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.✨️🎶

THE PRITHVI FESTIVAL

 

The Prithvi Festival began on the 1st of this month. 

Yuki Ellias and Akarsh Khurana were two names that I recognised, from back in Xaviers, among the many Directors and Writers, whose plays were a part of the festival.

Yuki's play was about growing old, and how people slowly begin to lose their memory, as they age. I watched a promo of the play, in which Yuki mentioned how the play, brings out, the muddle in the mind of older people, especially if they are affected by 'dementia or other age related illnessness, that affect the memory'. She said, that she drew inspiration for some of it, by watching her own grandparents.

I couldn't make it for that one, even though I wanted to; but will hopefully watch it, whenever they stage the play, in the future. 

I heard some of the reviews after the play, and everyone mentioned, that it touched their heart. While it made them laugh, it also made them cry. So, this is definitely a play to watch, whenever it happens.

The Akvarious Productions play was about an environmentalist trying to be heard, in the midst of the climate crisis, which truly is a cause for panic and alarm. He happens to be unfortunately caught among people, who really don't think, climate change is that important. 

One of the reasons, why I went for this one, was because I heard, there was music in this play. Most of the performers acted and sang very well; and it was good to hear some musicians accompanying them also.

The play had quite a lot happening, right through, with the many satirical connections that the script made, to people and situations, which kept the audience thoroughly entertained. 

In my opinion though, the younger people in the audience, connected with the dialogues and the script, a lot more than the older ones; because you had to be aware of everything happening in the real and virtual world, to grasp the many references made in the play.

A FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE ✍️

It was good to be at the NCPA, for the 'Mumbai Lit Fest' for two of the three days of the festival, on the 7th and 8th of November. 

This is the 16th year of Mumbai's Literary Festival; and the programme for this year, included many varied authors, book launches, well-known presenters and moderators, young writers and poets, performances, awards, a book swap, workshops, a little festival for children and lots more.

I was at the festival on the first two days, and the second day, drew in very large crowds of people, who were there to listen to, some of the prominent celebrity authors and speakers. Even the large Tata Theatre couldn't accommodate, all those who had queued up, for an hour or two before the sessions; and so, there were quite a few people who were upset that they missed out, on sessions that they had initially wanted to listen to. 

Of course, since there were many other interesting events, happening at the other smaller auditoriums of the NCPA, they still got an opportunity, to enjoy the other speakers at the fest.

One of the sessions that I attended, was a conversation between Amrita Raichand and Luke Coutinho, in which Luke spoke about the 'importance of sleep and reducing stress', among other things, which are simple, yet necessary things to focus on, as lifestyle changes that everyone needs to consciously make. These were based on his book 'The Calm Prescription'.

During the process of my mother's long illness, of going through two Cancers, which lasted for close to 9 years, from 2010 to 2018; I have realised, that these are two big factors, that can help us live a healthier life, and that could possibly prevent chronic, life-threatening sicknesses. They are probably equally, or maybe even more important, than controlling our food intake, and focussing on nutrition and exercise.

It was really good to listen to Luke Coutinho in person, after many years of learning a lot through his online videos on health, nutrition and making healthier lifestyle choices.

This session was one that I attended, because I have personally gained, so much of well-researched information and knowledge, from listening to Luke's videos, for the last 10 years. 

His team of Doctors and Nutritionists, were also an unforgettable support to us, through the last few months of my mother's Cancer journey, back in 2018. So, I will always be Grateful to him and to them, for everything.🤗💕

Besides that, I also thoroughly enjoyed a very interactive conversation between Sumanto Chattopadhyay and Anuvab Pal.

I had discovered Sumanto's love for language through his weekly videos called 'The English Nut', back in 2020. It was great to meet this creative personality, from the world of advertising, and to get a signed copy of his book.

Anuvab Pal is someone, that I was hearing for the first time; and I can see why, he is known as the 'intelligent stand up comedian'. Together, these two made a conversation about the English language, very entertaining.😊

I was also pleasantly surprised to meet an old student, at the Kitab Khana book stall. I felt really proud to discover, that he was a winner of one of the contests, that was conducted on college campuses a few weeks before that, as part of the festival.😊

Marine Drive is much quieter in the afternoons, as compared to the evenings, when it is very crowded. Crossing the street, and standing there by the ocean for a few minutes, is something that I always do, whenever I go to the NCPA for an event.✍️

SING INDIA SING 🎼🎶🎤

 

(An old FB Memory from this day, 7 years ago, 13th October '2018. I watched this Musical at the Jamshed Bhabha, NCPA. It was a memorable experience.)

Sing India Sing! India's first original musical.🎶

It brought together so much talent in one Production. 

Lyrics, Music, Choreography, Graphics and so much more.

Some of the most talented and creative people from the Mumbai Music and Theatre Industry, were a part of this one.

Written by Rahul DaCunha and Bugs Bhargava, Music by Clinton Cerejo, Directed by Nadir Khan, and with performers like Suchitra Pillai, Brian Tellis, Kamashi Rai, Uday Benegal, Siddharth Basrur, Asif Ali Beg, Delraaz Bunshah, Sarosh Nanavaty, Naquita D'Souza and many, many more fabulous people who worked on this production, it was one power-packed musical.

Lots and lots of hard work has gone into the show; and I was glad I got a chance to experience India's first attempt, at an original Musical.👏👏👏

(Promo Video shared from the Aadyam YT page.)

A SONG FOR PEACE 🕊🤍🎶

 

The Stop-Gaps Cultural Academy has been encouraging Choral Music for a few decades now, by giving different Choirs, an opportunity to sing at their various concerts. Lots of people, have always enjoyed the Stop-Gaps concerts, over the years.🎶

About six years back, they also began organising a 'Children's Choir Festival'. Every year, this event gives us a chance, to listen to the voices of children, blending together in harmony. The groups that participate, are from schools, parishes, and other choirs as well. 

Listening to the children singing, some days ago, made me remember the time, when we used to also sing in groups at various school events, as kids. The difference though, is that while we would mostly just sing the melody and some simple seconds, back then; now, children are learning how to sing three and four part harmonies, at such a young age...and I think, that's so wonderful.👍  

I love how so many schools especially, have gradually started introducing their students, to the joy of singing in harmony, by bringing in music teachers, who have the ability to train children, to sing different voice parts, in a choir. 

A few of the choirs, that participated in this year's festival, had very tiny, young children; and I was really amazed at their ability to sing harmonies, so melodiously and effortlessly, even though they are so little. Hearing them sing so beautifully, made everyone who was there, smile.😊💕

The songs chosen were all related to this year's  Theme - 'A Song for Peace'.🕊

The concert happened, just two days before the 'International Day of Peace'. So, the meaningful songs, also brought out that message of 'Peace', which is so relevant, at a time when so many places in the world, are being devastated by war and disharmony.🤍