An engineer by profession, Shane Fernandes
from Margao changed his life around by becoming a full time music teacher. His
then took it upon himself to make a music video by the blind to create
awareness about the hardships in their lives and how love and care can make a
huge difference. Shane doesn’t attribute this idea to any particular incident;
just the knowledge that children with partial or no sight can be so talented
urged him on this path.
“Once the idea of doing something for the
blind came to me, everything just fell into place. The people I worked with on
this video were very helpful, especially Rozendo Mendonca, President of the
National Association for the Blind, Goa, who gave his full support. I shared my
idea with a friend from Help & Help Charitable Trust, who introduced me to
Rozendo,” says Shane, who is currently teaching music in three schools: St
Sebastian’s High School, Loliem-Canacona, Bethany Convent High School, Sao Jose
de Areal and Holy Rosary Convent High School, Nuvem.
The music and lyrics for the video ‘Blind
Pain’ are written by Shane while the band comprised Cely Fernandes on keyboard,
Marvino D’Costa on bass guitar and flute, Sarfino Crasto on rhythm guitar and
Shane on violin. Videography has been done by Cely Fernandes while the
cinematography is by Sarfino. The video was worked on at A L Studio, Margao.
The video can be viewed on youtube.com.
“I wanted to highlight their daily lives
and how they go about it. I spent a lot of time with the visually impaired,
almost 3 months. Whenever I got the time, I visited, asking questions and
taking notes. I also visited their homes and spoke with their families; it was
an enlightening experience,” says Shane. Leena Prabhu, an Ex officer at
National Association for the Blind, Goa, introduced the students to Shane.
He further adds, “Once I was done with the
research, my next goal was to find a good singer and a student to act in the
video. I used to make the students at the institute sing in 4-5 voices and
finally I zeroed in on Tessy Gomes from Chandor. She is partially blind but
sings beautifully. Sumera Khan has complete blindness but has expressed herself
beautifully in the video. I explained to her what we are looking for in the
video and she was very enthusiastic.” Shane also informs that Sumera scored 85 per
cent in her SSCE exams held in March this year.
When asked to summarise the message behind
the video, Shane says, “I would say to you all to love all, especially the
visually impaired. There are so many evils in this world and one of them would
be ignoring the blind. There are many parents who reject or ill-treat their
children because they are blind. They should be given the same love and
attention as other children. Love is one thing that will keep them going.”
