said, “MOG’s 10-year celebrations couldn’t have had a better start than this. We are thrilled to have had Susmit Sen Chronicles perform at MOG as part of the Concert for Goa. The collaboration blossomed into a unique concert experience, where music and visual art converge to create magic. To see that vision come to life with such a wonderful, responsive audience was deeply fulfilling”.
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Susmit Sen Chronicles kicked off MOG’s Concert for Goa initiative and is the first in the line of events planned through the 10th anniversary year. The stage came alive with the talents of Susmit Sen on guitar, alongside Sudheer Rikhari (vocals, keyboard), Gayathri Natarajan (vocals), Tatyana Dichenko (piano), and Carlos Gonsalves (drums, ghumat). A long-time admirer of Susmit Sen, Shubhankar Datta, was flown down by Susmit to play the guitar alongside him on the stage at MOG.
Susmit Sen Chronicles’ album ‘Azaadi’ features four tracks, including two Konkani songs, ‘Saiba Tandela’ (Master Boatman) and ‘Kuvar’ (The Prince). The two other songs are the title track ‘Azaadi’ in Sanskrit and ‘Mazaar’, a Tamil composition. The album, produced by the renowned ex-BBC sound recordist Miti Adhikari, was launched at the concert in the presence of Dr Subodh Kerkar, founder of Museum of Goa.
As an ode to Goa’s rich musical history, Susmit Sen Chronicles performed the Konkani song, ‘Saiba Tandela,’ from the track list of their album ‘Azaadi’ with the backdrop of the ‘Carpet of Joy’, a colourful, larger-than-life installation crafted by Dr Subodh Kerkar, out of one lakh recycled plastic bottles.
Sushmit Sen said, “Even before taking the stage, I knew it was going to be a fantastic experience. The setting, the people and the organisers, it is rare to find a combination of all of that on
the top level. It was nothing but
an absolute pleasure performing at MOG”.
Goan percussionist Carlos Gonsalves, who brought the Goan ghumat centre-stage with a solo at the concert said, “I have performed in various places all over the world but doing it on my Goan land in collaboration with people who appreciate and understand art is unmatched. It was a surreal experience performing at MoG.”
