Beautiful Sunday

Sunday morning, up with the lark

I think I'll take a walk in the park

Hey hey hey, it's a beautiful day

Sunday morning... yesterday... and I woke up before sunrise... 

Not just me... my two sons as well... as we set out at 6.00am to the park... The ground where I've run, jumped, bounced and kicked for twelve early years of my life. That's the St. Anthony's Society Ground adjacent to my school, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Chembur, Mumbai... 

The same ground where over a 1000 students would assemble on a Saturday morning in our whites for exercises, to the call of our PT Sir or sometimes even our School Principal. The ground where more than fifty of us would run after one football for 30 minutes and you were lucky if you got one touch on the ball. The place where we would sit and chat during our recess break.
Yes indeed, it was a beautiful day. 

I've got someone waiting for me

Not just someone... but more than 850 people... from the age of three to eighty-three (was there anyone older?) who got together for a common purpose. To run for a cause... a cause connected to my Alma Mater, as we set out on The OLPS Run 2017... There were children, their parents, alumni and many many more others who assembled there in the given zones as they set out to run.

  

The #OLPSrun was an event to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the school where I and thousands of others have learnt from ABC and 123 to the laws of Physics and Chemistry, the theorems of Geometry, the problems of Maths and Algebra and knowledge about the world around us in History, Geography, Civics. We even learn Art and Craft... and lots more. 

As time passed by the ground started filling up with men, women and children... but there were some special ladies in attendance.

And when I see her I know that she'll say

Hey hey hey, what a beautiful day

Have you ever considered that in a boy's school, there are far more women teachers than men. As I stood around the ground, greeting the people I've met, one lady came up to me and greeted me with a big smile, with the words, "How's your mum?". While she looked so very familiar, it took me time to recognize her as one of my many teachers from over 30 years ago. While nearly all of my school teachers are retired, there was this energetic lot of present teachers who were thoroughly enjoying the occasion and the call to run...

Hi hi hi, beautiful Sunday

This is my my my beautiful day

When you said said said said that you loved me

Oh my my my its a beautiful day

As the run was flagged off, there was an absolute burst of energy.... Students in their uniform running, the rest in their OLPS t-shirts specially designed for the occasion running, jogging, walking - it just doesn't matter, as long as it is fun. Met some old friends, made some new ones... reminisced about old days, but best of all celebrated the first place out of home I knew. Thought of my teachers - a few of them present, some far away... Thought of the friends, I ran in the lawns with, and played some strange innovative games with... Thought of the fun times we had, and some times not so much fun... Thought of the times we ran to school (especially in the morning) and times that we ran back home. 

The OLPS Run 2017 went through a familiar path that I walked and run through many times in my childhood.... I've even raced that path on my offbeat cycle... The route passed through my house that I grew up in... and am lucky to live in even today... Yes indeed it was a beautiful Sunday....

And as I look back at yesterday, I look forward to another beautiful Sunday six weeks from now - Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the school that we all loved.  

Annual Days and Fun Fairs - Keeping the Music Alive

Been a week since my last post... What happening?... Been either BUSY or lazy... 

I prefer BUSY...


The last two weekends have been absolutely jam-packed (why do they call it so) - the usual work schedules, workshops to attend, lectures to deliver, social visits, shopping and lots of entertainment... only this time at the receiving end...

My alma-mater (and now that of my sons) - OLPS High School had a weekend entertainment festival - #SPARK. The Annual Day was spread over over two evenings for logistics and audience management reasons. Was an absolute riot of colour, travel and music - all rolled up in one (no, two). 

The first-half of Saturday featured the tiny-tots of the pre-primary section who sang and danced with outfits in the colour of the rainbow... each colour representing a different state of India...

The Secondary section under the guidance of #StopGaps conductor, Mr. Alfred D'Souza and a talented pianist and instructor, Dionne Moraes, put up songs from over the years from oldies to the contemporary... they even sang Hindi classics. Got a sample out here featuring my #YoungRockstar son (Kaniel) on a solo...

Sunday was a journey 'Around the World' in 150 minutes... The highlight of the evening was two kiddo MCs - Grade 4 students who had really long lines to say and said them really well. The most innocent moment of the evening was when one of these little boys came upto the chief guest, Mr. Terrence Lewis...while on stage and said..."Hold on Sir, we need to say something about you first." Well done boys... Towards the absolute end of the show came my magic moment - 'Daddytime'. My younger #Rockstar (Kendall) was one of the soloist singing individual lines in the song my siblings and I sang 30 years ago - The biggest (and longest) hit of that year - We Are The World... and he sang possibly the most difficult part... well, well, well...

The boys followed it up with a repeat over the the following week - this time together. With full enthusiasm, Kendall took the stage at #AFairToRemember - our parish #FunFair to participate in the entertainment capsule put together by the Sunday School children. Kaniel took up the accompaniment role for him as well as the group song sung by the Grade 2 kids. Unfortunately did not get hold of a video... but got the pic below from some of the catechists...

Sunday evening had lot more music with #Groove including my own guitar tutor #WilburnDCosta and the local drummer boy #FrancisFernandes, Rock n Roll from classmate #DarrenDas and a surprise Bollywood crooner in fellow emcee #RohanSequeira who kept the fair a-rocking - giving the #YoungRockstars a generous dose of inspiration. Here's a little sample though of the boys together doing #Riptide on my #Soundcloud Channel.

Will sure be lots more opportunities for family music together. I'm glad we've made the right start.

Parents and Grandparents - A Special Day

Feast of 

St. Joachim and St. Anne - the parents of Mother Mary. 

26th July was a date marked on our calendar through the 90s. Our parish - OLPS Chembur - would celebrate the Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne as Parents Day... and that included a variety entertainment program dedicated to all the parents of the parish. The Pinto family was a regular fixture on the entertainment plan... and over the years, we (my siblings and I) performed a eclectic mix of songs... sing-a-long favorites, Simon and Garfunkel duets, soft rock hits like More Than Words, and even Jazz Compositions - the best among them being 'A Medley on Trains' - a composition by a good friend Karen D'Lima Vaswani - who conducts the Victory Chorus Line choir and plays and croons with the Mumbai band Rockin' Marmalade. The audience was top notch and included top notch singers and musicians including Celia Baptista Lobo (the patron of Celia Lobo Academy of Voice), Leon D'Souza, Irwin Extross. On many occasions, we shared the stage with professionals of the stature of Deidre Lobo-D'Cunha and Ella Castellino-Atai - so only the best would do...

Over the years - all of us siblings got married and then moved out of Chembur and out of India for work and family... and back home, the day has taken on a new meaning... With all the parents of our day - now being grandparents - they realised that St Joachim and St. Anne being grandparents of The Lord Jesus - should be rather revered as Grandparents. In recent times, the Senior Citizens of the parish have been offering a Thanksgiving Mass followed by an upgraded version of their monthly Housie gathering with music and entertainment. And this year, they invited me to help. (I trust my greying hair had nothing to do with it). 

While the Pantings (Arnold and Harry) provided the entertainment with their troupe and students, I played the role of Caller at the Housie and led the group through a little marching dance round the OLPS Quadrangle and ice-breaking engagement. The Chembur audience were at the lively best...

Where's the MUSIC?

I haven't forgotten the music on this post. Earlier this morning I invited Facebook friends to list their favorite songs with 'Grandparent' references. And this is what I got. 

A friendly grandmother (a retired teacher) who lives in my building suggested this song - Dadi Amma Dadi Amma Maan Jao. 

My pick of the day is this song I heard as a kid - Johnny Cash's 'My Grandfather's Clock'.

I'd like to have your feedback on what you think about this blog... Also do share suggestions on topics that you'd like me to write about on this blog... or music that you'd like to hear out here.

Once again, "A Happy Parents Day" and "A Happy Grandparents Day" to all the parents and grandparents out there."