Saiesh Poi Panandikar leads two distinct lives and is not complaining. The pony-tailed, Margao businessman, who will turn 50 in August is a cloth merchant by day and a song writer-playwright-singer by night.
Not surprising, when you check Saiesh’s antecedents. His grandfather Shantaram was the official Haridas at the popular, Shigmo festival at Zambaulim and his father, Ananda was a theatre actor, sharing the stage with the likes of Damu Kenkre. “Hence song writing, acting and singing runs in the family,” Saiesh says with a grin, as we chat on the green, lawns of the Ravindra Bhavan in Margao a few evenings ago.
Saiesh remembers growing up in a large house, full of gramophone records and regular mehfils. “Music, songs and theatre had a strong impact on me, during my growing up years,” says Saiesh as he explains his tryst with writing plays and songs during his college years. This is also the time, Saiesh got sucked into the Konkani language movement of the early 1980s, which gave him ample scope to leverage his skills. “Our college group performed street plays and sang songs in support of Konkani across our villages. We got lathi-charged and arrested several times. Those were heady days,” Saiesh recalls.
Hence when the time came to make a career, Saiesh almost took up a job with the All India Radio given his creative interests. However, the Panandikars have been traditional cloth merchants and Saiesh decided to start his own cloth store in the new, Margao market in the late 80s. He has not looked back. His shop, popularly known as the ‘Ponytail Shop’ is a hit with lady shoppers.
Saiesh does not consider running his cloth store a chore. He enjoys it as much as his musical and theatrical pursuits.
Says the cloth merchant, “Selling cloth is like doing theatre. I love talking to people. Konkani is spoken differently in different parts of Goa. I listen carefully to the various accents and surprise my customers by identifying their exact regions. It also helps me suggest the right colours to them.”
Therefore, the last 25 years have seen Saiesh sell cloth by day and follow his creative pursuits by night. His track record is impressive. He has written songs for many a Konkani film, which includes Love You Soniyo, Baga Beach, Home Sweet Home, Hanv Tu-Tu Hanv and O Maria. Likewise, he has written and composed the Goa Police anthem. A few years ago, his Marathi play, ‘Y’ on homosexuality won the best script award at the state level competition. No mean actor, Saiesh has also faced the camera for Konkani films such as Ram, Juje, Mortu and Nirmonn among others.
In recent years, however, much of Saiesh’s time and energy has been spent on promoting the Konkani language among school children under the aegis of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal. The mandal has been consistently producing music CDs and books for children for the past many years. Says the Konkani evangelist, “We realized, we had to create an interest for the Konkani language among school children of Goa. These children are our future.” According to Saiesh, people all over the world are respected and recognized for their language. “We Goans need to preserve the Konkani language by writing books, songs and plays,” says Saiesh.
A multifaceted musician, Saiesh plays many percussion instruments like the bongos, dholak and the tabla. “I am largely self-taught and can support a singer on stage,” Saiesh says with an impish grin. He admits that this knowledge of musical instruments goes a long way in creating good music.
Saiesh is also not fussy about his work spot. He admits writing most of his songs and plays inside his large washroom at home. “Yes, I have kept pen and paper handy inside my loo. This is where I sit and write in the nights,” says Saiesh. Actually, it could be a habit he picked from his grandfather and father, who also practiced all their singing in the loo!
During the course of the interview, it becomes clear that the late musicologist and sitar exponent, Bhaskar Chandavarkar of Pune made a big impact on Saiesh’s musical journey. Saiesh revers the late musicologist. “Bhaskarji was undoubtedly my Guru. He had a vast knowledge about music, language and people. He once told us how language, changed every 50 kms in our country and joked about a crow in Goa singing differently, from a crow in Maharashtra!”
A true musician at heart, Saiesh admits enjoying all types of music. According to him, there is music everywhere. “There is music in a crowded market, in a crowded restaurant or even a crowded street. I like to appreciate all these sounds,” the musician says.
