How this music business in South Mumbai continues to shape the city

Down the chaotic bustling corner of Kalbadevi Road and JSS Road Jer Mahal has stood watch for aeons It is also home to Furtados An institution that is familiar to anyone in the city who has ever dreamed of buying a musical instrumentA dated photograph of the Jer Mahal building at Kalbadevi Pics CourtesyFurtados and CoThe Goan connectionIt was in 1865 that Bernard Xavier Furtado first opened doors to BX Furtado and Sons in the Dhobi Talao neighbourhood Then a centre for the Goan community in the city the store offered religious goods books and pamphlets while down the corner his brother Luis Manoel Furtado began selling sheet music to Western Classical scoresJohn Gomes right being conferred honorary membership at Trinity College of Music 1967ldquoIn 1953 BX Furtado and Sons was auctioned my dad John Gomes bid for itrdquo shares Anthony Gomes current director of the chain who helms the ship alongside siblings Joseph Christopher and NonobelA visitor tries a keyboard at the store PicsKirti Surve ParadeJohn Gomes was a 26yearold local resident ldquoHe did not have the money to pay for what he bid But he had a lot of goodwill The Goan tailors of Dhobi Talao was an institution then because a lot of sailors would pass through the city So a community of tailors grew around them They loaned dad the moneyrdquo Gomes sharesThe defining moment as Anthony calls it arrived in 1959 when the then owner of LM Furtado opted to close down his music business to move abroad ldquoHe had already agreed a deal with Bhargava of Bhargavarsquos Musik The only provision was that Mr Bhargava was not interested in continuing the Christian goods counter at the storerdquo he shares The two shop assistants approached John Gomes around the corner Gomes loved music grew up with it but never played But his spontaneous decision would reshape the cityrsquos music cultureThe decision to let musicians or enthusiasts walk in to the showroom try the instruments for free skyrocketed the storersquos popularity among musicians and bands in the city shares Anthony GomesEvolution of the fittestIt was not smooth sailing Funding was limited imports were banned and the economic situation did not help John Gomes stuck upon the idea of selling sheets of Western Classical music in addition to domestically made instruments Furtados became the sole supplier of sheet music across India till the 1994 economic liberalisation opened doors to exponential growthThe LM Furtados storeLegends like Micky Correa and Louiz Banks would drop in Anthony adds ldquoWorldwide music stores are often momandpop outlets Furtados took the lead in formalising the industry even training our own rivals and competitors sometimesrdquoBlend the old and newThis certainly shows in the presence of the name in cities across the country and the Furtados Music School that is a centre for students applying for the Trinity Guild Hall Music examsThe current showroom in situOn July 24 another aspect of this diversification the annual Con Brio festival mdash a part of the Furtados Con Brio Foundation aimed at supporting the study and performance of Western Classical music mdash will commence Started in 2010 in honour of John Gomes contribution to music it is now in its 15th year Director of the festival and former winner Smit Shah reveals ldquoThis is also a significant 500th birth anniversary of Giovanni Palestrina one of the founding fathers of Western Classical music The competition and the festival therefore celebrate Italian music and its creatorsrdquoSheet music books continue to be a bestseller at the venueThe fourday festival will feature 20 to 30 musicians including the Neumann choir giving an a capella choral tribute to the Sistine Chapel the Paranjoti Choir performing Nessun Dorma Shah will join former director Parvesh Java in a Vivaldi concerto of four pianos arranged by Bach In addition to the performances 21 musicians from across the country will participate in the vocal violin and piano competitions on the semifinals starting ThursdayAnthony Gomes and Smit ShahThe legacy continues to be in good handsFROM July 24 to 27 630 pmAT Experimental Theatre NCPA Nariman PointLOG ON TO ncpamumbaicom inbookmyshowcomCOST Rs 900 onwards