As Sonia Shirsat took to the stage in Portugal yet again,the feeling was a familiar thrill. It was performing to an audience that hadall but adopted her as one of their own. However, this time, she had an ace upher sleeve. Sonia, having worked tirelessly behind the scenes with PravinGaonkar, an Indian classical vocalist, was to present to an audience known forrevering their folk music, the Fado-Raaga.
“The Fado-Raaga is something I have wanted to perform inPortugal,” Sonia says. “It is the combination of two complete diverse genres ofmusic that you would never have expected the coming together of. While theIndian classical blend that Pravin brings to it is very abstract and the timesignatures are difficult to gauge, the Fado is more firm in nature. It had meon edge every step of the way, but I loved the end result. It was wonderful,”she adds.
For Pravin Gaonkar however, being on edge is a part of hisjob as a professor, and remains nonplussed. “I was never tense about this. Ionly hoped people would turn up. If they were willing to give it a try, I knewthat they would like it,” he says affably.
But while the music enthralled spectators, what really hadthe audience on the edge of their seats was the array of colourful and vibrantdances put on display by Kanta Gaude and his troupe. He would spare no expenseand cut no corner with over a 100 kilos worth of weight in gear transported allthe way from Goa to Lisbon merely to give the audience a realistic expressionof Goan art. “This is the first time we have ever put on a show in Portugal. Itwas extremely nerve wrecking in a way, as we really did not know what to expectfrom the audience, but they were wonderful. They have made us feel loved, andas artists that is a really important factor in putting on a good show,” saystroupe leader Gaude.
Events such as these that bring to the fore local art andtalent, and it is in the words of Pravin Gaonkar that one understands what theaim of talented performers such as these is. “The Fado as well as the Raaga areexpressive forms of music. They express emotion. And that is what people shouldtake away from a night like this one. Being moved emotionally. That is all thatwe, as artists, can hope to achieve,” adds Gaonkar with a flourish.
