There comes a time in life when you want it
all. Food and drink, old music sung by folks you know or those who sing the
songs you know, in the company of folks
you don’t need to be introduced to, secure in the knowledge that others in the
room are bound by the same desires of simplicity as you are- tiny sips of Goa
that last a lifetime.
Such combo experiences don’t really come
off the shelf like rotisserie chicken with the works or a combo meal at KFC,
but they could come “off the wall”
In a little blink and you miss place just
off the turn towards Fort Aguada, is a nook. A quaint café with the wall bombed
in the middle. Yes, it actually broken wall leading from the front seating
space to the bar and merrymaking area inside. ‘Off the Wall’ is actually off
the broken wall. Part restaurant, part party place and absolutely full of Goa
as it once was.
Wednesday evenings at Off the Wall rewind
back to the cavalier days, when retro is the music, the wine fine, competing
with local urrack or feni. If there was ever the comfort of food, drink and shelter,
places like Cavala (Baga), Rewind (Saturday Night market grounds, Arpora)
-where the Music company went to after its long hibernation post its Cavala
days, and now Off the Wall at Sinquerim, offer them in plenty.
Interestingly, all three- Cavala, Rewind
and Off the Wall, have a beautiful music connection: The Music Company. The
Music Company and Cavala were synonymous in the early 2000’s, especially on
Friday nights. The ‘company’ was, in a sense inspired by Alex Braganza, alumni
of the musically inclined Britto’s school which had very talented musicians
like Savio Menezes (guitar wiz), Antonio Cordeiro, Caetan D Costa and Noel
‘Nini’ De Souza.
Alex of course played for the band
‘Symphony’, which was known as August’s (Alex’s late maverick and beloved
brother) band, which again had musical characters like Bondo, Xisto Paes and
William, before The Music Company was born. The Music Company trio consisted of
the two Britto’s boys, Alex and Nini De Souza (brother of Ralph, Roy and
Norman) and Mariano, the talented drummer from Aldona. The trio regaled us all
through 2004 to close to 2011 (if I’m not off the mark) at Cavala, took a break
and then regrouped at Alex’s restaurant, Rewind at the Arpora market. Rewind,
like the Music Company is not about business, but about homecoming.
To quote one of the many reviews of Rewind,
“The huge high wall behind the bar has sharp sketches of the Beatles members
with Lennon’s round specs most pronounced, that bulge out of the wall almost
singing – Imagine.”
Yours truly’s obsession with Cavala is self
and well documented. But it is almost synonymous with the Music Company. Alex,
Nini and Mariano were three of my first friends along with Marius of Cavala. As
Alex, once said in an interview to Gomantak Times in the early 2000’s, “We decided to play music that we love. And
the best part is the people love it as well. It was a conscious decision to
just play retro and not give in to the commercial aspect of being a band.
That’s one big reason why we also don’t do private shows like weddings, and the
like. We have a lot of fun playing our music and that’s the way we like it.”
Off the Wall is in a sense, a chip off The
Music Company block run by Nini’s son, the young enterprising Ian Marc De
Souza. And junior Nini has got off doing a very good job of getting his dad’s
days back. Nini actually plays here on Wednesdays with the house band, Nomads
which also has Mariano. So imagine, two of The Music Company trio are right
here. Deron and Ashley make up the other two of the four man ‘Nomads’ and the early reports are like- “Phew the old
days are back”.
Old days, good ole folks and great ole food
and some new, make up Off the Wall. Ian surely had people like yours truly in
mind (we assume) when he created a dish called Urrack Pork. If this is not
unique, what will be? Excellent, succulent pork marinated with fresh urrack.
It’s like having pork and drinking urrack.
But if the Arabian Sea is right there, the
Mediterranean isn’t too far away. Patatas Bravas, prawn gambas, spicy beef
balls, and the usual foot soldiers of the kingdom of the meat-ivores, the steaks, lots of bacon and ham. And to round off,
we believe that the stewed apple dessert has risen right up the popularity
charts of Off the wall.
So that’s done. But will never be dusted.
Welcome back, friends. Thank you for the music, the only music, the music of
friendship and eternal joie de vivre.
In some places, nothing changes, because people don’t.
