-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Wishing all Goanetters | | a Prosperous | | and | | Happy New Year - 2006 | | Goanet - http://www.goanet.org | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some food for thought in a couple of papers the last two days in three or four articles.
Let's take HERALD for starters. Their columnist Kapil Kitchlu has mounted a scathing attack on national leadership. He believes that "For India to take a different route forward would require a counterweight that one might expect **public intellectuals** to supply, aloof and unattached to conventional wisdom and its purveyors." But he adds: "Where are those who challenge the shibboleths and the deceits that the state routinely foists upon its people[,] who lay bare the calumny and dishonesty of purpose and motives of the establishment and their apologists, while alerting us to alternatives?" In today's HERALD, VM de Malar takes a similar tack which is Goa-specific. He is placing his bets on NRGs. He concludes: "We've got to find a working alternative to make every expatriate voice count .. to face the coming challenge." [The problem might be finding "progressive" NRGs who are interested in Goa moving with the times instead of remaining, as one observer has noted, a perpetual "heritage village" for their annual sojourns!] Then there are a couple of articles from TOI, Jan 1. Bachi Karkaria who notes that "soon 50% of the population will be urban" (a figure Goa may have already reached) has introduced the idea of the "metrozen" whih she says is "a more evolved citizen, urbane and **able to benchmark his city against the world**". She is interested in "pleasant, vibrant, safe neighbourhoods and cultural diversity" in opposition to "power towers and sterile arcades". This might resonate in Goa, right? But hold on for a minute. The very next article on the same page is by the noted architect Hafeez Contractor who points to the pitfalls of "urban policies that encourage low-density, diffused development" (which we probably have in Goa) saying "it is rationally impracticable to encourage spread out cities". He points to potential "gigantic" environmental disasters from creeping conversion of farm lands and later forest lands on outskirts of cities. Karkaria too says there is a need to conserve not only environment but also heritage. Both of these might be applicable to Goa in good measure. So are there any courageous "public intellectuals" out there including among NRGs who can take a "metrozen" perspective of Goa (benchmarking our arrangements with the best in the world from personal experience) and help us at least "think" about possibilities and maybe catalyse public action in the required directions? Just remember, of course, "Rome was not built in a day"! Cheers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
