“If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it"

None other could write this than Shakespeare. We made this our credo putting our cassette recorder of the first generation from Germany or Japan. So, we listened to our favourites on and on. On the oriental side Mohd Rafi, Mukesh and Manna Dey dominated to be surpassed by Kishore. More popular western voices belonged to Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley, Johnny Hallyday and Adamo.

This Thursday, midday, the music flowed like the breeze on filao trees from inside the shop onto the pavement. It did not disturb the passers-by who had seemingly expected to be accompanied even for a few seconds. I stopped, called by the melodious voice of Son, the Manager. I dared to walk in. I found myself in a magical display of shining instruments from microphones to harmonicas and all the electric paraphernalia of a karaoke lover.

Son saw me and chose to sing to the end of the last verse absorbed as he was in a contemporary melody retained by young people around the country. The image of Son with a mike in his hand sent me back to my youth. Those were the days when people bought reel-to-reel tape and cassette recorders. These instruments were commonly seen in gamats, musical programmes on the eve of wedding ceremonies.

But then I remembered there have been two periods in our history: before and after devastating cyclone Carol in 1960 depriving the population of the feel-good factor and material means, and the Covid pandemic in 2019, before, during and after imposing a curfew on the population. This is where Son comes with the sharpness of a sociologist. Both calamities, the pandemic especially presented a host of challenges but offered opportunities to those who wanted to innovate. Fellow Mauritians are never complacent in general, hence they deserve our appreciation.

When lockdown found its voice

The pandemic catapulted the young and not so young into worthwhile fields of activity, among which was singing along to the karaoke system. The handwritten or typed copies of songs were abandoned most of the time and the talented became all karaoke performers with assistive devices, the computer screen, the sound system responsive with required beats and chorus precisely patterned. There are those who have a liking for oldies and there are those who prefer the love songs of the moment.

Son was an opportunist in the right sense. He has a sharp knowledge of resilience moving from cloth material selling to sewing machines of world-class quality, Dormeuil including. Besides, he trained at the Vigorelli Institute in Italy before commercializing sewing machines for home use, for industrial use as the bigger textile companies were outsourcing as well as contracting their production with small operators. He had among his clients foreign and domestic investors who saw in the textile industry a momentous opportunity for exports. With the dwindling of the textile sector, Son reoriented his company’s business into selling musical instruments, sound systems affordable for a mixed clientele. That is why they come from all the four corners of Mauritius. He is the one who tries the microphones, the pre-amps, the mixer, the amplifier and the speaker. He sings in the presence of the potential buyers and I have “seen” young ladies singing romantic Bollywood songs to test their voice within the system with a sense of accomplishment and great satisfaction. The brightly lit shop resonates as if the listeners and the singers will go home with the songs echoing till late at night. Like years ago, when we returned from a musical show, Mohd Rafi would be “haunting” our sleep for days.

Son sings as a pro. When asked, he definitely rejects the idea that AI can give its authenticity to a song. It will lose its soul. Better you give your soul to a magnificent song and piece of music like Son does. In respect of those who created the masterpiece and in respect of the amateur singers who sing for the very pleasure of their audience: home, in the media, in a concert or in a family get-together on the beach.