The Untold Legacy of Goa
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Goa, India’s most famous tropical beach destination, often comes off as a place of great cultural heritage, of beautiful beaches, bars & restaurants that lures the literary elites as well the chattering classes from the hustle & bustle of major cities to indulge in the much-publicized ‘Susegad’ lifestyle.
Besides having conflicting images in terms of attracting mass & crass tourism, in popular Hindi films - infamous for eschewing realism - Goans are largely peopled by stereotypes of Christians & it is not surprising that their depiction of Goa shows very little of actual culture & history.
Goa is seen as one of India’s internal exotica - not of Orientalism or Occidentalism - but a place emerging from different histories of somewhere that is not quite India. Despite the conflicting popular imagination, Goa has been a fertile ground giving birth to extraordinary personalities that undeniably changed the face of popular Hindi film as well as Hindustani Classical music apart from imparting life to the burgeoning Jazz scene during the early 20th century in the Republic of India.
Here we uncover the untold Goan legacies left behind by the stalwarts that influenced & shaped the so-called Golden era in Indian musical history.
The Emergence:
The 451 years of Portuguese rule in Goa - until they got overthrown by Indian armed forces in 1961 - brought along Catholicism, & with it came Western Classical music. Portuguese had established Parish schools, making it mandatory for pupils to learn an instrument, staff notation & modal harmony. Automatically, it gave Goans an advantage over their Indian counterpart becoming incredibly influential in Indian pop culture in a way that a casual visitor to Goa might never realize.
As early as 1860, Goans had started surfacing in the nearby Bombay music scene, migrating up the Konkan coast to earn higher wages in a more affluent place and by the time Jazz became popular in India’s modern cultural capital during the 1920s & ’30s, Goan bandleaders, soloists & sidemen were ubiquitous.
The Goan Clout:
In film studios, not many musicians were accustomed to playing the saxophones, clarinets or violins, & very few Hindi film composers knew how to score music for the ensembles.
Eventually, Goans took up the place to supplement their meagre incomes, jumping on the Bollywood bandwagon as session musicians, singers, arrangers, composers & musical directors working alongside the likes of O.P.Nayyar, C. Ramchandra, Shankar Jaikishan, Laxmikant Pyarelal & S. D. Burman.
“Goans slipped in slivers of Dixieland stomp, Portuguese fados, Ellingtonesque doodles, cha cha cha, Mozart and Bach themes. Long before fusion music became fashionable, it was being performed every day in Bombay’s film studios,” as conveyed by the author of ‘Taj Mahal Foxtrot’ Mr Naresh Fernandes.
The Goans:
Kesarbai Kerkar
Conferred with various distinguished national awards & being hailed as ‘Surashri’ by Rabindra Nath Tagore is also the only Indian voice adept in Khayal Gayaki that featured on The Voyager Golden Record - that is currently travelling a million miles away in interstellar space. She was born in Keri(7 miles from Panaji, Goa).
Anthony Gonsalves
Even before Goans had found their niche in the Hindi film industry, music had always proved a dependable avenue for Goans to make a living, the greatest example being Anthony Gonsalves who started very early. Hailing from Majorda, Goa, his journey is unusual in the sense that he took a great liking for Hindustani Classical music & even conducted concerts that featured Lata Mangeshkar & Manna Dey. His first gig for the films as a violinist was for Naushad & later on, he even taught violin to the likes of R.D. Burman & Pyarelal Sharma(of the Laxmikant Pyarelal duo). The song ‘My name is Anthony Gonsalves’ from Amar Akbar Anthony is presumably a tribute by Pyarelal to his teacher.
Chic Chocolate
Hailed as the Louis Armstrong of India, Chic Chocolate was born in Goa as Antonio Vaz Xavier. He had his Jazz band - Chic & the Music Makers that regularly performed at important venues in Bombay. Mesmerized by the live performance, C. Ramchandra hired him & his band that eventually became an integral part of his repertoire. Songs like ‘Ina Mina Dika’ and ‘Diwana Parwana’ bear Chic Chocolate’s unmistakable stamp on them, with the latter even featuring him in the video (Albela, 1951).
Chris Perry
Born in Margao, Goa Chris grew up to be known as the man with the ‘Golden Trumpet’ who worked alongside the likes of Khayyam(conducted the orchestra for Kabhi Kabhi), Lakshmikant Pyarelal, R. D. Burman & Kalyanji Anandji for close to 25 years.
Frank Fernand
Frank played a major role in the making of music for Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat alongside Shankar Jaiskishan. He was also the music conductor for films including Don(1978), Hera Pheri(1976), Zanjeer and Victoria No. 203. He was born in Curchorem, Goa & later went on to produce some of the earliest Konkani films. He also opined that music directors were “mere subcontractors, men whose main job was liaising with financiers. We arrangers did the real work.”
Sebastian D’Souza
Probably the most reputed arranger in Bollywood he was best known for his work with Shankar Jaikishan. Born in Reis Magos, Goa his first stint as an arranger was for O.P. Nayyar.
Remo Fernandez
Born in Siolim, Goa, Remo has naturalized Portuguese citizenship. Although famous for being the voice behind ‘Hamma Hamma,’ Remo has also composed music for films including Khamoshi: The Musical, Trikal & Jalwa(1987).
Comments
Manish Joshi —
Nice article. I had been in South Goa recently and while passing by highway seen Majorda, where Anthony Gonsalves born & lived. You can update us about other Goan musician, less known.