-Brian Mendonça
Nunc
vino pellite curas
Cras
ingens iterabimus aequor.*
-
Horace
Odes
On a day when the spirits were balmy in the tepid
April air we decided to take a leaf out of the Roman poet Horace’s philosophy.
Yes, all we had was today and today must be celebrated with wine.
We were at Grape Escapade 2018 at the spacious
Campal grounds. The stage set was amazing and Lorna even more. The area near
the venue was overflowing with cars. The crass drivers thought no better than
to haul their 4-wheelers over the delicate pavements blocking the pathway. This
left pedestrians to their fate risking their lives in front of the speeding
traffic on the road. We parked mindfully at the yawning parking slots at Panjim
Gymkhana.
We reached after 9.30 p.m. and Lorna was on a home
run. Her robust voice held the evening in thrall, even if she hit the high
notes on thin ice. Dressed in a shimmery
peach gown Lorna belted out her by now legendry songs. But she slipped in one
new song, I had not heard before. It was a kind of swan song, thanking God for
the music in her life. All of us have to die some time, the lyrics went. But my
songs will go on forever.
At 72 years Lorna, the spectacle in front of me, was
doing what she does best. She was
bringing music to her listeners, enfolding them with the Konkani tunes they
were so familiar with. She saved her piece
de resistance for the last. In her husky, hoary voice she impersonated the
drunk husband singing ‘Ieo baile ieo/
Soro mhaka di poilo /Soro mhaka dinam zalear / Tuzo foddtolom toklo. This
song ‘Bebdo’ was composed by Chris Perry
in the 1970’s. An enduring favourite, the song perhaps tells the tale of many a
Goan household devastated by drink. Lorna’s
energy was unsurpassable. She ruled the stage even when the curtains came down
dutifully at 10 p.m. She would sing for another day.
And this was the day we were coming to terms with
the death of Swedish musician Tim Bergling aka Avicii who was only 28. Avicii was the prince of global Electronic
Dance Music (EDM). However, in view of the drink and drugs, Himali Thakur
writes, ‘Avicii becomes a
segue to understanding the neon-coloured “live fast, die young” message of
EDM.’ News of the doings of Rhythm & Blues
singer R. Kelly was still to trickle in.
For dinner at the Grape
Escapade we quite fancied fare from the stall quaintly named House No. 2. The rates were more
reasonable and the food well-done. (I could say that for the pork ribs). For a
dash of spirit I braved a Sangria which is usually made of wine, fruit juice
and fresh fruit. We called it a day by coming away with a bottle of Dia from the Sula vineyards, Nashik.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Now
drive away your cares with wine / For tomorrow we sail once more on the
boundless sea. Published in Gomantak Times, Weekender St. Inez, Goa, on Sunday 29 April 2018. Pix of Lorna taken by Brian Mendonca at the venue on Saturday, 21 April 2018.
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