Some decisions in life are made after thorough thinking while others are instantaneous. Shane Fernandes’ decision to switch from an engineer to a full time musician bordered on these lines. However, he is so excited about his decision that he went about creating a music video for the blind. He called it ‘Blind Pain’ and hopes to do more videos in the future. Shane from Margao completed his 8th Grade in Violin, from the Trinity College of Music, London and is currently teaching music in three schools in Goa. “I had worked for about seven years in an engineering company in Vasco which gave me hardly enough time for my music and my parents. At the end of the day, I used to feel that there is something missing from within. Music had always been my passion until I decided to give up my engineering job and plunge into music. That’s when I really began enjoying my life. I believe that you always have to be happy in whatever you do, as doing something unhappily, is as good as doing nothing,” explains Shane about the alternative career.
Shane has been playing the violin for the past 11 years and has been a part of various competitions for eight years. He played the violin for Mando groups like Orlimchi Mogrim and Goenchim Noketra and the mandolin for Vem Cantar, organised by the Fundação Oriente and Fado competition, organised by Semana da Cultura Indo Portuguesa (Goa). With a fondness to play string instruments, Shane is usually approached by participants nearly 15 days in advance to practise with them. “I love playing the violin and the mandolin. The method of playing both is similar, with the only difference that the violin is played with a bow and a mandolin with the plectrum.” He is also a part of a retro band, ‘Music Oasis’, which performs in starred hotels. He considers Goan artists like Vince Costa and Varun Carvalho as role models in music for showcasing to the world what Goans can do through music.
Teaching children in the age group of 10-14 year olds to play the violin, Shane engages the children with the music. “Children are very passionate to learn music and I get to be creative enough to help them learn better. I show them videos and tell them to practise every day so they don’t keep stuck at one moment. Young children grasp and perform well which reflects on my teaching. They are enthusiastic and inquisitive to learn more. The love for music should be inculcated in them when they are young,” says Shane, who teaches them after class from a syllabus book.
With friends, Safiro Crasto and Royston, Shane uploaded videos of covers like ‘Rock And Roll’ and ‘Stairway to heaven’ by Led Zeppelin on youtube which were viewed and appreciated. This encouraged him to work on the video for the blind. “Firstly, there are some people who are not aware that an institute for the blind, National Association for the Blind, exists in Goa. Secondly, I did the video to highlight their plight and innumerable talents. Hopefully, after watching the video, someone will get inspired to look out for the blind to do more projects to help them. After speaking to them, I realised how talented they are. The level of thinking of the blind is much ahead of ours and it makes you realize what life is really about. My contribution was just a small drop in a big ocean and through this small thing I want them to be recognised,” adds Shane.
Shane believes that talent is like clay, it depends on how beautiful and attractive we mould and make it. “We have one life and one chance and we have to grab it to be the number one.”
