Majaw: Soon Goa will be a memory - ToI

Majaw: Soon Goa will be a memory By Nigel Britto, TNN | Dec 17, 2012, 04.50 AM IST PANAJI: For a small community in Shillong, Christmas falls in May. For 40 years now, Lou Majaw, the mascot of Shillong's celebrated rock culture, has celebrated Bob Dylan's birthday, slinging on a guitar and belting out the iconoclast musician's fare. Some years, nobody turned up. It didn't matter to Majaw. Almost nothing does. "I do this to make myself happy," he says. "It's how I thank him for what he's done for me." At 65, Majaw still exudes an exuberance that would put artistes half his age to shame; at the Goa Arts and Literary Festival in Dona Paula, the silver-haired rocker is ubiquitous. "It's beautiful being part of this," he says, gesturing towards a garden, where at various tables, intense conversations are in progress, the walls between writer and reader slowly being chipped down. "It thrives on give and not on take; it's the spirit of sharing, which is enriching," he says. As a child growing up on the outskirts of Shillong, serenading litterateurs and poets isn't what he thought he'd be doing. "I was born in a very poor family, and when I was three months old, my father went to meet his creator," he says. "We couldn't see any meals." Later, at boarding school, he quickly developed a disdain for education. "It was like donkeys braying and children listening," he says. Yet, it was there that he decided to be a musician. "For the first time, I saw a guitar!" he says. "It was the most beautiful sight. And when I touched it, it was magical." Years later, in the 60s, he would first encounter his idol. "I used to listen to Cliff Richard and Elvis," he recalls. "Then one day, I heard Bob Dylan," he exclaims, and then goes silent for a while. "The moment I heard those lyrics, I knew: This was the real deal." Half a century later, his reverential attitude towards Dylan remains strong and is his spiritual disciple, though as a musician, his repertoire has expanded to other great songwriters. Has he thought of ever stopping the Dylan birthday celebrations? "Hah!" he exclaims, revolted at the thought of such an unspeakable idea. He continues, speaking slowly. "It won't stop. When Lou Majaw dies, someone will carry the baton forward," he says. At Azad Maidan on Monday night, he will give Goa a taste of Dylan, as well as of himself. "I will dedicate one of my songs, 'Oh most beautiful', to Goa." His eyes sweeping the concrete structures that have replaced the erstwhile green, he justifies his song lyrics-"Goa is going," he pronounces, with the air of a sage predicting the end of the world, "It will be not be the same. Soon, it will only be a memory." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Majaw-Soon-Goa-will-be-a-memory/articleshow/17644629.cms