Context : Written by Rochelle D'Souza, Christ University, Certificate Course : History of Scientific Discoveries - 2013
A short ferry ride across Fort Kochi (in the lovely district of Ernakulam, Kerala) and Vypeen greets you with her usual best – the cries of the gulls mixed with the scent of the morning sea laced with salt. The magic begins as soon as you take the cobbled narrow street; your ears resonate to a high-pitched, soulful and extremely unique tune floating through the air. Follow the song and you will reach an old beautiful house, to the source of the magic, Wenceslaus Roy D’Souza, a 93 year old, or rather, young man, known to all as Uncle Winnie and to me as ‘Pops’, my grandfather.
Music for me and my family is something that flows through our veins and trickles down into our very souls. A normal Sunday afternoon with my family comprises of some good food, a lot of laughs and that much needed jam session with my aunts and cousins on guitars and vocals, the younger members of the band, including me, standing up on a table pretending to be back-up singers with our little shakers and tambourines, and in the middle of it all Pops and Dad, all singing our hearts away. We were raised and nurtured on music by my very own Grandfather to whom I owe all my musical talents and whose absolute love and dedication for the art is nothing short of inspirational.
Pops love affair with music began while he was attending a wedding back in the 1930’s. during the reception her heard a record of Jimmy Rodgers playing in the background. “I still remember the song, it was called ‘Mother the Queen of my Heart’” reminisces Pops, a then closeted musician, was newly introduced and instantly fascinated by the fine Alpine art of yodeling. Yodeling is a form that involves singing an extended note which rapidly changes in pitch, a form of Alpine folk music used as a method of communication between herders and their flock.
Although learning to yodel on your own isn’t exactly a cake walk his ‘never say die’ attitude to everything life throws up helped him overcome the hurdles. His biggest critique was his own father who deemed his yodeling attempts as ‘a dog howling’ recalls Pops smiling.
With constant practice sitting alone at the beach to avoid interruptions and with the training in singing he has with the Cecilian choir in his school days he perfected his yodeling. Pops life took an unromantic turn far away from his beloved guitar and yodeling when he left home to join the British Indian Army as a part of the Royal Army Medical Corps. The free spirited man that he is, Pops had more than his fair share of adventures during his service including a singing stint as a jailbird. Today he recalls this experience with a smile.
It was his sister’s wedding and he wanted to return home for a few days. He was stationed at erstwhile Bombay and his application for leave was rejected by his stern British sergeant who said “Dammit! You’re in active service!”. “But he gave me some money to send home to my sister as a gift. At that moment I thought ‘This is my chance’ I took the money bought civilian clothes and left Bombay hopping on to the first possible train from Mazagaon station. But the moment I got off at Cochin Harbour Terminus I was arrested and court marshaled by the court police. It wasn’t too hard for them because they already knew where I was going.” He laughs.
“I tried to escape because I missed my mum and I missed my music” he says.
In 1946 he left the army and returned home to the family and his beloved guitar and from then on it has been a beautiful journey for Pops. Today he lives a season symphony with his wife Verena (my grandmum) four children and a dozen grandchildren all of who sing and play at least one music one musical instrument.
Although age has caught up with the ‘youngster’ slowing him down quite a bit he remains a free spirit, he still yodels and sings whenever possible especially at family get-togethers where he in his own words “belts away a few numbers!”
And what does he feel about today’s music and the current crop of artists? He still prefers the music of the good old days but admits that some of the new numbers get his foot tapping. His advice to us young lovers of music is to keep following our heart in our melodic journey. “I’d like to tell the youth of today to carry on singing and making good music because after all music is a language that has no borders, no limits and the possibilities are endless.” He says
Music expresses that which cannot be said. It is to the soul what water is to the body.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
A short ferry ride across Fort Kochi (in the lovely district of Ernakulam, Kerala) and Vypeen greets you with her usual best – the cries of the gulls mixed with the scent of the morning sea laced with salt. The magic begins as soon as you take the cobbled narrow street; your ears resonate to a high-pitched, soulful and extremely unique tune floating through the air. Follow the song and you will reach an old beautiful house, to the source of the magic, Wenceslaus Roy D’Souza, a 93 year old, or rather, young man, known to all as Uncle Winnie and to me as ‘Pops’, my grandfather.
Music for me and my family is something that flows through our veins and trickles down into our very souls. A normal Sunday afternoon with my family comprises of some good food, a lot of laughs and that much needed jam session with my aunts and cousins on guitars and vocals, the younger members of the band, including me, standing up on a table pretending to be back-up singers with our little shakers and tambourines, and in the middle of it all Pops and Dad, all singing our hearts away. We were raised and nurtured on music by my very own Grandfather to whom I owe all my musical talents and whose absolute love and dedication for the art is nothing short of inspirational.
Pops love affair with music began while he was attending a wedding back in the 1930’s. during the reception her heard a record of Jimmy Rodgers playing in the background. “I still remember the song, it was called ‘Mother the Queen of my Heart’” reminisces Pops, a then closeted musician, was newly introduced and instantly fascinated by the fine Alpine art of yodeling. Yodeling is a form that involves singing an extended note which rapidly changes in pitch, a form of Alpine folk music used as a method of communication between herders and their flock.
Although learning to yodel on your own isn’t exactly a cake walk his ‘never say die’ attitude to everything life throws up helped him overcome the hurdles. His biggest critique was his own father who deemed his yodeling attempts as ‘a dog howling’ recalls Pops smiling.
With constant practice sitting alone at the beach to avoid interruptions and with the training in singing he has with the Cecilian choir in his school days he perfected his yodeling. Pops life took an unromantic turn far away from his beloved guitar and yodeling when he left home to join the British Indian Army as a part of the Royal Army Medical Corps. The free spirited man that he is, Pops had more than his fair share of adventures during his service including a singing stint as a jailbird. Today he recalls this experience with a smile.
It was his sister’s wedding and he wanted to return home for a few days. He was stationed at erstwhile Bombay and his application for leave was rejected by his stern British sergeant who said “Dammit! You’re in active service!”. “But he gave me some money to send home to my sister as a gift. At that moment I thought ‘This is my chance’ I took the money bought civilian clothes and left Bombay hopping on to the first possible train from Mazagaon station. But the moment I got off at Cochin Harbour Terminus I was arrested and court marshaled by the court police. It wasn’t too hard for them because they already knew where I was going.” He laughs.
“I tried to escape because I missed my mum and I missed my music” he says.
In 1946 he left the army and returned home to the family and his beloved guitar and from then on it has been a beautiful journey for Pops. Today he lives a season symphony with his wife Verena (my grandmum) four children and a dozen grandchildren all of who sing and play at least one music one musical instrument.
Although age has caught up with the ‘youngster’ slowing him down quite a bit he remains a free spirit, he still yodels and sings whenever possible especially at family get-togethers where he in his own words “belts away a few numbers!”
And what does he feel about today’s music and the current crop of artists? He still prefers the music of the good old days but admits that some of the new numbers get his foot tapping. His advice to us young lovers of music is to keep following our heart in our melodic journey. “I’d like to tell the youth of today to carry on singing and making good music because after all music is a language that has no borders, no limits and the possibilities are endless.” He says
Would love to meet Winnie D'souza in person and record some of his songs for a documentary I am doing.
ReplyDeleteAlistair JD