Posts
Mando Music
9:01 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
Before we had the flashy songs of Bollywood, ever wondered which songs played in the minds of novice lovers? Before we had artificially coloured roses, before we had shimmering heart – shaped cards, we had one of the greatest auditory wonders of our culture – the Goan Mando.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Mando began gaining its popularity amongst the Goan Catholics. It was an exemplary personification of the welding of the eastern and western cultures. The men, dressed in well-ironed formal coats, complemented the golden-bordered blue (sometimes red or green) sarees worn by the women. The women also carried a fan each that added the final touch of elegance to their costume.
The melodious singing ranged right from a woman’s proclamation of loyalty to her lover Jimmy, the sorrow at the departure of beloved Rosa and many such themes. By the time the singing was done, the audience was already teary-eyed.
Mande are usually in the monologue form, with the theme revolving around love or sometimes even historical, social or political issues. Occasionally a Mando is a musical conversation between two lovers. Every time a Mando is sung, a novel emotion subtly emanates from the melody and encases the mystified audience.
But for those who are too springy to be affected by the music of romance, the Mande
(Mando in plural) were usually followed by another form of Goan folk songs – the Dulpod. This fast moving, amusing form of singing usually has no specified theme. The songs are simple snippets from everyday Goan life strung together with music to spread good humour to its listeners. One very popular Dulpod which is taught very early to Goan children , Undir Mhojea Mama – is about the singer warning a mouse not to become friends with a kitten. The simplicity of Dulpodam is what wins the hearts of the listeners, refreshing them with their easy-to-catch words and rhythm.
Even though Mande and Dulpodam are glorified as the best form of original Goan music, it’s a newly begun trend to choose contemporary music over traditional. Where will the Mande and Dulpodam go then?
If we think it’s enough to have them mentioned already by our grandparents and scrupulously written encyclopedias, then we might soon lose out on the joy that we can have just by listening to our usual Goan life sung in a variety of melodies.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Mando began gaining its popularity amongst the Goan Catholics. It was an exemplary personification of the welding of the eastern and western cultures. The men, dressed in well-ironed formal coats, complemented the golden-bordered blue (sometimes red or green) sarees worn by the women. The women also carried a fan each that added the final touch of elegance to their costume.
The melodious singing ranged right from a woman’s proclamation of loyalty to her lover Jimmy, the sorrow at the departure of beloved Rosa and many such themes. By the time the singing was done, the audience was already teary-eyed.
Mande are usually in the monologue form, with the theme revolving around love or sometimes even historical, social or political issues. Occasionally a Mando is a musical conversation between two lovers. Every time a Mando is sung, a novel emotion subtly emanates from the melody and encases the mystified audience.
But for those who are too springy to be affected by the music of romance, the Mande
(Mando in plural) were usually followed by another form of Goan folk songs – the Dulpod. This fast moving, amusing form of singing usually has no specified theme. The songs are simple snippets from everyday Goan life strung together with music to spread good humour to its listeners. One very popular Dulpod which is taught very early to Goan children , Undir Mhojea Mama – is about the singer warning a mouse not to become friends with a kitten. The simplicity of Dulpodam is what wins the hearts of the listeners, refreshing them with their easy-to-catch words and rhythm.
Even though Mande and Dulpodam are glorified as the best form of original Goan music, it’s a newly begun trend to choose contemporary music over traditional. Where will the Mande and Dulpodam go then?
If we think it’s enough to have them mentioned already by our grandparents and scrupulously written encyclopedias, then we might soon lose out on the joy that we can have just by listening to our usual Goan life sung in a variety of melodies.
0 comments:
Post a Comment