Had a tough day at work? Feel like the assignments just keep piling and the stress is getting the better of you? There's nothing that a walk around town and an hour of listening to wonderful music can't fix. And that's exactly what Lemongrass aims to do.
The group comprising of Sylvester Dawson (guitar), Cecilia Dawson (vocals) and Anand Lobo (mandolin) set up shop twice a week at noted landmarks in Panaji and belt out some popular tunes much to the delight of passers-by. They perform at Jardim Garcia de Orta on Thursdays and outside Cafe Bhonsle's on Sundays. Youngster Gretchen Baretto also joins them sometimes and lends her vocals.“Lemongrass was started as a band in 2013 when I used to play in church back in Hyderabad along with Rohit Sebastian a friend of mine. We started off with gospel hymns of course and then moved on to other music,” says Sylvester.
However with Rohit leaving to pursue his studies further, Lemongrass was temporarily put on hold until Sylvester moved to Goa and began pursuing his music enthusiastically again. “I met Anand at a music event called Basement Jaxx in 2014 ( an event organised to bring Goan musicians under one roof). I happened to notice him walking around with his mandolin slung over his shoulder, a sight you don't see too often here and thus approached him and we got talking about our music interests,” Sylvester recalls, adding that this gave an impetus to start Lemongrass again. “I'm not really sure how I thought of the name but now that I think of it Lemongrass does sound pretty cool,” chuckles Sylvester, while Anand adds, “ Just like lemongrass adds a sweet flavour to your tea, so also we add a sweet flavour to your day.”
The group has since been performing for almost two years playing at restaurants both in Goa and outside. They also performed at the TedX talks at Bits Pilani in Verna last year.
The idea of busking however was born when Anand happened upon a performance put by the Natural Streets for Performing Arts (NSPA) last year. The NSPA hires musicians to showcase their talent on the streets and thus keep street arts alive. Enthused by the idea, the group too decided to get on the bandwagon with Anand getting all his music equipment battery powered.
“A good live street performance is always a happy sight and it's always fun to play on the streets,” says Sylvester. “You get to meet new people and for us that is important as they share a lot of ideas. Also I love to hear what people say about our music. People acknowledge us with a smile, or they sway in time to the music and that honestly makes us happy. We need nothing else.”
“While abroad it is is part of the culture it is not so common here and we have had some interesting people join us for some of our sesions too,” says Anand, adding that based on his observations it is tourists who have been more appreciative of the music. However, Sylvester reasons that this is because locals are more likely to be busy with their own work as compared to the holidaymakers.
The group also states that the environment is not very conducive for their performances a lot of times. “We used to play at the Panaji Bus stand earlier every Friday which is very noisy. The same is true of the other places too although the Panaji garden is comparatively better,” says Anand. The beggars too have at times caused a few issues for them.
With the rains coming up soon, the group is now on the look out for new spots to perform. Apart from this Anand also hopes to start giving mandolin classes. “The mandolin is usually only associated with Portuguese music and I want to change that,” he says. As for Lemongrass, Sylvester states that they hope to do better and will continue to strive to do this.
Pics: Vincent Braganza
