Sunday 1 April 2012

30 YEARS AFTER

It was a wonderful and unforgetable evening yesterday. I played on drums after a long gap of 30 years. I played to my best, yet i could not do much. I failed to do the rolls. I had forgotten almost all the beats, except the Jerk. Yet it was wonderful. I was there for around half an hour, and i enjoyed every moment of that. That was wonderful.

The son of my boss has started learning playing drums. He bought a new drums set. Last evening i visited them and got the chance to play. It was a brand new Yamaha. Wow, a dream for me, because i had always dreamt of playing on yamaha, but in my days, we never had had that much money. I played on my drums for around 13 years on local made drums, with animal skins. I remember, that i had saved some money to buy one plastic skin for my snair drum. But last evening it was all plastic skinned brand new Yamaha.

My adventure with drumming started way back in the year 1969, when i was in class tenth. My father had come across Joe Fernandes, the guitarist of the group THE COSACKS. That group used to be one of the leading musical groups of karachi in those days. They used to play in Hotel Mehran.

One evening, my father asked me if i would like to play on drums. I did not have much idea, yet since i am an adventure loving person, i agreed.

The other day my father took me to Misquita Gardens, just behind the Plaza cinema on the main M.A.Jinnah Road, where used to be a workshop for the trams. . It was a small apartment. I used to be shy of speaking english with him. My father introduced me to him. He spoke to us and told my father what type of a drum should he buy for me. Just a small snair drum and sticks, the one that you see in school bands.

Although it was my father who spoke with him, but i had felt myself thrilled, not by getting the chance to play drums, but b y getting the chance to speak english. I just could not speak to him, in front of my father, but in fact there was nothing for me to talk about. It was just a meeting for a couple of minutes, where my father introduced me to him. A few sentences , and that was all.

The other day i went to him, alone. He showed to me, a beat of drum, on a snair drum. There was no drumset in his house. He was a guitarist. He gave me the address of the drummer of their group.

I was too happy. For the first time in my life i had spoken  to a english speaking person.

That's how i came across with Richard D'Souza, the then drummer of THE COSSACKS musical group. He was a well known person among the music circles of Karachi. He was known as Richie. His peculiarity was his ever smiling face. Whenever i saw him he was smiling.

http://youtu.be/7kCahl0eQgw
musicians of karachi....1
musicians of karachi....2
musicians of karachi....3
musicians of karachi....4
musicians of karachi


to be continued...............

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