The world of radio has its own charm. Listening to beautiful songs and relying only on your audio
senses, your imagination can run riot. The same feeling swept over the
listeners of the ‘Renascença’ radio show, when Goan centenarian poet and artist
Alfredo Lobato de Faria went on air last Sunday. He recreated the days of Goa
in the early 1930s and ‘40s, an era most Goans might have not experienced or
don’t remember. Anchored by Oscar de Noronha and directed by Azulejos de Goa,
Panjim, ‘Renascença’ is a monthly radio show in Portuguese which goes on air on
the last Sunday of every month at 2:30pm.
‘Renascença’ was previously on the primary
channel of All India Radio in the mid 1970s, aired every Friday from 9:30pm to
10pm. Oscar de Noronha has fond memories of the show as he was the anchor for
the show back then. “I was the anchor for the show in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Back then, the show consisted of talks, music, programs, interviews and
discussions. For the new edition of the show, we are focusing on rediscovering
Indo Portuguese culture, to attract the attention of people who speak
Portuguese and also those who have recently started speaking Portuguese,
especially school and college students,” says Oscar.
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‘Renascença’ is broadcast on AIR 105.4MHz FM Rainbow. The first
episode featured international artiste Sonia Shirsat speaking on the Taj
Hotels-sponsored project ‘Fado de Goa’, which aims to teach the iconic
Portuguese song in India. The second episode featured Alfredo Lobato de Faria.
The shows are produced by Orlando de Noronha of Azulejos de Goa. “Alfredo knew
people from the times of our great grandfathers and grandfathers and it was a
splendid feeling to talk to him, not just as a tribute to him as a person but
also as a tribute to the senior members of our society. Born in 1917, he still
remembers his old life and relieved his old days on the show,” explains Oscar.
Alfredo also appeared on the show in the 1990s, when he spoke about carnival in
the 1970s.
The show is back with new features, including the theme song.
“We have Indianised the original signature tune, which was earlier recorded on
a Portuguese guitar by a Portuguese virtuoso. The new song features Orlando de
Noronha on the Portuguese guitar, Chote Rahimat Khan on the sitar and Ian
Noronha on the accordion.”
The show is getting a great response from not only Goans but
also those living across the globe in Portugal and Brazil. “The response in Goa
has been great as people were phoning in to share with us the nostalgia they
felt. People read posts on Facebook and other social media and scholars and
researchers who are studying about Goa also reached out to us. It is a great
feeling to know that you are being heard and appreciated,” says Oscar.
Moving away from the concept that radio shows should be done
within the confines of the studio, ‘Renascença’ has studio and outdoors
interview. Since Alfredo could not travel to the studio, his entire interview
was recorded at his home in St Tome, Panjim. “The interview had sounds of the
children in the background, the chirping of birds and the moving cars. It added
its own charm to the interview. For each show, we also add music related to the
interviewee. For Sonia’s show, we had her own Fado songs while for Alfredo’s
interview, we played songs that were sung by his son, late Fernando Lobato de
Faria, and his daughter, Fatima.” In the future, the show plans on inviting
authors, experts in Goan cuisine, architecture, etc and conducting discussions
on trending issues, which will be open to school and college students.
“Through
the new show, I have the freedom to design the program as I want, looking at
the Indo- Portuguese culture and the various elements that have been influenced
by it over the years. It gives me more freedom to relive my young days with the
new audience in Portuguese language. The language is now open to a very young
crowd with no background in Portuguese at home but who have learnt it through
school or music; it is not limited to any communities. With such a wide reach,
we are soon planning to start a Facebook page as well as a website for
listeners who are based outside Goa,” concludes Oscar.
