Soon after liberation Byculla in Bombay (now Mumbai) was like an oasis where social institutions like Sodality House run by the Jesuits and American Express Bakery House a spacious paying guest facility run by a silver haired aristocratic
lady Mrs Carvalho was a perch for middle class Goans to rest after a long flight from Goa.
I had gone to Bombay to do my Law studies; this is where I met a young handsome talented musician called Emiliano da Cruz multi-talented he could play the violin, guitar and the mandolin with the dexterity of a maestro as though they were his childhood toys. He was the King of Latin music. The genre of Latin music he played was a reflection of the Portuguese era gone by. With his band “Gay Caballeros” he played at starred hotels in Mumbai like the Taj, President and Heritage which had striptease shows which was jaw dropping stunner for us students.
Emiliano would invariably invite us friends and even acquaintances to wine and dine at the hotels he played at and we could boast of having seen the interior walls of crystal Hall at Taj, courtesy largesse of Emiliano. Emiliano spoke English with a Portuguese accent making us feel at home yet away from home, he was a bon vivant happy go lucky ,cheerful and always smiling with a big grin.
Sunday mass at Gloria Church was the Shangrila for all Goan paowallas to meet including celebrity singers like Alexandre, drummer Domnic and occasionally now internationally famous Remo. Then on it was party time. At parties after a couple of drinks we used to literally coax and cajole Emiliano to sing a song called “Rosa” his own composition which he would shyly and reluctantly sing so passionately that his cheeks would turn red like pink cherry apple blossoms.
The ripples created by the ” fados” he played on his violin will make waves that will carry his memories in an ocean of roses. (Mar de rosas)
Agnelo Furtado, Chincinim
