Dr Francisco Colaço
Three Goan Doctors Who Also Happen To Be Brilliant Musicians
Think of a doctor and the first instrument that comes to mind is a stethoscope for listening to heartbeats. But thatâs not the only instrument, order nor the only beats, vcialis 40mg embraced by three remarkable doctors in Goa who are making waves, mind sound waves to be precise, in the world of music.
Dr Francisco Colaço, a cardiologist from Margao, Dr Varun Carvalho, a dentist, and Dr Antonio Soares, an orthopaedist, all have music deeply embedded in their lives. Streets met with them to find out how music and medicine play a jugalbandi in their lives.
âI learned to play the violin from the age of eleven,â says Dr Francisco Colaço. âMaestro Paulo would teach us at home. Later, Fr Camilo Xavier, a distinguished musician who trained in Rome, set up the âEscola de Musicaâ at a house on Abade Faria road in Margao, where I was tutored by maestro Anselm Mascarenhas. He would scold me saying âYou have the ear for music, but you donât make the effort.â I gradually lost interest in the violin, and lost connection with music until I went to study at the Escola Medica in Panjimâ.
Dr Colaço fondly reminisces of the days when he and his fellow doctor-musicians of the group Tuna Academica de Goa would play music in Panjim. âWe would rehearse at some spot near the Mandovi River and then go serenading the ladies at the Girls hostel of the Instituto de Nossa Senhora de Piedade. The matron would get upset, as the girls (including my wife-to-be) would be distracted by us, and she would call the police. We would then run away, regroup and serenade the girls again.â With distinguished musicians like Dr Eloy Gomes, Lucio Miranda and others in their group, their talent for music flourished.
He eventually returned to Maestro Camilo Xavierâs school and went on to pass five grades of exams in classical guitar. âThe late Emiliano da Cruz saw that my guitar was in shambles and got it repaired for me,â he recollects.
Dr Francisco Colaço is a popular figure at social events, belting out English, Konkani and Portuguese songs with elan. His family would often sing together, their voices blending in mellifluous harmony. He then suffered a tragic blow with the death of his son, a medical student, in a motorbike accident. That sorrow emanates from a song he composed in his memory – âApurbayecho Kunvorâ (Beloved Prince). Dr Colaço also has two other originals to his credit â âKallokache Khursacherâ (On the Desolate Cross) and âBhurgeponnâ (Childhood). He has also recorded two songs âMarcha de Fontainhasâ and âCorredinhoâ on an album by the Big City Band.
âMusic reduces the stress at work. I look forward to singing, playing music and performing on stage. It recharges me. I enjoy the appreciation I get,â says Dr Colaço.
As I chat with Dr Varun Carvalho, who runs a thriving dental practice, I detect a slight stammer that betrays an appealing vulnerability. But that tentativeness vanishes in his songs. At barely seven years of age, he began studying at a music school led by Maestro Carlos Alvares, who taught his protégés violin and solfejo.
What was your greatest moment in music, I ask. âEvery concert that I perform with my band The Supergroove is a high,â he answers. The Supergroove ensemble includes the brilliant guitarist Elvis Lobo and noted drummer Carlos Gonsalves.
âThrough our foundation Turn The Tide, we encourage children in schools and colleges to make their own music for their positive development,â says Dr. Carvalho. âThere is a lot of talent in Goa, but there is a trend to only sing other peopleâs songs. You must go within yourself and create your own identity.â
Dr Varun Carvalho has several original songs to his credit. His first album âGotta Go Homeâ includes the songs âYou Pick Me Up,â âSoul Searchingâ and âTurn the Tideâ. He followed that up with a second album âYou Walk Aloneâ.
Dr Varun Carvalho
Dr Antonio Soares has around 50 to 60 patients at his orthopaedic clinic at Ponda during peak hours. But thereâs music playing at his consultancy, and even in his operation theatre. âWork gets so hectic that I prefer to listen to music even during work hours. It relaxes me and gives me energy.â
What makes Dr Soares a rare bird is that he sings popular songs even in Marathi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam! âThe audience is often surprised when they see me, a Catholic, playing Marathi songs,â says Dr Soares. âMarathi is not my native tongue, but I take great pains to pronounce every word properly, with guidance from my guru Gaurish Talwadkar.â
His foray into Indian classical music is no superficial stage act. He attends regular classes, where he practices vocal music with his tanpora. âI have now learned what taal (beat) is used in particular songs. I am not a classical expert, I sing semi-classical songs and popular songs.â
He too has composed songs like âAdancho Doutorâ (Doctor of Bones – which has a lot of medical orthopaedic terms in it!), âLife of a Doctorâ and a Hindi song âKavitaâ. I listen to him belting out a song called âSorpotelâ to a partying crowd in Canada, and I have to say the man has a certain charisma and joie de vivre. On another YouTube video he sings âAta Tari Deva Maka Pavâ (God, at least save me now!) clad in an orange kurta at a stage event in Ponda to a cheering crowd that sings along.
âMusic brings us all together,â the good bone doctor concludes. âWhen we sing, we are all united.â
These are good professional role models. Whether you are a doctor, an engineer, a plumber or a maid, rhythm and melody have a place in your life. So the next you find yourself in the doldrums at home or at work, rock like these docs and, as Lionel Richie would say, âfeel it in your heart, and feel it in your soul, let the music take control!â
Dr Antonio Soares
Heart Beats of Goan Doctors interesting specially “Sorpotel” of Dr Antonio Soares.
Congratulations n hats off to all our prestigious doctors viz Dr Francisco Colaco, Dr Varun Carvalho n Dr Antonio Soares. You’ll have made Goa proud n we appreciate your talent. May others be inspired by the way you’ll make time for music as well, inspite of your busy schedule . Viva Goenkar!ââ
Very interesting article and an innovative idea! Very well written too!