I love Goa, but have no place to call home here, says Goa's Nightingale Lorna Cordeiro

Goa’s Nightingale needs no introductions! Even at 78, she’s a ‘crowd puller’ with a list of hit songs to her credit. Lorna Cordeiro’s striking voice can surely get you grooving, just like she recently did at the Divar Bonderam festivities. “We had a great time at the Bonderam festival in Divar, the crowd was amazing. I love to sing for big crowds – that has been my forte.I don’t know what will happen if there is no crowd,” she says with a chuckle.
Her passion for music
Though her musical journey has not been easy, Lorna and her family in Mazagaon, Mumbai, have always risen above the tide. “Music has been my passion; and I always told my mother, if I ever sing, I will sing for Chris Perry, even though I hadn’t met him then,” says the crooner. And truly, working with Perry, Lorna made a name for herself, rising to great heights…. until the day she stopped singing, choosing to go silent at the peak of her career.
Those silent years...
Beginning her career with Raymond Albuquerque, it was only when became abig hit at the Bandra Fair one year, and Chris got word of it, that he asked her to join his band. “He had then said ‘I will make this girl a star’ and thus Lorna-the star was born in Saligao,” she says.
Does she regret denying herself and her audiences of her voice? Sang more songs, perhaps? Lorna is quick to respond, “Yes, I feel like I have denied my fans my voice and music. But, I made a comeback 25 years later. There was a rumour that I was dead, and the gossip was getting difficult to deal with. My mother especially couldn’t bear it. People would come home for condolence visits; I would receive letters from fans, and I only hoped that the phase would pass. It was not right to spread a rumour like that! I have missed out on a lot of things and I regret that I didn’t do much. Thus, it was, indeed, very difficult to make a comeback.”
The silence, however, persisted until Ronnie Monserrate – musician, music director and family friend – brought Lorna back to the stage after 25 years, “My mother would tell him to not give up on me. He would coax me, but I would chase him away. There were so many questions on my mind – after all these years would I be able to face the audience and sing? But then, I made history with which was my comeback song When I took the stage at the Mandovi Hotel, the cooks and butlers left their work and came to watch me sing,” she says.
Initially, Lorna never imagined singing Konkani. “We only spoke English at home; and I always thought of myself as a jazz singer,” she says adding that she is disheartened that Jazz now only has a niche audience. “Jazz is slowly dying, I don’t see any jazz music or singers now, like it was earlier in Bombay. I miss that jazz culture; if it wasn’t for my Jazz days, I wouldn’t have been the singer I am now,” she adds. Ask her about what she would do if she didn’t make a career in music, and she is quick to respond, “I would have had to work in an office! That wasn’t my life, I wasn’t made for that.”

Millions of fans tune in to her voice regularly, but does she listen to her own songs? “I have no other choice but to do so, even if I don’t like it! Everyone plays them – at weddings, parties, functions, all my songs are appreciated,” she says. Though she has no heirs, she is happy that her songs will be her legacy, entertaining people much after she is gone. “It’s not necessary to have a bloodline to keep your legacy going. People can listen to my music instead. People often say there cannot be another Lorna – and may be deep down I feel the same way,” she says.
The septuagenarian still loves to travel, taking her music to the world. “I think I have gone to most countries. I’ve been to the UK so many times, that I have lost count. But I would love to visit the USA again – I did only one show there. I do get a little tired and exhausted, it’s bound to happen with age, but my sister Clementine – who is the backbone of the family – and niece Andrea are part of my support system. They travel with me wherever I go,” she quips.
With the world on her travel list, she still has immense love for Goa, and would love to come back to live here. However, she has no home here. “I’m known as the singer from Goa and have taken Konkani to the world, but I don’t have a place to call home here; I live in Bombay. I do hope the government helps us in getting a place here to call it home,” says Lorna.
Though she loves reaching out to her fans, Lorna finds it cumbersome to use technology. “I don’t know how to use the mobile or Facebook and Instagram. I do watch a lot of TV though, and my favourite show is !” Her sister Clemantine signs off on a comical note, adding, “She watches TV 24/7. Sometimes she falls asleep in front of the TV, while her favourite show is still playing.”