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CALCUTTA TIMES: Let's all go on a Goan holiday!
SARAH SALVADORE
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2004 01:41:28 AM ]
Kolkata is their second home. But Goa is still their first love. Most of the 2,000-odd Goans of this city make it a point to holiday at least once a year and visit their native land. "But we have taken this holidaying for granted," said Aida Britto, a resident of Sunny Park, who left Goa 17 years ago after she got married.
"For the rest of the Indians, a holiday in Goa could be a luxury. For us, it's an inheritance," said Celine Siqueira, who teaches at Pratt Memorial School for Girls.
"And we are proud of this legacy." Their children speak English and not Konkani, the mother tongue.
"But that doesn't mean we are mentally away from our native land," said 60-year-old Rosy Braganza. "We and our children make it a point to visit Goa off and on."
Some of the younger lot don't even know the little customs, which are practised by Goans all over the country. But that's just a way of life for people like Felix Britto. "I was born and brought up in Kolkata. I speak Konkani but we talk with our kids in English."
Albert Francis (21), for instance, had no idea that the Goans have a custom where a few chosen young men wear hats made of leaves and go out on the streets in a big procession.
The procession then leads towards a well where the young men jump into it. This custom is called Sanjoan and was celebrated every year during the feast of St. John the Baptist signifying the last crop of Jackfruit.
"I certainly wouldn't jump in the well for the sake of a custom and wasn't even aware of the custom till recently," said Albert, a B Com student of St Xavier's College.
Anyway, the custom isn't followed in the capital of West Bengal which is miles away from the shores of the Arabian Sea.
As Agnelo D'Silva, a 70-year-old, said, "If I was younger and in Goa I would have surely practised Sanjoan. But not in Kolkata and at this age."
Once upon a time, in 1957, they was a 7,000-strong community. It grew over a period of 250 years, because the city was full of job opportunities. In 1911, the Goans formed a club called the Goan Association of Bengal on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road which was earlier known as the Indo-Portuguese Association.
Several settled in areas like Bow Street, Rippon Street and Park Circus and lapped up the jobs -- as teachers, shipping officers, and off course, musicians. Said musician Tony Braganza, "Goans will always produce excellent musicians because music is in our blood."
Said 40-yearold Paul Remidios, "Many Goans started leaving the city to settle abroad. The trend has picked up over the years and a few years down the line, I don't think there will be many of us left here." To keep the spirits height, the association on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road keeps organising monthly programmes for its members. According to Raj Antao, a member, "The attendance picks up during the Christmas dance, annual picnic and the feast of St Francis Xavier, the patron Saint of Goa." Joel Braganza (19) said,"I go to the disc but I also attend our community programmes. I may not know Konkani, but I am proud to be a Goan."
