LYRICS OF LOSS AND LONGING - A preview of Apurbayecho Kunvor

LYRICS OF LOSS AND LONGING

A preview of Apurbayecho Kunvor, Dr Francisco Colaço’s tribute to his departed son.

By Walter Menezes


He was bestowed with exceptional qualities of head and heart. Gentle, kind and humble, he was always full of compassion for the poor and the needy.

All through his school days at Loyola’s, Margao, he remained steadily focused on his goal. Two years in Chowgule College thereafter, when the doors of Goa Medical College opened up for him, he knew he would one day follow in his father’s footsteps.

But God sometimes has other plans…


After three consecutive night-duties in his first year post-graduation residency in Medicine, he was returning home on his motor-bike when the two-wheeler skidded at Kesarval and he suffered multiple head injuries.

A week later, on 17.11.1996, his ‘wheel of life’ stopped.

Melvin Pablo Colaço returned to the Lord!

The death of his bábá in the prime of his life left a horrible hollow in Dr Francisco Colaço’s heart. He was shattered. And so were Fernanda, his wife and Elaine and Anabelle, his daughters.

Losing a son around whom our lives - and our dreams - are built and centered is never easy. It was not easy for Dr Colaço, either. In a touching article on GT last year, he wrote of those final moments of Melvin’s journey on earth, ‘Friends, relatives and admirers, who had smiled and laughed with him yesterday but never thought he would say goodbye so prematurely - dutifully and heartbroken - came to be now his gentle pall-bearers. I vividly remember the awful empty feeling in the pit of my stomach when his casket was being lowered into the grave. The thoughts of ending my own life were uppermost in my mind, as friends and loved ones jostled to pull us – his inconsolable parents and his two sisters – away from the graveside.’

Time, sometimes, does not heal all wounds. As Dr Colaço confesses, ‘years of depression and sleepless nights followed…sometimes waking up early morning, and for just a blessed split second, thinking that everything was just like before.’

Thirteen years since that tragic night, Dr Francisco Colaço has been bravely carrying his cross, immersing himself in his Echocardiography & Ultrasound Centre at Margao, contributing articles to local newspapers and lending his voice in support of various social issues at public forums.

But when the day is done or when there is a pause and a quiet moment, through the cold recesses of time and tide, Melvin returns: sometimes as a star, shining brightly in the sky and sometimes like a prince from the fairy tale.

Dr Francisco Colaço’s VCD, Apurbayecho Kunvor (Beloved Prince), to be released on 29.12.2009 at Daddy’s Home Auditorium, Gogol, Margao, is in essence not only a tribute from a father to his departed son but is also a mirror of the special bond that existed between them and the lasting love residing in the secret chambers of his heart.

A great musician and singer, Dr Colaço’s lyrics, set to memorable music by Daryl Rodrigues and Tony Fernandes with Braz Gonsalves on the soprano sax, are sure to tug your soul-strings, long after the track is over.

There is an unusual prelude to the title song, the appearance of a prince on a white horse. There is anguish and pain, Dr Colaço’s voice choked with emotions, as he begins:

Kunvor kannyentlo
Dhovea ghoddear bosun dislolo
Sopon nhoi mhunn
Konn mhaka sangtolo

(The prince from the story
I see him, there he was
Riding on a white horse
Oh! Will someone tell me but
That a dream it was not?)

Dr Colaço then wakes up from his dream and he knows that even as he relives the memories of his son, kalliz kitlem doyall / utor kitlem mogall (how kind was your heart / how sweet your word), he must rise and face the world. Again and again. In moments such as these, he turns to his Lord and asks:

Di Dhonia mhaka
Alaxiro thoddo
Zodd zal’lo sonvsar
Korunk fuddo

(Grant me, Oh! Lord
Some comfort I pray
My world is burdened
Help me to face the day)

The deepest thoughts, the fullest emotions of loss and longing find their outlet in the words and voice of Dr Francisco Colaço in Apurbayecho Kunvor. The tribute and the track will leave you with tears in your eyes!


(This article first appeared on the Gomantak Times (Goa) - English newspaper
dated 22.12.2009)

Link article:
http://tiatracademy.blogspot.com/2009/12/apurbayecho-kunvor-touching-tribute-to.html
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans/
[Gulf-Goans e-Newsletter (since 1994)]
Posted by Goa-World.COM

Out of My Mind - Gomantak Times / 2nd November 2009

As published in the Gomantak Times of 2nd Nov. 2009

GOA’S RETIRED TARVOTTI: LIVING ON THE SHORES OF HOPE

(As published in the Gomantak Times dated 23.09.2009)

A delegation of Goan Seamen Association led by their president J S D’Silva called on Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik at his residence at Margao recently, demanding that seamen who work onboard ships sacrificing their family life working in harsh conditions with total dedication be paid monthly pension of reasonable amount to lead a decent life upon their retirement.
Water Resources Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues was also present on the occasion.
Other members of the delegation included its general secretary Ivor D’Souza and treasurer Ifrone Dias.



A related article which appeared earlier on GT…


[Retired seafarers at the meet]

GOA’S RETIRED TARVOTTI:
LIVING ON THE SHORES OF HOPE

Two years ago, at a meeting at NUSI Maritime Academy, Assolna, Abdulgani Serang, General Secretary of NUSI had assured Goa’s retired seafarers that their Monthly Ex-gratia Monetary Assisitance of Rs. 200/- would be enhanced to Rs. 1500/-. That promise is yet to be fulfilled.

WALTER MENEZES attends a meet in Quepem and finds the likes of Pepino D’Silva of Assolna and Ivor D’Souza of Cansaulim stepping up efforts to seek redressal of a long pending grievance.

Date: September 03, 2009
Place: Parish Youth Hall, Holy Cross Churh, Quepem

They who once braved the seas for months together and worked in hostile conditions, braved the inclement weather and made their presence felt at the meeting convened in Quepem to demand enhancement in the Monthly Ex-gratia Monetary Assistance (MEMA) being paid to retired seafarers and widows of deceased seamen. After Assolna and Cuncolim, this was the third meeting to be organised and evoked good response. MEMA is one of the schemes of the Seafarers’ Welfare Fund Society headed by the Director General of Shipping and whose initial corpus was formed by way of wage differential (between the international wage and Indian wage) received from foreign shipowners for seafarers.

“We organised the meeting at short notice. However, over 100 retired seafarers and widows of deceased seamen attended the meeting. A few came from as far as Canacona and Macazana,” said Evangelisto D’Costa, a former tarvotti who provided the ground support for the Quepem meet and alongwith Erone Fernandes, made all the arrangements. The meeting which was addressed, among others, by Ivor D’Souza, who is also the President of A R Souza Ferrao Cultural & Charitable Trust, Urselino Almeida, former Assistant Secretary, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) and Pepino D’Silva, was also attended by a few young and active seafarers.

(Pepino D'Silva addressing meet)

“Our first goal is to demand enhancement of MEMA from a paltry Rs. 200/- to Rs. 5000/- even as we seek to organise our tarvotti brothers under the umbrella of All Goa Seamen’s Association (AGSA),” Ivor informed but hastened to add that this was in no way an attempt to float a separate union. For the time being, his office at Grande Madel, Margao will double up as the temporary hub of AGSA activities, he also announced.

In the absence of a regular pension, life has been a hard grind for many retired seafarers. Being the only bread winners, most of the money that was earned during their service onboard various vessels was utilised for the upkeep of the family back home and what little was invested, was not invested wisely. “There are instances of abject poverty where, upon the death of a seafarer, there was no money to even buy a coffin. Finally, the panchayat had to come to the rescue to make arrangements for the final journey,” Steven Dias, an elderly seaman from St. Estevam, now settled in Majorda, disclosed.

“We have never really organised ourselves,” lamented Joaquim Fernandes, a seafarer from Sonarbhat, Quepem who has recently retired. Juzinho Colaço, another retired tarvotti from Condy, Quepem told this writer, “After sign-off, most of us Goans head straight home and do not take any interest in the affairs of NUSI. If we had, there would have been a pension scheme to cover us in our old age.”

This perhaps explains why many consider MEMA to be a pension scheme, which it is not. “There is no communication from the union to the members,” Ivor reminded the gathering, as a result of which seafarers were in the dark of any developments taking place or the launch of new welfare schemes for their benefit. The NUSI website www.nusi.org.in too needs to be improved. No finer details of the schemes of Seafarers’ Welfare Fund Society are available on their website although mention is made of educational institutions, health centers and recreational facilities established by NUSI.

Interestingly, NUSI has evolved into the kind of organization it is today out of the efforts of a few sailors, whose names are no longer available, who established Goa Portuguese Seamen's Club way back in 1896, as also Khansaheb Mohamed Ebrahim Serang and Dr. Leo Barnes who fought for the betterment of the seafarers of India.

A random google-search for ‘monthly ex-gratia’ led me to discover that apart from MEMA, a few other schemes are also available to the retired seafarers under the Seafarers’ Welfare Fund (see box).

Gist of Welfare Schemes
• Monthly Ex-gratia Monetary Assistance (MEMA) amounting to Rs.1,200/- on half yearly basis to the foreign going registered seamen and / or to eligible dependents.
• Adhoc Ex-gratia Financial Assistance to widows of Foreign going seamen @ Rs. 5,000/- and Rs. 3,000/- to a widow of Home Trade seaman.
• Educational Scholarship to children, dependent brother / sister of the serving seamen and to children / dependent of the beneficiary under Monthly Ex-gratia Assistance.
• Exgratia Assistance @ Rs.40,000/- on death to the widows / dependents of deceased foreign going registered seamen while off articled period.
• Gratuity payments to seamen / dependents after retirement.

So, what is the next step? “The enhancement in the MEMA scheme will not come easily. We will have to do a lot of spade work,” Ivor informed. In the coming days, representations highlighting the plight of retired seafarers will be placed before the MPs from Goa, officials in the Ministry of Shipping and the PMO, he disclosed. “Two years ago, during a meeting convened by Churchill Alemao and held at the NUSI Maritime Academy, Assolna, Abdulgani Serang, General Secretary, NUSI had assured that the ex-gratia amount would be enhanced to Rs. 1500/-,” Evangelisto D’Costa recollected. That promise is yet to be fulfilled.

In the meantime, for hundreds of retired seafarers and widows of deceased seamen, life means living on the shores of hope!

_________________________________________

Cartoons - by Walter Menezes

STAR STRUMMER TONY GOMES

STAR STRUMMER

The first musician to play the electric guitar in Hindi films, Goa’s Tony Gomes also introduced Mohammad Rafi and Usha Iyer Uttup to sing Konkani songs for Chris Perry’s compositions. A spotlight on a star which shone brightly, once upon a time.

By: Walter Menezes
(First appeared on Gomantak Times dated 23 Sept 2009)


In the good old days, almost every church in Goa had its very own choirmaster. While the padri (priest) taught lasting values of life, the mestri (choirmaster) initiated the youngsters to discover the symbols of solfam (notes) and the magic of music. For many, the music school became the springboard to catapult them to fame and an illustrious career. Antonio Piedade Gomes of Vhoddlem-Bhatt, Quepem is one such Goan who worked with some of the best known music directors of Hindi cinema during his time.


[A still from Konkani film, Nirmonn]

Born in 1922, ‘Tony’ Gomes received his ‘early lessons’ from Caetano Philip Dias, the mestri of Quepem church and his seafaring father thought it best to send his ‘exceptionally gifted’ son to Bombay when still young. ‘By the time I joined the music escola, Tony was already out of it,’ Andre Bibiano Furtado of Quepem, who will turn 85 this December, told us. ‘Much later, when I used to work for Mazagon Dock, I would join my friends at Bastanis for a cup of chai almost every Sunday. They would all talk so much about Tony Gomes. He lived in Wellington Terrace (in Dhobitalao) nearby,’ Furtado filled in with more details.


[Tony Gomes (seated, third from left) with his Rhythm Raiders.]

Introduced to the film studios by Fr. Aurelius Maschio, SDB, then principal of Don Bosco School, Matunga, where he studied and also fine-tuned his skills and mastered the violin and the guitar, Tony Gomes had his own band during the ‘big band era’ of Bombay (now Mumbai), Tony Gomes and his Rhythm Raiders (which was later christened as Tony Gomes and his Dance Band). His band was a regular sight at many parties and dances and they played at the New Year’s Eve Ball of the Indian Navy practically every year in the 60’s and early 70’s.

A long time member of Cine Musicians’ Association, Tony Gomes was equally at ease with the Hawaiian guitar and the Spanish guitar and played for Ravi, Shankar Jaikishan, O P Nayyar, Laxmikant Payarelal, S D Burman, R D Burman, Hemant Kumar and V Shantaram. He was also instrumental in introducing Mohammad Rafi and Usha Iyer Uttup to sing Konkani songs for Chris Perry’s compositions.


[Mrs Indira Gandhi, Raj Kapoor and Tony Gomes (from family album]

In the maiden issue of Konkan Entertainment covering ‘50 Years of Konkani Cinema’ and dedicated to Al Jerry Braganza, the Father of Konkani Cinema, Andrew Greno Viegas, the magazine’s editor (and researcher, too) makes a mention of Anthony Gomes as the first musician ‘to play the electric guitar in Hindi films’.

‘Chic Chocolate, who was called as the Harry James of India, Tony Gomes, Antonio Sequeira (who later taught music at Kala Akademi) and Johnny Rodrigues were in a class of their own,’ John Claro, playwright of the Purtugez Kolvont fame informed us. Himself a Quepemkar, John Claro who was working for Norwich Union before its subsequent merger with Life Insurance Corporation of India recounted, ‘I remember doing an article, somewhere in 1950, lauding the efforts of my fellow Quepemcares, Tony Gomes and Antonio Sequeira in the city of Bombay. It was published on Chabuk, the bilingual weekly in Konkani and English which was then edited by L M Henry D’Souza.’

‘Musicians would practice for days together before the recording. Persons passing by Wellington Terrace (residential colony) would at once know if Gomes was practicing. His music was unique,’ John Claro said, speaking of the high standards that this musician had set for himself.

‘He was exceptional,’ confirmed Abdonio Rodrigues, Goa’s famous drummer when we met him at his Curchorem residence at the foot of the Guardian Angel Church hillock. The sun had set and night was sneaking in. Soon the church bell tolled and it was time for aimori (angelus). ‘He was much sought-after by the music directors of Hindi films,’ he added after the prayers were over.

‘So much was happening in Bombay during those days. We musicians were very much in demand,’ Abdonio told us after we showed him a clip from Frank Fernand’s Konkani movie Nirmonn, where the camera zeroes in on Tony Gomes, focusing on the speed with which his deft fingers glide along the neck of the guitar, playing a passage of ‘dense’ music as in a cadenza, during the unforgettable Nach Atanche song. Abdonio, who played the drums for the movie recalled, ‘This was shot in Mehbooba Studio in Bandra.’ Tony Gomes can also be seen on the violin in the opening song in the film, Amchem Noxib.

Incidentally, Nirmonn was remade in Hindi as Taqdeer and was also dubbed in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese and Oriya.

‘He had a long way to go and would have been one of the finest guitarists Bollywood has ever seen,’ Ivor Gomes said, speaking about his paternal uncle and then added, ‘but he died in 1974, when he was only 52!’

Sometimes, life is as sweet, and as brief, as a melody. That’s what Tony Gomes, the star strummer would have told us had he been alive today!

(With inputs by: Tony Gomes’ daughters, Bernadette D’Souza, attorney, New Orleans and Nancy Paes, University of New Orleans and his sister, Luciana Gomes e Fernandes.)



Check this link www.youtube.com/?v=OfIaOEAn7bA
For the song Nach Atanche from the film Nirmonn
TONY GOMES: Born / 11.04.1922 Died / 27.09.1974

STAR STRUMMER TONY GOMES

STAR STRUMMER

The first musician to play the electric guitar in Hindi films, Goa’s Tony Gomes also introduced Mohammad Rafi and Usha Iyer Uttup to sing Konkani songs for Chris Perry’s compositions. A spotlight on a star which shone brightly, once upon a time.

By: Walter Menezes

(first appeared on Gomantak Times dated 23 Sept 2009)

In the good old days, almost every church in Goa had its very own choirmaster. While the padri (priest) taught lasting values of life, the mestri (choirmaster) initiated the youngsters to discover the symbols of solfam (notes) and the magic of music. For many, the music school became the springboard to catapult them to fame and an illustrious career. Antonio Piedade Gomes of Vhoddlem-Bhatt, Quepem is one such Goan who worked with some of the best known music directors of Hindi cinema during his time.

Born in 1922, ‘Tony’ Gomes received his ‘early lessons’ from Caetano Philip Dias, the mestri of Quepem church and his seafaring father thought it best to send his ‘exceptionally gifted’ son to Bombay when still young. ‘By the time I joined the music escola, Tony was already out of it,’ Andre Bibiano Furtado of Quepem, who will turn 85 this December, told us. ‘Much later, when I used to work for Mazagon Dock, I would join my friends at Bastanis for a cup of chai almost every Sunday. They would all talk so much about Tony Gomes. He lived in Wellington Terrace (in Dhobitalao) nearby,’ Furtado filled in with more details.

Introduced to the film studios by Fr. Aurelius Maschio, SDB, then principal of Don Bosco School, Matunga, where he studied and also fine-tuned his skills and mastered the violin and the guitar, Tony Gomes had his own band during the ‘big band era’ of Bombay (now Mumbai), Tony Gomes and his Rhythm Raiders (which was later christened as Tony Gomes and his Dance Band). His band was a regular sight at many parties and dances and they played at the New Year’s Eve Ball of the Indian Navy practically every year in the 60’s and early 70’s.

A long time member of Cine Musicians’ Association, Tony Gomes was equally at ease with the Hawaiian guitar and the Spanish guitar and played for Ravi, Shankar Jaikishan, O P Nayyar, Laxmikant Payarelal, S D Burman, R D Burman, Hemant Kumar and V Shantaram. He was also instrumental in introducing Mohammad Rafi and Usha Iyer Uttup to sing Konkani songs for Chris Perry’s compositions.

In the maiden issue of Konkan Entertainment covering ‘50 Years of Konkani Cinema’ and dedicated to Al Jerry Braganza, the Father of Konkani Cinema, Andrew Greno Viegas, the magazine’s editor (and researcher, too) makes a mention of Anthony Gomes as the first musician ‘to play the electric guitar in Hindi films’.

‘Chic Chocolate, who was called as the Harry James of India, Tony Gomes, Antonio Sequeira (who later taught music at Kala Akademi) and Johnny Rodrigues were in a class of their own,’ John Claro, playwright of the Purtugez Kolvont fame informed us. Himself a Quepemkar, John Claro who was working for Norwich Union before its subsequent merger with Life Insurance Corporation of India recounted, ‘I remember doing an article, somewhere in 1950, lauding the efforts of my fellow Quepemcares, Tony Gomes and Antonio Sequeira in the city of Bombay. It was published on Chabuk, the bilingual weekly in Konkani and English which was then edited by L M Henry D’Souza.’

‘Musicians would practice for days together before the recording. Persons passing by Wellington Terrace (residential colony) would at once know if Gomes was practicing. His music was unique,’ John Claro said, speaking of the high standards that this musician had set for himself.

‘He was exceptional,’ confirmed Abdonio Rodrigues, Goa’s famous drummer when we met him at his Curchorem residence at the foot of the Guardian Angel Church hillock. The sun had set and night was sneaking in. Soon the church bell tolled and it was time for aimori (angelus). ‘He was much sought-after by the music directors of Hindi films,’ he added after the prayers were over.

‘So much was happening in Bombay during those days. We musicians were very much in demand,’ Abdonio told us after we showed him a clip from Frank Fernand’s Konkani movie Nirmonn, where the camera zeroes in on Tony Gomes, focusing on the speed with which his deft fingers glide along the neck of the guitar, playing a passage of ‘dense’ music as in a cadenza, during the unforgettable Nach Atanche song. Abdonio, who played the drums for the movie recalled, ‘This was shot in Mehbooba Studio in Bandra.’ Tony Gomes can also be seen on the violin in the opening song in the film, Amchem Noxib.

Incidentally, Nirmonn was remade in Hindi as Taqdeer and was also dubbed in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese and Oriya.

‘He had a long way to go and would have been one of the finest guitarists Bollywood has ever seen,’ Ivor Gomes said, speaking about his paternal uncle and then added, ‘but he died in 1974, when he was only 52!’

Sometimes, life is as sweet, and as brief, as a melody. That’s what Tony Gomes, the star strummer would have told us had he been alive today!

(With inputs by: Tony Gomes’ daughters, Bernadette D’Souza, attorney, New Orleans and Nancy Paes, University of New Orleans and his sister, Luciana Gomes e Fernandes.)

END OF ARTICLE

Check this link www.youtube.com/?v=OfIaOEAn7bA
For the song Nach Atanche from the film Nirmonn
TONY GOMES: Born / 11.04.1922 Died / 27.09.1974

Pic 1: Mrs Indira Gandhi, Raj Kapoor and Tony Gomes (from family album, occasion not known)
Pic 2: Tony Gomes (seated, third from left) with his Rhythm Raiders.
Pic 3: A still from Konkani film, Nirmonn

DOMNIC COLACO - LIGHT AND SOUND SHOW(MAN) !

LIGHT AND SOUND SHOW(MAN)!

- By: Walter Menezes



Domnic Colaco of Quepem, once a musician and now a sound-and-light expert, shares his moments and gives some ‘sound advice’ about churches and the new plan for Quepem Church.

Many all over the globe consider 13 to be unlucky. But for Domnic Colaco, Consultant and Production Manager of Talentz Centre LLC, Muscat, a company which deals in sound systems and stage lights and effects, it was just the opposite.

{The Man and The Machine].


On board Fr. Peter’s Opera
“When I was 13, I had my first big break. I was part of Rev. Fr. Peter Cardozo’s acclaimed opera, Padr Agnel, Onod Gõycho. I even sang solo in the audio album. I think there were no recording facilities here in Goa at that time and so the entire group traveled to Mumbai in a specially-chartered Paulo bus. The album was recorded at Western Outdoor Studios at Flora Fountain,” said Domnic, speaking about the good tidings age-13 brought his way.

Being a boarder of Fr.Agnel Niketan, Pilar at that time, had its own advantages. Pilar Music School was nearby and this lad from Quepem was soon learning drums and guitar from his India-fame gurus, Assumption and Domnic. After Pilar and while in college, Domnic was part of the local bands, Ivorians (1984) and Crusaders (1987), doing the vocals and playing the lead guitar and at other times the rhythm as well.

Two local bands and five years later, thanks to Mr.Edwin Fernandes, the famous lead guitarist from Per Seraulim, Domnic landed in Delhi playing for Anamika Sood & The Temptations, first at Ashoka Hotel and then at Le Meridien on Janpath Road.
“Anamika Sood was Delhi’s great pop singer. She was equally at ease with English, Hindi and Punjabi songs,” Domnic recalled of his heady days in the country’s capital.

From Delhi to Muscat
But in May 1992, Domnic left the Indian shores and found himself in Muscat working for Photocentre, a company similar to Talentz, which handled corporate events, concerts and fashion shows. “It was Valerio Jorge, then Audio Engineer with Photocentre, who took me to Oman. I am grateful to him.” When asked if the up-on-stage to behind-the-scenes job was a difficult transition, he confided, “Music was, and still is, my passion. But there are other things one has to think of. Like financial stability and your family.”

“Since 2002, I am with Talentz. But in 2006, I had the privilege of briefly working as Asst. Audio Visual Manager at Abu Dhabi Emirates Palace. Not many, I think, get an opportunity to be there,” he told me with a certain pride.

The James Blunt show
Talentz Centre LLC is a big name in the Sultanate of Oman. In February this year, it was Talentz who provided the sound, lighting and trussing system for the James Blunt Live show in Muscat. “Held at Muscat Intercontinental Hotel Lawns, the concert was attended by over 4000 fans and was an instant hit. The Dynacord-cobra4 line array system was a perfect match and yes…James Blunt did sing, You Are Beautiful!” he added.

{With support team of James Blunt show, extreme right, front row}


[James Blunt show poster]


Talentz, incidentally, have recently bagged the contract for ‘sound installation’ of Sohar Church in Muscat. “Earlier, our company did the complete sound arrangements for Protestant Church of Oman (PCO) in Ruwi as well as Ghala. We used ‘centre cluster system from electro-voice-speakers’ for PCO, built to accommodate over 300 parishioners,” Domnic elaborated about his company’s connect with churches.

{PCO Oman}

And while on the subject of churches, I must disclose that when I caught up with Domnic Colaco at his residence near the Kepem Garden on a rainy day when his ‘holiday’ was almost coming to an end, I came upon an unexpected guest at his dining table: Ivor Gomes, the young architect who has designed a new plan for Quepem Church, extending it while at the same time ‘saving’ the old heritage structure. (See Features, GT dated 04.07.2009)



‘Sound’ Footings for Quepem Church
Both Domnic and Ivor were animatedly going through the ‘sound arrangements’ of the new plan. “This is an amazing design. Once built, it will become an example for others to follow. Ivor deserves full marks,” Domnic exclaimed as Ivor guided him through the various aspects of the plan on his laptop.

“We can incorporate the modern technology of sound used in amphitheatres in this church. We even have the software to model the acoustic space and placement of sound system. If this plan is approved, I will surely co-ordinate with Ivor through the internet on a regular basis and assist him with whatever expertise I have in this field,” he said extending his fullest support.

When asked why, like Ivor, he would do all this without being asked, he said, “Quepem and Quepem Church means a lot to me. This is where we grew up and this is the least we can do for our place and our church!”

Domnic (and Ivor), may your tribe increase!



(This article first appeared on Gomantak Times dated July 29, 2009.)


Link articles to Quepem Church - by Walter Menezes
http://waltermenezes.blogspot.com/2009/07/quepem-church-part-one-by-walter.html
http://waltermenezes.blogspot.com/2009/07/quepem-church-part-two-by-walter.html



The author of this article, Walter Menezes,
can be contacted at walter_menezes@yahoo.com.