Memories evoked by “Stars Next Door”
Book Title: Stars Next Door Author/Editor: Cyprian (Skip)
Fernandes Publisher: Goa,1556 279 pages Cost: Rs. 600
AUD$25 (Postage extra) 165 photographs (many full-plate). The photographs alone
are worth the cost of the book!
By and large, Goans are a hardworking community who take our
responsibilities seriously. When a hard day’s work is done, however, we like to
relax. In the second half of the last century in East Africa, there was an
unprecedented outburst of achievement in two spheres of activity that Goans
have always been passionate about: sports and music. In both spheres, a
dazzling array of outstanding performers emerged in our relatively small
community, many gaining local and national recognition and a surprising number
achieving international stature.
As I was born in 1936, I was a teenager caught up in the
explosion of athletic and sporting talent that took place in the 1950s and 1960s.
I loved all sports and would gladly have sacrificed my academic grades to be a
soccer, hockey or athletics star. I participated enthusiastically in a wide
range of sports but, alas, I was destined to be mediocre at best in all. I
hero–worshipped the Nairobi Heroes and was there for every game they played. I
took it all in, the intensity of the game, the consummate skill of the players,
the fierce loyalty of the supporters and the inevitable brawls that inevitably
broke out at the end of many games. One way or the other, you got your money’s
worth, My favourite player was an Egyptian, Mohd. Ghalib, elegant, skilful, an
absolute delight to watch. He made us aware that great things were happening in
the sport in other parts of Africa.
My classmates included Anthony Vaz, Reggie Monteiro, and Tom
Fernandes. On the hard-baked murram patch of ground near the Railway Quarters
in Nairobi, I got to play with the likes of Alu Mendonça, Silu Fernandes,
Hilary Fernandes, Edgar and Egbert Fernandes who were destined for greatness.
In the classroom, Mr Anthony D’Souza, my inspiring English teacher, introduced
me to the magic of words when strung together in a skilful manner, the beauty
of poetry, and the genius of Shakespeare. The brilliant hockey coach that he
was, I would much rather he transformed me to a hockey wizard like my friends
who were heading for Olympic glory against such titans as India and Pakistan.
Anyway, that is the background I brought to “Stars Next
Door,” a copy of which I received a few days ago. I have devoured the book from
cover to cover and am now returning to spend more time on each of its 42
“chapters,” savouring the memories that each chapter brings.
“Stars Next Door” is a rambling compendium chronicling the
achievements of many persons I knew and several of whom I was proud to call my
friends. It is inevitable that as their stories are told, many of their
non-Goan contemporaries will make an appearance. However, this book is
essentially focused on Goans who achieved highly and earned glory for
themselves and their community through their talents and efforts. The author,
Cyprian Fernandes, as a sportsman himself, and as a Sports reporter for the
Nation newspapers, knew many of the people in the book personally. The
scope of the book is daunting, however, as it covers over
half a century of accomplishments in a wide range of endeavours in Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania. As if that were not enough of a challenge, the story
continues in other countries, as Goans were forced by the winds of change to
depart from the East African countries they had grown to love to seek their
fortune in other lands, primarily Britain, Canada and Australia,.
To cope with the immensity of the task, Cyprian has chosen to
invite several guest writers to cover areas of their expertise or where they
had personal knowledge of a topic. Thus we have, for instance, John Noronha
very ably covering the sports scene in Uganda, and Hilary Fernandes writing a
personal and insightful tribute to Anthony D’Souza, a man that so many of us
found to be a great mentor, on and off the field of play. Such was my personal
debt to Mr Anthony, as we called him, that I would have bought the book even if
it had only that tribute and nothing else.
Quite by chance, I am one of the guest writers. One of the musicians
that Cyprian Fernandes wanted to feature was George DeSouza who began his
career in Dar es Salaam, emigrated to Canada, and honed his skills as a
troubadour with cross country tours in the U.S.A. and Canada before settling
down to a 25-year stint as the resident entertainer in Dick Turpin’s Pub at the
Royal York Hotel in Toronto. As he is now happily retired in Lethbridge where I
also happen to live, I was happy to interview him and do the write-up that
appears in the book.
Besides George, you will also find many other talented
musicians whose bands were in great demand for social events. Individuals like
Henry Braganza were popstars in their own right. I would have liked some
mention of the Goans whose skill with the violin (Tony Alvares, Aires Campos
and Albert Rodrigues), the woodwind (Anthony “Oboe” Noronha), and the
cello (Braz Rodrigues) made them prominent in Kenya musical circles. When they
emigrated, they continued their love of classical music with the London
Philharmonic, the Royal Ballet and other orchestras in Britain. They and other
musicians of their ilk deserved mention.
One of the guest contributions is “Growing Up With The Cup,”
a 26-page treatise by Hartman de Souza, a Nairobi-born journalist who moved to
India in 1967 and is now based in Pune. The link with Goan sports and athletics
in East Africa is a bit tenuous but one could not be passionate about any sport
in Kenya without following what was happening on the world stage – and what
better time for that then the Fifties and the Sixties? “Growing Up With The
Cup” is an extremely well written analysis of how in 1958 the Brazilian
football wizards led by the Black Pearl, Pele, demolished the set-in-stone
European 2-3-5 system with their 4-2-4 system and revolutionised the Beautiful
Game forever. Thank you for including this article, Cyprian. It was like a
half-time entertainment – one to sit back and enjoy!
“Stars Next Door” has its flaws which a good editor and proof
reader given more time could have eliminated. Also, I can think of a few other
Goans who merited inclusion. If you can think of some, let Cyprian know. I am
sure that this book will be a sell out and Cyprian is going to have to bring
out a second edition in which he may be able to use our suggestions. Everyone
of my vintage and younger should have a copy of this book. I find myself
leafing through it again and again, stopping when I come to some
well-remembered name – or one that I had not heard of before. I study the photographs,
find out more about friends. Take Jack Fernandes, for instance. I came to know
Jack in Nakuru where I was a teacher in the Sixties. Jack played soccer with
the Nakuru Dynamos. He was a joy to watch with his body swerve, speed and ball
control. Then I saw him perform on a stage! He was a natural – a good singer, a
great actor whose every move was followed by the audience. He was a Charlie
Chaplin-like comic with a terrific sense of timing and able to bring out
the full gamut of emotions in his audience. The more I came
to know him, the more I admired his many talents.
Little
did I realise until I was reading the account of the greatest Goan sprinter
ever, Seraphino Antao, that Jack was also one of Mombasa’s elite squad of
world-class sprinters running with the likes of Seraphino, Albert Castanha, Joe
Faria, Pascal Antao and Alcino Rodrigues. With all his abilities, Jack remained
a modest, unassuming man with a smile that endeared him to all who met him –
truly a Star Next Door. To say that I have enjoyed “Stars Next Door” would be
an understatement. I know that I shall return to the book frequently to renew
my acquaintance with that wonderful group of men and women who distinguished
themselves in the last fifty or sixty years in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and
whose achievements will inspire future Goans to build on that legacy.
Thank you, Skip, for bringing this book to life!
Francis Noronha Lethbridge, February 2018
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