Sonia Shirsat, a household name in Goa, has put the state on the world map with her renditions of Fado, the Portuguese semi-classical music form. Sonia now is gearing up to wow Mumbaikars with her fado performance as part of Festa de Goa happening at Royal Opera House.
While talking about the Festa, Asad Lalljee, CEO, Avid Learning and Curator, Royal Opera House, Mumbai, says, “The idea for Festa de Goa came to me after speaking at the Goa Heritage Festival in 2022. While presenting the impact of the Royal Opera House on Mumbai’s cultural fabric, Goa’s rich heritage and creative practices struck me, an idea to bring a celebration of this cultural legacy to Mumbai. It has taken us two years to bring this festival to life, and we are excited to share it with audiences finally. This festival is about highlighting the deep cultural exchange between Goa and Mumbai and continuing our commitment to showcasing India’s diverse creative heritage.”
Ahead of her performance on October 5, Sonia shares her journey, accidental connection with fado, and more.
Excerpts from the interview:
To someone who has never heard of fado, can you enlighten about this music form?
Fado is a semi-classical Western genre of music that emerged in Lisbon, Portugal in the early 1800s. This is also catagorised as an urban folk song because it comes from the folk of the city. It is charaterised by melancholy, soulful music. There is a lot of pain in the poetry, singing and the voice. Therefore, many times, it is considered a sad form of music. Though there are also quite a few up-tempo, cute, funny, naughty fado songs. This is an art form that has been recognised by UNESCO in 2011 as an intangible heritage of humanity. A lot of documentaries and films made on it since. Fado is traditionally performed in a very cozy small place in a casa de fado.
Fado singer Sonia Shirsat | Picture Credits: Sonia Shirsat
What is casa de fado?
Casa de fado is a small place, for just about 20 or 30 people. Fado is usually sung in the evenings and into the late night. It is a very serious art form so therefore there is pin drop silence when the fadista starts singing. Usually there are four-five fados that are sung. Then there is a break so that people can move in and out, to get a drink, have a smoke, and talk to each other. Then the lights are dimmed and the next singer will come and sing a few more songs. This is the pattern of a casa de fado.
How were your formative years as a child growing up in Ponda, Goa?
Growing up in Ponda was wonderful. My father being one of the leading doctors of the town, I had a very protected childhood. More than half the town were my dad’s patients so everybody was very protective. My parents were very active in Rotary and other social organisations, so there was lots of community work that we would take up. There would be many Rotarians who would visit from all around the world so there was lots of learning about different cultures and learning about different countries that happened in my childhood.
We travelled quite a bit in Goa and outside Goa, within the Rotary district as part of the Rotary events. I studied in a co-ed convent school so we never really grew up with gender differences. Our friend circle is a wonderful mix and we are still close friends to this date.
What did you want to do before you took up music?
Music was always a passion. But my parents told me finish my education before thinking of it as a career. I did my bachelors and masters in law. I also taught law for four years in a law college. When I was doing my LLB, I was approached by the band — Status 4 — to sing with them. That’s how my music career started in 2002. Fado happened few years later. And that kinf of sealed it. So by 2011, it was clear that my career was music and not law.
Do you remember the first time you stood on stage and sang? How old were you?
I think I was eight years old. It was for sarvajanik Ganeshotsav. There was an orchestra/band that was playing. Somebody had heard me sing somewhere and they put in a word for me, so I landed on that stage to sing. I sang Papa Kehte Hain from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. So these are very fond memories because I was a kid. It was very enjoyable.
Was music a part of your family?
In my family, we have never had any musician as such. Singing was a hobby for both my parents, especially for my mother. I heard her singing right through my childhood and we would sing simple songs together while cooking in the kitchen, doing work together. My dad loved music. His day started with music and ended with music. So music was a very important part of both my parents lives and both of them liked to sing. My mother was a very good singer and she could sing English, Hindi, Marathi, Konkani, Portuguese, without taking any music education. My mother’s mother also liked music and she used to copy lyrics of fado music that was being played on the radio and have music books. As far as having a career in music, I think I am the first.
How did you take interest in fado in particular?
It happened by accident. Right through my school and college years, I used to compete in singing competitions and usually win them, whether it was in English, Hindi or Konkani. And then there was a French singing competition in Goa organised by Alliance Francaise. I was in the top five in the country and sent to France. Subsequently, I read about a Portuguese singing competition announcement. I participated in this competition in 2002 and won it. I sang a ballad in Portuguese, not a fado. Subsequently, the organisers were having a Portuguese guitar workshop where they had invited one of the most famous Portuguese guitarists, António Chaínho, to come to Goa to conduct classes. At the end of the workshop, there was a performance by the teacher and his new guitar students. He felt that the performance required some vocals. Since I had just won the competition last year, they asked me to prepare a fado and come. I had never sung fado before. So I had to put in an effort and learn a fado for that concert. After the concert, the guitarist called me aside and said that I had a voice suited for the fado. He also offered to help. So when somebody of that calibre said that my voice is for the fado, it made more sense to me. Since then, I concentrated on the fado.
You travelled to Portugal, for a Fundacao Oriente scholarship in 2006.
In 2006, I was granted a scholarship by Fundacoa Oriente. This was my third attempt. They had denied earlier because in Portugal itself, there was no institution that teaches you to sing the fado. There are institutions that teach you the guitar and music in general, but fado itself did not have a school or a teacher that could have accepted me as a student and give me a scholarship. Finally, the third time, António Chaínho and a few others vouched for conducting classes for me. By that time, I had performed fado through Fundacao Oriente in Bangalore and in other places. So all that footage and documentation was submitted with my third application. I went to the places where fado is performed every night. Learning from singers and musicians there made a big difference in the understanding of that art form. It was a very important step in my learning of the fado.
Are there many types of fado?
As far as types of fado are concerned, basically, there are two styles: one from the city of Lisbon and one from the city of Coimbra. If you talk about types of fado in Lisbon style, there are different types — Fado Menor, Fado Corrido and Fado Mouraria. So these three types branch out into many others, so traditional fado from Lisbon has different names and different types as they branch out of these three main forms. Apart from traditional fado, there is another style fado cançao, which is a song-like fado and there is modern fado.
Has anybody cried listening to your fado?
Yes, quite a few times. Very recently I was performing at a Portuguese casa de fado in New York. There was only one couple that was Portuguese and both were in tears. Fado is an art form that moves you to tears. If it doesn’t, there is something wrong in the performance.
You also have a couple of music albums too.
There are two albums, ‘Saudades de Fado’ - 1 (2010) and 2 (2016). Both these albums were recorded in Lisbon with musicians from there. I also did two other albums, one entirely of Konkani songs called ‘Uyddas’ which means ‘memories’ and the other ‘Melodious Goa’ consisting of folk forms from Goa – dulpod, mando, deknni with 4 Portuguese songs that are loved in Goa. I have also sung in ‘LisGoa’ an album with António Chaínho.
What are your future plans for fado and promoting this music?
To continue with my fado classes, one batch a year so we can popularize as well as identify voices who can take the fado ahead. I will then work with the students one-on-one, which I have been doing for the last 8 years. I would like to polish them so that they are capable of professionally performing this art form.
