'Soad 3' – A Worldwide Hunt for Konkani Music ‘Performers’
Daijiworld Media Network - FR
Mangalore, Jan 20: With “Soad - 3 Universal”, spearheaded by Mandd Sobhann - the premier Konkani cultural organization, the hunt for Konkani singing talent will go national and international , with a view to extend its scope to a wider section of the Konkani society. By doing so, the organizers feel that more and more youngsters will get an opportunity to exhibit their singing talent. Though, the search for the singing talent began with ‘Soad 1” in the year 2005 and continued with “ Soad 2” in 2008, it is for the first time the competition is thrown open to the prospective singers spread across the globe though “Soad – 3 Universal”, which will commence with its Indian preliminary rounds of completion from February this year . In this quest for spotting the right singing talent among the youth, Mandd Sobhann has joined hands with MCC Qatar and daijiworld.com , to make it a truly global event.
Eric Ozario, Gurkar of Mandd Sobhann says that this TV reality show is not just aimed at spotting the best singers. “To zero in on the best singer we need not go through the long process and strenuous task of selection, training and other nuances spread over a year. That is a very simple and easy job. But we want to bring to the fore the real singing talent and give a sense of direction to Konkani music and take it to a high level through this kind of programmes. Through such programmes, Mannd Sobhann is shouldering the responsibility of developing Konkani music and bring to the limelight efficient and professional Konkani singers. The main intention of ‘Soad 3’ is to develop good singers in Konkani at national and international levels and we will spare no effort in this task.
Eric Ozario is of the view that the “Soad” programmes have been a learning experience both to the participants and the viewers. While appreciating the singing talents of the participants, they were awakened to the rude reality of subtle aspects of their flaws in singing and what benchmarks are needed to be a good singer. People usually have a wrong impression that it is just the voice quality that is judged in a singing competition, which is not true. In fact, Soad programmes have created consciousness among the among the audience as to what it needs to be a good singer. The object was not just to pinpoint the shortcomings of the singer, says Eric. Many a time, the participants do not know their lacunae or the simple gaffe they commit while performing, which proves to be their undoing in a competition . “The basic idea of ‘Soad” has been to project a singer as a performer par excellence. By pointing out their mistakes we just want to correct them and develop their skills and take Konkani music to newer heights”, Eric contends.
Eric Ozario
Has the real talent in Konkani music come to the limelight through Soad programmes? Eric peremptorily says “we proudly say our reality how ‘Soad” was no less than any other reality show coming on national television. The concept was same, the process which the contestants had to go through was the same. Of course the level of talent was not the same because Konkani singing has not developed beyond a certain stage. But we have the satisfaction of creating an awareness among Konkani singers about their drawbacks. People usually don’t realize their shortcomings unless someone else points them out. We have succeeded in that aspect”. But he also agrees that Konkani society, in general, is impervious to such ideas and does not respond positively. As a result many a time, the deserving do not partake in such reality shows. “We have to settle with what is available to us rather than lament talent not forthcoming. In fact the level of participation in ‘Soad 1” was much better than in “Soad 2”, despite our all out efforts to prod our youth to participate in the competition”, declares Eric.
Mandd Sobhann embraces an altogether different perspective when it comes to Konkani singing, which may not be music to the ears of many. The general feeling among Konkani singers, song writers and composers is that Konkani songs should be sung by all. But Mandd Sobhann differs in its approach to Konkani singing. “Music is an art and that is why a performer is given an elevated stage to perform to separate him or her from the ground level and to say he is a cut above the rest. Not everyone can be termed as an artiste. In such an eventuality an artiste ceases to exist” , says Eric.
Eric is also of the view that Konkani singers have never been challenged. Now Mandd Sobhann has taken up the onerous responsibility of ensuring that Konkani singers are challenged so that Konkani singing can be on par with singing in other language. Because Konkani singers are challenged they have not been able to come out of their cossets and Konkani singing has remained where it is, opines Eric. In Soad -2, therefore the participants had to go in through a studio recording and also perform to a song , keeping in tune with Mandd Sobhann’s theory of ‘singer is a performer’.
The idea of going national and international with ‘Soad – 3’ was just the kind of impetus needed for Mandd Sobhann, which made a worldwide impact through the 25 days of extravaganza through Konkani Cultural Convention, convened recently. We did not want to confine ourselves to small l islands of Konkani community because it does not serve the cause of Konkani. We do not want to stay put there when we can embrace a larger section of Konkani people splintered across the globe, asserts Eric, on the idea of going global with Soad – 3.
The participants would do well to pay attention to details like shruthi, taal, pronunciation, posture, gesture, confidence and even song selection. Song selection by participants also plays a crucial role because the organizers do not want the contestants to get away by singing simple songs, which does not give enough opportunity for singers to really exhibit their singing talent. Therefore, competitors should select a song that gives them enough scope to explore and showcase their flair for singing. At the same time they should not select a tough song, to which they cannot do justice to. The singer should also sing a song that suits his or her voice, is the little advice Eric gives to hopeful aspirants. Above all, aspirants should possess high level of confidence in their talent and poise and posture and other niceties comes along with brimful of confidence.
Mandd Sobhann wants greater and willing participation of youngsters in this reality show. It wasn’t to reach out to a larger section and that is why they are extending this to as many countries as possible. “When we were young we did not have these many opportunities. Now our youth have been flooded with lot of opportunities. They are talented but are a pampered lot. It is time for our youth to make the best use of this opportunity , and help us in our efforts to efforts to make Konkani music to a higher echelon” , Eric says.
To give wings to these ideas Mandd Sobhann has joined hands with MCC Qatar and daijiworld.com, the premier web portal. Though the three have committed orally to be joint partners they are soon going to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) clearly delineating the roles of the three organizations in this task. While Mandd Sobhann bears the responsibility of organizing the entire show, daijiworld.com will shoulder the task of recording, editing, mixing and transmitting the shows. MCC Qatar will co-ordinate and bear the expenses of the entire ‘Soad-3 Universal programme”.
Only 3 programmes of show will be broadcast live namely, the India Semifinal in Mumbai, the foreign semifinal in Dubai and the final to be held in Qatar in November 2011. “Soad – 3 “ involves 10 countries and 16 regions both in India and abroad. All the aspirants from anywhere in the world will have to compete in the preliminary round at the regional level of their choice. The contest is open to youth between the age of 15 & 35, to Konkanis of any religion, region or dialect. Even non-Konkanis can participate provided they sing Konkani songs. Two winners, one male and one female from every region, will qualify for the semifinal to book a place for the final round. The shooting for Indian preliminary round will begin from February 2011.
Winners will receive ‘Rani Kogul Universe’ (female) and Rai Kogul Universe’ (male) titles along with trophy, crown and cash award of Rs. 1 lakh. The first runners-up will receive a trophy and Rs. 25,000 cash each. Each winner of the regional level competition will receive a cash prize of Rs. 10,000/-.
The last date for receiving the application is February 10, 2011. Aspiring contestants CLICK HERE for online form.
Applications can also be sent to mandd_sobhann@yahoo.com or to be submitted to Kalaangann, Shaktinagar, Mangalore – 575 016. Tel numbers 0824-2232239/2230489.
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