This is the season of celebration, the time when the Lord of the People is visiting.
People find different ways to display their faith and devotion to him. Ganesh
Chaturthi is without a doubt a very important festival in Goa. A Goan musician
is doing something that will warm the hearts of everyone.
Carlos Gonsalves a
drummer in Mapusa is going around to people’s houses where Lord Ganesh has
come. He then plays his drums, seeks the blessings of Lord Ganesh and then
leaves. He has been doing this for six years. For Carlos this is a
manifestation of his love for Lord Ganesh.
How did this all
start you might ask. From a very early age he has been hearing aartis in the
neighborhood and would also go for the immersion of the idols. He would go for
lunches in neighbors’ houses and learned much. In addition he learned Indian
music. The rhythms he said were buzzing around in the neighborhood and seeped
into his bones. He said “When we were young we used to go for Prasad and I
loved the rhythms and today when I play it is me giving back through my
rhythms.”
He said some artists drew Rangolis and
he played his drums. This year, he posted a small portion of him playing the
drums and it generated much interest. He received a lot of positive responses
which made him very happy. He said he received several invitations from people
all over the state. He however decided to stick to people who invited him
first, namely his friends. He said his message was very simple. He said
“Message lets be united no matter we come from different religions, creed or
caste. Music is a universal language. Let’s have a good and peaceful world. We
have the pandemic and Afghanistan to name two problems. My message is at the
end of the day we should have peace in life. My prayer is that through Ganesh
let there be peace”.
He said being a musician, he was
liberal and believed in all religions. He said “I believe in equality, humanity
and for me the rhythms are more important than day to day life. With my rhythms
I like to participate in any festival, it may be Eid, Christmas, Ganesh
Chaturthi or Diwali. Through my drum and rhythm I worship my lord”.
Music he said was a universal language
and he could go to any part of the world and play any kind of music and it did
not have to be in any language. He said “In a profession you have to learn a
language but in music I can go to any part of the world and do a solo with any
musician. This is the best part of being a musician”.
As a musician he has performed all
over the world and has also played for FC Goa and Royal Challengers and he has
been taken to Kolhapur for Ganapati celebrations apart from Mumbai and yes all
over Goa. He said “I am Catholic and my way of showing my devotion is through
music. Wherever I go, I play my small solo to Lord Ganesh in form of rhythms
and I take blessings and I want to show the world that we are all united it
does not matter I am Catholic. I go to all the festivals and perform my music.
It is a universal language. I want to pass on this message of unity peace, love
and affection”.
In these rather strange times, this is a heartwarming
gesture and one hopes it encourages others to do similar gestures to spread the
message of love.
