Home was 43 years away

Nigel Britto

It was 1967 when Alexander Mascarenhas of Loutolim, then just 22, left home to pursue his studies abroad. Not knowing whether or not he would ever return home to then-golden Goa, he immersed himself into music. The affable cellist, who later fell in love, got married and has two children in Germany, was not to see his beloved Loutolim for more than four decades.

Now, with son Oliver firmly in tow, Mascarenhas, on his first visit home in 43 years, will present a concert at Kala Academy's Black Box on Friday evening. The father-son duo will play Beethoven, Ticciati and Rossini among others, for their first recital in Goa. The humble cello forms the bass of the Mascarenhas family's love for music. Mascarenhas' German wife, Veronika, is also a cellist, and his father, Espirito Santo, who taught music at Goa's erstwhile Academia de Musica, played with Mehli Mehta, father of the legendary Zubin Mehta, in the Bombay Chamber Orchestra, and often used the legend's name to inspire his son. "My dad used to tell me, 'his son is a great man, if you practice, you'll be like him'," Mascarenhas wistfully recalls.

How did Goa happen after so many years? "My son was instrumental in bringing me here." says Mascarenhas, who taught music in the German city of Grevenbroich (Jugendmusicschule des Kreises Neuss) for 38 years. "My wife's permission, too, is very important," he says, which he managed to obtain. Such was his passion for 'building a class of musicians' in Germany, that he never found time to visit home throughout his teaching career. Today, his pupils play in orchestras across Germany. Now retired yet vivacious and sprightly, he still teaches in Germany, and is looking forward to 'giving back to society', here in Goa. On a more personal note, he's also looking forward to meeting his brother on Friday after four decades, six days after he met his sister-in-law after a similar time gap.

One of his first students was Oliver, who's justifiably excited at the prospect of playing with his dad for the first time on a public stage. The 36-year-old first came to Goa in 2005, wanting to 'rediscover his past'. The wildly-talented musician, at 22, won an audition for principal cellist of the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, a German orchestra, and has held this place ever since. He has also played in an orchestra in Granada, Spain, and has won several international competitions and played around the world including Argentina, China, Japan and most of Europe. Throughout his travels he carried along his trusted aide-the 250-year-old cello crafted by Joseph Gaffino. The dynamic musician, who likes to explore the cultures of different countries, doesn't limit his work to classical, often expanding to jazz, Austrian folk music and even what he calls 'cello hip-hop'. Electronic music also impresses him. Oliver's sister and Mascarenhas Sr's other child is a German actress and surprisingly went against the family tradition of playing the cello, instead preferring the flute.

Friday's concert will be the culmination of the father-son duo's short trip to Goa. After having given two private recitals prior to Friday's public concert, Mascarenhas Sr is quite clear it's the last. "We'll spend the next week of our trip vacationing," he says. The concert, put together by the Goa Guitar Guild, will also include performances by Goan violinist Ashley Rego and pianist Ingrid-Anne Nazareth. It's important that there's interaction with Goan musicians, Mascarenhas says, adding that he might return sometime later this year to share his skills with young Goan talent.

Mascarenhas may have forgotten Goa all these years, but Goa evidently hasn't forgotten him; he narrates an incident last week of a former classmate at Don Bosco's, now a Salesian priest, recognizing him immediately after more than 50 years. Oliver, too, is looking forward to visiting his ancestral Loutolim this week. Though he has never lived in Goa as a resident, he holds more than average interest for the Konkani language and Goa. While the rest of the state shivered through much of December, the Mascarenhases praised the 'pleasant' weather. After all, they were glad to be away from the plummeting mercury back in Europe, realizing that temperatures are just like everything else; positive always better than negative.

This article was first published in The Times of India, Goa, on its edition dated January 7, 2011.

From Mafia to Microfinance

Anti-mafia film-maker Marco Amenta tells me how the Cosa Nostra has affected Sicilian life

Nigel Britto

His first film, Diario di una siciliana ribelle, sent the feared Cosa Nostra into a tizzy. Threats and lawsuits became commonplace in the life of Marco Amenti, the Sicilian-born director whose blood boils at the mention of the mafia. Notwithstanding intimidatory tactics, he went a step ahead with his next documentary, Il fantasma di Corleone (The Ghost of Corleone), about the life of Bernardo Provenzano, head of the Corleonesi and the capo di tutti capi, boss of bosses of the Sicilian mafia. During the Golden Globe-nominated film's screening, the iconic Godfather was arrested for a 1963 murder conviction, after an unparalleled 43 years on the run.

It's the 'men of honour' perception about the mafia that Amenta is determined to erase. "There's no honour, they're terrible people, " he says scathingly. As a child who grew up in Palermo, he realised that the influence of the mafia is so immense, nobody can escape it. "One of their primary socio-political achievements is the destruction of the meritocracy, " he says. That's what inspired him to take up his next project, La Siciliana Ribelle, a real-life story about Rita Atria, daughter of a mob boss who, to avenge her kin's death, deposes before the State, breaking the sacred mafia code of Omerta, i. e. silence. To an extent, Atria is to the mafia what Anne Frank was to the Nazis.

"A young girl fighting a very powerful enemy is a great inspiration, and it's a possibility everywhere, whether it's mafia, terrorism or anything else. " Unfortunately, he says, "it's easier to fall into the fascination of evil, " which is why the mafia are generally portrayed as reasonable men (Godfather etc) rather than the criminals they are. He also maintains it's easier to tell the story of the bad guy rather than the good, yet he prefers to make films that inspire rather than merely entertain. That's how he stumbled upon the idea to make the biopic of Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel prize for peace for his Grameen Bank, that empowered millions of Bangladeshis. It was Yunus' autobiography, Banker to the Poor, that struck Amenta hard, and he quickly bought exclusive rights to adapt it to film. The lead role is likely to be played by Irrfan Khan, and the movie will be shot in India and Bangladesh. Though primarily a European production, he's presently looking for an Indian co-producer and intends to use an Indian cast too.

Amenta, who was introduced to Yunus' work much before the latter won the Nobel, says it's important to portray the stories of good people through film. And, he says, it's an established fact that audiences are maturing and would rather see a good, deep story than some shallow movie held together by special effects. He cites the example of Hurt Locker that beat Avatar, and Slumdog Millionaire that beat The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Academy Awards. He is also optimistic about the Italian film industry, which suffered badly during the recession. It is getting steadily back on its feet, he says, and it's a matter of pride that European films are now being shown in theatres in the insular United States, as well as winning awards worldwide.

Amenta's mission to portray the good via film is largely due to the influence of his father, an accomplished Sicilian doctor who spurned career opportunities to go to Rome, preferring to stay and serve his fellow-Sicilians. Amenta says he later regretted his decision because he couldn't achieve his potential as a doctor, mainly due to his uncompromising nature and the influence of the mafia on virtually every sphere of Sicilian life, which dictated that sycophants always score over the meritorious. La Siciliana Ribelle begins with 'To our father' (his sister was co-producer ), and he says it was his dad who influenced him to go abroad for career opportunities, having become disillusioned with Sicilian life.

It is this, Amenta says, which is the hidden side of the mafia. "Everyone knows about the crime and the killings, but the mafia also kills the hope and joy of many people. " Yet, he says the mafia has become considerably less vicious over the last few years. "A lot of their money is now invested in perfectly legitimate businesses, and they don't kill as much as they used to. " However, "their influence in politics remains as strong as ever, " with it being a routine for the mafia to give votes, and the politicians to give protection. Yet, things are changing. La Siciliana Ribelle won the Gold Ticket, given to the most-screened film in Italian schools. Apart from his native Italian, he also speaks Sicilian, French, Spanish and English. His long hair and rugged Sicilian looks sometimes can be misleading. "When I was in Britain and learning English, the police once asked me to come to the police station for a criminal identification parade, " he says, adding that the only words he understood were 'witness' and 'crime', making him wonder what he had done wrong.

Finally, anything about Italy he would like to change? "Berlusconi, " he says, wondering aloud why a largely honest population would elect such a dishonest man to represent them. "99 per cent Italians are honest, law-abiding citizens who work hard to make a living, and I don't see why they elect this man. " Berlusconi, known worldwide for his continuous stream of gaffes and affairs with teenage girls and other women who are not his wife, has stifled the growth of education, science and development, according to Amenta. Also, he says his goofs, which are frequently taken note of by the world's media, are a facade which hides the real problems of Italy, the most important among which is the brain drain of prime Italian talent. So why doesn't Amenta make a film on him? "Because it would have to be a fictional account, and the reality will always be worse than that."

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition dated December 25, 2010.