Imagine that, written 15 years ago and if anything things have gotten worse.
For 15 years, no one has thought of how to ensure better handling of these
precious books.
Thank you for sharing, Mr Sousa.
All best wishes,Selma
On Monday, 1 May 2023 at 19:47:08 BST, Bernardo de Sousa <[email protected]>
wrote:
This piece was published by a Goa daily 15+ years ago. Clearly, the attitude
of the staff has not changed. Nor for that matter the utter disrespect with
which priceless ancient documents are treated:
Aal izz “Sit” in Goa’s State Archives
By Bernardo de Sousa
Any visit to Goa needs to start with a wallet refueling stop at a bank. Having
connections speeds up that process. In the Mapusa bank we went to, a lady was
seated at a desk, dozing peacefully; she suddenly woke up, picked up a ball,
rolled it on the desk, then returned to dozing. We later learnt that banks are
required to hire personnel belonging to scheduled castes/tribes. Being a local
bank, this occurs through the intercession of an MLA: the candidate controlling
the largest number of votes gets the job. A win-win situation: our aspiring
athlete gets a salary, the MLA gets the votes. Thus, “vote bank” politics
ensure the “upliftment” of the downtrodden.
My contact at the bank being away, I was instructed to head upstairs. The scene
was chaotic: no boards indicating which counter handled which transaction,
people rushing to any counter that was manned. An acquaintance said he would
call Mr. X and guided us to a pair of chairs with a parting instruction: “Sit”
-- an instruction I would repeatedly encounter in Goa with devastating
consequences.
After about an hour, I managed to obtain from Mr. X the prized ATM card that,
sadly, failed to function until our departure. For expediency, we cashed
traveler’s cheques at Vivanta hotel in Panaji, where the transaction absorbed
all of three minutes flat -- the most efficient and friendliest service I have
ever encountered anywhere on the planet.
Our wallet thus replenished, we headed to the State Archives, Panaji, where I
wished to consult a list of historical documents.
We were greeted at the ground floor by an overpowering smell of naphthalene,
attempting unsuccessfully to mask the odours from the nearby toilet. The strong
influence of carnival in Goa is not to be underestimated – a vote bank mask at
the bank, a naphthalene mask at the State Archives.
The clerk at a counter instructed me to go upstairs to see the manager. I did
not quite comprehend why but arguments would only waste time. We were invited
into the manager’s cramped office. “Sit!” he instructed. Not again! After
reading my list, he confirmed that the documents were public; we were thus in
violent agreement but the documents still eluded me.
I was now instructed to cross the corridor to the public documents section; as
we did so, we saw a lady sitting on a bench, resting one of her feet on it,
blissfully cutting her toe-nails. I did not need an explanation: another vote
bank mask with an aspiring beautician replacing an aspiring athlete.
In the public domain, five persons were seated at five desks, engaged in deep
conversation, otherwise doing nothing. I showed one of them the titles of the
documents. She looked at it and shouted to her colleague a few meters away.
Having been disdainfully ignored twice, she approached the recalcitrant
colleague, exchanged a few furious words, returned, turned to me and ordered:
“Sit”.
Decidedly, “sit” was becoming the bane of my short holiday. In my mind, I
silently slipped an “h” in between the “sit” but refrained from vocalising my
thought.
Explaining to us children the intricacies of traditional Goan hospitality, our
father once recounted that guests were routinely greeted with the Konkani
phrase: “Ailoi, io, bosloi, bos, kashti sodd, lepti kha” – loosely translated
“you have arrived, please come in, sit down, loosen your loin-cloth, share our
food”. I did not expect these five uncooperative chair-warmers to share their
food but there was no escaping the instruction to sit. I politely but
resolutely declined. The lady repeated her instruction except that this time it
was an order: “Sit”.
The situation was turning hopeless. Asked how long this was going to take, she
muttered: “5 minutes”. My heart sank: in Goa, 5 minutes encompass any span
between 5 minutes and eternity. I heard my wife say that she had been handed a
form that I was required to complete hence, sitting down may not be a bad idea.
Her pragmatic logic carrying the day, I sat down, opened the small rucksack
containing my pen and other items. “You have to keep your bag downstairs,” said
the recalcitrant librarian, who had just concluded his yogic meditation and was
back in command barking out his orders.
I explained to him that I had carried my rucksack all this time from the
counter downstairs, transiting through his manager’s office into the public
documents section, without anyone’s objection until then. He repeated his
order, this time raising his voice. Another mask, what was his bark really
masking? Resentment because I was an NRI, PIO or OCI? Or because I had not
presented him with a motivating incentive in an envelope?
Do they still insist on envelopes, or would plain cash do? Or was he another
vote bank beneficiary who resented having been disturbed from his reverie or
conversation? I had had enough of this rude, uncooperative, unhelpful,
obstructionist and bureaucratic attitude of the Goa State Archives staff. I got
up, returned the form to the lady who had given it, and walked out.
Back in the taxi, our friend suggested visiting the Central Library instead.
Indeed, I was led to the relevant section immediately - and could finally
consult and photograph the documents of interest. I now understood why the
Central Library was so well frequented whereas, excepting staff, not a soul
other than my wife, our friend and I were present at the public documents
section of the State Archives.
This time around, when a kindly member of the Central Library staff pulled up a
chair and asked me to sit, I was delighted to comply.
Sent from my iPad
On 1 May 2023, at 19:20, 'Carvalho' via Goa-Research-Net
<[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Albertina,
I totally agree with you. I didn't want to say it in my initial message.
Technology would certainly help and is the need of the hour as those books
under no circumstances should be passed around like pie to men jabbing felt
pens at them, but the more important thing is attitude. There are lots of
things one can do ease the process. For instance there is one (just one)
moth-eaten catalogue which looks like it survived Noah's flood, used by one
clerk to find out the reference number of the required document. All that needs
to be done is print out 10 catalogue books and keep them for use by the general
public. Or better still upload the catalogue online and make it accessible.
Then the public can provide the clerk with the reference number. All it takes
is the will power to improve systems. There needs to be a very radical change
in attitude in every organisation. The Gandhian non-cooperation movement in Goa
is alive and kicking.
And Sandra, absolutely, being a woman doesn't help.
Also what is up with those pens being allowed into an archive hall for goodness
sake? I had carried a book and pencil inside to make notes. This was shouted
down (fair enough, rules are rules) but for goodness sakes, the pens must go.
Take care,Selma
On Monday, 1 May 2023 at 17:44:00 BST, Albertina Almeida
<[email protected]> wrote:
Is there anyone here who accessed the Goa Archives about 35 years or more ago?
Where it was accessible even without technology? I somehow think that it is not
just about technology, though technology certainly can help. It is also about a
regimen of corruption, which can persist even with technology.
For instance, at the Registrar's office, the process towards registration of
sale deeds has been digitised. One would have thought that would make it
easier. But approvals of what is uploaded can take sooooo long for some. And
the connectivity and other issues including the website being dysfunctional, so
to say, can make life hell. The whole exercise can be a nightmare.
So while technology can help, it may not be the panacea. There is something
more.
Albertina
On Mon, May 1, 2023 at 9:55 PM sandra lobo <[email protected]> wrote:
He/She is precious, or just a piece of a shameful state of affairs,
particularly at Goa archives? Of course Selma being a women does not help the
situation. For instance, if one does not hold Indian citizenship then has to
pay seven times the price of copying documents, as if researchers swim in
money. The present head of the Archives, Dipak M. Bandekar, should be
confronted with being runing a historical archive in a modern world. My
experience is that sometimes conversation works miracles (not always). I hope
there are still good examples in Goa, as that of Central Library when under
Carlos Fernandes direction. Without his positive attitude I would have never
been able to perform the ample investigation of my PhD. Good luck, Selma
Sandra Ataíde Lobo
<Outlook-tu21a1pp.png><Outlook-retvcb5t.png>
<Outlook-qdflsbeb.png>
https://giepcip.wordpress.com/
tmn. ++351 930690459
De: [email protected] <[email protected]> em
nome de John de Figueiredo <[email protected]>
Enviado: 1 de maio de 2023 16:43
Para: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Assunto: Re: [GRN] Update about Goa Archives 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
<[email protected]> 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
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