COVER STORY

MILES away from the safety of their homes and warmth of their families fate lay in wait, in the dark shadows of the night of September 19, for three of Goa's most proficient young musicians. In distant Kanpur, brutal death claimed the trio in the prime of their youth and at the crest of their musical career. On that fateful day the symphony stopped and music died in Goa.

An empty bus, in trying to overtake another vehicle, is claimed to have crashed headlong into the Tata Sumo in which Remo's Microwave Pappadums band was travelling from Kanpur to the Lucknow airport. Keyboard player Selwyn Pereira, bass guitarist Victor Alvares, tabla player Dharmendra Hirve, along with Kanaiyalal, the driver of the Tata Sumo vehicle in which they were travelling from Kanpur to Lucknow, after playing at the IIT in Kanpur, died on the spot. Remo's personal assistant Sunil Redkar succumbed to his injuries later at the Regency Hospital, where the sole survivor, percussionist Santan Carvalho is still battling for life.

Like an earthquake does, the tragic news of the death of the musicians, who formed the backbone of Remo's Microwave Pappadums band, sent shock waves down the spines of their relatives, friends and fans. A pall of gloom soon enveloped the entire music fraternity in Goa.

DHARMENDRA HIRVE

The deceased musicians figured among the most sought after talents in Goa. Dharmendra, the eldest son of reputed dramatist Govind Hirve, studied music under Pandit Prabhakar Chari. Dharmendra's mastery of ragas, taals, bols and mukhdas, on the tabla, mesmerised his ever burgeoning audience. He also played the dholki and rendered Hindustani vocals. Being a devoted student of music and a perfectionist to the core, he was an easy choice for Remo, who took the tabla exponent on continuous concert tours around the country and abroad.

At his father's cloth store in the Mapusa Muncipal market, Dharmendra displayed a genial disposition commerce calls for. A few moments before his death, Dharmendra had phoned his wife Sweta, who was at her mother's house in Belgaum and inquired about her health because she is somewhere around the eight month of pregnancy. He had assured her that he would ring her up again on reaching the airport. But fate willed otherwise. His one-and-a-half-year-old son and the yet to be born second child will merely have a few photographs to know how their father looked in life.

SELWYN PEREIRA

Wellknown keyboards player and vocalist Selwyn Pereira (29), a product of Panjim's Don Bosco High School, lived in Chimbel-Ribandar (though originally from Cansaulim). His musical skills were honed at the late Fr Martino Fernandes' Santa Cecilia Music School at Fontainhas and at the Kala Academy's School of Western Music.

Despite his prodigious talent, he was a charming, unassuming and helpful young man. Selwyn, whose musical career took off in his very first teen with Purple Rain, went on to form his own outfit, Civilians. Remo picked him up for the Pappadums while Selwyn was playing for the Big City Band. Along with his former Civilians mate Jude Vaz, Selwyn was about to give the finishing touches to the recording of his Hindi CD at Orlando's studio, Angel Records, in Panjim. The CD was being readied for release on the birthday of his father, Simon, on September 28, but his time on earth was up. Through a fruitful life, Selwyn had already fulfilled the mission of music he was sent to achieve amidst us.

VICTOR ALVARES

God certainly needs the good. He needed Victor Alvares, the 37-year-old bass guitarist from Devotvaddo in the period village of Loutolim. The great bassist had performed magnificently for a New Delhi band called Sky for four years before shifting to Goa. Son of Maria do Carmo Matos Sequeira e Alvares and late Jose Antonio de Rosario Alvares, Victor was humility personified and the pet-name 'Pequeno' suited him well due to this important trait in his exemplary character. Besides music, he also had a penchant for mechanics and repairing automobiles. He carried on this work in his spare time in Loutulim.

SANTAN CARVALHO

Little is known of this young percussionist Santan Carvalho, the last to join Remo's band. He hails from New Vaddem in Vasco da Gama and played for an orchestra before Remo selected him. Santan is the sole surviving member of the group. All eyes are now riveted on him and his recovery.

SUNIL REDKAR

Sunil Redkar was born on February 2, 1976. His birthday came around only once in four years but his impoverished family, dwelling in a palm-thatched house at Fernandes Vaddo in Siolim, could hardly afford to celebrate it. His father, Sripad Redkar, expired all of a sudden four years ago, in his early 50s, orphaning Sunil, his sisters Manik (married) and Milan, and brothers Suraj (17) and Swapnil (9). Hence Sripad's wife, Vasanti, was left with the galling task of bringing up the household single-handedly.

Sunil had completed the SSCE. The boy must have been overjoyed when his music idol, Remo, found Sunil diligent enough to assist him as a personal secretary. Remo's son, Noah, had grown very fond of Sunil, particularly after the latter joined Remo's troupe. Gradually, the family began seeing a bit better days and Sunil had already managed to change the thatched roof to a tiled one. It was only on his last birthday that he could afford to hold a semblance of a celebration for his family. As he was emerging into the breadwinner of the once destitute Redkar household, fate got envious of the boy's success. In the accident, his face was smashed beyond recognition.

SAD FAREWELLS

The bodies of Selwyn Pereira, Dharmendra Hirve and Victor Alvares, all members of Remo's Microwave Pappadums, were flown into Goa by Sahara Airlines on September 21 at around 2.30 pm.

The funeral of Sunil Redkar, Remo's personal assistant, was held immediately in Siolim, where an unprecedented, huge gathering of mourners awaited the expectantly the arrival of the body of the unfortunate, fatherless boy. Sunil's house, in Remo's neighbourhood, was virtually a vale of tears that September evening. The entire village of Siolim seemed to be weeping along with his distraught mother and inconsolable brothers and sisters.

The focus then shifted to Dattawadi in Mapusa, a huge crowd had gathered around the residence of Dharmendra Hirve, long before the hearse arrived with the coffin containing his lifeless, completely mutilated body. Breaking Hindu traditions for a day, they took the coffin in the drawing room of the Hirve house, adjacent to the Dattawadi temple. The coffin laid there bedecked with flowers and the photograph of the much loved, appreciated and admired table maestro displayed on it.

The family longed to have a last look at Dharma's face, but they dared not open the coffin in which lay the mangled body, wrapped haphazardly in plastic sheets. Just a few persons saw the deformed face when the packing was unwrapped, to check which side the head was, before laying it on the funeral pyre.

Dharmendra's wife, Sweta, who has a one-and-a half-year-old son and is in the eight month of pregnancy, broke down in utter anguish. One could not bear to see her, wrecked with spasms of grief. Besides Dharmendra's tearful relatives and scores of musicians, there was a long queue of people waiting anxiously to file past his mortal remains. After his father, Govind Hirve, lit the funeral pyre at the Dattawadi crematorium, several distinguished personalities of Mapusa, hailing from different walks of life, including Francis D'Souza, Mapusa MLA and Minister of Law, paid glowing tributes to the departed, most loved and humble musician of their town. People and music lovers came from different parts of Goa, proving the immense popularity enjoyed by the deceased tabla player, the first member of Remo's Microwave Pappadum, which took off about 12 years ago.

Remo and his wife Michelle drove to Dattawadi after Sunil's funeral was over. Remo's voice choked as he rose to say a few words. "I had two families: my wife and children, and my band. Today I have lost one family. I have no brother...I only have a sister... Dharma was a brother to me. He was not only a fine musician but a very good human being," he said in Konkani.

The remaining two farewells followed on September 22 when popular guitarist Victor Alvares and excellent keyboardist Selwyn Pereira-were laid to rest in Loutulim and Ribandar respectively.

Victor's funeral cortege left his residence at Devotvaddo, at 3.30 pm to the Saviour of the World Church. His mother, Vanda, was present along with his brothers, his sisters and their families who had come from Canada, Venezuela, London, Germany, Bahrain and Dubai to pay their last respects to someone whom they loved dearly but would never meet again. Remo and Michelle were present too. The church was overflowing with people, who had thronged there to pay their homage to the talented musician, who had brought honour and fame to the village not only through his music but through his exemplary behaviour as well.

The main celebrant of the concelebrated mass was Fr Oscar Quadros, former assistant Parish Priest of the village, who knew Victor as a young boy. Fr Quadros said that Victor was always a humble person despite being a wellknown guitarist. The present youth would make a fine tribute to Victor by following his humble nature. Fr Quadros also praised Victor for showing active interest in the church choir.

After the mass, Victor's musician nephew, Oliver Alvares, choking with emotion, rendered the famous song "You will be always on my mind". At the cemetry, Emiliano da Cruz and his two partners rendered "Adios Amigo, Adios my Friend", bringing tears to the eyes of the mass of mourners.

At the Church of Our Lady of Health at Ribandar, the scene was no less tearful than in Loutulim. "When I was given the tragic news of the five victims of the road accident in Kanpur, I felt jolted, mentally paralysed, speechless, motionless...He was so simple, so unassuming, so humble...reaching out to all

whether rich or poor," said Fr Thomas Aquino Sequeira, Rector of Rachol Seminary, in his homily at the concelebrated mass. Addressing departed Selwyn Pereira, Fr Aquino added, "All of them miss you. They were touched by your music, the harmony of your voice and your humble life...and the melody of all the good virtues God had given to you..."

At funerals, the mourners have the consolation of having a look at the lifeless body of the deceased person. But though Selwyn was a handsome young man, the huge number of mourners, who could not even find place to enter the church, had to be content watching his photograph, displayed on top of the closed coffin. Only his parents had a glimpse of the smashed and distorted head, which once wore such a smiling, angelic face.

The superb choir rendered some of the most touching hymns. Lester, Abigail and others too joined in the music. But when a song, which had been rendered by Selwyn for his forthcoming CD, was heard on the audio system, his parents, the choir members, his friends from the music circle, and almost all had to pull out their kerchiefs, to dam the tears flooding their eyes. His younger sister Fiona appeared to sang a line before she broke down on her grieving mother's shoulder. One couldn't bear to watch the pathos in the faces of Selwyn's father, mother, brother and sisters...wrecked with unbearable pain, battling to contain their immense grief. Our video clip shows a girl, wearing white, fainting beside the coffin. She had her hand on the coffin virtually throughout the service.

Aires Rodrigues too paid his tributes to Selwyn in a brief address after the mass. Remo and Michelle arrived a bit late at Ribandar as they had to attend Victor's funeral at Loutulim. Remo virtually broke down with emotion when he embraced Selwyn's grieving father and mother. It was difficult to control the endless rush of mourners. Must have taken the better part of 75 minutes for everyone to pay homage to the departed young musician at his grave and then offer condolences to the bereaved family.

For nearly a week now all the talk in Goa revolves around the tragic accident, speculating what must have happened, in the absence of any authentic information about how exactly the mishap occurred, resulting in such fatalities, wiping out a good slice of Goa's music talent and Remo's entire Microwave Pappadums troupe. The families, who lost their loved ones in the prime of their youth and of the one who is surviving, and Remo will need tremendous amount of courage to face the coming tomorrows, burdened with the unbearable personal loss of each of the mild-mannered, humble, devoted, hardworking and talented young musicians. Verily, none would ever envision a great tragedy for music...the dawn of THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED in Goa.

Joel D'Souza

Photograhs: Elvis, Alister and Joel