Singers strike the right note for peace at concert

MARGAO rrSpeakers at the meet highlighted that unity in Goa has always been a great strength and the world sees Goa as an epitome of peace and communal harmony. rA group of tourism stakeholders, entertainers, hoteliers, shack owners, water sports operators, restaurant owners were the moving force behind this concert where noted Goan singers entertained the assembled enthusiasts with melodies imparting the message of conserving peace, communal harmnony and brotherhood feelings among Goans. Pop singer Hema Sardesai, Roussel Miranda, photographer Prasad Pankar, cinematographer Shirish Desai, president of Shack Owners Association, Cruz Cardozo, Dr Sydney Moraes, Colin Coelho organised the concert. rInterspersing the melodies with a message of peace, the concert commenced with Dr Venkatesh Hegde of the ‘Art of Living Foundation’ (AOL) informing the people about the importance of peace and love and how the AOL Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has spread this message throughout the world. rSpeaking on this occasion, Cruz Cardozo said nobody can tell Goans what to eat and reminded the people how the mainstay of Goan economy -- mining, fishing and tourism -- have been affected. “While mining has finished, fishing is on the decline and there are efforts to disturb tourism also,” he told the audience. rSiddhanath Buyao sang the song “Goemkarano Jayat Jaage’ reminding people to maintain unity while Hema said nobody can separate Goans from each other. “Religion means love and where there is love, there is God,” she said and added, “Let nobody tell us what to eat and how to live because we are a loving and respected people and we will stay together,” she remarked. rThose who performed live at the concert included Edwin Fernandes, Merlyn D’Souza, Allan Vaz, Priyanka Raikar, Amaan Shaikh, Anwar Shaikh, Roque Lazarus, Aurville Rodrigues, Divya Naik, Frazer Pacheco among others.