To grow up in Bandra is to hear music as routinely as conversation. It is the rare home that does not hum with soaring melody, riff and song. Budding musicians here have always revelled in a tradition of learning from the best Goan maestros. 

Our household was no exception. The wonderful music tutor whose presence was palpable everywhere, Josic Menzie, taught my brother Phiroze the violin. Dubbed the Sultan of Sax, Menzie left an indelible impression on legions of solo and ensemble artistes. They assembled, from childhood, for individual and group violin, piano, saxophone and clarinet lessons at his flat in Building 2 of Little Flower (this colony of scattered buildings, located in the parish of St Theresa, is named for the patroness saint Therese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower of Jesus).