The evening is planned on a barge and will include the partners sharing their impressions about the project and also presenting the series of programmes that are planned under this project between November and December 2021.
This will be followed by a musical performance by the famous Fado singer Sonia Shirsat and her team from Goa, and the renowned Bhatiyali singer Saurav Moni and his team from Bengal. This performance will also mark a cultural collaboration between Portugal and Bengal and will connect the two cultures through music.

Fado Music

Fado is the iconic music genre of Portugal that can be traced back to the 1820s and is included in the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It was introduced in Goa by the Portuguese people. Sonia Shirsat launched ‘ The Fado de Goa an initiative to revitalize Fado music for generations to come. Fado music has a traditional structure, and is often about the sea and common life, having melancholic tunes.

Bhatiyali Music

Bhatiyali is a folk music tradition of the Sundarbans that describes the life of boatmen and fishermen who brace the dangers of thunderstorms, cyclones, and tiger attacks to make both ends meet.  Bhatiyali songs often include names and characteristics of the rivers, streams, and islands that the boatmen pass. The songs have lingering tunes usually matching the rhythm of rowing with the oars.

Artists:

Sonia Shirsat , a recipient of the ‘ Ustad Bismillah Khan Award’, has been considered the best exponent of the Fado in India, of all time. Taking this Portuguese Urban folk form to the corners of the World and now teaching it to future generations, Sonia Shirsat has sung in 15 languages in 19 countries and is called the Ambassador of Goan music to the World. (chronologically).

 

Saurav Moni , leading the Bhatiyali team, is a prolific young folk singer of India. Saurav specializes in folk songs, especially Bhatiyali, originating in Bengal’s Sunderban delta region, and has imbibed the art of rustic rendition, since his childhood, in the company of fishermen, traveling boatmen, myriad folk singers, and the wandering Bauls and Fakirs. Saurav has performed across India, Europe and UK, and has also performed at Coke Studio and Folk Nations. His popular solo album is ‘Nouka Kholo’.

THIS PROGRAMME IS BY INVITATION ONLY