Its time to bring Sh^'nt todd into usage. Venantius J Pinto
On 6/23/14, Alfred de Tavares <[email protected]> wrote: > > NOSTALGIA...contd. O HERALDO, June 22, 2014 > > > http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=16626&boxid=155454984&uid=&dat=6/22/2014 > > https://dub125.mail.live.com/default.aspx#tid=cmvCWBwbL34xGiJQAjfeM5jA2&fid=flinbox > > > > > > > > The mess Indira Gandhi landed in during her 1st visit to Goa as P.M. > > If the lament of the Par-Modi combine is that there were no people > thronging > > the routes, venues of Narendra Modi's electoral triumph in Goa... that of > Indira > Gandhi's, during her ditto mid-sixties' visit must have, surely, been that > there were > far too many... and by far most of them cursing and booing her with a > passionate > > unmitigated vituperation. > > The cardinal reason for this venomous acrimony, among a veritable litany of > such, was > Gandhi's petulant, absolutely uncalled for, demotion of one of the prides of > Goa, the > venerable Escola Medica de Goa, EMG,/Goa Medical Colege, GMC, from a > full-fledged > > institution of medicine to an emasculated second class such facility. > > By her sheer tantrumal decree, for some reason known, perhaps, only to her > infamously > choleric temper, it was stipulated that heretofore, degrees confered by the > GMC were to > > be reinforced by an elementary crash-course were they to be recognized by > the Medical > Council of India as on par with the degrees confered by the other medical > schools in the > country. > > It, apparently, least bothered....mattered Gandhi that the EMG degrees were > fully accepted > > by every university in the western world and had so been since the mid 19th > century, long > ere the Indian sub-continent had a functioning western medical school. > > Thus, during the very first stage of Gandhi's maiden prime-ministerial visit > to Goa, she turned > > out of a morning to unveil/inaugurate/garland the Mahatma Gandhi statue in > Old Goa, it was > only she that carried a garland of 'abolim' in her hands. From the crowd she > was showered with hoots and "zot'tim" and vociferous demands that the status > of the EMG be pristinely restored. > > > It so happened that that very day (evening) was to take place the famed, > quite certainly, the > most awaited for, event on Goan social calender: O Baile da Escola Medica de > Goa, the GMC > Ball. > > As courtesy still prevailed in Goa, along with the protest note handed over > Indira Gandhi by > > the GMC students, at Old Goa, she was, also, presented with a cordial > invitation to the ball, > at the Clube Nacional, that evening; which she graciously accepted... > > The merry night, however, failing to produce the woman we, the chief > "trouble-shooters" of the GMC agitation, Emerico de Sousa, Jagdish Rao and > I, decided to say her goodby and remind her to try to be "gooder" to Goa in > the future. > > But meet her? How? Where? > > She was leaving Goa after a breakfast press-conference at the Palacio do > Cabo, for which we had been, > categorically, denied acreditation point blank by a viciously acerbic > press-officer, one despicable deputationist, Jatkar, one of the loathed > Maharashtrian locusts that were set to plague Goa and did it with tremendous > gusto. > > But would that prevent us from breaching the Cabo? After a night guzzling B > & W? Hardly. > > We had our trusted noble drivers, Mariano, with his Holden and Shyam, with > his Datsun. Both, as eager to embarass Bandodkar and his bunch as d'Artagnan > and his musketeers were ever so to carry out their gallant escapades. > > With Shyam causing a distraction Mariano shot past the hoodwinked guards > trying to revive Shyam's Datsun "stalled" at > the gates and dumped us at the palace entrance and we lost not a moment > to deeply embed ourselves among the invited crowd. When a livid Jatkar > spotted us we were already, rattling cups of coffee in hand, exchanging > pleasantries with Madame about how much we had missed her at the ball > and the poor minion was rendered hapless. > > As the conference > progressed, much adrenalinned, I asked Gandhi: "Madame, the Goan public, > through press, banners and vocally had requested Your Excellency, to > slightly detour from routes pre-planned for your progress and witness the > actual state Goa lies in. You chose to ignore our requests... > > "In > preparation for your visit, Madame, trenches that had been dug up for > pipes to be laid have been filled up and asphalted, without a single > pipe laid, only to be dug up again on your departure....electric poles > have been painted silver and so on...much more. You did not deign to > listen to our pleas...." > > "Young man," replied Gandhi, "When a guest comes to your house you must put > your house in order." > > "Agreed madam," I replied. "Our Goan hospitality is second to none. But may > I please point out > > Madame that, whereas, you are a genuine guest in London, Paris or New York > you are hardly one in your own home...or, is it not your home?" > > Delicious pandemonium broke out with the sycophant national press shouting: > "Are you asking a question or making a speech...?" > > > "That, gentlemen, is an issue between Madame Gandhi and I; do you mind?" End > of the press > conference that had been relayed live countrywide over the A.I.R. in toto. > > I still carried in my hand a copy of the souvenir > of the previous night's gala Festa da Escola Medica de Goa. I requested > Indira Gandhi for an authograph which, ever gracious, she signed on a > page of the souvenir. On the preceeding page, was jotted down the large, as > yet unpaid > bill, run up at the Clube Nacional bar during the night's ball. > > Poor Raul Peres, the heart-and-soul of > every contemporary Escola Medica event, offered: "Let me take care of > your bill, Alfred and I'll keep this." It was a huge bill and I was much > relieved; but I suppose, with that august signature guarantteeing it, the > bill would have fetched considerably at Sotheby's today. > > As > we left, I heard Jagdish laying it in deep into a totally deflated > Jatkar: "Sh-'nt to'dd," an ever expressive Konkni expletive that with > appropriate accompanying gesture espresses much feeling....always conducive > to robust opprobrium. > > The GMC thrives and continues to annualy dish out degrees that, I am told, > are found optimally > acceptable in, as far away, as the Sargasso Sea. > > Shyam, Mariano, Raul, Jagdish, Indira are, alås, no loger with us... > > > Alfred de Tavares, Ll: 0046 8 759 6214; cell: 0046 70 295 4091 > Stockholm, 2014-06-24 > > > > -- +++++++++++++ Venantius J Pinto
