Prutha Goa

The month of January saw a flurry of postings on social media about the portrait photography of Alex Fernandes titled Festakars . The delicacy and other worldly beauty of these photographs, which captured the essence, the inner soul, of every one of the models who sat for him, is so very evident. This self-taught photographer of Goan origin wields the camera with great artistic expertise. ‘I am actually a product of the advertising and fashion industry,’ says Alex, who began his foray into the world of fashion and advertising as an assistant photographer in 1984 in Mumbai. From 1987 to 1990 Alex worked at his first job as a commercial photographer in the Middle East. The aftermath of the first Gulf War saw him join the Kodak distributor in Kuwait. He says, ‘During my tenure (1992-2001) I also conducted lighting workshops for the company. The workshops for Profoto film and Potra paper which were Kodak products used exclusively for portraiture were on behalf of Kodak (Near East) based in

Sky High, Goa’s home grown band, has proven just how beloved it is with it endurance through the years. After twenty years of being in the music business, the band is still going strong with most of the bandmates now in their forties. Instead of taking it easy, these passionate music lovers have the aspiration of releasing an album of their original scores. The band came together when Blasio Pinto, Aurvile Rodrigues, Collins Dias, John Sequeira and Elvis Alves met through mutual friends and discovered their shared affinity towards music. In 2014 John Sequeira left owing to ill health and Anthony Fernandes took his place. Though some of the band members have regular jobs, it does not seem to deter them from coming together for band rehearsals. ‘We manage somehow,’ says Blasio Pinto, understating the zeal these men possess for music. He continues, ‘When you like something, you make time no matter what.’ It is when you see Sky High in action and watch the forty something Blasio, who is th