20 Jun 2021  |   04:15am IST

Music has always been the food of a love called Goa

As the state and the world celebrate World Music day tomorrow, it is perhaps time to look at the rich musical heritage of the state, its contributions to the Hindi film industry and also talk about the problems faced by the musicians due to the virus which has stopped all gigs

Ajit John

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

- Twelfth Night. Shakespeare

It’s like air, it’s everywhere

in Goa. The soaring notes emanating from a violin or the young voice of a child taking her first steps in performing in public, music is everywhere in Goa. You have to be deaf to not be exposed to it at every turn or corner. Music is an important part of the DNA of every Goan. It explains their love for music and dance. It explains their love for good food which means it is a party where music is being played.

Colin D’ Cruz, the man with an impeccable command over the fretless double bass has been a musician for several decades, first in Mumbai and now in Goa. He had much to say about the importance of music in Goan life. He said it all started with the church in Goa with musicians being part of the church choir. Musicians, he said, honed their skills and a small ambitious group took it into the ballroom. An even smaller group took their skills and went to the Hindi film industry and became its pillars. Colin said “In the ’30s and 40’s Indian musicians could not read music and these musicians arranged and wrote parts”. Colin said musicians in Goa learned to sing out the notes and really hone their skills. The work by the church ensured the building up the number of musicians who played professionally and went on to train those interested in becoming musicians themselves. Others played in the various bands that dotted the landscape or went over to Mumbai to play in the film industry or in the bands that entertained in plush hotels.

Speaking about the styles of music popular in the state, he said people in Goa liked to dance which meant dance music was very big. Speaking from experience he said now Electronic Dance Music was the most popular followed by pop, dance music, reggae, rock, blues and somewhere right down at the bottom of the pyramid was jazz. He bemoaned the fact that the size of the audience that seriously listened to music was a niche audience. People here were always looking for an opportunity to celebrate and music and dance always played a very big role. Colin ended by saying “Music is a part of their lives, they live life with music around them and when they die they go out with music.”

Another musician who will have a lot to say was the keyboardist Tony Dias. He said “Goa has always been like this. Music plays an important part of life in Goa. It is a rich music culture with the Mando, Dulpod, Ghumot and more. We are carrying on with this culture. Children are exposed to this culture from childhood. They join the choir and get trained. Every child is encouraged to pick up an instrument, it could be the violin or the mandolin or the drums. There are very good teachers who impart knowledge. It never stops”. He went on to say that Goans loved to dance and because of that music was so important. Much knowledge was also passed down within the family. Goans were steeped in this culture which ensured it remained fresh.

Tony bemoaned the fact that musicians today were really struggling due to the virus stopping all gigs. He said “I did my last gig in February 2020 and after that, nothing.” It was a sad state of affairs he said with many musicians having to dip into their savings to survive. This was causing stress for many musicians. The situation he said had to improve very soon otherwise it would really be a problem.

Clifford Siqueira, a drummer, felt most musicians always had two jobs while some were just musicians. He said “Parents want their children to learn music and maintain it as a hobby. Musicians like Remo and Hema have carved a niche. The pandemic hit and brought home the stark fact that there is no unity amongst unions. We don’t have a union. Look at the taxi drivers. We don’t consider music as an industry and have not been able to get together and voice our concerns. We have no idea when we are starting, some are playing online and others are giving classes. This is a good lesson for us. There has to be a strategy”.

Armando Gonsalves who has had a ring side view to the growth of jazz in the state said there were many who had reinvented themselves and gone online but many were in dire straits. He said “I feel they should get together and form a team that can help them with new technologies in a possible way out for them. The government can help them by making the infrastructure available to them.”

The problems may be many but this was the state that virtually ran the Hindi film industry thanks to its musicians that dominated the industry across various levels. Those days without a doubt most of the Hindi film composers were trained in the Hindustani classical tradition, they were not good at writing music. But if the members of an orchestra were to play in unison, they needed to read the notes off scores, with each musician’s role clearly laid out. That task was usually given to a Goan ‘arranger’. The Goan dominance of the Hindi film world was partly a function of the structural differences between Indian and Western music. Indian classical music is melodic. The ragas that form the basis of Indian music are unilinear, each instrument or vocalist exploring an independent line. To move an audience, film scores must be performed by orchestras, with massed instruments playing in harmony. Only Goans, with their training in Western music, knew how to produce what was required.

Some of the worthies were Frank Fernand among the first Goans in Bollywood and assisted such worthies as Anil Biswas, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar to name a few. Anthony Gonsalves was another Music arranger of that time. He found his first job in the city as a violinist in the group of the composer Naushad in 1943. The song “My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves” was Pyarelal’s tribute to his violin teacher. Antonio Xavier Vaz famously known as Chic Chocolate was from Aldona. He assisted C. Ramchandra, who is popularly credited with having introduced swing into Bollywood. Sebastian D’Souza was one of the most reputed arrangers in Bollywood. His first break was with O. P. Nayyar. He devised a system of notation that incorporated the microtones that characterised Indian melodies. The one and only Chris Perry, he was an exceptionally gifted trumpeter, but he was also at ease with blowing instruments as saxophone, trumpet and flute as well as finger instruments like keyboard, piano and guitar. He became famous by introducing jazz music into Hindi songs and he is credited with taking Konkani popular music to a new level. And then who can forget the nightingale Lorna, his prodigy, his student and more.

The musicians of Goa are experiencing tough times but one can only live with hope in one’s heart because the state that gave the world geniuses like Chris Perry, Chic Chocolate and living legends like Lorna cannot wither away.