The Golden Jubilee of the historic
Opinion Poll of Goa was celebrated for yet another reason this year as Goa
ForGiving released its much talked-about music single, ‘Goenkarponn… The Goa Song’, which has been composed by music
director Ronnie Monsorate, a celebrated Mumbai-based Goan.
Forty singers and musicians recently
came together in a first ever attempt of bringing many artistes together on one
project – quite literally goenkarponn.
While the term might have been bandied about loosely on a political front, this
recent turn of events was far more melodic, and has been one that is
representative of the state’s plight, per se.
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The endeavour all began when Shaeen
Gomes, the producer of the single, and Armando Gonsalves, Chairperson of Goa
ForGiving, happened to bump into Ronnie Monsorate, coincidentally an old friend
of Armando’s. That Sunday morning sparked off a process that lasted three
hours, involving the idea of bringing forth a song, whose sole motive would be
to unite Goans worldwide through one solitary piece of music.
“That day in November got the ball
rolling. I was trying to understand how I could do something for Goa, and then
it dawned upon me. I thought that maybe we could bring unity forth through
numbers, much like how the song ‘We are the World’ brought big names together
for Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. I liked the idea of local icons coming
together, but frankly expected maybe 8-12 of them to participate. However, to
have 36, it is something that has never happened in Goa. I noticed a lot of
bonding amongst them, even though many of them weren’t familiar with each
other. This may be a good way forward for love and unity,” says Ronnie,
reminiscently.
Apart from Ronnie Monsorate, the song
involves the lyrics of Roque Lazarus, with the mixing of the track having been
done by Tabun Sutradhar from Bombay. The director of photography for the video,
which was released on June 18, on the occasion of Goa Revolution Day, is
Antonio C Pacheco. The video also features a child artiste, Sharanya Bhandari.
“Bringing 36 singers under one roof was
a herculean task, and we were very lucky to have creative lyricist Roque
Lazarus who also jumped into the project without much fuss. We are also very
thankful to our mentors, Bardroy Barretto, Vitrus D’Souza and Schubert Cotta,
who offered us his studio, Opus Gala in Dona Paula, to record the singers.
Miracles do happen, and all the work that went into it ended up into a stunning
song that has the music fraternity and others in a joyful tizzy,” Shaeen
shares, still reeling from the effort of having put the project together.
The song starts with ‘Goenchi Tambdi Mati Amchi’, which speaks
of our very own Goan soil, signalling our love for our motherland. The song
meanders through the beautiful things Goan, and of Goan life that is the core
of us all.
“Goa ForGiving is a project that is
designed from the core of our philosophy, of doing things that make Goa proud.
We are heading towards troubled times, with the very identity of Goa being
slowly obliterated due to various reasons. The song is designed to take a Goa
lover (which can be a non Goan too) deep into the Goan consciousness, and seeks
to inspire people to tread the path of goodness, love, peace, brotherhood, and
all the other things that have made Goa such a draw across the world, up to
this time. If we are to live in this beautiful aroma of goenkarponn aka goan-ness, it is
important that we delve into the past and embrace it whilst simultaneously
reaching out to the future,” Armando points out, highlighting the philosophy
behind the track.
Perhaps the time
has come to seek dialogue beyond talking. Perhaps music and the arts are the
path leading to the way ahead and if that holds true, then perhaps ‘Goenkarponn… The Goa Song’ is a great
first step forward.
