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UNDERSTANDING MANDO: THE SONG OF GOA
Dr. Francisco Colaço
dr_colaco@yahoo.com
What is Mando? Everyone is talking of Mando these days. Mando
is a dance-song with lyrics that convey pathos and imagery.
It is a concrete symbol of the synthesis of two cultures: the
Latin Christian and the Indian Hindu.
Nowhere else one sees a file of men dressed in
purely Western outfits and a file of women in
Indian costumes holding fans gently swaying back
and forth to a melancholic tune. Mando conjures
reminiscences of a fantasy world of yesteryear to
which today's renowned composers have added new,
pressing themes that make it a felicitous blend of
the new and the old.
BITTER-SWEET HISTORY
Mando is said to be the biography of the Goan heart: a long
tale of our bitter-sweet history with all the joys and
sorrows.
Something that expresses with immortal lyrics the glory and
the martyrdom of Goan heart with its immense capacity to love
and to suffer. Any event connected with the Mando generates
profound interest among its aficionados.
Recently, Goa witnessed one such momentous occasion. Against
the backdrop of nostalgic Mando music by Curtorechim Salkam,
Dr. Maria Aurora Couto released the book "Song of Goa Crown
of Mandos" written by Dr. Jose Pereira, Michael Martins and
Antonio da Costa, a 497-page hardbound book, co-published by
the Saligao-based Goa-1556 and Broadway Publishing House. It
has proved to be the fruit of much labour, patience and
dedication by those who rose to the challenging task.
Dr. Couto with her well-known verve and fluency waxed
nostalgic about those days when she, her late revered husband
Albano and Dr. Jose Pereira formed an "inseparable" trio.
While extolling the grandiosity and scholarship of Dr. Jose
she made it a point to stress the latter's simplicity and
originality that make him unique, a giant among mortals. She
concluded quoting lines from Dr. Jose's touching letter of
condolence upon the death of husband Albano (and this brought
tears to the eyes of many).
Dr. Jose Pereira, the co-author of the book, who had
specially flown from US to grace the release function, rose
then to speak. With precise, measured, erudite words he gave
a scholarly overview about Mando and its significance.
Dr. Jose Pereira is the professor emeritus of
theology of Fordham University, New York, where he
lectured on History of Religions. A multi-faceted
multi-talented personality, he has taught and done
research in various academic institutions in
Lisbon, London and Varanasi and has published 16
books and over 130 articles on theology, history of
art and architecture and on Goa and Konkani
language, culture, literature and music. He has
devoted a great part of his life to the study of
Mando, something that fascinates him immensely.
Dr. Jose had earlier written a trilogy of books on Mando.
Because of the huge demand, no sooner these books were
released, they were out of print. This obviously left a big
lacuna that had to be filled. The present book "Song of Goa
Crown of Mandos" is a welcome release. The word "Crown" has
been aptly chosen because Mando is indeed a "crown" made of
four "jewels": Mandos of Yearning (Utrike), Mandos of Union
(Ekvott), Mandos of Lamentation (Villap) and Mandos of News
(Fobro).
Our immortal Mando composers of yesteryear dealt poignantly
with the ardent and passionate love that yearns for union.
Since yearning for love at times culminates with marital
bliss, at times with failure to achieve union, the love
forlorn, the jilted love affair leading to despair,
desolation and lament, our great composers of Mando dealt
also with this aspect admirably.
A sizable space has also been reserved to describe social and
political events. Mandos of Fobro deal with historical
happenings, scandalous fashions, clandestine affairs and
anecdotes from composer's personal life -- truly a portrait
of traditional Goa, depicted with humour and malice. It is
said that malice delivered impersonally and without prejudice
used to be a developed fine art in that bygone era.
The book "Crown of Mandos" is the fruit of much
scholarship and meticulous research and beyond doubt, the
authors have succeeded in bringing a real treatise on Mando.
They have dug through a lot of archives, taken the trouble of
interviewing hundreds of people, reviewed thousands of
manuscripts, and obtained a wealth of information, treading
the breadth and length of Goa, Saxtti in special.
As a result, we have now the voluminous reference material at
our disposal in the form of a compendium: Song of Goa (Crown
of Mandos). Anyone who is interested in the subject (even
those who have a bent for research) can now approach mando
with a scholarly mind. They are given the rare opportunity to
analyze Mandos in a manner never made previously possible.
Information about each Mando is under several headings.
The cover is artistically designed -- modern,
attractive. (Since the cover is meant to be a clip
from a dance sequence, it is a minus point that the
lady turns her back to the male partner while the
latter looks at her; sadly the all-important eye
contact between both partners is lost). The
printing is neat; the various sections are
well-separated into different categories.
This book includes an introduction to Konkani songs (of
varied types); essays on the Mando and its romantic,
political and social world; lyrics, scores, translations of
and commentaries on many prominent Mandos; details of the
lives of some Mando composers; and rules of Saxtti elision.
The book is truly an encyclopedia, a Mando reliquary which
will serve as a mirror for a detailed look into the past and
benchmark for all the new developments around Mando.
WANTED: BOOK ON DULPODS
We now hope that local publishers will set themselves the
task of compiling a book on Dulpods. This they could do under
Dr. Jose Pereira's guidance and help from our greats like
Tomasinho Cardoso, Fr. Bernardo Cotta, Michael Gracias,
Marianella, Elvis Goes, Elvis Gonsalves, Inacio Palmeira and
so many others who endeavour to make Mando vibrant as well as
relevant to the present generation.
Incidently, at the release functionn, the performance by
'Curtorochim Salkam' was commendable. Irineu's voice is
rich. Celine and Cynthia, the Costa Sisters, sing
beautifully. Victor's guitar playing and chord work is
exceptional. However, the 'impromptu' dulpod at the request
of the audience was lackluster, bereft of synchronization. A
Mando dancing couple or two would surely have made the
occasion more memorable.
(This is an edited version of the article published earlier
in the Goan Observer.)
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Now available in Toronto, a few copies of *Into The Diaspora Wilderness* by Selma Carvalho. Contact Bosco D'Mello
bosco@goanet.org (416) 803-7264