When Cielda Pereira sings, she commands your attention. Such is the lure of her powerful yet sweet voice and the ease she posesses when she takes the stage.
And after mesmerising the audience with her spell-bounding performances at numerous shows all over the state and lending her voice for films like the award winning Nachom ia Kumpasar, Nirmon and Soul Curry, an album of her very own has been a long time coming.
" Ever since my performance on Nachom ia Kumpasar, people have been suggesting that I come out with my own album but I didn't know how to go about it," admits Cielda. Things changed when noted writer and dramatist Michael Gracias approached her about three years ago and offered his wholehearted support and guidance for her debut album. And so began the project which she has now titled Devachea Hatantlem which is all set to be released on August 9 at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.
" I chose to name it Devachea Hatantlem because I believe that all our talents come from God," she states. Produced by Michael Gracias under BeeGee Productions, the album music has been done by Cannon D'Souza and Armando Rodrigues with lyrics by Gracias too. The album consists of 12 songs including one mando. Among the tunes, Pereira reveals that one of the tunes talks about the importance of the girl child while another tune titled Konkani Uloi, Konkani Boroi is aimed at promoting Konkani language. " Young people today are embarrassed to speak in Konkani," she feels. "Also, when people go abroad they tend to forget their mother tongue."
Among the other contributing singers on her album are Carey Fernandes, Larsen Gracias, Gladrin Fernandes, Shunaina Batista, Reuben Kakde, Bonny Alvin, Fr Tomas Lobo and Fr Anthony Rodrigues. "I have chosen a few upcoming singers who have participated with me in previous competitions to sing with me on this album, so as to promote young talent," she says.
Apart from this, Cielda has also roped in her mother Joanita for a duet titled Devachem Dennem. "Initially this tune wasn't supposed to be a part of the album but on Michael's suggestion we finally put it in," she says. Devachem Dennem is a song which tells the tale of Cielda and her mother's life while also touching on her mother's support for her singing ambitions. "My mother has been singing in choirs before this but this is the first time that we have sung a duet together. It is definitely my favorite tune in the album," discloses Cielda, who began singing at the young age of four at school competitions and the church choir. " I didn't take singing very seriously earlier. However when I was in Chowgule College I won the title of Voice of Chowgule and this motivated me to pursue singing further," she recalls. Cielda went on to be a part of many shows and won many noteworthy competitions but it was Nachom ia Kumpasar which really changed her life in a big way.
"I had tagged along with my friend for a film audition. We didn't know the name of the film or any details about it at that time. On my friend's suggestion I decided to audition to sing for the film and sang a Konkani song on the spot. A week later I was informed that I was selected. Even then I didn't know much about what the film was about," recollects Cielda. The Badroy directed Konkani musical went on to win plenty of accolades and earned Cielda rave reviews for her splendid singing as she became a recognised name in the Konkani music world.
Even so, Cielda believes that much more can be done to improve the Konkani music scene in the state. "In Goa singing in Konkani is not that valued. The music also could improve. The government should give more recognition to singers and musicians and provide aid especially when they are coming up with albums or shows," feels Cielda who had already bagged her next film. But for now she is taking it one step at a time and concentrating on her new album, which has been quite a learning experience. " It took much longer than we anticipated for the album to get done because some of the people dropped out along the way. Also, we had to go all the way to Goa Velha and spend hours discussing the direction of the songs, all of which took a lot of patience," she admits. "I hope I get a positive response to this album. I am aware that there will be negative comments too but that is to be expected. It depends on how you look at it and I will learn from their criticism," she says.
# Music: Armando Rodrigues and Cannon D'Souza
# Lyrics: Michael Gracias
# Producer: BeeGee Productions
# Contributing singers: Joanita Pereira, Fr Anthony Rodrigues, Fr Tomas Lobo, Fr Eusico Pereira, Reuben Kakde, Larsen Gracias, Carey Fernandes, Bony Alvim, Gladrin Fernandes, Shunaina Batista
