The affable Dr Francisco Colaco with his
ever-ready smile and song on his lips, invites us into his melodious world once
again, this time with a lively and upbeat offering, ‘Bhurgeponn’. A deviation from his two previous sombre
Konkani CDs – ‘Apurbayecho Kunvor’ dedicated to his departed son, Melvin and
‘Kallokache Khursacher’ dedicated to Christ’s Passion – the song is a lively
reminiscence of the innocent games children played in the past. “When we were
young, we gathered together outdoors to play games like ‘logoriôs’, ‘khoindó-
aninc- ballam’, ‘anjem-gonjem’, ‘apá-lipá’.
Nowadays, we no longer see those innocuous games. In a dramatic change in lifestyle of the
modern-generation, their world centres around the internet and mobiles. They
would rather sit at home and exchange passionate love messages. Childhood is now
sadly devoid of its unadulterated joy and real meaning,” explains Dr Colaco of
his theme.
The melody, as usual was another
inspiration for this well-versed musician and singer, but paired with the
lyrics of Prince Jacob, they have resulted in the usual ‘Francisco Colaco’
magic. “Many people offered to write the
lyrics when they heard the melody, but Prince Jacob was so enamoured with it,
that he offered to compose the lyrics for the song which he did within a span
of two days. He has done a brilliant job.
It is a very long song with three choruses, but it is fabulous,” acknowledges
Dr Colaco.
His CD is nevertheless moving with the
present times. Uploaded on Youtube, it
has captured the attention of both the young and old alike. “What is happening
is not a good trend and we are hoping to highlight this. The song ends with
advice to modern-day-children: ‘Remember not to squander your youthful days.
For once you give them the ‘go by’, you will never] get them again,” he says.
Although ‘Bhurgeponn’ is a third of his
Konkani releases, he has made waves all over the world with the ‘Spirit of Goa’
album, in collaboration with the Big City Band, where he and his wife Fernanda,
along with his daughters Elaine and Anabelle sang the famed ‘Marcha de
Fontainhas’ for the first time in Portuguese, with the original lyrics
‘Corrodinho’. He is also honoured to
have recorded songs with music greats like Chris Perry.
Beyond its entertainment value, Dr
Colaco sees a greater purpose to music and his role in it. “It is my
commitment to people and society to always find enough time to spare to fight
for human rights and to entertain people at large with whatever music I can
produce. I am thrilled to see joy in the audience after I perform a song with
all my heart,” avers Dr Colaco, who sees music as his refuge and joy. “I remember how in my own life I fought
moments of stress and depression by strumming my guitar or dancing at random to
lilting melodies from an iPod glued to my ears. Everyone in his/her lifetime
has experienced the instant and profound effect that music can have on his/her
emotions. Even today, the chance to sing with a band cheers me up. And luckily,
I have obliging friends with whom I can sing to my heart’s content, backed by
their beautiful chords. I owe much to wizards like Darryl Rodrigues, Dr. Allan
Abreo, Carlos Monteiro and Filipe Fortes,” he acknowledges.
The music will always go on for this
man, who lives with a ready smile and a song on his lips!
