Reflecting on the Goan Convention — PART II
Prof. Olinvinho Gomes, noted Konkani teacher and writer, who came on his own, wrote a piece in Goa Today on his experiences of the convention and, from memory, I can recall he saying was like Zulema a “combi” (meaning like a hen running about with her wings flapping). At the convention, Prof. Gomes spoke on Konkani language. When he quoted from the works on Konkani language by Prof. Pereira, both Prof. Pereira and me, sitting at the back rows, exchanged glances. After Prof. Gomes ended his speech, I and Prof. Pereira went up to him. Surprisingly, Prof. Gomes didn’t know Prof. Pereira when the latter remarked to him on his good speech. Seeing that Prof. Gomes didn’t know who the person praising him was, I felt compelled to introduce Prof. Pereira to him. Prof. Gomes’ eyes lit up. A similar incident happened when Iona Loyala-Menezes, who had come from Montreal, addressed the audience on Goan folklore. She too quoted Prof. Pereira’sworks on the folksongs of Goa. After her talk, Prof. Pereira and me walked up to her. After Prof. Pereira started to praise her, she just thanked him. Seeing that that she didn’t know who the person was, I quitely whispered to her to come aside. I then told her that the person who just congratulated her was Prof. Pereira. She couldn’t believe it and hurriendly went to shake his hands. Just before the start of the convention, on my suggestion Roque threw a party at his house for some guests, among who were Prof. Moraes, Prof. Nazareth and George Menezes, the noted writer of satire. I introduced Prof. Moraes to Prof. Nazareth. There was lot of discussion. I had got some food prepared at my place and which I too there. I got a raw deal when the page I had reserved for me as Editor, was given to Judy Luis. She wasn’t on my list of contributors, but her father Jerry Luis influenced the Steering Committee to have the her article into the souvenir. It was too late to change the format of the souvenir, as the printer, Clement Sequeira, was breathing down my neck. Jerry Luis was one of the many volunteers for the convention. Judy wrote on History, Culture and Identity: A Critical Link. Her bio says that at that time she was Associate Director of the American Association on Foreign Policy, based in Washington, DC, USA. Given a raw deal, I quit the GOA and as editor of the souvenir. I noticed a couple of mistakes in the printed version of the souvenir. The most glaring was the dropping of the byline of Prof. Teotonio de Souza on his piece, Looking from Goa. On the pleading of Aloysius Mathias, then the VP, and also convinced by Roque Barreto, I stayed put on the executive committee just in name. Aloysius, Zulema’s ‘Yes Minister’, said that my quitting the associationwould be a talking point at the convention. It was at the insistence of Zulema who asked me to join the GOA as Asst. Gen. Secretary. I was also edited the GOA newsletter, The Pulse of the GOA. The hubris-filled Zulema got a tight slap on her face by the noted singer, Remo Fernandes. Despite telling her that I will work through Remo’s friends to get him here, she dashed a letter to him asking him to come here as it would give him wide publicity in North America. Having just won a Euro award for being a top performer at a show in Germany, Remo was riding a popularity wave in Goa. He wrote back that he doesn’t need the publicity and that he would like to be paid, I think about Rs 3 lakhs besides travel and hospitality. Zulema could only tell the committee that Remo could go to hell. At first Zulema said to hold the convention was her idea but she later informed that she borrowed the idea the Greeks, who had a similar convention. As for the IGO, it was proposed by me at one of the meetings, which were held at the late Fr. Terence D'Souza house (now a church). But to deny me the credit, when questioned later on, he said "it came about" at the convention, as if it fell from the heavens. Surprisingly, and may I say shamelessly, a few months after the convention, Zulema came to my office in Etobicoke and gave a colleague an envelope addressed to me. As I approached the staircase leading up to the office, I saw her going down hurriendly. I opened the envelope and pulled out the Volunteer Certificate. I don’t know why she gave it to me, as I had requested my name to be dropped from the list of volunteers (as you will notice it’s missing in the published list in the souvenir). I took it home and tore it apart. == Eugene
