I have had the pleasure of knowing Rui for quite some time now and it was nice to know that he has taken to teaching the gui­tar because" he feels so strongly for music. And our youngsters have every­thing to gain from this type of involvement. Rui can be contacted on loborui@ya­hoo.com for any details that might be required.

 

Further evidence of what is happening on ground was noticed at Cidade de Goa where I had the pleasure of witnessing young Ayesha Barreto singing away some soulful numbers at the cafe there. When Wina and Tony Barreto's daughter has decid­ed to take up to singing professionally, one can safely say that the bug is catching on everywhere. People who hitherto just imagined that they we're good at music now believe that they have it in them to come out in the open and perform.

 

And this is where we have to sit up 'and actively market this whole process to our budding industrial­ists and philanthropists. There is no point in think­ing that funds will only come from the metro capi­tals such as Mumbai and Delhi. Fortunately, I have had the pleasure of know­ing some dynamic yup­pies that are ready to support anything Goan and anything that will en­courage our budding youngsters. Foremost amongst them is my good old friend Dinar Tarcar who hardly bats an eyelid when it comes to encouraging culture, music and the finer things in life. And, for this trickle of support to reach more meaningful proportions, various mu­sic organizations from the private as well as the public sector have to get their acts together and have viable projects that will surely be lapped up gleefully by business in Goa.

 

Sadly, at least till very recently if not even now, we often notice a trend in Goa where co-operation amongst people in the mu­sic world is at a premium and where pettiness rules the roost. This reminds me of an old fable where four cows fight for fodder and make a mess of their existence till a tiger sud­denly appears on the scene and this ensures co-operation amongst the bovines. So, can we safely say that that time has come? Fortunately, some organizations that I have been talking of in my col­umn have already done so much and· it is heartening to note that various talent­ed individuals are taking charge rather than just watch things go by.

 

So, whether you want committed involvement from a dynamic Dinar or you need to listen to the lilting voice of Ayesha Bar­reto, building institutions is the way to go. Nothing is going to work through dis­parate efforts without a central plan, and the faster we realize it, the better. Kala Academy is al­ways going to be father figure in all this but the youthful exuberance will have to come from private participation.