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|Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions |
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| Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages |
| Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Take back amp; distribute Soccer Balls |
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An invitation from the Consul
by V. M. de Malar
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
It;s a winning personal gesture that's found deep resonance
in Goan hearts, and a welcome gust of fresh air into a
diplomatic relationship bogged down in bureaucratic detail.
It's also a pioneering curatorial effort that has resulted in
easily the most interesting contemporary art exhibit in Goa
in recent years.
Topping all that is the historic open invitation; all of us
Goans are welcomed to the residence of the Consul General of
Portugal in Altinho, Panjim, from 4 to 8 every evening until
the 18th of this month, to view an exhibition of exciting and
provocative artworks on the theme Portugal through the eyes
of artists in Goa.
That old hyperrealist, Stalin, once said that sincere
diplomacy is no more possible than dry water or wooden iron
and there's probably some truth there even if India and
Portugal are locked in a post-Abu-Salem-extradition waltz
that has brought our two countries closer than they ever have
been.
Even then, here in Goa, every consular move is
dissected and interpreted, examined and
re-examined; the colonial past is too recent, and
too impactful, and ended far too messily for us to
sweep it into the history books very quickly. Let's
be clear: if this startlingly original exercise had
been routed through proper channels, we'd be
nowhere. If it were merely another mouthing of
platitudes, and the usual banal rote, we'd have
nothing.
No, it took something rather maverick, considering we're
talking about a diplomat. It took an avant-garde sensibility,
a totally fresh look at what Goa has and what Goa needs, it
took a certain sense of frustration and boredom with the
endless citizenship paperwork that crosses his desk, it took
an eye that's receptive and open to the expression of dormant
feelings.
So, set aside the lofty corridors of power and all that
endless symbolism; this is really about the very sincere
private effort by Pedro Cabral Adao, the Consul General of
Portugal who first opened his eyes to the work, then his
heart to the artists, and now even his wallet to properly
curate this excellent arts exhibition; he has personally paid
most of the costs involved.
This isn't really about Portugal (though that country is well
served by this dynamic young diplomat with movie-star looks
and phenomenal communication skills), it's really a very
interesting story of an unlikely and heart-warming embrace
between Adao and the artists, a relationship that has
steadily warmed into genuine solidarity as this project
progressed.
It has culminated in this exhibition with real depth and
resonance, in the forging of what is surely a completely
unique group spirit teaming spiffy European diplomat with
scruffy Indian artists. Talk about brave new worlds, we
haven't seen anything like this ever before and it's really
quite marvellous.
At the opening ceremony, senior Goan artist,
Yolanda de Souza admitted that the Consul's
invitation to the artists had a curious uncorking
effect for many of her colleagues. All kinds of
buried and latent feelings came to the fore; the
result is a consistently provocative collective
grappling with the theme. Admittedly, the show's a
bit uneven in quality, but several strong works
keep it on track, among them contributions by
Hanuman Kambli, Nirupa Naik, Pradeep Naik, Rajendra
Usapkar, and Hitesh Pankar.
But the gold ribbon surely goes to the oversized 'Govern-or
General' by Viraj Naik, a brash, gutsy, big statement that
should be seen and exhibited permanently in Goa after this
exhibition ends its proposed tour of Margao (at Clube
Harmonia next month), New Delhi, and perhaps Lisbon.
This promising young Goan artist borrowed cannily from Latin
American imagery, he's portrayed an encounter between a gruff
conquistador and a bemused native everyman. A galleon peers
over the European's shoulder, there's a dagger on one side of
the canvas and a pistol opposite, and a cashew dangles in a
rather interesting section. It's a painting about
exploitation and colonial conquest, and so it's particularly
interesting to see it in a temporary art gallery housed in
the dining room of a Consul General of Portugal who is
quietly rewriting the role his office can play in a changing
Goa, in a resurgent India, in 2005.
Good show, Pedro Cabral Adao, thank you very
