And 2006 Monsoons seem to be giving Goans the early labour pains. Of course, the respite is welcome to a greater extent but the Panchayats and the Municipalities seem to have been caught with their pants down. If it were the COMUNIDADES instead of Panchayats and Municipalities today, our gutters would be already spruced up, our river bunds would be fortified against breaches etc. etc. Take the capital city of Panjim for instance. I happened to be driving for a wedding reception at the Mandovi Riviera Saturday evening. Not being able to avoid the function, I set out late for a quick touching of cheeks, handshakes, patting backs , hugs and the inevitable, the wining and dining which happens to be the most important item on the list of all else. My good wife thought that our entry after 10 p.m. would be too late and too obvious of our intents. Nevertheless, at the new patto bridge, Panjim end, where it had become a mini lake, a zooming Qualis gave us both an excellent second of the evening drenching down. I was lucky not to be wearing the coat. At Riviera, no parking space was available anywhere, not because of the already occupied spots, but because of water logging, the debris and the trash floating on the curb. At this time Panjim looked like it was hit by a tsunami. What I still fail to understand is 'how can so much water get collected on the road adjoining the Mandovi River'. The only consolation we got was that the 'wedding march' was being announced as we entered the venue and the day was saved, more so, because I could dry myself with a glass in hand, watching the Caravela and imagining lakhs being spread out and conjuring up images of the concerned or happy faces across its gambling tables. The state of affairs of our dear Goa can be best described as 'sick - dying - dead'
Ad it was a sweet surprised when Hector Fernandes, the ex-President of Aldona Comunidade called me on Friday, to tell me that my name was included on the list of speakers at the seminar on Comunidades organized by the ASSOCIATION OF COMPONENTES of Comunidades of Goa, to be held at the Menezes Braganza Hall on Sunday, 28 May, at 4 p.m.. And I was quick to accept the offer since an opportunity like this would be 'God Sent' not only to promote the Goa Su-Raj Party that I represent but to cut down the cut throats and traitor 'mergerist' politicians who are hell bent on destroying our Goan Heritage that is still keeping our identity as GOANS intact. And what Hector told me was sweet music to my ears especially when I had received Rs. thirty in my own hands as the first ever ZONO (Zhon) in my entire life as the share-holder and a proud member of my Moira Comunidade in its 'DUSRO VANGODH'. And the sleepy deliveries (except that of Adv Bernard D 'Souza) before me, made me all the more raring to go. And my first opening statement which some in the audience took as 'snide' remark was actually to congratulate a few women in the congregation dominated by mostly GAUNKARS, for being there at all. And I took special care not to address these women as GAUNKARS since they are excluded from the share-holding of the Comunidades, but welcomed them as non GAUNKARS in this age of the 'EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN' so that note may be taken when next amending the 'CODE OF COMUNIDADES' to include the married women folk as equal GAUNKARS with their spouses and their male children. And I concentrated on the non legal aspects of saving the Comumidades of Goa to give the GAUNKARS a shot in the arm not to remain passive and disconnected any more. To counter Dr. J.C. Almeida's defeatist attitude of 'IT IS TOO LATE' and Adv. Bernard D' Souza's mild 'IT IS NEVER TOO LATE', I told Gaunkars that 28 May 2006 should go down in the History of Goa as the day number ONE in the fight to wrench back Goa's Comunidades from the clutches of the mergerists and looters to restore the long denied 'autonomy' in their functioning. And to warm the sagging hearts of the Gaunkars, I gave them two practical advices. One - 'that if they cannot fight them, to join them at the level of the Legislative Assembly and in so doing, cut their throats and throw them out from the Legislative Assembly' and Two - ' to take the advice of the manufacturers of 'netlon' who promote their product through the TV ads "ZOVARI (mosquitoes) TUMKAM BOSSONK-NIDUNK DINANT? TOR TUMI TAMKAM GHARA-BAIRUSH KITEAK DOURINANT?" 'N E T L O N'. And I coupled this with an emotive call to the prominent and concerned Comuninade lovers like Policarpo D'Souza, Adv. Andre Pereira and to John Philip Pereira of Nagoa (who was the Goa Su-Raj Party's candidate for Loutolim in 2002 elections) and others who are working tirelessly to save the Comunidades, to come forward to contest elections to sideline these mergerist HYENAS naming them as Rane, Narvekar, Ravi, Shirodkar (missing to name another mega mergerist Ramakant Khalap). And I flashed to the audience the Goa Su-Raj Party's ROAD MAP FOR GOA drawing their attention to page 76 therein, to the brief Chapter on COMUNIDADES and told them that this fledgling Party has put it down in WRITING what it will do when it snatches the reins of the governance of Goa from the hands of these mergerites. That if the Gaunkars are infatuated with the CONGRES, the BJP, the NCP, the national MARAUDERS, then the least they could do as GAUNKARS is to demand from these parties when they come around to ask for their votes to give them in WRITING that they will work to bring AUTONOMY back in the functioning of the COMUNIDADES. And if they do not do this (which is impossible for them to do as the sworn enemies of comunidades) they should be thrown out on their backsides altogether. And when I was relaxing at home with a drink after the drive back from the Menezes Braganza Hall, a thought flashed into my mind. A very unusual thought at that. It had something to do with the parable that 'JESUS' is supposed to have told his disciples/followers, about the sowing of grain. Of some falling on rocks to be eaten up by birds or simply drying out. And of some falling on the good soil, germinating and multiplying into ten-folds and making up for the lost ones. And I wondered about the composition of the audience that I had addressed at the Menezes Braganza Hall. And I prayed and hoped that there was some good 'soil' sitting of those chairs, afterall. And I am glad that due justice has been done by all the major English dailies in giving front page coverage to the Seminar on vanishing Comunidades of Goa. After all the newspapers are mostly Goan-owned and their owners would be happy to retain their identity as GOANS. The End _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)