Ever walked into a house, and soon felt like you were transported into another world, another time, another era, as if in a time machine, where you could almost feel the ambience, the people, their culture? Well, that's what happens at 'Sounds from Goa', a heritage home concert, specially-curated by founder and producer, Schubert Fernandes, and co-founder and musical director, Omar Loiola Pereira.
The heritage home concert takes place at Loiola Pereira's ancestral home - Solar Loiola Pereira, in Benaulim, South Goa. It is a nostalgic walk down memory lane to the good old days of Goa. The two and a half hour long concert has a delightful mix of food, dance, heritage walk and music.
BEHIND 'SOUNDS FROM GOA'
Founder and producer at 'Sounds From Goa', Schubert Fernandes' speaks about what gave birth to 'Sounds From Goa'. He says, "The idea of bringing intimacy to Goa’s sounds came during the pandemic. We wanted to curate something more experiential, where people not only consumed sounds, but also touch and feel sounds, and that was the idea when the sounds from Goa came into picture."
The idea was also to give a holistic experience for people visiting and travelling to Goa, to introduce them to Goa's folk and traditional sounds, and at the same time, curate an experience for people seeking to explore Goa beyond it beaches and parties. "So, the choice of items that happen at the event are very carefully curated and crafted," Loiola Pereira adds.
CURATION OF THE EXPERIENCE
The two and a half hour experience begins with a house tour, during which, visitors are introduced to various facets of an Indo-Portuguese home. The story behind Solar Loiola Pereira is quiet an interesting experience.
During the walk, visitors learn not only about the house, but also about Indo-Portuguese influences that are found in homes of Goa.
IRRESISTIBLE GOAN FOOD!
Visitors are then taken on a culinary journey that has a specially curated menu by The Goan Kitchen. Empadinhas de Manga, Angel Wings, Xarope de Birnado, Bebinca, Pork Pies, Balchao toasties are just a few of the many delicacies that visitors can feast on.
From savouries to snacks to sweet dishes, the menu offers an assortment of palate-pleasers.
THE MENU
Founder of The Goan Kitchen, Oliver Fernandes, explains how the menu is specially curated in order to elevate the experience of the guests attending the concert. "We, from The Goan Kitchen, have put up a spread of different things. We have tried to curate a menu which kind of gives the guests a varied experience. We have savouries as well as delicacies on the buffet."
There are dishes right from Bebinca to traditional holle. "We also want to give the Lusofonian experience through the Empadinhas, and at the same time, we've tried to experiment with the Balchao. We have put the Balchao on toasties so that those who are vegetarian and vegan can also experience the richness of Indo-Portuguese cuisine," adds Fernandes.
The spread is a mix of Indo-Portuguese culinary delights that have been part of Goa's culture for ages, while some of the selections on the menu include dishes and drinks that have been forgotten, or are not commonly found anywhere, today.
Another fascinating feature is the manner in which these delicacies are served to guests. The Goan Kitchen ditches the customary plates and picks up a very Goan element, which is part of local agrarian society, called soop (winnowing tray) which is used to separate rice from husk. A small bamboo soop is plated with a banana leaf, giving a very local and regional feel.
AND, THEN COMES THE MUSIC!
The concert experience takes place in the ballroom of the house, which is traditional and is adorned with antiques and other perios items that are part of an Indo-Portuguese home.
Entre Nós presents soulful music that is bound to make guests pause from the daily grind of life and soak in the soothing tunes of tribal and Western instruments, not forgetting the melodious singing.
Loiola Pereira says, "The music is a narrative, we go through a story. Each item that has been selected has a purpose and reason."
They start out with very tribal sounds, and as the concert progress, they go through the Western influences that have been imbibed into Goa's culture. "We finish with a very Goan song which has Western appeal. So, the choice of items are are specially curated and crafted," he adds.
Visitors can enjoy the tunes of Indo-Portuguese music, from the mando to the dekni to the fado, which are accompanied by local dancers who bring out the best in music.
Entre Nós features fadista Nadia Rebello, violinist Selwyn Menezes, percussionist Elton Quadros and musical director, Omar Loiola Pereira, who take the audience on an musical sojourn of a bygone era in Goa!
COMING SOON
The team of the Heritage Home Concert has plans of exploring and giving more to Goa's sound through an upcoming susegad series, which is a series of tunes from Goa. "We are also going to have a video series coming up, but this idea was to further the cause of folk and traditional music, not only for the people who come to Goa, from India, but for people from all over the world," concludes Fernandes.
DETAILS
WHERE: Solar Loiola Pereira, Benaulim, South Goa
CONTACT: soundinstore@gmail.com / 9819792973