Most entertainment activities had come to a standstill for quite a while, so, when a live music event featuring some amazing fusion artistes was announced, it obviously brought cheer to the Covid weary music lover, Shaeen and I included.
The majestically restored palatial Goan Heritage home, now christened Amrapali House of Grace, played host to four fabulous musicians. The event started off with our very own Naresh Madgaonkar virtually stunning the small audience with his breathtaking performance with the Jal Tarang. I was personally totally enthralled with his performance, and even more so since I did not expect it from him, since I know him as a Santoor virtuoso. Starting off on a calm note, Naresh caressed the various water filled bowls, and finished off with a flourish that fetched him a standing ovation.
The event was held on Kojagiri Poornima which is the day Krishna performed the Raas Leela for his devotees. It is a dance of divine love with ‘Raas’ meaning divine pleasure or dance, and ‘Leela’ implies Play or Magic in Sanskrit.
Manish Pingle then took over with an assuring performance on the slide guitar. He was accompanied by Flautist Sonik Velingkar and our very own Uday Kulkarni on the tabla. Sonik and Manish performed the Raga Puriya Kalyan, and they were then joined by Uday in the Raga Shyam Kalyan. Raga Shyam Kalyan is a two-composition set in 10 beats (Jhaptaal) and 16 beats (Teentaal) This was followed by a composition Lakuti jo hati ab bain bhaee based on Raga Jhinjhoti. The evening finished off with a composition by Manish named Raga Bhairavi set in Keharwa taal. It was a mesmerizing performance under the cloudy, yet full moon night, with the moon making its appearance for a large part of the evening, With the swimming pool and the majestic rooms which make up for a graceful albeit small Heritage Hotel in the background, the setting was magical, and I believe that Simran Kaur, the owner of this place will be having many more events of this type in the days to come.
I asked Manish what he felt about performing in such a unique Goan heritage home now converted into a boutique hotel. He had this to say: “A stunningly beautiful place like Amrapali House of Grace, on an auspicious full moon Sharad Poornima night and classical music in its purest form… there can’t be a better combination than this to create a magical evening.”
Amrapali has a beautiful café, and they host pre-arranged dinners as well. Simran is a pastry chef herself, and her passion can be seen in the rich taste that she imparts to her creations. A lovely garden overlooks the river that flows under the Siridao Bridge and then caresses the property. The newly constructed flyover that cuts through the Goa Velha village looks beautiful, and has also helped in drastically cutting the snarling traffic that used to flow alongside Amrapali, thus making it that much more accessible, and calmer. All in all, a great place to eat, drink, party and enjoy a nice holiday as well. Hats off Simran, you have brought out the true essence of Goenkarponn in this magnificent restoration job that you have undertaken, bringing pride to each and every inhabitant of Goa Velha in particular, and every Goan in general.
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