A creature of routine, that, I am not. Therefore this piece is coming after a gap. Doing a routine piece, week after week is a lot of pressure on the mind and the spare time too. First time in my life I tried to do a routine job of doing a piece, wonder of wonders, it lasted for almost 6 months which is 24 weeks (my G'waud!). That was the Goan Observer. But the reason it lasted for that long is because I had taken it as a 'challenge'. But that is another ball game altogether, better forgotten than talked about. Mostly I like to be free and never tied down. Coming to the immediate present and the near future, the anticipated demise of the Zuari Bridge does not come to me as a surprise. In fact the people of Goa must consider it as a bonus, (I mean) it's standing there intact, hour by hour for this long. And it is inevitable that it should go down someday for the most sloppy job I have seen, considering that I have traveled far and wide in India and abroad. And I have already said a small prayer in advance for those who will be unlucky to be pulled down with it. For, this is also inevitable as we are painfully aware that bridges and bunds do demand a pint of fresh blood now and again, and we Goans have not forgotten about 'KHAUTEKARS' of yore. According to this age old Goan belief, little boys and girls used to go missing, finding themselves as sacrificial lambs to keep the bunds, the manoses (sluice-gates) the Poools (bridges & culverts) standing with an infusion of fresh young blood. Maybe the situation has changed and the taste is for older, matured blood. It could be even mine. Who knows?? I would gladly donate a pint or two of my aging blood just to keep the family name up and intact. After all, it was late Engineer Urban Lobo (Pirazona-Moira-La Marvel Colony, Dona Paula) who built this bridge and he happens to be my what ! , ninth tenth in the line cousin??? Hell! Who wants to count, as long as he was a Lobo??? (Incidentally his father's name was Averthan) This particular preoccupation (about the Zuari bridge) has warranted my writing about a world class 'SUSPENSION BRIDGE' from the Dona Paula plateau to (near) Dabolim airport. It is found in the 'Road Map for Goa', the Goa Su-Raj Party's elaborate insight to Goa's future [Page 36 Chapter III -6(e)] under Bridges & Fly-overs. Maybe Urban Lobo will find satisfaction that his bloodline is thinking of improving on his failed project in a better and classic way without being a Civil engineer. And it is an universally accepted fact that one need not be a Civil Engineer or an IIT'an Metallurgist to build bridges and drainage systems and pavements. At times, simple lay people with a load of commonsense can do a much better job than these 'high funda' spewing experts if the money earmarked for the job goes into the job and not the cavernous pockets.
And I found it funny for our over enthusiastic Panchayat Minister Mr. Subash Shirodkar, to spend tax-payer's good money to put advertisements on the newspapers about collection of plastics from villages, where a simple circular to the respective panchayats would have done the trick. 'POPULARITY ' thy name is 'SHAME' As if this was not enough, he goes on further to implore with his Sarpanchas through newspaper headlines to 'work hard'. If I was Subash Shirodkar, more particularly the Panchayat minister, I would have parceled a pick-axe and a showel to each of the Sarpanchas, because, to effect a transition from 'hardly working' mode to 'work hard' mode, it does need the aid of this particular set of tools, especially when your village gutters have never flet the cutting edge of these two implements in years, in spite of they (Sarpanchas) being paid big fat salaries of late. But then one would have thought that the monthly salaries would pacify the unslaked thirst to make more money. And it is not new that every occupancy certificate is a milch cow for the panchayats. I do hope Subash Shirodkar will get to read this. But then, what of it? He himself has been milking fatter cows and has grown muscles in his forearms doing just that. In'it??? And if anything is giving me sleepless nights or rather fitful nights, it is the GOAN HERITAGE. Goans worldwide seem to be getting paranoid at the thought of losing it, when all their lives they have helped to push it over the brink. And according to me there are just two things that connects the Goan umbilical chord to the Goan Heritage. (1) Comunidades of Goa and (2) Goan Tiatrists. Mai bhas Konkani was supposed to be in the forefront but it was allowed to be pissed upon by Goans themselves who loved Konkani's Mauxi more than mai bhas itself, so much so, Konkani is soiled by the drying stains of the Maratha urine. And the credit goes to the white-haired lion and the lioness of the 'MGP' fame who are still at it with the inclusion of English as a subject from Standard I in the Primary section. And after my appeal to Goans at the Menezes Braganza hall on 28th. May, 2006 which I hope fell on fertile/productive soil rather than on rocks and weeds, the Executive of the Goa Su-Raj Party, in its recent deliberations over the Goan Heritage issue identified the above two Goan mainline fortes and way of life as the Heritage issues with a scorching need to restore to their fullest of prime and fast. And I am optimistic that gaunkars of our Comunidades will help restore these agrarian institutions of our very own to their prime health so that we do not read headlines in the newspapers in the future that say " Vegetable prices to sky-rocket" It is with pride that I say that Goa Su-Raj Party has gone on record of saying it in writing that once it comes to power, the Comunidades of Goa will get back their full AUTONOMY. Could anyone expect less from a Political Party founded in Goa , for Goa with Goan High Command ??? And it is high time that Goa's Tiatrists be resurrected to step into the shoes of Goan Heritage. And the only way this can be done is to float a no-nonsense TRUST (which will refuse to be grazed upon by 'chikanis' Goans like many a trusts and escapades of yesteryears, to use the Konkani word 'CHORVAK' meaning misappropriated and eaten up prematurely by do-gooding hyenas) on the lines of the 'TONY AWARDS' just like the 'Grammy' and 'Oscar' Awards, which is the International Awards for Stage Artists and Drama. And Goa Su-Raj (do stop cringing your noses to hear Su-Raj, for it does not only stand for Goan future politics but also for good, effective Governance) will help to form and manage this trust so that our Goan Tiatrists are encouraged and felicitated meritoriously. And what better name to start with for these Goan Tony Awards than the name of 'JOAO AGOSTIN of "Italian Bhurgo' fame Award or for that matter " J.P. Souzalin" of 'Dhukiche Panch Mister' fame Award? By the way, these are only suggestive names and the Tiatrists in the fore front like Tomazinho Cardoz, Wilmix etc. should know better. I have been feebly planting this seed in the concerned minds and I do not want to take credit for the idea. But then, we at Goa Su-Raj are hell bent and preoccupied in finding ways to save our GOAN IDENTITY before it vanishes with the buckling down of our Zuari Bridges. To make Goan Tiatrists tingle a bit, I take the liberty of reproducing the below for your kind information and with a promise that should something like this come up, which is a must for Goa's Tiatr, Goa Su-Raj Party, with its dedicated will for effective good governance, will see to it that it will help make it blooms with impeccable management with no scope for 'herafiri'. The End *** Broadway prepares for Tony Awards Stage actors are preparing for the 60th annual Tony Awards, which take place in New York on Sunday. The awards recognise the best in Broadway, from opulent musicals to serious dramas. 1920s musical The Drowsy Chaperone leads the field this year with 13 nominations, followed closely by Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple with 10. Alan Bennett's The History Boys has seven nominations, including the prestigious best play award. The play transferred to Broadway from London's National Theatre, and has earned British actor Richard Griffiths a nomination for best performance by a leading actor in a play. Director Nicholas Hytner has also been shortlisted. Also in the running for the best play award areThe Lieutenant of Inishmore, Rabbit Hole and Shining City. Stage success Musicals with Tony hopes include Jersey Boys, which tells the story of 1960s pop group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and The Wedding Singer, based on the 1998 film starring Drew Barrymore. In the best revival of a musical category, The Pajama Game - featuring nominee Harry Connick Jr - competes against The Threepenny Opera and Sweeney Todd. Several British actors have been shortlisted for awards, including Ralph Fiennes for Faith Healer and Jim Dale, best known as the voice of Harry Potter audio books in the US, for his role in The Threepenny Opera. Lynn Redgrave and co-star Kate Burton have been nominated for best leading actress in a play, for The Constant Wife, while Zoe Wanamaker and Frances de la Tour are also shortlisted. Sir Elton John's vampire musical Lestat has two nominations - best featured actress for Carolee Carmello and best costume design - even though it closed after just 39 performances. Despite high-profile flops like Lestat and the John Lennon musical, Lennon, this has been a record year for Broadway theatre. The number of theatregoers topped 12m for the first time, and ticket sales earned $861.6m (£462m) during the 2005-2006 season. The winners of this year's Tony Awards will be announced at New York's Radio City Hall on 11 June. Presenters include Oprah Winfrey, who produced The Color Purple musical after starring in the 1985 film, and Julia Roberts, who missed out on a nomination for her role in the play Three Days of Rain. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/5065208.stm Published: 2006/06/11 08:22:34 GMT © BBC MMVI _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list ([email protected])
