A German falls in love... with Cantaram What happens when the guys from the Buena Vista Social Club take a trip to the Balkans? Believe it or not, they end up in Goa. A German lady sound recordist uncovers this reality when she ran into the Konkani 'cantaram' (as the popular form of music, unknown to the outside world, is locally know).
By FREDERICK NORONHA Sigrid Pfeffer's 2001 holiday to Goa was mis-timed. She landed here at the end of September. The monsoons were just about ending. Humidity was almost a hundred percent. The hotels were still deserted. In the evenings, there were few tourists at the hotel. So, the place was spared of the "standardised tourist music" that one hears all over the world. Instead, for a change, the locals manning the bar chose to tune in to *their own* favourite radio programme. Pfeffer, a sound recordist at the Hessischer Rundfunk public broadcaster in continental Europe's financial capital of Frankfurt, distinctly recalls the shock on first encountering this form of Konkani music. Says she: "Suddenly, there was this music like I had never heard before in my life. Yet, it seemed strangely familiar. Music that reminds me of sounds from the Caribbean, Eastern European folk, of music from Jamaica. Then again, it sounds Spanish to me -- it just didn't sound like what we perceive as 'Indian music'." Sigrid was puzzled. Nearly eight years later, her romance with Konkani music has only grown deeper. She has spent weeks in Goa ("yet to visit the beach after five weeks here"). During her many visits since, she has been scouring the trail of old records, record companies, artists who could give her permissions, people she could talk to, books on Goan music and more. She visited Chor Bazaar in Mumbai, where she found some useful LP (long-playing) records. She's still searching for more old records. Her dream: to preserve the recordings of the past, and, while doing so, to tell the wider world about this treasure, as she calls it. [Explains the Wikipedia: Chor Bazaar in South Mumbai is famous for its second-hand goods. The word Chor means "thief" in Hindi/Urdu. Chor bazar is Mumbai's famous Thieves Market where bargain-hungry tourists rummage for Ming vases and Muranos at throwaway prices. The main avenue is Motton Street, flanked by rows of little antique shops that look like musty attics and sell just about anything from old ship parts, grandfather clocks and gramophones, to crystal chandeliers and old English tea sets. Others offer authentic Victorian furniture, wonderful for browsers, antiquarians and restorers. Although bargains are sometimes staggering, most of the shop owners are pretty street smart, and could easily take a self-styled aesthete for a ride. This area can be considered one of the tourist attractions of Mumbai (Bombay). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chor_bazar] Until recently, recordings going back to the 1950s to 1970s were not available for Konkani music. This was its golden period, when the music "was at its zenith and exuded its special charms". Many songs were, if at all, only available in newer, but not as charming, re-recorded versions. Life is an accident. She came here after a trip to Rajasthan, she reached Goa for what would be a beach holiday. "I was so fascinated that I asked the staff, and they said this was Konkani music." She embarked on her long journey, not expecting how complex this story would be. Says she, "I couldn't forget that music." Over eight years, she started to ask at the record shops. But they only had new records, or re-arranged music. "It was not that what I was looking for. I came back, again and again," she says. Her trail took her to All India Radio. She recalls how she even entered a bar once at Panjim, just because she heard some music. But no, it was again not available. "I continuously thought of compiling a CD," she says. That idea came from a friend. After wearing out many soles, she got the permissions. It is to be released in Feb-end in Europe. Earlier, an hour-long radio programme on the Konkani cantaram was also broadcast in Germany in June 2008, and a repeat is due in April 2009. Not just in Frankfurt, but in other German radio stations too. "It's unusual for many reasons. It's the soul of Goa. For me, it's the real soul-touching music. It touched me deeply. It's soulful. In one song, you have many many different musical facets -- like Italian, French, Balkan. Everything is in there, and it's so nicely made." "For me, this music has a very big value. It's very unique. Specially when you get to know the special -- and sometimes very sad (of colonialism and migration) -- history behind it." She notes that she's a sound technican, not a journalist or musicologist. "It was the first time I produced a one-hour feature for a cultural channel, but I enjoyed doing it." What next? More features, broadcasts, maybe a TV documentary -- on other aspects of Goa and the rest of India. "Maybe I'd like to compile more CDs with the Konkani songs, typically the cantaram," says she. And here's her plea: "I'm looking hard for old LPs, and 45s and shellacs, and also some information about musicians. I went to Chor Bazaar to find old records. It's like finding diamonds or trunks with hidden treasures, to find these old records (which contain a cultural tradition that is vital to Goa)," says she. Sigrid Pfeffer says it's fascinating that the smallest state of India has such a wide tradition of musical facets. She concludes: "This old music hasn't lost its fascination for me, and I'm very keen to continue that. I'll do my level best to promote it in a way that it will not be commercialised. I'd always like to be in touch with the people and do it carefully. There's always the danger that musical treasures like this could be commerciallised, and the people won't understand it any more. I don't want to do it in a superficial way." FOOTNOTE: Pfeffer can be emailed at sigridpfef...@web.de PHOTOGRAPH: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/3318962838/ COVER OF CD: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/3318962236/