Mumbai: Exuberant Concert Rekindles Memory of Late Jerome
Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Jan 28: A concert was organized in memory of Konkani legendary singer late Jerome D Souza, at St Joseph Church Premises, Mira Road, Mumbai, recently. The concert which was sponsored by Ronald Colaco and family was attended by a packed crowd of over 1300 Konkani music lovers. The concert was aimed at recreating the magic wielded by late Jerome D Souza with some of his popular Konkani songs and the organizers succeeded in bringing that nostalgic feeling by rendering some of these popular numbers. The assembled audience responded with the same enthusiasm and zest as it touched a chord among them, bringing alive the memories of Jerome.
It was a magnificent show, the grandeur and magnitude of which has never been witnessed in the history of Konkani music in Mumbai so far with top class sound and lighting system, aimed at doing full justice to the songs of late Jerome and providing wholesome entertainment to Konkani music lovers. The concert was organized by the children of late Jerome in memory of their legendary father and as expected it featured some of his chartbuster compositions. Son Ryan, who is rightly called the “rock star” of Konkani music set the stage on fire with his stage presence and by the sheer energy and vitality he exhibited while singing some of the evergreen numbers of his father including “Anjaa Sarken”, “Nach Moga Nach”, “Guvndailo” and “So phutincho Goond Ganv”.
Daughter Reena D Souza, a singer in her own right, gave a mind blowing performance with her mellifluous voice by singing popular and foot tapping numbers such as “Chinchpokhli”, “Naav Mujhe Leena”, “Taran” etc,. Professional dancers added vitality, energy and color to the songs. There were four giant screens placed at the venue which played the visuals and videos related to the songs performed on stage, which also added to the brilliance of the entire concert.
The highlight of the musical evening was a glorious performance by late Jerome’s wife Agnes D Souza, who performed Jerome’s popular and enduring number “Shegunachi Sun”. What added luster and radiance to the song was the enactment of the song with a huge wedding procession consisting of more than 100 people portraying the bride, groom and the families of both sides dancing to the tune. This is a very popular number composed by Jerome and even now most of the Mangalorean weddings are incomplete without this song. This procession was organized to showcase the real meaning of the song and to give a glimpse of the Mangalorean wedding to the assembled crowd. The grand finale came to an end with the procession reaching the stage. The excited crowd was spellbound by the splendor of the show and joined the group on stage in dancing.
The assembled music lovers were taken by surprise by the splendid performance by the dynamic parish priest of the church Fr Dominic Vaz and Fr Ivan who sang the sentimental number “Mai”. Slapstick comedy by comedy kings Jerry Rasquinha and Juze provided lighter moments for the gathered audience.
The chief guests for the evening were Dr. Abraham Mathai - Vice Chairman (Rank Of Minister Of State), State Minorities Commission (Govt . Of Maharashtra) & Gilbert Mendonca (M.L.A. Mira Bhayander).
Maxim Mathias (Prop of Roshan Electrical/Shagun Group of hotels), Rev. Fr Dominic Vas( Parish Priest - St Joseph Church, Mira Road), Rev. Fr Michael Shenoy (Spiritual Director - Anubhav, Mira Road ) & Helen D'souza (Chief Co-ordinator for Jerome Nite) were the guests of honour.
Fr Dominic Vas, Parish Priest - St Joseph Church, Mira Road addressed the Gathering. Agnes D Souza, wife of late Jerome D Souza welcomed the gathering. Vote of thanks was given by Ryan D'Souza.