Franky Gracias & Lakshmi G Sardesai
The Goa Heritage Festival eagerly awaits Goa's singing sensation, Lorna Cordeiro, who is set to perform at around 8.30 pm at the heritage Campal promenade on Saturday.
Lorna is already in Goa and is all set to perform with the Monsorate Brothers, who are excited to perform in Goa after a very long gap. She will sing around 12 songs giving her fans an opportunity to listen to her again.
The Monsorate Brothers – Ronnie, Bosco and Blasco – are equally acclaimed musicians having given their best to Bollywood when Goans made a huge impact on the Hindi film industry.
Speaking to media persons, Ronnie recollected the day when he presented Lorna before media persons at Fidalgo in Panjim to introduce her singing show after a gap of 23 years, after which she shot to fame again.
"When she sang Aikat mhozo tavo (‘Hear my voice’), the journalists present at Fidalgo could not believe and were in awe of her," he recalled. "Lorna was scared to face the media because she was away from public glare for a very long time," he added.
Sounding nostalgic, Ronnie remembered, "All Goans recollect the show at Miramar when Lorna made her homecoming to singing. Lorna herself was surprised looking at the sea of people to see her sing after 23 years. After that year, 1995, there was no looking back."
But, he said, it was not easy to get her to sing as she had completely given up on life. It took me three visits to her house in Bombay to convince her to get back to singing, and, eventually, I tasted success, he added.
"Lorna's singing persona and her return to music made a big impact on people. One of them was well-known lyricist Gabru Gomes, who was very excited to learn about her return and the opportunity to work with her. He was so excited that his asthma was aggravated, and he died in hospital after admission," Ronnie recollected.
Performing with Lorna was one of the most memorable times Ronnie experienced as a musician. But he also cannot forget the legendary and simplicity-personified musician and composer Anthony Gonsalves for the gift of music.
He recollects how Gonsalves, a big name in Bollywood, once gave him a lesson of a lifetime in music when he asked him to throw the music book aside and play from his heart. And that's what Ronnie did, and today he has made a name for himself that will live on in people’s memories.
Friday saw the Monsorate Brothers jamming with Lorna during rehearsals, to ready themselves for tomorrow's show at Campal. While Ronnie is equally excited, Blasco and Bosco, too, are ready to rock the well-known heritage precincts of Panjim.
