A tale of two regrets and two treasures…

Remembering Valmiki Faleiro (January 6, 1956 – October 5, 2023)

Valmiki Faleiro

MELVYN MISQUITA

misquita@outlook.com

14 OCTOBER 2023

As the years progress, the list of memories gets longer. The list of memorable moments and the list of regrets. With the shocking and untimely demise of eminent writer and historian Valmiki Faleiro of Margao on October 5, two regrets and two treasures were added to this list.

But first, a background.

I have long admired Socrates Valmiki Faleiro – until October 5, I didn’t even know that Socrates was his first name – for his writing skills. He was articulate, had profound knowledge about Salcete, and especially Margao, and was a master of history, mystery, and the occasional controversy.

Among the many fascinating articles by Valmiki, two had stood out for me, largely because they were connected with musicians of yesteryears. The first was ‘Goan music: a long, twisted, and often colourful road across time’ and the second was ‘San Franciscu Xavier-a: A queer story’. More about the first article a little later.

I would occasionally interact with Valmiki, letting him know that I appreciated his articles in newspapers. At some point in time, he became aware that I was the son-in-law of the late Jose Gracias of Borda-Margao, who was associated with the Margao Comunidade for some time. Valmiki, one of the largest shareholders of the Margao Comunidade and a person of keen interest in Comunidade affairs, had good memories of my late father-in-law.

My close interaction with Valmiki began barely three years ago and it involved work on my late father-in-law and a group of musicians mainly from Salcete who performed in a band ‘Joe Blues’, later renamed to ‘Music Lovers’, between 1953 and 1963. My work was based on a seven-decade-old diary, hundreds of handwritten music sheets, memorabilia and other artefacts which were meticulously preserved at the residence of my late father-in-law.

My father-in-law, two other founder members, Alvito da Costa and Ronaldo Coutinho, were from Borda-Margao, while the fourth founding member, Anacleto Figueiredo (nephew of the Maestro Antonio Figueiredo), resided near the Holy Spirit Church. The 37 musicians who performed with the ‘Music Lovers’ at some point in time over those 10 years included the legendary musician, Chris Perry, and his brother, Paul Perry.

Chris Perry’s house was barely about 50 metres from the residence of Valmiki. Hoping to pick up some details (other than those already known to his fans across the world) from Valmiki, I decided to visit him at his residence. I cannot ascertain the exact date as all my WhatsApp messages prior to October 2022 accidentally got deleted while I was in the process of switching phones.

Valmiki’s house is by the side of the majestic Holy Spirit Church at Margao. And Valmiki’s house is no less impressive. The exteriors of Valmiki’s house are beautiful in aesthetics and architecture, while the interiors, furnishings and finishings are just as exquisite.

Valmiki and his wife, Daisy, were great hosts, welcoming me into their house. Within minutes, Valmiki took me to the first floor, where we began our conversation. I explained my project and the musicians involved. When the topic of Chris Perry came up for discussion, he provided some interesting insights into the life of the legendary musician and his personal experiences with Chris Perry.

But true to his nature, Valmiki could not remain on one topic for long. He would divert to related topics with amazing ease, rattling names, places and events with remarkable memory. My purpose was to get more information about Chris Perry, but much of our time was spent discussing other topics. They may not have been relevant to my music project, but they were, nonetheless, of great interest to me.

The topics and their narratives were unadulterated. Nothing was censored or edited by Valmiki, even though we were formally meeting for the first time. Perhaps, he saw in me an avid listener, who sat mesmerised and absorbing his fascinating stories. And of course, his ability to narrate them with clarity and precision.

Shortly after our conversation came to an end, Valmiki took me around his house, giving me a brief guided tour of his palatial abode. Valmiki stopped to show me one of his many prized possessions: A beautiful 150-year-old large teakwood cupboard, handcrafted by a highly skilled carpenter who was the grandfather of Joe, Chris and Paul Perry.

“This large teakwood cupboard still going strong 150 years later to this day. Much before Joe and Chris Perry’s genius at creating everlasting melodies, their grandfather’s handcrafted legacy silently lives on,” Valmiki was to tell me some time later.

Valmiki also took the trouble to trace the baptismal and death certificates of the band leader, Alvito da Costa. He even translated the original Portuguese text into English, with meticulous precision. It was Valmiki who first brought to my notice of an interesting remark inserted in Alvito’s baptismal record, stating that he had married Audrey Vida in a church at an unusual location: Kashmir.

Aware that I was working on this music project, he knew the importance of keeping records. In his email to me on September 21, 2020, Valmiki had this to say:

“Dear Melvyn,

Was just going through yesterday’s files of Alvito da Costa before storage.

Thought of sending you copies so that you can also have them for proper record.

Noticed that the .png pic of the Burial/Death certificate I sent you yesterday did not show the name/signature of the priest concerned.

So took both the Baptism and Burial certificates again and saved them in .jpg, which is a better format for page layout artists. Attached.”

In the same email, he added words of encouragement:

“Do think of pursuing the idea of a book – the story of the band, the original compositions of Joe Perry, and reproducing whatever notation sheets your father-in-law had saved.

From my side, anything that I can do, most willingly and with pleasure.

Awaiting your first draft of the main story.

Best, v”

My mother-in-law happened to have in her house a rare copy of the 1937 school yearbook of St Theotonio Union High School (which was later taken up by the Jesuits and renamed as the Loyola High School). Since Valmiki was fascinated with historical/rare records, I scanned a few pages of this yearbook and emailed it to him.

His reply:

“Thank you, Melvyn, for the photos attached to both mails. V interesting. Waiting to see the rest, but take your time. Best, v”

I later scanned the entire yearbook and forwarded it to Valmiki. Whenever possible, I would also scan rare photos of some prominent individuals (thanks to my in-laws for carefully preserving them) of interest to him. He would promptly acknowledge these additions to his collection.

After my music project got completed in February 2022, I requested Valmiki (and three others) to have a look at the draft and to let me know if it would be of interest to the general reader. After all, this story revolved around a group of musicians from the 1950s and I was unsure if it would appeal to those unconnected with musicians in my project. It was also the first book of its kind to focus on a band in Goa. Despite the presence of several dozens of bands in Goa over the decades, no one had felt the need and interest to document this aspect of Goan society. That is, until now.

To my happiness, Valmiki was fascinated with the story. “This story is very interesting, and I am hearing of this for the first time. It is certainly worth publishing it in some form or the other,” he told me. Thankfully, the three other reviewers also felt the same and agreed it would interest the general reader.

* * *

My music project was first published in my blog on February 25, 2022. But with the encouragement of Valmiki, Frederick (Rico) Noronha of Goa,1556 (the publisher) and a few others, I decided to take this project forward in the form of a book. Rico shortlisted the name “Symphony of Passion” for the book, and we discussed other elements (cover design, chapters, images, etc.).

There was one crucial element needed for the book: the Foreword.

I could think of none other than Valmiki. For different reasons. He had reviewed my initial draft and was familiar with the story. Second, he had encouraged me to consider a book. Third, he had a geographical connect. He resided close to the homes of four of the founder members of the band, which was the focus of ‘Symphony of Passion’.

I turned to Valmiki and requested him to write the Foreword, for the above-mentioned reasons.

But there was an unexpected problem, and one that took me by surprise.

“I have never written a Foreword before,” exclaimed Valmiki.

Valmiki had written numerous articles, and I was quite sure that Forewords would have been part of his vast and impressive literary repertoire.

Well, I could not think of anyone else to write the Foreword. Nor did I want anyone else. I managed to persuade Valmiki to consider penning his first-ever Foreword and he readily agreed to do so.

“Please let me know the word count and what you want included in the Foreword,” replied Valmiki.

Assuming his article would be around 1,500 words, I told Valmiki not to bother about the word count. When it came to content, his wonderful article ‘Goan music: a long, twisted, and often colourful road across time’ came to mind. I brought this to his notice.

“How about bringing in the four Konkani stage, film and music greats, who once resided in your vicinity, from your previous article and connecting them with the four lesser-known founder members of the band in my music project. After all, they too were located in your area,” I suggested to Valmiki.

He immediately accepted the plan and got down to work.

By March 20, the first draft of his Foreword was ready, and Valmiki emailed it to me and was kind enough to include the following suggestion:

“Change it the way YOU would like to see the Foreword in your book.”

I opened the attached file and immediately noticed that Valmiki’s initial draft was 4,682 words in length! To put it into perspective, it constituted about 11% of my own work.

But more than the word count, the master of history, mystery and the occasion controversy had touched upon sensitive issues. In his bold and inimitable style. He made some references to caste, community and clan.

I mentioned to Valmiki that my interactions with musicians during my project as well as in my conversations with people in and around Margao had revealed that many people were quite sensitive about issues pertaining to caste, community and clan.

It must be noted here that musicians in ‘Symphony of Passion’ certainly did not have any of these issues and happily mingled with fellow musicians, irrespective of social and cultural affiliations. After all, these musicians valued competence, calibre and camaraderie, not caste, community and clan. However, times had changed, and people preferred to avoid references to these social structures and hierarchies.

Valmiki had also made a rather amusing reference to the large opening of a toilet at the pigsty of a church, which was used as a getaway by a youth who stole cash from the church and fled to another part of India, eventually rising to become one of the most prominent musicians in North India. While the unedited portion was included in his original article, it simply had to be edited in the Foreword to my book, to respect the sentiments of those using church toilets!
As such, I omitted some colourful descriptions in Valmiki’s initial Foreword, mindful it could be offensive to many readers.

Valmiki readily accepted all of my suggestions (and explanations put forth) and with these changes, the Foreword, revised and finalised on March 30, 2022, got reduced to about 3,100 words. It was still a lengthy Foreword by most standards, but flawless for me and contained all the essential elements that I would have wanted.

It was only on reading his Foreword that I realised there was another reason for his initial hesitation to write it: He did not consider senior enough to do so!

My book ‘Symphony of Passion’ was released on June 1, 2022. I was keen to have Valmiki present at the function. Unfortunately, he declined my invitation because by that time, he refused to move out of his home over fears of contracting Covid. He chose to restrict his physical presence and interactions with people and remained largely confined to his home.

Barely a day later, Valmiki was to provide me with a lucky break.

He mentioned to me that one of his close friends, Bennet Paes from Assolna, happened to know Damask Braganza, a prominent trumpet player at the time and one of the guest artistes of ‘Music Lovers’. During my research, I struggled for months to get details of Damask, especially since he was, very sadly, virtually forgotten in his own village of Majorda. I finally managed to connect with a neighbour, I J Gomes, who shared fond memories of Damask.

I was keen to meet Valmiki’s friend, Bennet Paes. Thanks to Valmiki, I got this opportunity to meet this remarkable man at his palatial house in Assolna along with two of my friends and well-known musicians, Ravi Coutinho and Mercy Fernandes. Bennet Paes went on to recall his fascinating association with Damask. He became the room-mate of Damask by sheer accident, but their friendship developed. Bennet went on to be the best-man at the wedding of Damask.

Now, both Ravi and Mercy were bandmates in ‘Muzik Mann’ and ‘Pure Magic’. What is interesting about Ravi and Mercy is that three decades earlier, their respective fathers, Ronaldo Coutinho and Pedro Santana Fernandes, were band mates in ‘Music Lovers’, the subject of my book.

Ravi and Mercy were to have an unusual connect with Valmiki. One of their shows as musicians in ‘Muzik Mann’ was at the Kesarval hotel in Verna on January 25, 1989. It was the wedding reception of Valmiki and Daisy.

I did make it a point to drop by Valmiki’s house to deliver my signed book for him, but his instructions were clear. My book had to be placed in an envelope and handed over to his watchman who would meet me at the gate!

The Foreword to ‘Symphony of Passion’ may have been Valmiki’s first-ever Foreword, but it was a perfect and befitting prelude to the book. I’m unsure if he wrote Forewords to other books after March 30, 2022, but I can say that the Foreword to my book was the first by the legendary writer himself.

That will be my Treasure #1.

* * *

I got involved in another project in an unusual manner.

I happened to visit my mother-in-law at Borda-Margao and noticed a small booklet on the history of the Borda Chapel. It was an English translation of the original Portuguese booklet written by Jose Ligorio da Natividade Dias in 1928. The book had fascinating details, but the English translation had inadvertently contained some inaccuracies.

I was keen to work on a revised translation of this booklet along with updated information, which would be provide a more detailed story of the Borda Chapel. I got in touch with Fatima Miranda Figueiredo, sister of the legendary artist late Mario Miranda and wife of Anacleto Figueiredo, one of the founder members of the band in my book. There was another connect: Anacleto Figueiredo was the maternal grandson of Ligorio Dias.

Fatima kindly offered to collaborate in this project and also agreed to compose the entire original text in Portuguese, which would be included in one section of the proposed book. The Portuguese text was then sent to Fr Joaquim Loiola Pereira, secretary to Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, who kindly offered to translate the entire text into English.

Fatima and I decided to include a section on the frescoes of the late Dr Jose Pereira in the Sacristy of the Borda Chapel, some details on Dr Pereira and some photos of the Borda Chapel. I also wanted to add another section in the book: A brief history of Borda and how it got populated.

I needed someone well-versed in the history of Borda to send me these details for this proposed book. I turned to Valmiki once again, as I could think of no other person for the task.

I contacted him and put forth the request. Not only was Valmiki aware of the booklet by Ligorio Dias, he also had a copy of the booklet in his library. Valmiki was kind enough to have the entire booklet scanned and presented to me – yes, via his watchman at the entrance to his gate – so that I would have my own copy of the booklet.

As before, Valmiki did not let me down and agreed to send me an article on ‘How Borda got populated’.

But there was one condition.

“I’m very busy finalising my forthcoming book and will not have time to write the article on the history of Borda. I will work on it only after my book is launched,” Valmiki told me.

I was in no hurry, and happily waited because I knew Valmiki would honour his promise and would surely send me another gem of an article.

In the meantime, I decided to meet up with Valmiki and update him on my project on the Borda Chapel and two other ongoing projects. I had planned to meet him on June 29. I sent him a note the previous day to enquire if he would be free at about 5 pm, and if he continued to practice social isolation.

His reply was clear:

“I meet one on one downstairs. Would appreciate if you could make it a bit earlier, say by 4.00-4.15 pm, so that my house boy can close the windows before he leaves by 5.30 pm.”

His message to me on the morning of our meeting would elucidate his penchant for protocol:
“See you in the evening -- behind closed windows.

The watchman on duty will let your car in, drive into the porch and park.

My house boy, Elvis will open the front door and sit you inside.

I'll join you downstairs immediately after the watchman tells me you have arrived.”

I was rather intrigued by Valmiki’s instructions and thought it may have been dictated by his fear of the Covid pandemic. I replied to his message:

“Remarkable protocol indeed...”

Within moments, I realised Covid was not his only fear.

“Remarkable protocol dictated by mosquitoes!” replied Valmiki.

At the appointed time on June 29, I reached his house and followed his instructions.

Valmiki arrived to greet me, while maintaining safe distance, and led me to a chair in his sitting room. He then walked to the other end and sat some metres away!

His wife, Daisy, joined us for some time and during our two-hour meeting, I briefed Valmiki on my ongoing projects and reminded him of his article on a short history of Borda. He reassured me that it would be done after the launch of his book ‘Goa, 1961: The Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration’, which was due on July 24. He went on to tell me about the progress of his book.

As with Valmiki, the topics of discussion soon turned to people, places and events: a relative who (he believed) was a clairvoyant, a man who inherited vast properties as part of an agreement to marry the differently-abled daughter of a wealthy man and so on. Nothing, and nobody, was excluded within the four walls of his mansion.

The two hours flew by, and it was time for me to leave. Interacting with Valmiki was akin to taking a course in history. By the master himself.

Sadly, that was to be the last time I would get to interact with Valmiki in person.

I made it a point to acknowledge his hospitality and conversation the next day:

Thank you, Valmiki, for the most pleasant conversation at your home last evening. Every session with you is a fascinating experience. Your knowledge of people, places and events never ceases to amaze me.

His reply was simple:

No thanks due, Melvyn my friend. It's always a pleasure (time permitting).

On August 22, almost a month after the release of his book ‘Goa, 1961: The Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration’, I messaged Valmiki to remind him of his article on a short history of Borda, as Fatima Figueiredo and I were in the process of finalising a revised and updated English version of the St Joaquim Chapel in Borda.

Valmiki’s responded immediately:

“Oops, had almost forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding, Melvyn. In a few days, to be sure. Am a bit tied up with some time-bound things, else would have written and sent you the piece tomorrow itself. Please give me a few days.”

I did not have to wait long.

On August 25, Valmiki emailed me his article on 'How Borda Got Populated' for our proposed book on the Borda Chapel with the message:

“The Borda story, attached, for your book on St. Joaquim Chapel. Hope you like it. Feel free to change it any way you desire, no need for prior permission. Only don't forget to email me the final version for my records (we forgot to do that with the foreword to your earlier book -- if available on your comp, please email it). Best, v”

I responded immediately by thanking him for his article. I assured to have a look at it over the weekend and to send him the final draft for his records. Following his request, I then sent Valmiki the final draft of his Foreword to my book ‘Symphony of Passion’.

I did have a look at Valmiki’s article on “How Borda got populated” and it was just as fascinating as his Foreword to my book. I shared it with Fatima Figueiredo and her reply was equally positive:

“I finally had the opportunity today to read on how Borda got populated. Very interesting indeed. This will add a full new dimension to the book.”

I had planned to send him the final draft of his article with minor revisions sometime towards the end of October.

Sadly, that was not meant to be, and he did not get the final version for his records.

That will be my Regret #1.

But I am comforted by the fact that Valmiki honoured his commitment and sent me his article. Barely 40 days before he departed from this world. Quite likely, this could be the first-ever short history on Borda. When the book is published, it would contain a fascinating account of Borda by the literary master himself.

That will be my Treasure #2.

* * *

Shortly before the launch of his book ‘Goa, 1961: The Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration’ on July 24, I messaged Valmiki two days earlier to enquire if he could reserve a signed copy of his book for me. I insisted on paying for his book.

Valmiki’s reply was prompt:

“Ok, done, will keep with me -- but no way you are going to pay. For two sound reasons:
1. I don't write books for money, and much less sign them for money! and
2. When I got your book, I didn't pay for it.
So decided: I sign and keep the copy with me. Whenever you are coming to Margao, you would let me know and I'll pass on the copy to you. Done?”

On July 27, I messaged Valmiki to let him know that I would be visiting Margao the next morning and wanted to know if I could collect the signed copy of his book.
Valmiki’s replied with the usual protocol:

Book will be with watchman on duty by 10.00 am tomorrow. Just say "Melvyn" and the envelope will be given to you.

As promised, I collected the book from his watchman and sent him a message to thank him for the complimentary copy. While letting him know that his book would surely be in my prized-and-never-to-be-loaned category of books, I mentioned to him that I looked forward to reading the book some time soon.

Valmiki replied:

No thanks due. Once you have finished reading, do favour me with your honest opinion, esp. critical ... shortfalls, improvements. Thanks!

I got caught up in additional work over the next few weeks and did not get the opportunity to read Valmiki’s book. As a result, I could not honour Valmiki’s request in sending him my opinion of his book.

That will be my Regret #2.

* * *

I came to know that my 15-year-old daughter, Megan, had an unusual connection with Valmiki. I found this out at the Annual General Body Meeting of the PTA of The Rosary High School at Cujira-Bambolim on August 19.

Shortly before the AGBM, I happened to meet Marjalisa da Graca Fonseca, a teacher at the school. She had taught Megan in Std 8 while online classes were being conducted on account of the Covid pandemic. Ms Fonseca mentioned to me that she is the niece of Valmiki Faleiro and we immediately got chatting about her acclaimed uncle.

As chairman of the PTA, I was given the privilege of felicitating students who had excelled at their SSC exams in March 2023 and one of them happened to be Moriah, the daughter of Ms Fonseca. It so happened that Ms Fonseca was also felicitated at the AGBM on officially completing 20 years in service at The Rosary High School (unofficially, she had been a teacher for four additional years before confirmed as a teacher).

Photos of Ms Fonseca and Moriah being felicitated by the PTA were posted in the Faleiro family group which, incidentally, had been set up by Valmiki. He promptly forwarded the photo with the message:

“Moriah, daughter of my niece (and godchild), Marjalisa da Graca Fonseca, teacher at The Rosary High School. Saw you and thought of sending.”

I made it a point to mention that Ms Fonseca is a really good teacher. As always, Valmiki was quick to reply:

Thank you. Glad you think she is a good teacher.

I went a step further:

Besides being really good in teaching, I have appreciated her for being honest and upright. She is not hesitant to point out issues, when they need to be raised. I have thanked her for that.
Regards.

Valmiki appreciated the compliments:

Wow, that's nice. Didn't know my niece could be so appreciated!

* * *

I would have regular telephonic conversations with Valmiki over the last three years. The topics would range from the nickname associated with his family, the compulsion to change his schools on account of an unusual indiscretion, his book ‘Soaring Spirit’ – 450 years of Margao’s Espirito Santo Church’, the Goan army officers, details for some of my reports in The Goan newspaper, the affairs and controversies in the area. And much more.

I have been left thinking about Valmiki following his shocking and untimely demise, and wonder what might have been the reason for Dr Jose Manuel and Olga Sa Faleiro to have chosen to baptise their son with the names of a legendary thinker (Socrates) and a revered writer (Valmiki). Perhaps, the two names may have inspired our eminent writer and researcher to achieve fame in his own right and time. Of that, there is no doubt.

This tribute is rather lengthy, 4,682 words to be precise. This number is significant to me. Readers may recall this number mentioned previously in this tribute. It is the exact word count of Valmiki’s initial draft Foreword to my book!

To all those who loved him and all those who admired him, Socrates Valmiki Faleiro was simply the Best, v.

END

To read Valmiki Faleiro’s Foreword to ‘Symphony of Passion’, you may download the free PDF version of the book:

http://melvynmisquita.blogspot.com/2022/06/symphony-of-passion.html