Goa mourns for Remo's musicians
21 September 2000 22:02 IST Three days have passed and the whole state of Goa is yet to recover from a shock the music-loving people here received with accidental death of the cream of Goa's music world – three young musicians and personal assistant of India's famous popstar Remo Fernandes.
While returning from Kanpur to Mumbai via Luknow on 19 September after performing at IIT there, a Tata Sumo carrying the four creative artists collided with a speedy bus which was overtaking another vehicle in opposite direction.
Santan Carvalho, Remo's drummer, however survived after he was rushed to the hospital. Selwyn Pereira, 29-year old keyboard player, 36-year old tabla player Dharmendra Hirve, 37-year old bass guitarist Victor Alvares and Remo's PA Sunil Redkar however died on the spot, besides local Sumo driver Kanhaiyalal.
Remo, who luckily escaped the tragedy as he had left early to make arrangements for the next day's show in Mumbai, rushed back to Luknow. Their bodies arrived today in Goa, in the presence of hundreds of music lovers gathered at Dabolim air port.
Remo, known for his ground-to-the-earth songs and creative music emerging through India's traditionalities, had painstakingly built his band in last six years by choosing root-based creative musicians who could give total justice to his concepts and inspire the audience in any part of the world.
Microwave Papadams – the name indicating the style of his band with its roots in Indian ethos but expressed in a western style – made waves wherever they performed, whether in India or abroad. All of them were considered the best in their respective fields and were blooming further in Remo's lively company.
Their immense popularity was reflected with local newspapers carrying headlines of the tragic news followed by editorials while condolence advertisements flowing in all the newspapers. Even chief minister Francisco Sardinha immediately sent his condolences to their families, stating that Goa has lost musicians of international repute.
Cutting across the boundaries of Indian and western music, the whole state which is fond of Remo's unique pop music is still mourning the death of these young outstanding musicians. While Hirve and Redkar were cremated today evening, Selwyn and Victor would be buried in the next two days.
