Hi Fred, There appears to be a slight inconsistency in your posting regarding "Mumbai....and a fact file" excerpt from Derek O'Brien's book "The Mumbai Factfile".
Mr. O'Brien wrote and you quote: * The Gaud Saraswat Brahmins arrived in Mumbai from Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. These GSBs, as they are popularly called, belong to a regional caste of Brahmins. Their ancestors were said to have lived to the north of the Vindhyas and they gradually moved southwards into Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and the rest of India. There are five subdivisions within this caste. They usually speak the Konkani language. (p 40) Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSBs) mean Gaud (ie of Bengal) Saraswat (ie of the Saraswati river) Brahmins. If they lived north of the Vindhyas and gradually moved southwards into Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra - then why are they referred to as Gaud ? (i.e. from the land of Gauda i.e Bengal). Their migration path from North of the Vindhyas (i.e Kashmir I presume) and they gradually moved southwards into Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and the rest of India alludes to the more direct path generally taken by the Chardos (Kshatriyas) from Kashmir (i.e. from the West of the Vindhya Mountains. According to my readings the Gaud Saraswats moved westward from Bengal (where they had settled after their long, circumvented trek from Kashmir - during which they ate fish from the Saraswati river. That is why the Konkani of the Gaud Saraswats sounds a lot like Bengali pronounciations rather than Marathi eg. 'Busa" means to sit in Marathi - but it is pronounced as "Bos" in Konkani and Bengali. You must also remember that the GSBs were not the only Brahmins in Maharastra - Long before them and also serving the people of Goa and the Konkan with priestly duties were the "Chitpavan" Brahmins who resided around the Ratnagiri area. Chitpavan means "from the funeral pyre". The most prominent Chitpavan Brahmin was Lokmanya Tilak. As far as the origin of the Chitpavans is concerned, one theory suggests that they were light skinned and light-eyed Jews who came by sea to the Konkan, following the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. I believe that recent Genetic testing has also proved the origin of the Chitpavans to be semitic from Palestine. Besides the Chitpawans in South Konkan, there were other smaller Jewish communities flourishing along the North Konkan coast around Bombay. Otherwise, it appears that Derek O'Brien's book "The Mumbai Factfile" would make interesting reading - I got to get a copy when I am in Bombay and Goa in December. I dont think Goans can be edited out of Bombay's history. Does Mr. O'Brien refer to the early origins of Bombay's famous St. Xavier's college as a night school for the Goans of South Bombay, started by the Furtados of Chinchinim in Salcete Goa, before the Jesuits took over ? If not there is a big hole in his account of Goan's contributions to Bombay ! Also what does Mr. O'Brien mean by ROCE - it rhymes with the popular Goan sweet DOCE - is that an East Indian spelling of the ROS (the bathing in coconut milk) pre-wedding ceremony that is so popular all over Goa ? Also Fred, on a personal note I noticed your reference to techies missing out so much in life as compared to the non-techies - As a techie myself - graduate of the IIT who went all the way to get a doctorate and a couple of Master's degrees - I played top level hockey and did not miss out on any thing in life - in fact, I integrated my love of Goa with one of my master's thesis - so you can enjoy the best things in life and have your engineering degrees too - and we need more techies for the greater good of Goa ! Best Regards, Dr. Carmo D'Cruz, A Proud Goenkar, Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
