Every community is having its culture, tradition and history and the same are most dearest to them. On the basis of these one can easily fathom the importance and the greatness of any community. We similarly as Goans have our cultural and traditional attributes and those who know the importance of these they will oppose and condemn those who mutilate and murder these cultural and traditional items. Our Folk songs and Folk tales fall into our cultural and traditional items. When Bobby Picture came somewhere a quarter of a century back and where in that movie our Dekhni “Age Nari, tujeam nakant nothim…..was sung not as it was but mixing up with Hindi song, there was such a noise made by the Goans attacking that movie makers so vociferously that some even calling them as robbers who robbed our cultural and traditional musical item, that is, one Folk Song a beautiful “Dekhni”. These cultural and traditional items were composed centuries back by some great musical minded Goans whose names we don’t find in the books of history. Hence, we put them into the category of cultural items under the category called “Folk Songs”.
These Folk songs cannot be changed nor altered with the passing of the time, they remain the same in script as well as in tune so that its contents remain unaltered for everyone to sing in the same way as it was sung in the beginning. For this reason the Folk Songs are sung with the same ease, with the same tune and with the same words by anybody from that particular community, young as well as old. And it is to be noted that it is these cultural items that unite us or any other community.
However, to my regret, even our Mandos have been found with some changes and alterations made by the stupid Goans who got no business to touch the originality of it, these changes are brought by replacing some of the original words with the new words. Mandos and Dulpods are our great and rich cultural heritage, especially the traditional whose composers are unknown. Some of our stupid Goans act as if these Mandos are their fathers monopoly to allow them to change the same as they deem fit. Because of its unchangeable characteristics every Goan sing the traditional Mandos exactly they were sung since its birth. And as a matter of fact these Mandos and Dulpods which are always attached to each other. Mandos are playing a great role among Goans to unify them under one banner. When you sing Mando you are even as a commoner you are integrated with any other top, elite and aristocrat Goan. And because of its uniformity and everything being same, since centuries back, everybody can sing it, either young or old in the same manner as they sung when they were first sung following their compositions. Those stupid Goans who bring some changes in our Mandos and Duulpods to suit their needs they are doing a great injustice to our rich Mandos.
Those who are altering the originality of Cultural – Traditional -Folkoric items they are the greatest criminals who are committing great crimes on our Folk Songs. They are the most backward Goans who are totally ignorant of our Cultural heritage. You cannot REMIX IT.
Today it was brought to my notice by Rosario Fernandes the son of great Tiatrist and singer of yesteryears, Alexinho de Candolim, how a particular lady singer changed and altered one beautiful song of his father as a REMIX thereby destroying the original beauty of this particular song. Alexnho de Candolim’s songs are not meant for others to sing and nobody is capable to sing them as he did. He was a genius in this art. Those who remix it are not even worthy to touch a single letter of his song. These people who indulge in Remixing his songs are the greatest robbers of the greatest songs of the greatest composer and singer Alexinho de Candolim. Without even asking permission from his son and doing the Remix is not correct. He is dead no doubt but his son is very much alive and living in his villge Candolim.
Those who are capable to take corrective steps in this matter must do it now before more such incidents take place.
A.Veronica Fernandes.