Both genres of music, be it the Fado or the Raga, are formsof music that convey expression. It is a universal manner of depicting emotion,and moving one’s audience emotionally should be the prerogative of theperformer,” says Dr Pravin Gaonkar.
His take on the genres is with reference to the launch ofthe album ‘Fado-Raga’, a project worked on by him and Sonia Shirsat, and thatwas a year in the making. “At the suggestion of Anil Counto, the idea to mergethe two genres was initially put forward after the Semana da CulturaIndo-Portuguesa in 2011. That being said, the question of finding someone towork on the Indian classical part was the next task at hand. Considering that Ihad minimal exposure to the genre, I was at a loss to find myself someone toteam up with, when Anil Counto recommended Pravin Gaonkar for the part. Therest is history,” adds Shirsat.
“Finding the right person to work with is the key. Theywanted Sonia to initially attempt the feat with a woman singing the part. It’slucky I didn’t miss the window,” quips Gaonkar.
‘Fado-Raga’ has been produced by Sociedade de Fomento, andwas recently unveiled in Lisbon on October 12, after the tracks on the fusionalbum were performed at ‘Forum Lisboa’. The album is now set for release inGoa, the home turf of the contributing artists.
Speaking on the complexity of the project, Sonia says, “Itis quite difficult to explain where one crosses over the boundaries of thegenres.” “Two completely diverse styles come together when you would leastexpect them to. Pravin’s style is far more abstract than my own. It was alittle complex to work with initially, especially since we were setting aprecedent of sorts. But it has been a phenomenal project to have been a partof,” she adds.
While the work that went on behind the scenes was tireless,the end result speaks for itself, as the music has been appreciated andaccepted by two sets of audiences, both who are known to revere their preferredgenre of music, and both who are unaccustomed to change. For the ‘Fado-Raga’though, they seem to be more than willing to make an exception, accompanied bya smile of satisfaction.
