When the tide is rising and the water is gushing though the sluice gates, the rush of water is music to the ears. It is the same when the loved one approaches and adrenalin begins to pump into the blood stream. The experience of putting together the MHAPSA FEST has been no different.
Right at the start, it seemed to be a non-starter. It had to be cranked up....like a 'handle-start' car of yester years. It choked and spluttered and, at long last, it is ready to go full throttle ahead. The Mhapsa Fest will be inaugurated this evening at 6 P.M. near 'Bougainville' at Feira Alta, Mapusa. The transformation of the venue has been captured on film and CD by Joel D'Souza. The photos of one of the houses at the venue last week are on display at the same house today. See the stills to believe it. Take a peek into life last week. Gurudatta Bhakta, the President of the GIDC Industial Estate Association,Karaswada, lived in this house in the 1970's. He is sponsoring a programme on stage to keep that link alive. Whether the fest takes off or not, it is a pleasure to see the surpise and happiness of the children in Feira Alta. The Olympic garden has been transformed by a coat of paint, a few pieces of plants, a little work and ...... a good thought. Farida D'Souza[the Councillor] and Deepak Motilal Bandekar[ the MMC Chief Officer] may not exactly see eye-to-eye, but they worked in tandem to achieve this miracle. The smiles are their reward. Good memories are made of such simple things! The ward is much cleaner. Joseph Mascarenhas has taken leave from work to be around to help in presenting the Mhapsa Fest. So has John to see to the electrical works. Atul Kane cannot afford to look away from his business, yet he is on site. So are two of his power generators...at no charge. It is not a question of money, it is all about attitude. Atul has grown up as a child living where the Infosys building is now. He is helping create good memories for the children at a place where he has many fond memories. Eric Menezes has offered to do up the garden in memory of his father who died 25 years ago. Eric and I fought battles with cocotes at this garden every carnival for almost a decade. He may be the Vice-President of CMM Group of Companies now, he has not forgotten his childhood here. We exchanged memories last evening in his house. Cesar and Pamela Cabral are working as the fulcrum of this movement called Mhapsa Fest. They are in the thick of it. Their home and office function like the 'war room' where all the decisions are taken and the co-ordination is done. Rajendra Usapkar is the 'find' of the Mhapsa Fest. His enthusiasm and organisational skills make him the war horse among the artists. He has shouldered the major responsibility of getting the artists together, even in the absence of Alexyz. Our target was ten artists: we have twenty three confirmed. The miracle is that almost all of them are residents of Bardez itself. We are discovering artists in our backyard, as it were. 'The Forefront' have literally been in the forefront. With Seby[ or Diogo, depending how you know him] leading the way and agreeing to play 'for a song', we have had others who agreed to play music if we paid the cost of transport for their equipment. We could thus say a polite 'No' to those who demanded professional fees. Many groups, institutions and individuals have volunteered and agreed to put up programmes. Some others have been a bit hesitant, not knowing what exactly the event is about. This is the first time such an event is taking place in Goa. We will still get offers as more people get to know about it. Diamond Publications offered to put together an exclusive tabloid to cover all the artists and the event. It has already covered the event in 10,000 copies circulated in the maiden issue of the North Goa Plus. Other than the Gomantak Times/Weekender, it is the only paper to cover the event. An event outside Panaji rarely makes column width in the local newspapers in Goa,until it is over. The publicity is for the record keepers and resume writers. It does not do one whit good to the scope of the event. That is a fact that we have to live with. Perhaps tomorrow will be different. This is a community event presented by the Mhapsekars for all the world to see. There is life in this town. It is shaking a leg. Come shake hands with us. Viva Mhapsa. Viva Goa. Miguel --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.543 / Virus Database: 337 - Release Date: 11/21/2003 ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
