Four Bandra boys, who have been friends for over 40 years, try to bring back that old-school magic to the one-time sleepy fishing suburb with a new music festival
(From left) Capt Allwyn Saldanha, Nelson Saldanha, Jatinder Singh, and Capt Michael Fonseca hope to bring back Bandra’s community spirit through Olly Fest. Pic/Ashish Raje
It's the 1970s and Bandra’s youth are strolling home from church in their Sunday best. Aromas of bottle masala, sorpotel, and Sunday roasts fill the air from the kitchen windows of bungalows in the East Indian villages. But it’s the music blaring from the Saldanha home that gives the passing youngsters pause — “Is that Jimi Hendrix?” “Is that Santana?”
“That’s what Bandra has always been about — music, food, and community,” say Captain Allwyn Saldanha, a 65-year-old businessman, and his engineer brother Nelson Saldanha, 73. Music is also what drew the Saldanha brothers and their band of friends together 45 years ago, when every Bandra boy wanted to check out Nelson’s enviable collection of rock LPs.
In those days before the advent of music on the internet, possessing an LP by an international band was the ultimate flex. “Nelson brought 50 LPs once, and we all went mad,” recall Capt Michael Fonseca, 66, a retired ship captain, and Jatinder Singh Aujla, 65, architect. The duo has been friends with the Saldanha brothers since they were six. “We were constantly over at each other’s homes,” says Capt Fonseca, “In those days, there was just the radio. We were all mad for rock and metal — Pink Floyd, Air Supply, Black Sabbath — but everything came to India years later. Woodstock happened in 1969, and we only found out about it in the ’70s. When people started going out to sea, they would come back with an LP and everybody rushed to their house to listen to it.”
The quartet remember well the Bandra of yore, before the sleepy fishing village’s gentrification began. They now hope to relive the good ol’ days with a brand new music festival, Olly Fest. The three-day event, slated from November 14 to 16 at the historic Bandra Fort, will bring both legendary and emerging acts like Indus Creed, Joe Alvares, Shannon and The Silent Riot, and the Isheeta Chakravarty Collective, as well as classic rock tribute bands.
“This is the kind of music we grew up listening to, blaring on speakers at everybody’s houses, especially after that first pint of beer on Sunday afternoon,” says Capt Fonseca, “These days, if you turn up the volume even a little, someone or the other will complain.”
It’s just one mark of how Bandra has changed. “It used to be a place with such community spirit; no one would lock their doors,” recalls Nelson, “If you called out to a neighbour saying their lunch smelled amazing, you’d get invited over. Now, we don’t know most of the people living in Bandra any more, with all the new residents who have moved in since the redevelopment wave. This festival is our way of introducing them to the Bandra community and vibe.”
Aujla adds, “Bandra used to be such a sleepy village; now everything is so hectic. We want to press pause and just enjoy some good food and music together.”
Over the years, Allwyn has organised several musical events in Bandra in his effort to give back to society, including with the annual Spirit of Hope free concerts that would take place at Carter Road. While this is the first ticketed event he is organising, the quartet has taken pains to ensure it’s still affordable for a family outing. “Unlike modern concerts and music fests in the city that cost a minimum of R6000 per person, the tickets for Olly Fest cost Rs 500. There are fun food stalls with different options. And you can enjoy retro rock and jazz along with the crashing waves next to the 380-year-old Bandra Fort,” says Allwyn, adding that they suggest taking public transport to the venue, as parking spaces are limited.
“It’s a festival by Bandra boys for Bandra,” says Capt Fonseca, “Come along.”
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