22 Mar 2023  |   05:09am IST

Many songs with the single message to save Goa’s lifeline - Mhadei

World Water Day is celebrated every year since 1993 on March 22 to create awareness about the importance of fresh water. With the ongoing Mhadei issue, Goans are realizing the value of the river. Goan musicians and singers too are carrying this message forward through the numerous songs released that are dedicated to river Mhadei

Dolcy D’Cruz

American poet Laura Gilpin said, “A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.” With so much attachment linked to a river, it is impossible to imagine a life where the rivers run dry. World Water Day is being celebrated today, March 22 on the theme, accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis. World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day that highlights the importance of fresh water. In 2015, the world committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 Agenda – the promise that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030.

In Goa, the biggest issue related to water is the Mhadei Water Dispute between Goa and Karnataka. With people coming together with the aim to save the Mhadei river, creative minds like artists, writers, singers and musicians also spread awareness about the river and how it will affect lives in Goa through their work. Music has the power to reach a wider audience and through the internet, this message spread far and wide.

Many singers, musicians and lyricists brought the Mhadei issue to the fore through their songs. One of the songs that received great praise is Francis De Tuem’s, ‘Mhadai Avoi Goyenchi’ which has gained over 1,10,000 views. With music by Norman Cardozo, the song is composed by Francis and shot by Joywin Fernandes. “I tried to bring awareness about the Mhadei issue. There is a misconception that the Mhadei doesn’t affect us but Mandovi is connected to Mhadei at Surla which many people are unaware of. I have tried my level best to bring this out through the song that 60 percent of Goa is dependent on the Mhadei river. It serves even the Goa Medical College, Bambolim which means that it caters to the people of the whole of Goa. Goans should unite like how they did for the Opinion Poll to save this river,” says Francis de Tuem.

He further adds, “Currently, I am a part of Lawry Travasso’s Lenten tiatr, ‘Sopnantlim Fulam’ and I am singing another song on Mhadei on how Amit Shah changed his stance towards Karnataka, 15 days after a delegation from Goa met him in Delhi. In April, my new Easter tiatr will be staged, ‘Social Worker’ which will also feature new songs on Mhadei. It is important that Goa doesn’t remain quiet now, we are already late to fight back but there is still hope.”

Known as the fastest composer, Edwin D’Costa put his pen to paper to write about the Mhadei issue. His song, ‘Mhadei Avoik Karnataka Vinkli’ has received 46,412 views since January 30. “My inspiration for the song was the necessity of water necessity. When we are in need of water, why should it be given to Karnataka and that too, this water has been used by Goans since time immemorial. The focus of the song was to be united to protect our Mhadei. I received a very good response to the song with comments on different social media platforms,” says Edwin D’Costa from Dubai.

Political Queen Olga Vaz can’t bear to see what is happening in the Goan society today and the only way she can vent her emotions is through her songs. ‘Utt Mhadei Rakh’ is one call she sent out to the audience. Released just a few days before the Mhadei meet on January 16, the song has received 31,890 views till date. “Karnataka has enough water and even late Manohar Parrikar had said that the water should not be diverted. If the water is diverted, there will be a lot more suffering for the lack of water. Karnataka has 47 rivers while Goa has just five rivers. We still don’t receive enough water and the taps run dry so imagine what this diversion will do to Goans. Water is as essential as food, maybe even more. Through this song, I wanted to reach the audience and bring forward the reality of this manmade catastrophe,” says Olga, who will be heading on a World tour in April performing her songs in different cities of the world.

Fr Kevan Rodrigues is the assistant director at Clergy Home, Porvorim, and through his song, ‘Mhadei Samball’ he wanted to portray a picture of what will come next once the water is diverted. The song features the voices of Tanya, Lenisha and Valriche. “Mhadei is the lifeline of our state. The diversion of the Mhadei waters will have an adverse effect on Goa. I was introduce new faces and voices through the songs. For this song, the singers are from Benaulim. I wanted to highlight the plight of Goa after the dams are built and the rivers in Goa will dry up. It is important for people of South Goa also to unite for this fight as we need to act now and urgently,” says Fr Kevan, whose song has 10,749 views.

‘Amchi Mhadei Amchi Mai’ was played on different Carnival floats this year to create awareness. The song was composed by Joe D’Costa and Fr Bolmax Pereira. “This was a quick song as the song had to be released soon as the message had to reach out to Goans to unite for the Mhadei meet on January 16. It was completed in just 2-3 days and the final touches, mixing, mastering and final edit were done in Mumbai in my studio. I have used an Indian Raag based music for a part of the song and the main focus is to protect our motherland and our waters. The song has gained a lot of love and appreciation and was even sung for protests in USA and Canada,” explains Joe D’Costa, who had Malaika Roque singing in the song.

Two years back when the undercurrents of the Mhadei issue could still be felt, Andrew Ferrao released his song, ‘Mandovi’ featuring Friz Love and Alacoque Morenas, which has now gained popularity. With the beautiful music of the mandolin played by Fr Myron Sequeira and Rajshree Bandodkar Karapurkar explaining the flow and importance of the river, the song is a very catchy. “I know the people who fight these battles legally and I gathered the information from the genuine people to write the song. I like to do something different and wanted to keep the folk music in the song. With the voice over by Rajshree, who is a lecturer and an activist, the song has taken a form of a small documentary too,” says Andrew.

Another melodious song with a powerful message that is come back on the social media circuit is 'Amchi Mhadei' by Custodio Dias.

No matter the genre of the song, the message is very clear, Goans have to unite to save the water that will quench the thirst of the future generations.