At the recently held
Vem Cantar competition, Osler Ben Dias won the first prize in the 8 to 11 years
category and was awarded the ‘Best Singer of Fado’ prize by Semana da Cultura
Indo-Portuguesa – Goa. When Osler returned home with his trophy, he had to make
place for it on an already full shelf that showcases the accolades won by him
and his sister, Fleur.
Coming from a
musically gifted family, the children love to perform to perfection. Despite Fado
being a long standing musical genre of Goa, this musical form is still finding
footing amongst the youth. However, the Dias children share a passion for it
and perform the songs with beautiful expressions. “Fleur and Osler learnt to
sing looking at other people singing. We have been attending different music
festivals since they were 3 years old and both started performing at that age.
Fleur is a big fan of Amália Rodrigues, a renowned Fado singer, and finds her
expressions different from other singers. Since we live in a small apartment,
Osler grew up watching Fleur practise her songs and used to sing along with
her,” says Irineu Dias, the proud father who plays the trumpet and rhythm
guitar and is part of the duo ‘Ambot- Tik,’ along with Orville Lourenco.
Osler,
a class VI student, has been invited to take part in the Fado competition in
November. He won his first singing competition at Aldona at the age of 5. He has
completed grade 1 in violin with a distinction and is currently doing grade 3 in
violin and Solfeggio.
“Fleur
has been singing since the age of 3 and has her own YouTube channel which has
over 22,000 views,” says mum, Dr Sushila, a dental surgeon by profession. She trained
her kids to memorise songs with expressions and body language. “I instilled in the
children the manner to sing from their hearts and exude confidence on stage.
Osler’s confidence on stage is remarkable,” adds Dr Sushila.
Fleur,
a class XII Science student, won the title of ‘Voice of Curtorim’ at the age of
10 along with several other competitions. She won the ‘Vem Cantar’ in three
categories and was called by the Consul-General to sing for the famous
Portuguese band, Deolinda. Singing in English, Konkani, Hindi, French and
Portuguese, Fleur has been part of the band ‘Take5’ for the past one year. “I
completed Grade 5 in piano and I am currently doing Grade 8 violin, Grade 5 in
vocal training,” says Fleur who has also completed Bharatanatyam and presented
her Arangetram at the age of 13. Fleur recently won the second place in
the ‘Goencho Avaz’, Konkani singing competition.
Irineu handles the
music, right from selecting the music teachers for the children, monitoring the
musical aspect of their performances and other technicalities, as well as
driving them to and from their classes and competitions. “We have to motivate
them to perform better. I look up newspapers and sometimes learn from word of
mouth about various competitions the children could take part in,” says Irineu,
who is presently the Secretary of the Goa
Entertainment Association (GEA). He has also sung in late Chris Perry’s
albums, choirs and mandos groups.
Dr Sushila, on the
other hand, makes a time table for each of them to follow, making time for
study, music, leisure and rest. “I believe that whatever they do has to be done
well or not done at all, so now it is second nature for them to always aim for perfection.
To conclude, she says, “Children can shine only when parents give their time to
their children and not merely seek to pursue the fast buck.”
