Re: [GRN] Update about Goa Archives

[John de Figueiredo]

Dear Selma, Please get the name and contact information of the person who helped you. He/she is precious. Best wishes, John Sent from my iPhone On May 1, 2023, at 2:25 AM, 'Carvalho' via Goa-Research-Net <goa-research-net@googlegroups.com> wrote:  Dear all, Thank you for the numerous helpful response regarding Goa Archives. I did indeed visit the Goa Archives. I arrived at 10am and sat patiently for an hour. Eventually someone recognised me as the writer and hastened my entry into the archive hall. This office defied any semblance of modernity and had an estranged relationship with technology. By some antediluvian method, I ordered a documented assisted by person who recognised me. I then took a seat and awaited said document. I sat in a hall full of men who pored over centuries-old documents with their arms spread on these books, brandishing felt pens, the documents spine straddled without support. After I saw this, I felt nausea creeping up and tried to avoid eye contact with anyone, most of all the clerks in the room.  I sat for another one hour and could see all the peons chatting but no document had arrived. I went to the head clerk and asked about the possible arrival of my book. He nodded to a peon, they laughed, and one frail creature departed on his search with all the enthusiasm of a man being led to the guillotine. Finally he returned clutching the holy grail of a book but when I took custody, it was the wrong book. I went to tell the manager who sat in a class cabin with the surly look of a government officer, pressing a buzzer to summon people. He dismissed by not looking up. I did not wait for the right document because had it arrived, I could neither photograph it nor photocopy it. I would have to make an application for the record and collect it 15 days later. So I left. Every department, institution and organisation of governance in Goa (and unfortunately I have had to visit many) is a failure of efficiency, procedure, custody and care. We are light years away from any semblance of modernity and our sense of Goan exceptionalism is utterly misplaced. The story does have a happy ending. The man who recognised me researches records for a living and I shall simply hire his services. Take care, Selma -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/1514668968.1207763.1682922322014%40mail.yahoo.com. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/9D48A34D-A844-452E-B373-6932A92C553D%40sbcglobal.net.