The Dekhni dancers of varying ages perform at the Our Lady of Rosary Church complex in Doha-Qatar.
Photo Credits: Glen Furtado
DOHA
Goan dance and music is getting a shot in the arm in Qatar, thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of a few dedicated Goans in the Middle Eastern country who are going an extra mile to keep Goan musical traditions alive.
What started as a one-off performance of Corridinho dance a couple of months ago has since caught on. If Corridinho took centre stage at the Our Lady of Rosary Church fiesta and the subsequent farewell of the Parish priest at the same venue a month later, it was the turn of Dekhni performance to be the cynosure of all eyes at the feast of St Francis Xavier at the Our Lady of Rosary Church complex this month.
The Dekhni group, which had performers of varying ages, displayed a high level of enthusiasm and drive to learn new things and come up with a flawless display.
Velencio Gomes
Velencio Gomes, the lone male, who played the role of the Vodekar (the canoe man) in the Dekhni dance has been performing on stage since his school days, but the Feast Day performance was his Doha debut.
“I practiced a few times with the group. Before the practice session, I did not know anyone except Lakisha and John, but all were very warm and supportive. Since it had been a long time, I had performed on stage and I had butterflies in my stomach. But I knew from my experience that once I’m on stage I will come into my own and hopefully that was evident during our performance,” said Velencio, who hails from St Estevam.
“This stage performance has now reignited my appetite for stage shows. Whenever I’m called upon, I’ll always be available to help out and perform in Konkani programmes.”
For the Alves family, tracing its roots to Loutolim village in south Goa, it was a special feeling and a sense of triple delight as Maria, Mabel and Neha took to the stage to perform before the festival crowd which included Archbishop of Goa and Daman Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao and other priests.
Maria Alves along with her daughters, Mabel and Neha.
“It was amazing to be part of the group. We had all characters in our group who made the practices lively and enjoyable,” said Maria Alves, who performed alongside her two daughters.
For Maria, it was the first time she had taken to the stage.
“My daughters being part of the group made me more confident. I had never taken part in anything or been on stage for anything,” said Maria, who graduated in Commerce from Damodar College, Margao and is based in Qatar since July 1997.
Maria was happy with the appreciative and supportive crowd.
“It was really wonderful, I would say that the song went off, to make the audience take part too, like a blessing in disguise. It became a superb collaboration between the performing group and the audience. My confidence went up and that definitely brought joy to me as I realised that the crowd was indeed enjoying the performance,” she added.
Maria’s daughter Mabel was over the moon after the performance.
“It was an amazing feeling. I was nervous as well as excited. Many times, I felt like she (Neha) was more enthusiastic and had more energy than I did, which was really motivational. We have never danced together on stage before, the three of us. Especially my mother, since this was her first performance,” said Mabel, who was born and raised in Qatar, but did her bachelor’s degree in Zoology at Carmel College Nuvem and Master’s degree in Hospital Administration at St John's Medical College, Bangalore.
Mabel has participated in very few events of a similar kind in the past
“I did get confident after a few practice sessions. And a lot of the credit for this goes to John De Sa, Carol Gonsalves and my mother and sister who kept motivating me to do better. Our team members too were very supportive and hard-working. They also helped whenever my confidence went dwindling.”
For Mabel and Neha, the two sisters have performed together in the past but it was a different feeling taking the stage along with the sister and mother.
“I had performed Corridinho with Mabel in the troupe for the church farewell of our Parish Priest. But this was the first time I was performing with my mum and Mabel together. It was definitely a new experience as it was the first time I was dancing on stage with my mum and sister.
“We would go for the regular practice and also practice at home whenever we got the time. I could see new meanings and significance behind certain steps and lyrics, thanks to the many minds coming together in our troupe,” said Neha, who has a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Carmel College, Nuvem.
The traditional Goan dance has certainly reignited the excitement among many Goans in Qatar.
