People and events in Santa Cruz

People and events in Santa Cruz

A couple of weeks back I posted a sentence “I shall call the city of my birth Bombay whatever its official name” and I got some very interesting responses. Do you know that there was a move to change the name of Santa Cruz to Vivek Nagar when Godhbunder Road was renamed Swamy Vivekananda Road? East Avenue is today called Sharat Chandra Chatterji Marg, Church Avenue Ramkrishna Mission Marg. Do you call Linking Road by its official name Sardar Patel Marg, or Marine Drive Subhash Chandra Bose Marg?

Bombay, in general, and Santa Cruz in particular, have evolved over the decades. Not all this evolution has been good. St. Francis and Convent Avenues (are the names still the same?) have changed beyond recognition. I’ve written two short stories and am in the middle of a novel based on events in Khar and Santa Cruz. In fact, my novel is actually going to tell what St. Francis Avenue was and what it’s become with the long journey that it’s taken.

One annual event in Santa Cruz I used to never miss was the talent competition conducted by SCADAMS (the Santa Cruz Amateur Dramatics, Arts and Music Society). Do they still conduct those? We had some excellent singers and actors then who would give Engelbert, Elvis, Richard Burton, and Liz Taylor a run for their money. The Indian-born Engelbert in fact had an uncle aunt and cousins (perhaps still has) in a building called New Light in Santa Cruz.

Some great singers I could list out are, Francis Andrew Rosario and his sister Patricia, also their parents aunt Ena and Uncle Colin, Connell Almeida, Adrian Montes, Judy Philips, etc. were also great singers. Almost all of them were very adept at a minimum of one musical instrument. If you took an evening walk down St. Francis or Church avenues you hear tunes from the piano coming out from the houses there. I’m sure these events that SCADAMS organized could have been a great tourist attraction rivaling Germany’s October Fest.

Some really good actors Ivor Martin, Gus D’Lima, Edna Fonseca, Colin & Ena Rosario, plus many more from our parents’ generation and among the youngsters Howdy Martin, Eugene D’Lima, Eugenie Fonseca, Wendy Pinto, Keith Philips, etc.  FB friends from Santa Cruz please help me with the list.

Besides these annual talent competitions, SCADAMS used to also conduct plays for charity. I remember taking part in two of these one was The Royal Jester, as a child, and the Minstrel Show as a teenager. Both were directed jointly by Judy and Keith Philips.

My novel is going to be based on many of these events.