STILL IN MY HEART ✨️💖

The fact that my mother and I, celebrated our birthdays in the same month, just 10 days apart from one another, is something that was 'Special' to me, right through my life.❤️

She was my 'Best Friend', my 'Lighthouse', my 'Compass', my 'North Star'; and so much more.✨️

It has been eight years without her; but she continues to be all of those things to me.

And I'll still always remember her fondly, a little more than every day, during our 'Birthday month', year after year.😊

GUIDING LIGHT 🎶

- Donna Taggart

'When I need to get home,

You're my Guiding Light'.✨️💖

STILL IN MY HEART 🎶

- Richard Marx

'I'm Alive,

Coz you're still in my heart'.✨️💖

TO WHERE YOU ARE 🎶

- Katherine Jenkins

'I know you're there,

A breath away is not far, to where you are.'✨️💖

(Songs shared from the YT pages of the artists.)

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND 🎶✨️💖

 

When your entire family lives in heaven, 'Guardian Angels' are always around, at every step of the way.✨️💖

FOOTSTEPS 🎶

THERE YOU'LL BE 🎶

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND 🎶

YOU'RE THE INSPIRATION 🎶

(Songs shared from the YT pages of the singers and two lyric videos posted by others, that I found on YT.)

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE 🎶✨️💖

(I was reminded of this old FB post today, which I wrote on this day, 4 years ago, on the 1st of October' 2022. I don't think I have shared this one on my blog before. So, posting it here today.)

There are many times in our lives when we ask questions like, 

'Why did this have to happen to me?'

'What if things had happened differently?'

 'What if I could go back, to the way things were before?'

I know, that I've been asking these same questions every single day, for more than thirty-six years of my life.🤔

Life continues, but the questions that haunt our minds never stop; 

and it doesn't really matter,

How strong or weak you are emotionally,

How deep your Faith and Hope is, or

How many unique and innovative ways and means you find, to escape from reality. 

The questions persist, as you try to make sense of the madness; and you coax yourself to move forward, 'One day at a time'.⏳️🕓

For me, the days have turned into weeks, months and over thirty-six years now; but I still haven't stopped asking those same questions.🥲

And maybe, I will never get a satisfactory answer, to any of those questions;

Because how can any answer be good enough, to calm a broken heart and a restless mind, or to fill up, so many empty spaces in our lives, created at regular intervals, ever since you were ten years old.

But, a couple of years ago, I happened to discover this song called 'Blessings' by Laura Story.

In this song, she asks that same question, 'What if?' repeatedly. 

Her questions though, look at the 'What If's?' from a completely different perspective.

What if Your Blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your Healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights, are what it takes, to know You're near?

What if trials of this life, the rain, the storm, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise?✨️💖

It's difficult to think about the struggles, the losses and the pain we experience, at the hardest times and moments of our lives, from this point of view every single day; because some days are just harder than others, and we just don't want to.

But then, on other days, we listen to a song like this, and somehow think about the countless 'Blessings' we still have, even though we may not have everything and everyone, that we would have liked to have had, with us.

...and even though we still don't have the answers, we look at things differently; at least for a little while.🎶😊

(Song by Laura Story, shared from the Gaither Vocal Band YT page.)

A MUSICAL TRIBUTE OF LOVE 🎶✨️💖

 

Last month, on the 9th of August, I attended a very special concert of the Bombay Chamber Orchestra (BCO), which was held at a different venue, for the first time - the Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi. The Orchestra was joined by 'The Cathedral Choir' for this concert, and together they performed 'Requiem in D minor' and 'Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major', by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Latin.🎶

This concert was specially significant to everyone associated with the BCO, because it was a 'Tribute Concert' to Ms.Jini Dinshaw, who was the founder of the Orchestra, on what would have been her 96th Birthday. She had passed away, in October '2025, at the age of 95.

I didn't know Ms.Jini personally; but for almost 3 decades, I had seen her on stage, playing with the orchestra, every time I went for a BCO concert to the Tata Theatre. In the last few years of her life, when she couldn't play with the orchestra, she was always in the audience, sitting on the first row at the NCPA, enjoying the concerts till the age of 95. It was wonderful to see her there, year after year, encouraging the orchestra that she had started, decades ago, right till the very end.😊

I started going for the BCO concerts, when I was in college. A close friend and both her older brothers, used to play in the orchestra back then. So, I went for the concerts, to listen to them. I didn't really listen to a lot of Western Classical music, till that time. Going for these concerts, was my introduction to a genre of music, that I didn't know much about.

Over the years, my friend moved to a different country, to pursue her studies, and eventually settled down there. I however, continued going for the BCO concerts occasionally, whenever I had other friends from my choir, or my students, playing in a particular concert, or singing in the choir, that was performing with the orchestra...and each time I went, Ms.Jini was always there.💕

I met many friends and an old student too, in the audience, on the day of the concert, which were all very pleasant and happy surprises. The most unexpected surprise though, was meeting that same college friend's parents, and one of her brother's families, because her brother was playing in the orchestra again, after a gap of 14 long years, just because this was a Trbute Concert to Ms.Jini, who had been their teacher. All these lovely surprises, made this concert special for me also.😊

Ms. Jini has taught many, many people in our city, to play the violin, the viola and the cello; and another friend from my choir, whose entire family used to play in the orchestra, a few decades ago, was also in the audience that day, to celebrate the music teacher, who had encouraged her and her siblings to play, and to learn how to play new orchestra instruments too.🎶

I meant to write this post last month, but had to be away for a little while, due to a death in the family. I guess, I was supposed to write this post, just a day before 'Teachers' Day'.😊 Ms.Jini Dinshaw was never my music teacher, but if you read and hear the countless heartwarming tributes, in the concert booklet, and on the BCO online page, they are all filled with such beautiful little stories, anecdotes and unforgettable memories from her students, who will forever be grateful and indebted to her, for the role she played in their respective musical journeys.🎶

'A teacher truly affects eternity. You can never tell, where their influence stops.'✨️❤️

Jini Dinshaw
August 9th, 1930 - October 23rd, 2025

The Bombay Chamber Orchestra Guest Conductor from Austria - Ernest Hoetzl

The Soloists: 

Farah Ghadiali - Soprano (Mumbai)

Tanisha Herbert - Mezzo Soprano (Bangalore)

Kersi Gazdar - Tenor (Mumbai)

Tatsuo Kondo - Baritone (Japan)

The Cathedral Choir 

Conductor - Mario Nazareth

Since the BCO performed this concert at a different place this time, I got a chance to see an auditorium in the city, that I haven't been to before - The Ravindra Natya Mandir, at Prabadevi, Mumbai.

(A few of the old pictures are from the concert booklet, printed by the BCO, which is filled with beautiful photographs and memories.)

A LITTLE BIT OF PORTUGAL IN MUMBAI 🎶😊

  

A couple of years ago, I got an opportunity to listen to Sonia Shirsat, (a well-known fadista from Goa), when she was part of a choir concert, held at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai. The 'Stuti Choral and String Ensemble' (also from Goa), was performing in our city, for the very first time that year; and Sonia Shirsat performed a few songs too, at that concert.😊

While I had listened to the wonderful Sonia Shirsat and the Stuti Choir online before; that event, was my first chance, to listen to both, her and the Choir, singing 'Live'. I thoroughly enjoyed that concert.🎶

So some time last month, when I saw a poster by the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, announcing that Sonia was going to be doing her own concert in our city, at the Experimental Theatre, in the month of August; I wanted to make sure that I did not miss it.

The concert was very enjoyable. Sonia has an amazing voice; and she is always accompanied by two very talented Goan Musicians, who support her beautifully. At this concert, she was also joined by one of her students, who sang a few songs, and a duet with her as well.

What I liked most, on both the occasions, when I have attended a concert, where Sonia was performing; is the way in which she gives a brief introduction to every song that she sings. Since the 'fado' is a western semi-classical musical genre, where the songs are sung in Portuguese, a majority of the people in the audience, do not speak the language. So, those little short introductions and anecdotes, give us a context to every song. We still don't understand a word of what is being sung; but that's the beauty of music. You don't really need to understand the words, to enjoy the melody and the rhythm of the songs.💕

During the course of the evening, Sonia Shirsat also gave us a little bit of insight, into the history of the 'fado', as a genre of music, which was quite interesting to learn about. 

Another thing, which was wonderful to hear about, was that over a period of a few years, Sonia and a few other musicians, have now trained around 300 young people in Goa, in the fado. It's great to hear that musicians, who excel in one particular genre of music, are teaching and sharing what they know and love, with the next generation, in an attempt to help more people appreciate the genre, and to keep this form of music alive in Goa, in the years to come as well.✨️🎶

A DREAM FOR OUR WORLD 🌎✨️💖

'You may say, I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.'✨️

For many, many decades, musicians who come from different backgrounds, and who don't always sing the same kind of music; have often joined together, to sing songs for a cause.💕

Some months ago, I discovered these three songs, which brought varied performers and artists together, to 'Inspire the World', through the words and melody, of a classic, unforgettable song.🌎😊

Music has that unique and special ability to break barriers and build bridges. If only human beings all over the world, listened to more music like this, and actually understood the 'Message of Love and Brotherhood', that the lyrics of these songs, have tried to convey; our planet would probably be a better place to live in, 'not just for some, but for everyone'.💖

It may seem like an 'Impossible Dream'; but I wonder why, simple things like 'Love, Peace and Hope', everywhere across the globe, are really such unrealistic things, for human beings to wish for.🤔

IMAGINE 🎶

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW 🎶

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM 🎶

(Songs shared from various pages on YT.)

CHORAL HARMONIES LIKE THESE 🎶✨️💕

I used to sing in choirs for a large part of my life. From the time, I was a child in school, till about the age of 35 or so, I was actively part of different choirs, in school, college, the parish; and whenever, I got opportunities to sing with various groups of friends, for events or occasions. 

So, I have always been very fond of Choral music and vocal harmonies. Even though, I don't sing regularly any more, and only join in to sing with friends, for small events, (which involve fewer days of rehearsals and practices), I still enjoy listening to Choral music, whenever I get a chance to do so; either online or at concerts happening in the city.

Last year in 2025, I read that Ben Bram was going to be starting a new Choral group in New York, and that he had invited people to audition for it. This was quite exciting to read about, even though we are half way across the world, from where they are. 

I have loved his arrangements over the years, with Pentatonix, a group that he co-created and arranged music for. He has also been nominated for Grammys and Emmy awards, for a few of his vocal arrangements, in different music shows on television. So, I knew that whatever he does, with this new Choral group, would be pretty amazing.✨️💕

Yesterday, I found the page of the 'New York Vocal Collective' directed by Ben Bram, on YouTube. I've heard small groups singing in harmony before. But, it's really wonderful to listen to such a big choir, singing acappella, with all the twists and turns in these amazing arrangements, of well known songs.🎼

Sharing three of their most recent songs, posted a few days ago. I loved hearing them; and I'm sure anyone else who listens to these acappella harmonies, will enjoy them too.🎶✨️💖

(Songs shared from the 'New York Vocal Collective' YT page.)