https://www.heraldgoa.in/Cafe/Celebrating-The-New-Fado-de-Goa/208865
By now we are accustomed to being blown away by the musical genius of Sonia Shirsat, who has traversed an improbable journey from Ponda and Panjim to become a truly spectacular fado singer, and one of the foremost global ambassadors of this iconic Islamic-African-Iberian art form. But now, even more incredible and unprecedented, an entire generation of new fadistas is developing from India’s smallest state to rewrite the genre in an emergent style all their own. Last weekend at Panjim’s wonderful Madragoa (cipagoa.com/madragoa) – the world’s first casa de fado and mando is itself totally unique – some of these young stars-in-the-making rocked the house with absolutely brilliant style and substance that must be experienced to be believed. Make no mistake: this is no renascença or any kind of nostalgic hangover from the past. Instead, what is happening with fado in Goa is considerably more interesting and important, as post-colonial 21st century Indians have reinvented the musical form in ways that never existed before. It’s the result of almost two decades of selfless dedication by the great diva Sonia, and master instrumentalists Carlos Meneses and Orlando de Noronha along with other notables. Thanks to them – and probably to the surprise of the Portuguese - the venerable SPIC MACAY has confirmed fado as an authentic musical genre of India. Fado de Goa is different in crucial ways which were on display at Madragoa when 27-year-old Nadia Rebelo and 23-year-old Sherwyn Correia took centre-stage in the absence of Sonia (who is travelling). Both singers showed terrific vocal chops when they first emerged some years ago, but no one could have predicted how much they would grow as artists since then – first-rate in each solo, and utterly dazzling in their duet. The audience viscerally understood it was something very special, and when I shared the video on Facebook, that feeling was immediately confirmed from the original home of fado, via Susana Sardo, the acclaimed professor of ethnomusicology at University of Aveiro who is also the Cunha Rivara Chair at Goa University: “Everything is magnificent. It's a beautiful experience to hear fado being performed like this.” Sardo is an outstanding expert on Goan musical culture, who began her research here 36 years ago. Looking back, she says “there were very few venues available for enjoying music, and the tourism industry was also just taking its first steps. Consequently, hotels used to engage the services of the four established musical groups: the Grupo Folclórico de Panjim led by Timóteo Fernandes, Grupo de Fanquito Martins, Goa Cultural Group - under the leadership by Mimoso Gonçalves -, and another group organized by Athos Fernandes. The touristic venues were limited to the Hotel Mandovi (established in 1952), Fort Aguada Beach Resort (established in 1972), Hotel Cidade de Goa (established in 1982), and the touristic boat journey along the Mandovi.” This is important: “back in 1987, the performance of music within domestic settings, such as rituals, family gatherings, and parties, remained quite common, making public performances somewhat unnecessary. However, over the course of the past 36 years, significant changes have occurred. The traditional music that once thrived in domestic contexts (like mando, dulpod, deknni, fugddi, dhalo, etc.) has now become almost marginal, leading to its resurgence in public settings through dynamic processes like festivalization (more than 50 Festivals between September and April), revivification, and revivalism. Concurrently, a multitude of independent musical projects have emerged, covering the jazz scene, popular music, and even Western art music. In the present day, Goa's music scene, although primarily staged, conveys tremendous vibrancy. The query of "why" compels us to embark on a more profound analysis of the situation... yet, this should not be disregarded as a crucial example of how music can instigate transformations within society.” I am grateful to Prof. Sardo for her most generous responses to my emailed inquiries following our mutual delight over the Madragoa performances, including this analysis of our homegrown style: “Goa's interpretation of fado features innovative expressions, such as the captivating experiment of Fado Raga led by Sonia Shirsat, as well as fado performed in Konkani. This interplay between canonical fado and various musical traditions and languages signals a remarkable vitality and serves as a testimony that fado can transcend its colonial origins. Moreover, Fado de Goa now boasts singers from diverse religious backgrounds. The presence of talented Hindu women performing fado is particularly noteworthy and serves as a powerful indication of how music can pave the way for coexistence and social transformation.” This is another important point, which reminded me of a previous fado performance by Hindustani-classical-trained vocalist Anupama Prabhudesai at an event organised by Sonia Shirsat, followed by her daughters Srushti (23) and Swaara (20). Earlier this week, the elder Ms. Prabhudesai told me that “none of us were even aware of this genre of music. I am trained and still continue to train in Hindustani Classical Music (vocals) but when my older daughter was studying in Loyola Higher Secondary School, they had organized the Lusophone festival and that is when we got the opportunity to listen to Sonia Shirsat render very soulful fados. I was so mesmerized by her voice and the melodies. Soon after, we heard that there was going to be a workshop by Sonia, and this was the beginning of our journey. I was drawn to Fado because I found it to be similar to Ghazals. Both are extremely expressive forms of music. Just as Hindustani classical brings peace to my mind and soul, Fado too takes me into a different world. The melodies and the style of singing is what touches my heart.” This testimony is another meaningful reminder of just how important Sonia Shirsat has been, and why she fully deserves the Padma Shri and every other honour that India can award her. Sardo says “she doesn't merely sing fado; she embodies it. However, Sonia is not only an immensely talented performer; she's also a remarkably creative artist with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. She continually seeks to expand her horizons [and] what sets Sonia apart is her willingness to share the fado tradition with others, a remarkable trait. In this pursuit, she established the world's first school of fado. It's intriguing to note that there has never been a formal school of fado in Portugal, making this situation quite peculiar. For those seeking to learn fado, the most promising avenue may well be to journey to Goa!” How often does history take such mind-bending twists? And, what compelled this distinguished Portuguese professor of music to spontaneously exult over a fado performance in farway Panjim? Sardo told me that “I had an immediate reaction to that specific video because I listened for the first time to a fado sung in a polyphonic way. The experience was simply incredible! At Madragoa, we are witnessing highly innovative and significant shifts in both mando and fado. The choired profile of mando sets it apart entirely from other musical traditions in India but now Sonia is taking mando in a new direction, transitioning it into a monodic song, which is fascinating. Yet, when I hear Nadia and Sherwyn harmonizing fado in two voices, I can't help but think: they cannot resign polyphony! This, in a certain way, charts a creative and compelling path towards a decolonialized form of Goan fado.” By happy circumstance at Madragoa, I was sitting in the same row as Goan-American scholar Nicole-Ann Lobo, whose doctoral studies at Princeton University focus on the great Saligao-born artist FN Souza. Last year, she wrote a beautiful essay on the pioneering jazz musician Amancio da Silva, which contains this fine meditation on her identity: “A spirit of cosmopolitan cultural exchange encapsulate[s] the very essence of what it means to be Goan. After all, Goa is almost indisputably one of the most important sites of the East-West confluence in history. Goans have long been described as “cultural brokers,” and though often sidelined to support an alternative narrative to support nationalist impulses, myriads of Goans in the arts are responsible for many of the most cutting-edge developments in “Indian culture” of the twentieth century.” All that was written – and theorized – from afar. Now, with feet firmly on the ground in her ancestral homeland, this sparkling 26-year-old told me that “I am thrilled that a place like Madragoa exists. From the moment I entered, the atmosphere felt jubilant, ripe with anticipation. At our particular moment of cultural homogenization, I understand why art forms often dismissed as outdated or slandered as mere colonial legacies are so intentionally cultivated by the communities to whom they have historically belonged. But I don't think anyone who was at Madragoa could describe the performance or atmosphere as anachronistic. In fact, it felt deeply of our moment - the timelessness of fado and mando given new life.”