The roar of the crowd urging on the mid-fielder as he powers on to make that precise pass can be very addictive. Audience participation and appreciation is a very addictive drug, it can power performances. Its absence can leave the performer feeling very empty. This virus has achieved that. It has radically altered man’s relationship with his neighbour. Perhaps this age will now be recorded as Before Corona and After Corona. There sadly seems to be a sense that the old ways have to be discarded and only looked back with fondness. Now footballers score goals in empty stadiums, singers reach that perfect pitch in an empty room with just a camera to record it and actors now can only read comments on their performances with plays now stopped and movies not being screened in theatres. Many members of the creative community have reacted differently to these strange times.
Colin D cruz noted bassist now living in Goa has organised a daily broadcast on Youtube ever since the lockdown commenced. He said “ I am slowly gathering an audience. It is not the same as a live show where the audience react instantaneously. We feed of their energy and it elevates our performance. I feel it is the same with sportsmen. People encourage them and they play better than their best. Now that magic is missing. The reason we enjoy a live music show is because of the crowd.” Now he said everyone was compromising. Now he said he was showing recordings of past performances at different venues. He said “For a human being, interaction is very important. A musician plays well in front of an audience that appreciates him and he reaches new levels. On an online platform, it is karaoke singing at best.”
Another singer who has done well for himself in these times is Carlton Braganza who is based in Bengaluru. He said “I am loving it, I am doing stuff online every day and my video attracts around 20,000 views every day. The only difference is I can’t travel otherwise it is cool. In the past four months, I have done more gigs than I did the entire last year”. He said there were a few subscribers and now corporate had experienced an interest so the monies would come. All in all, he said he was very happy. One of Goa’s jewels Sonia Shirsat said the virus had made a very big difference with a major part of her life now missing. She said “ Now doing a live show is like performing in a studio with audiences scattered all over the place. The excitement of a live show is missing. I have done no events since march. Some videos yes but nothing else. I will take my time and the start performing live when it all settles down.”
Noted drummer Adrian Dsouza who is based in Mumbai but visits Goa regularly for corporate shows says he is absolutely ok with the situation because he has other things with which he can pass time. He said “I am writing blogs, composing music and working on certain technical aspects of my music which I could not do so when I was performing live”. He went on to say that he did a corporate show earlier in the week as part of the band accompanying Shalmali Kholgade. He said “ I have done shows where there were 20,000 people to now where there are no shows. The show we did was interesting because we had fun, we met at her place and performed in her music room. There was a camera and the employees could watch us. We had a good time. The dynamics were very different. Employees were doing other staff and watching us. We were getting responses via comments. Yes, nothing can replace the vibe of a live show but this is the situation we are in and we have to adapt’.
Tapan Acharya has acted in movies and is now turning his attention to providing a digital platform for regional movies. He said “Creative art forms are reaching more people with lakhs of people now able to watch movies at the same time on these platforms. The show has to go on. Creative performers cannot be stopped.” Another actor who made his name acting in plays said an actor needs the applause. He said “We do plays for the joy of doing plays and for the reactions we get from the audience. I have acted in films too and that is so different. I read the reactions on digital pages and it is usually very encouraging.
Subodh Kerkar artist said they were facing financial problems because of the low turnout at the museum. Earlier three hundred people would visit but now barely one or two. Creatively however he said he never had it better. Subodh said “In the past five months I have done more than I did in the past two years. At 60, I have discovered a new style of drawing and done more than 1000 drawings. I do around 15-20 drawings a day. I used to tell stories to my children at bedtime and have now completed the first book of such tales. It will go for printing soon. I intend to do 12 in total”. He is also very active on Instagram and Youtube with a serieson art education which is visited by 2000 od people everyday. One particular video he said attracted around 15,000 views.
Football and Goa are deeply entwined. Some of the best players are treated like rock stars. Now without audiences urging them on, it is certainly a different world. Sahil Tavora laughed and said it would be so different to now play at the Fatorda stadium which as onetime packed with approximately 19,000 fans. He said “It may start off feeling like a practice session but the competitive nature of a match will hit us all and we will give it our best. Yes, the silent stands will be odd but we will have to live with it”. Another star Lenny Rodrigues felt it would be very tough and said it would possibly be the worst phase of his career as a footballer.
That statement in essence captures the general feeling but as many of the artists maintained life has to go on.
