Colin D’Cruz—great musicianship

Behind all the songs and music that we hear, there are some untold stories. Stories of those musicians who dedicated their lives to music. Stories of each of their career paths are identified by only them, just like their palm prints. Meet Colin D’Cruz, Goa’s very own Jazz artist, who has dedicated his life to promote Goa’s, yet often side-tracked talent. Jazz Goa of Colin D’Cruz is the only organisation in India to host UNESCO’s International Jazz Day every year. D’Cruz who along with his wife Diana, is the driving force behind the Jazz Goa app. More than 300 local artistes have been recorded free of cost and featured on the app, thus giving them a world stage till date.

Creativity is like a wave, and it just floats through the air,” he says. “Music is like the universal truth— like things you wanted to say, but didn’t know the words or didn’t know how to say it but it resonates.” According to Colin, the success of a musician lies in his daily practice. Successful musicians make practicing a vital thing like breathing and eating. Passion for music is not enough to achieve a career in music, practicing every day is what helps one to grow and improvise in music. By practicing daily, a musician rises above others.There is no stable income when you start to embark upon this path. Success is not so easy in an industry like music, and it requires a lot many things. There are many people claiming that music is their passion, but to transform passion into a career is a path of difficulty. To undertake this path of difficulty, the first requisite is to want it more than anything else in life. Complete dedication and hard work is the only way to be successful.

Tell us something about yourself.

I am a jazz musician and music producer, I began playing professionally on hotel residences over four decades ago. After playing all kinds of music with all kinds of bands across India and around the world, I have now come around full circle to a resident band contract at The Claridges, New Delhi.

What is the secret of your success and what does success mean to you?

It’s no secret, I simply am true to myself. I love what I do for a living and that to me is being successful.

Any striking incident in your life that had a deep impact on you or changed the course of your life?

I may have been just a two or three year old toddler but the memory of hearing the magic of music performed live at an event my parents took me to has stayed in my subconscious till date.

Describe yourself as a person.

Simple and straightforward, just like the music I enjoy playing

What are the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

I am the only one in my family who took to music. It can be very challenging in show business that’s often ruled by nepotism.

About the awards and accolades received by you….

 

I have received just one award after over four decades of performance, It was an award for my contribution to music given to me by Goans in Canada

How do you balance work and family?

Fortunately for me my family supports me whole heartedly so it’s been an easy ride,.

What are your future plans?

It’s time to give back to music. I plan on initiating a scholarship plan for deserving youngsters wanting to study music at the True School of Music in Goa.

Anything else that you want to tell the readers…

My organisation Jazz Goa launched the first western music app out of India. it is available as a free download at http://www.jazzgoa.com

Dr. Chacko Varghese Vadavana-transforming lives through Satyam Ministries

Dr. Chacko Varghese Vadavana is a Person of Substance and he works towards it every day. Through Satyam Ministry, he adds value to the world. Over the years, he has worked hard to create something, that in simple small ways, transforms the lives of the underprivileged people. He is a thinker, a doer and is very authentic, realistic and genuine. He is the real deal. It was my privilege to have an encounter with him, when was on a short visit to Dubai. His story left me asking myself–What kind of person do I want to be? And how do I want to continue to make a more effective difference to the people I meet or work with?Read to find out more….

1. Tell us something about yourself.

My name is Dr. Chacko Varghese Vadavana. I was born and raised in the wonderful state of Kerala also famously known as God’s own country. My life and training in the monastery to become a monk taught me many important lessons in life for which I am forever grateful. My upbringing, influence of my parents, and other leaders imbibed a passionate heart in me. From my childhood, helping people in need was my passion and I have always enjoyed serving people less fortunate than me. I have witnessed many instances where the poor were mistreated and I had compassion for them. Thus, my mission was to help the poor and the downtrodden in society.

After my salvation experience, I became the Founder & President of Sathyam Ministries India in 1988. My passion for the unprivileged and poverty-stricken in India has enabled me to engage mainly in charitable activities such as running orphanages, special schools for the differently-abled children, mission schools, vocational training centers for women, providing 100,000 wheelchairs, relief works, sending gospel teams to various parts of India to spread the love of Jesus, serve the poor and organize church leaders conference all over India. I have had written over 30 books in various languages, edited over 150 books, and is an excellent organizer and the founded various innovations to help the downtrodden and needy in India. I am also the chief editor of the Truth Alive magazine in English and Jeeva Vachanam in Malayalam. Currently, I reside in Kerala, India with my wonderful family.

2. When where why and how did you begin your professional life. Tell us all about your journey?

Towards the beginning, I started with the literature ministry. After reading a gospel tract it changed my life and I realized the power of the written word of God in changing people’s lives. Sathyam Ministry was started with a small offering amount of 153 rupees which I received from the monastery. It is with this amount that the first gospel tract was published. The ministry was officially inaugurated on the day of my wedding with Marykutty on May 5th, 1988. The official inauguration took place in the Mammem Mappilla Hall Kottayam, prior to our wedding ceremony. I was able to expand the ministry to the various States of India with the support of my family, friends and well-wishers.  

For the last thirty-five years, Sathyam Ministries remains a blessing to hundreds of people for whom we provide books for spiritual growth and edification. The publishing ministry has also produced various study Bibles and reference Bibles in great demand all over India and abroad. We have distributed more than 1 Lakh wheelchairs to disabled and handicapped people across the country. The Ministries run Vocational Training Centers at Kaviyoor, Vijayanagaram, Gandhidham, Vizag, and Mumbai. These vocational training centers bless more than 245 women in several villages, through tailoring and embroidery training. The satisfaction and joy of bringing comfort to these people are beyond measure.

It was always my heart’s burden to reach these uneducated and poor people in our country. Illiteracy is very rampant in our country and most of the poor children in the villages are forced into child labor. In order to save these future citizens of our nation, Sathyam Ministries started its mission schools in Gandhidham, Vijaynagara, Tripura, and Assam. In addition to the mission schools, we are also giving life and hope to hundreds of children in our orphanages. Our special school in Kaviyoor, Kerala gives special training and care to mentally challenged and disabled children. 

Graduates from Sathyam Theological Seminary share the love of Christ with the poor and needy through various relief and charity works. Conducted the Church Leaders Conferences in Kerala, Mumbai, Vijayanagaram, New Delhi, and Kolkota to equip the church leaders in these regions for a more effective ministry by teaching them innovative tools and strategies for reaching the unreached.

Ever since the beginning, we have gone through several financial pressures and constraints. It is the vision of reaching the unreached which has enabled me to remain steadfast in the ministry of extending God’s Kingdom.

3. What is the secret of your success and what does success mean to you?

Dreams are the secret to my success. I dream and I work hard to fulfill it. There would be obstacles on the path, but if one really has the will to overcome that then success would be the end result. I dream bigger and I work towards making my dreams come true. People dream bigger but only a few of them equip themselves and do the extraordinary tasks, to live their dream. I believe that to make one’s dreams come true means to come out of their comfort zones and work for their success. The process would be tedious, but it’d be fruitful in the end.

4. Any striking incident in your life that had a deep impact on you or changed the course of your life?

It was during the initial years of the Ministry, when I got to visit a few villages in North India that changed the course of my life forever. That’s when I’ve realized that the needs of people living in those villages are unmet. Their basic needs are unmet. The life they had then was something none of us can imagine. That’s when I took it to heart that I’ll work for the upliftment of the underprivileged in society. I managed to find resources both manpower and monetary to work for the downtrodden. I started mission schools for the education of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in several places in North India. I’ve also started vocational training programs for women from underprivileged communities, so that they could earn a living. These initiatives are still a boon for hundreds of women and children.

There are many other incidents that have impacted me. One such incident is how we opened Justin’s Home- A home for the differently-abled. Here’s the story of Justin’s Home Children are a precious gift from God. From the moment of conception, till a child is born, every parent weaves out dreams and plans about their child. They hope for the best and wish to give him/her the very best they probably can. Our second son Justin was born mentally challenged. But we knew very well, at the bottom of our hearts that he is a perfect gift and that God counts him special and precious. Justin is not disabled, he is just differently-abled.

Parenting a differently-abled child is not easy; it throws challenges at every stage and demands special attention at all times. When Justin reached 4 yrs of age, we put him in a school where normal children studied. But we started receiving complaints about his inability to adjust and his attitude problems which forced us to remove him from the school. We were told about a school for special children far from our hometown. But due to the long-distance, we gave up that idea. At this time, Marykutty suggested the idea of starting a school for disabled children. I didn’t entertain the idea initially. We send Justin to another school near Marykutty’s workplace.

One day while Marykutty was taking classes for the tenth grade, she was interrupted by a helper boy from Justin’s school. Justin had wet his pants and soiled the classroom, but he was least bothered about what he had done. Frustrated, she pleaded to God to help her find a school for special children near her home or help her with the money needed to start a special school. After reading the book “Purpose Driven Life” by Pr. Rick Warren, she got the lead to start a Special School.

Finally, we were able to open Justin’s Home, a Learning Disability Center for mentally challenged children. Since the idea of Sathyam Research Institute and Disability Center was due to our son Justin, the project is named Justin’s Home.

5. Describe yourself as a person. 

I’d describe myself as a person with a Go-getter attitude. If I want something, I make sure that I get it. I don’t believe in excuses. Excuses are the downfall of the success anyone isdreaming of. So I avoid giving or hearing excuses. I believe that if one has a true intention to work towards the end result to be fruitful, there wouldn’t be any excuses. Excuses are the hurdles we need to jump, it might be painstaking but in the end you’ll have what you yearned for.

6. What are the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? 

People management is the biggest challenge I face. It’s rather difficult to find sincere people with passion and commitment to their work. Loyalty is a unique quality we can’t buy using money. Employees with commitment and passion to the work they do are quite a rarity. 

I am still learning to overcome this challenge. 

Other challenges that I faced throughout my life are:

●​To get a good team that aligned with our organization’s vision and mission

●​To convince people of our vision

●​To get the proper resources to move forward and carry out our plans

7. About the awards and accolades received by you….

I have received a few Literary Awards as well as awards for charitable works.

8. How do you balance work and family?

It is a difficult task to give equal importance to both. There were times when I had to choose between my work and family but with God’s grace alone I was able to manage those situations. Trying to balance both work and family hasn’t been the easiest journey. However, I have to greatly appreciate my wife for the sacrifices she’s made and even in my absence raised our three children. When situations permit, I take my family with me and they are also involved in the work that we do.

9. What are your future plans?

This Ministry is my sweat and blood. I am aiming at the international development of the Ministry by strengthening what I have started. I want to give the message of my ministry “we care for the body and the soul” to maximum number of people worldwide. 

Other plans are to provide services to overcome physical barriers, begin courses in community rehabilitation and develop vocational rehabilitation programs

10. Anything else that you want to tell the readers…

Never give up ever in your life. Always work towards your vision, your aims you will find the resources you need during the process. There will be times when you feel like giving up but always keep in mind that you have the strength to keep on going forward. Push yourself as the end result will be something to rejoice. Every dream and passion is important. Never give up on your passion and dream. The road is never easy, but with perseverance, commitment, and hard work, you can weather the storms and achieve the unattainable.

You are given blessings. It is your duty to multiply those as well as to be a blessing to others through your deeds. In the end of the day what matters is how you were a blessing to your fellow beings.