A traditional musical group of Goa, Mando Mogi Margao, has performed in different countries including Canada, Dubai and Tunisia and they recently performed in Indonesia and Timor Leste. Taking Goan music and dance across the nation since 1997, the group is led by Pervis Gomes, a professional singer and dancer who was accompanied by a group of musicians and singers playing traditional instruments like the guitar, and the ghumot.
The Mando Mogi Margao troupe are a group of professional individuals dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage through various traditional music and dance forms. They have been performing locally all over Goa and nationally in states like Delhi, Assam, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The highest achievement was when they were appreciated with an 8 minutes standing ovation at Mississauga Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada.
For this performance, the group comprised of Pervis Benedito Gomes, Colin Arcanjo Pereira, Namita Acaria Fatima D’Silva, Mariah Adora Gomes, Lenin John Vaz, Suchita Shantaram Velip, Assenca Femandes and Nihal Adriel Gomes. The troupe is committed to keeping this traditional art form alive by passing it on to the next generation and by participating in cultural events and festivals. In February, they performed at Geoks Art Space at Bali, Indonesia followed by a performances at Timor Leste at Universidade Da Paz East Timor and Salão Nobre of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MNEC).
“There was also a workshop on the diversity of India and Goa’s varied cultural diversity with the workshop presentations showing the various dance forms of Goa at Universidade Da Paz East Timor which was attended by nearly 250 students. After which there was ‘An evening with Mando Mogi Margao,’ a cultural fest organised at the Salão Nobre of MNEC, courtesy of Ministry of Foreign affairs and cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, Dili organised by Embassy of India, Jakarta and Indian council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The evening was enjoyed by the guests from all over the world including Manoj Kumar Bharti, Ambassador of India to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Arvind Mathur, WHO country director and other dignitaries including the Minister of Foreign, Ambassador of China, Head of UK Consulate Timor Leste, UN country coordinator, Ambassador of European Union and many more in the 220 plus audience,” says Pervis.
The cultural engagements between India and Indonesia and Timor Leste have been intensified as India assumed the G20 Presidency from Indonesia. Speaking about the performances, Pervis says, “We started with the classical Bharatnatyam welcome dance followed by Goan folkdances like Dhalo, Cotti fugdi, Corridinho, Mando dance and Dekhni, with musicians and singers playing and singing the Goan folk songs live during the performances.”
The members of the troupe were excited to visit these countries and travelled with a white passport, which made their journey smooth. “It was a completely different experience as we had to cater to different crowds. In Bali, it was a crowd of young and old, who were happily dancing along that evening. In the Universidade Da Paz East Timor, we conducted a workshop that was something completely different. Besides this, the evening at Salão Nobre was a formal cultural evening with Ambassadors, Directors and Heads chairing the function,” explains Pervis.
Within this short period of travel, the members didn’t get to visit a lot of places but whichever places they did visit were very beautiful. “We visited The Cristo Rei of Dili statue and the Baruna Statue, God of the Sea in Bali,” concludes Pervis.
