🔥GHUMAT PREMI🔥

      SHREE SAI MAHALSA ARTI MANDAL-MARDOL GOA

THE KEY IS TO GIVE YOUR BEST PERFORMANCE: AMEY NAIK

Q:Tell us about your group and when was it formed?
 Our group has 16 members, and all of them are from Mardol village.Our beloved master is Shri RamdasYashwantBorkar from Borim. Today, all of us are together and performing because of him. His compositions make us the best Ghumataarti group in Goa.With the blessing of Shri Mahalsa and Sateri Devi we formed our group in the year 2009.
Q:How many competitions do you participate in a year?
We participate in all the major competitions from August to December, which should be around 90-95 competitions.
Q:Which is your biggest performance till date?
We give our best in all the competitions. We are participate in competitions from Canacona to Pernem and have competed in more than 900 competitions till now.
Q:Which is the biggest?
All Goa GhumatArti Trophy is the biggest award in this field and which of these have you won recognition in the field of Ghumataarti.The biggest award that we have been winning for three consecutive years is the Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir trophy.

Q:How difficult is the competition?
I think all the groups are good and every year new talents emerge.You cannot single out anyone.The key is to give your best performance on the day of your competition.
Q: Tell us more about your recently launched audio album We have launched our audio albumCD named GhumatVardaanVol.1, Vol.2 and Vol.3 with renownedsinger PanditSureshjiWadkar,PanditAjit Kumar Kadkade and AmolBawdekar.
Q:Tell us about the artists in your group?
Our group consists of: - GhumatVadakPradhyumna Chari, GaureshMardolkar, SonalNaik, VishwajitGaude and PrathameshNaikShameelVadak- ShubamNAik KasaleVadak-JayeshGaude, ChetanMardolkar. Singers- RamdasBorkar, AmeyNaik. Chorus- ManojNAik, Jay Parab, SurajNaik, Shriraj Desai. Q:What are your achievements for the last eight years? We have been very successful and have received 353 first prizes and 211 second prizes till date.

 Q:What is your message for the youth of Goa?
Ghumat was the core of Bhajanmandals in Goa in olden times which started diminishing, but recently there is a new surge in the youth and they have started taking up the art seriously. I appeal to the youth of Goa to preserve this art for the coming generations. Those interested in learning Ghumat can approach me at RavindraBhavanin Curchorem,where I conduct workshops on Ghumataarti.

SHREE SAI DAMODAR GHUMAT ARTI MANDAL-MADGAO

The use of traditional musical instruments ghumat, kasale and shamel are obligatory while singing any kind of aarti or bhajan in a Goan temple. So integral is their presence that ghumat aarti competitions have been trending in Goa over the past years. However, the troupes that perform ghumat aarti are often overlooked. This is reason enough for the troupe ‘Shree Sai Damodar Ghumat Aarti Mandal’ to launch of a music album titled ‘Jaya He Damodara’ in an attempt to boost the ghumat aarti genre.

Consists of members including president Mohit Naik (chorus), secretary Shubham Naik (ghumat), treasurer Saiesh Fallary (chorus), Nitesh Matondkar (ghumat), Shubham Gawande (ghumat/shamel/kasale), Saheel Naik (ghumat), Shubham Hridaynath Naik (lead singer), Sai Naik (chorus), Shubham Shantaram Naik (chorus), Saish Naik (ghumat), Shankar Chari (ghumat), Rahul Lotlikar (chorus), Sujay Naik Though the ghumat, shamel and kasale are the main instruments used while singing aartis, harmonium is also used at certain competitions.

“The traditional musical instrument of ghumat is popular in Goa for its beat especially in Hindu devotional songs. Bhajans and bhakti sangeet are incomplete without instruments like ghumat, shamel and kasale,” says Mohit.

The troupe got its name from two devotional figures Sai Baba and Lord Damodar. “As we know, we think of Saibaba as a sweet and calm personality, while Damodar is a slightly angry incarnation of Lord Shiva. We merged the names of these two contradictory personalities and got the name of our troupe,” says Sai Naik.

The troupe took a lot of pains to find a proper guide to get trained at a professional level for competitions. “We wanted someone to guide us so that we can perform better and gain higher standards in ghumat aarti. Some people advised us that Suraj Pinge is one of the best guides and we approached him. We are glad that he leads our team as a guide today. He is the best composer in ghumat aarti” says Saiesh Fallary.

Suraj Pinge has been passionate about ghumat aarti since his college days. He was a member of Bhagweshwar Aarti Mandal, Talaulim, Ponda and later formed his the troupe Swar Siddhi Aarti Mandal, Verem and won the first state level ghumat aarti competition organised by Rajiv Gandhi Kalamandir, Ponda. Pinje left his day job in Pune to make his way into ghumat aarti again. “It gives me immense satisfaction. I feel really good that my students have launched their music album based on my composition and their efforts. This is the fourth music album I have in my list. I mentor 13 other troupes and some of my other troupes have also released their albums,” says Suraj.

The main aim behind launching a music album is to promote the troupe as well as ghumat aartis. “Competitions do not give you a lot of scope to shine in public. We have participated in many competitions but we are still not recognised in public. This music album will in a way help to popularise the troupe. Most importantly it will promote ghumat aarti. Those who have never heard ghumat aarti will recognise it through this album,” says Sai.

The troupe members are grateful to composer Sidhanath Buyao for the release of this music album. “Sidhanath Buyao has recorded, and mastered our recordings. Our effort would have remained incomplete without his assistance,” says Sai.

SHREE HERAMB GHUMAT ARTI MANDAL-DHARGAL

This changed in the monsoon of 2010 when a group of 15 dynamic youth from the village decided to adopt Goa's famed percussion instrument -- the ghumat and galvanize youngsters to join their musical movement.  
"Realizing that there is no ghumat aarti troupe in Pernem, or for that matter, any social group in Dhargal, we decided to put in our efforts, with the blessings of Lord Ganesha, and formed the Heramb Art and Culture Club. The goal was to empower the youth of our village through music, but we managed to inspire the entire taluka. Today, Herambians have members from neighbouring villages of Colvale, Hansapur and Parcem," says co-founder, Subhash Kamalkar, an assistant professor at DMC, Mapusa.

Kamalkar, whose father was a professional tabla player but discouraged him from pursuing music for better prospects in academics, admits that many youth in the taluka were being tempted to indulge in drugs and alcohol and had no direction in life.
He says, "These youngsters now find their way to the temples and engage themselves in an art form that has changed their social lives, their personalities and also gained back the respect of the community".

This positive distraction has helped the 25-member strong team to explore their creative side and develop their hidden talent for music and singing. The intimatepassion and genuine interests that the Herambians share for this art form have propelled them to achieve laurels in various competitions across the state since 2014.

"Yes, these awards motivate us, but beyond the competitions, we have consciously worked hard for the art form to be appreciated and the instrument's identity as of being affiliated only to Goa be recognized," says Aniket Halbe, co-founder of the Herambians, whose rise has inspired the formation of four more professional ghumat aarti groups in Pernem taluka.   

Over 300 prizes, including 26 first places, is no mean feat and the Herambians ascendance has captured eyeballs of everyone in the ghumat aarti music circle. Their first-ever composition was called 'Dhareshwar', based on local deity in Dhargal, an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Their second, 'Bhagawati', was a devotional tribute to the presiding deity of Pernem.  The Herambians have performed both of the above and dozens of other compositions written by respected musician and composer Sooraj Pinge. "The Herambians are flexible with their styles of dramatically and harmonically emoting the compositions. With them, there is scope for experimentation," says Pinge.  

Herambians are popular among jurists and competitors for their dedication of doing justice to every emotion, subtle or strong, as witnessed in their performance of 'Shantadurga'. Their performance of 'Chakra Dhari' this year highlighted their understanding of the classical style, portraying the ten incarnations of lord Vishnu.  

"It's earth's music. I connected to its rhythm instantly despite having no formal music education. It evokes an indescribable feeling. I need no EDM to feel the trance, I have the ghumat," says Kamalkar.