GL responds: Well said Nasci. A person and an identity is a sum total of many parts. Very likely none of us (including those in Goa) are 'Completely Whole.'
Since you stated, "I will not have any one take away the"Goanness" from me;" I would like to ask: So with your mache mache Konkani, what parts of your detailed knowledge (of Goa) and daily routine in life is Goan? Beyond the Goan dishes and feni, how many Goan feasts in calendar year do you and your family celebrate in Melbourne, Down Under? Thanks a million for the response Just curious? Regards. Nasci Caldeira Melbourne Down Under. Well said Fred; You have hit the nail on the head! Then again, why should knowledge of and speaking 'konkani' alone decide: 'who is a Goan'! Shouldn't Birth, long Domicile and Ancestry by birth, be more relevant, more so in today's world, of globalisation and computerisation, where minor and not so minor languages are becoming more and more 'colloquial only' language entities? Comparatively, and for historical and cultural reasons, all Indian languages are under developed; as compared to Chinese, Japanese, English and a host of European languages. That's the Indian genius, that has let us down! Why can't a person be proud and claim to be a Goan, irrespective of their 'fluency' in Konkani?? I am only half fluent in konkani and colloqually only; I will not have any one take away the"Goanness" from me; Its is the red soil of Goa and my genes bred from it, which decides it; and not any language fanatics. Nasci Caldeira Melbourne Down Under.
