If you want to know who Agnelo Fernandes is, please read the post below. Late Alfred Rose is connected to Saligao through his wife Rita. FN
Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490 Nirmal Kulkarni's The Goa Jungle Book http://bit.ly/fXl20c Sharmila Kamat's Mango Mood http://bit.ly/dKJeKO Some books from Goa,1556 http://bit.ly/euv3g8 * * * The man who mimicks a Rose By Frederick Noronha | BrieFNcounters "He is my idol, my guru. Right from my childhood I've been singing his songs and listening to him. Over the past few years, I've taken really up to singing up very seriously (his songs)." So says Agnelo Fernandes. US-based Fernandes, whose home is in Mumbai, is into anti-virus software. But his passion has been music. Three years back, he set up a website. Recently, he got going. On the sixth death anniversary of Alfred Rose, in 2009, he got the site up and running two days before the anniversary. In two days, they made it interactive and good looking for all his fans. Inspite of being in Mumbai (earlier Bombay) all his life, the great Konkani singer Alfred Rose has been his hero. "Imitating his voice is something I've been practising for the last one year," he said. "Pretty much successfully. Infact I've sung for a few events, and they look at me as a junior (Alfred Rose)," he says with a shy smile. "But that's not what I intend to be called. Neither do I have intentions of becoming a Melody King. People can call me whatever they want. But my job is to sing very well and to give quality music to people. And to spread the same message that Alfred had." What was that message? To spread Konkani everywhere, through song and any other medium. To reach out to the world. To ensure that Konkani does not die with time. "Alfred has done a lot of things. I'm just starting in this field. I don't knkow what all I'll be able to achieve." Agnelo agrees that Alfred was a kind of one-man Konkani cultural industry. He points out that his songs always had a very special message. Very melodious, and people loved to listen to it. He recalls an event in Canada, where he was asked to sing one song. They made him sing seven! "That's the kind of feeling that he had developed," says Agnelo. One of Agnelo's favourites, 'Ami Soglem Ek' -- singing that song infront of Mangalores or others, brings everyone together, he argues. There are many different estimates of how many songs Alfred Rose sang in his life time. Some say it's five thousand, a number which Agnelo himself finds believable. He has a listing of 370 songs, of which physical copies are available. "He has sang so many songs that I don't know who has the actual count of it," says Agnelo. Being in the US, it's very difficult to keep in touch with Konkani, he acknowledges. Keeping in touch with Goa is tough, he says, because Goa isn't not much connected with the internet as much as it should be. He praises individuals like JoeGoaUk, who post information about Konkani culture regularly. Sharing culture is very important, he feels. He spends an hour listening to Konkani music each day -- despite his busy schedules -- even if it's just listing to music in his car. He's working on exercises and singing practises that allows him to modulate his voice. He needs to perfect Baritone. "Alfred was a natural Baritone, and he could sing songs in any range he wanted," says Alfred. "When my wife hears of a new song, she wants me to sing it out to her. Matching his quality is not anyone can stand up and say, 'I will say it,'. For the melody, tune and pitch -- where he's consistently singing in tenor -- it's amazing," he says, referring to the song "Mogon Hanv Podon". He grew up in Bandra (East). As a boy, his parents would take him for tiatrs. "I knew two names very nicely, M Boyer and Alfred Rose. And I also knew these two things, when it was Alfred Rose it was songs and when it was M. Boyer it was comedy. Of course Boyer would sing at the same time, but Alfred had that quality. I would pick up more on Alfred because of the songs." One of his neighbours would prompt him to sing a "kantar" in Bombay. He would get a comb -- a make-believe mike -- and sing the same songs he heard in the tiatr, with all its broken words. "They would really appreciate me doing that, at that time. It's almost 30 years since I did back, and I never expected to take a real mike in my hands and sing Alfred songs." Today, he does so. Life imitates art, they say... NOTE Visit alfredrose.com "There are lost of requests and email. The goal is not to make me popular, but Alfred's song popular. A lot of people have asked for lyrics and songs. Songs, I'm not sure if I can share because there are copyright issues. But lyrics, I definitely will," he adds. Thank you Frederick. I too was hoping that the print media in Goa would remember the Melody King of Goa on his 7th death anniversary. Anyways its still not too late and may something can still be printed. If you need help with content please do let me know and I will assist you. The website is getting more hits this year than last year and as I had mentioned in my interview that I have a quite some content to post and I will be uploading content in parts Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490 NEW BOOK from Goa: Nirmal Kulkarni's THE GOAN JUNGLE BOOK http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/5299947430/ SHARMILA KAMAT'S Mango Mood, satirical short pieces from Goa... http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/5303991992/ -- This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en Please post regularly to keep the e-village active!
