by MARYANN LOBO D’MELLO
PANAJI, Feb 1: If politics divides communities, music will make every endeavour to unite them — and this endeavour will be seen at the two-day All India Festival of Konkani Music beginning in Margao February 9.
The festival, organised by the Konkani Bhasha Mandal, aims to take a significant leap to bridge the wide chasm that exists between the musical traditions of the Catholics and the Hindus.
Tunes and items are similar in the Hindu and Catholic traditions, say the organisers. For example, Yers means a verse sung, and this form is used by the Catholic community. In the Hindu tradition a similar form of music is called Onvyo. Basically both are the same. This goes back to the cultural roots and a study of these would also help to bridge the gulf that exists between Catholic and Hindu music.
The attempt will be to promote a purely native fusion of the two traditions through a discovery of the roots of the Konkani music.
And in the process there will a discovery of talents — from all corners of India. The festival will be an occasion to locate and award Konkani musicians from Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra and set an exciting locale for experimentation,
The event will bring together artistes, connoisseurs, music lovers, promoters and media persons for the first time. The Konkani Bhasha Mandal, which has been working for four decades in the field of promotion of language, art, education and literature, decided to expand its activities to take up the neglected area of Konkani music.
“It has been a long-standing need,” says an organiser. “This is an event that would provide a forum for Konkani artistes spread over the country to come together. It will bring different forms of music on a common platform. It will be a celebration of the infinite variety of Konkani music.”
The festival also aims at promoting instruction in traditional instruments. It will also document and record all the music that exists in all its forms in the Konkani culture. The goal is to consolidate the Konkani identity and promote it.
The classical category will present performances by Ajit Kadkade, Prabhakar Karekar, Usha Amonkar with other artistes. Eric Ozario and his troupe will regale the hearts of Mangalorean Konkani music lovers. The folk music slot on the second day will present performances by the Siddhi group, Vivekananda Kala Kendra of Sattari among other unique folk presentations, followed by a host presentation of popular Konkani music.
Tiatro music artistes will entertain tiatro lovers and key stars like Lorna, Wilfey Rebimbus and Remo Fernandes will thrill the audience with their musical renditions. The music festival promises this and much more.
As a prelude to the festival, a seminar was organised by the KBM on January 5. Pandit Bhasker Chandavarkar, musicologist and sitar maestro, dealt with the discovery of real Konkani music and how to promote it. About fifty musicians, lyricists and music lovers - those in the forefront of Konkani music, were invited to participate in this seminar.
The concepts of music and Konkani music were discussed. Is there such a thing as Konkani music? What is its identity? How should it grow? Pt. Chandavarkar tried to provide answers to these questions.
“When we look for Konkani sangeet, the search must not be limited to vocal music...Our search must be a deeper and more comprehensive search. The presumption is that there is something called Konkani music. It is part of Indian music, there are many branches. But you must go back and you might find all of it is Indian music,” says Pt Chandavarkar.
He suggested that a Konkani Sangeet Academy be set up. He also suggested the setting up of a centre by the name CREAM, Centre for Research and Education in Asian Music.
He says, “When we are looking for a Konkaniness in music, we are not looking for a system like that in Hindustani music. We are not looking for only phonetic things. But if there is a language called Konkani, you can be 100 per cent sure there is a culture called Konkani. If there is a culture called Konkani, there has to be a music called Konkani. That music will be within a larger system of Indian music, Within that system there obviously is scope to express the culture of a people and its cultural statement.”
And this is what the Festival of Konkani Music plans to reveal, explore and nurture.
In Carnatic music you have the ghetam - basically a copper pot which is used for accompaniment. This instrument finds a place in Carnatic classical music too. In Konkani music, the ghumot, a versatile instrument, is used but this is limited to folk music. The aim is to refine this instrument. Recently at the Yuva Mahotsav Festival held in Valpoi, as an impromptu item Remo Fernandes on the flute blended very well with the musicians on the ghumot and dhol. This was greatly appreciated by the musicians and the audience, and Remo enjoyed the experience.
In Sattari and Pernem you find Marathi songs that are quite recent in origin, while Konkani songs are about nature and relationships, and have been handed down from one generation to the next. As discovered by the programme co-ordinator of the festival, Mr Sai Panandikar, gudulegani is the oldest folk form of music. This has to be preserved before it vanishes from the memories of the people.
The festival is just the beginning, say the organisers. There is a lot of study, documentation and unearthing to be done in the field of Konkani music. The establishment of a Konkani Sangeet Academy will help provide the movement the necessary impetus it needs to surge ahead.
The late Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki has given over 400 Konkani songs to Mumbai and Goa Akashvani. It would be in the interest of all music lovers to collect these gems and document them.
Now with synthetic music no one in the villages wants to learn the ghumot, the trumpet, or other wind instruments. So, one outcome of this festival will be to establish some scholarships for students who can be encouraged to learn such instruments. The synthetic culture will not survive for long. It will become extinct and then there would be need to use other instruments. Therefore the need to encourage these instruments that have a Goan identity, and that are linked to the culture of Goa. It is hoped that grants would be established for students playing such instruments or those working in the field of music. The festival also hopes to help such musicians to build up their own associations so that they are encouraged in their work.
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