THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024
Dolcy D’Cruz
With only four strings, the ukulele has been popular since its introduction in 1879, especially in Hawaiian music. Did you know that ukulele means ‘jumping flea’ in Hawaiian but it is more commonly known as the uke?
This instrument has been played all across the world and over the years has been gaining popularity especially among young musicians. Another reason to pick up the instrument is that Goa is the only state in India to host an exclusive ukulele festival, that not only encourages the learning of the instrument but also provides an opportunity to perform. Mahalo Goa Ukulele Festival will be held on February 17 and 18 at Saraya Café, Ecostay and Art Space, Sangolda. The first day will be open from 2 pm to 10 pm with workshops, open mics and live performances while the second day will be open from 10 am to 10 pm.
The festival is organised by Christina Fernandes, mother of Keaton, Aliya and Lucia, as all three children were playing the instrument. Speaking about the response to the festival over the years, Christina says, “Since our first edition in 2019, the Mahalo Ukulele’s following has grown steadily. We are really proud that people continue year after year while new people are joining as well. We hope this trend continues for Mahalo 2024 and many ukulele lovers get to enjoy our amazing artists and exciting workshops.”
On February 17, the festival will commence from 2 pm with workshop, ‘Uke Soundbath with Nikhil’ followed by a workshop at 4 pm, ‘Intro to Ukulele with Luv’ and a performance by school students at 5.30 pm. An open mic session will begin at 7 pm and the evening will conclude with a grand opening live performances for the festival.
On February 18, the day will begin with workshops like Yogalele with Pallavi at 11 am followed by a workshop on kids ukulele with Rayna at 12 pm. DIY woodbox ukulele with Keaton will be held at 1 pm. The next session will be strumming and fingerpicking with SAC at 2 pm, songwriting with Manuka at 3 pm, followed by open mic session at 3 pm too. The live sessions will continue with Tenor, Bariton and Bass open session at 4 pm, intro to Gypsy Jazz with Shamik at 5 pm and at 6 pm open mic will be held. The festival will conclude with a grand finale live performance from 7 pm to 10 pm.
Different artistes will take the stage including Luv Mahtani, Pallavi Shrivastava, Vaisakh Somanath, Natasha Carroll, Tumken, Nikhil B, Manuka, Aisha, Ashok, Anirban Halder, Shamik Ghoshal, Strum Away Collective, Keaton, Rayna, Akshay Chowdry, Neel Adhikari and others.
If not playing the ukulele, one can enjoy and sway to the music as the ukuleles showcase it’s beautiful music.
