GOANET IS YET TO PUBLISHT THE BELOW LETTER PLEASE SEE THAT IS PUBLISHED AS I AM RE-SENDING IT.. THANKS
stephen Dias ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Stephen Dias <[email protected]> Date: 2 August 2014 23:02 Subject: GOAN CULTURE ARTICLE BY DR JOE D'SOUSA WAS REFUSED BY HERALD EDITOR SUJAY GUPTA To: Goanet <[email protected]>, "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" < [email protected]> Dear Goanet readers, My friend Dr.Joe D'Sousa requested me to send his article to Goanet along with the letter addressed to Raul Fernandes, owner of Herald Publications since he was hurt very much because his article on Goan Culture was refused to publish by Sujay Gupta Editor of Herald which ultimately is published in Gomantak Times today ( 2.8.2014). Stephen Dias D.Paula =========================================================== Dear Raul, Herald Publications and Owner. I am constraint to write to you that the enclosed article " ARE WE STRAYING AWAY FROM OUR IDENTITY?" was first sent to Herald about a month ago, but was purposefully held back and remained unpublished in Herald due to the vested interest group which is seeking to take control of what is to be printed in Herald. Sadly Herald today is being misused by those controlling the Editorial pages and anything and everything which through blooded Goans right about their own identity and culture seems to be suppressed by those migrants who seems to sadly hold to ransom the pages of Herald and throttle the through VOICE OF GOANS. Raul you know very well that it was I who coined the phrase Herald the Voice of Goa which was apt and through years ago, until those who are not born in Goa and are totally elusive to the true culture of Goa are using Herald pages to abuse Goans and belittle them. Refer Herald Editorial dated 12.07.2014 “ Rivona HIV + case a blow to Goan’s civil fabric”. There are many Editorials used to ridicule Goans they are civility, tolerance and all inclusiveness. It is fair for us Goans that Herald pages are been used against Goans by a journalist who have come to Goa few years back and teaching us about, our culture. Please ensure that Herald lives up to his high standards and ensure that Goans who see well of Herald and mean well of Herald are not excluded from writing and expressing in Herald pages which are now controlled by those who are promoting pub culture and questioning Goans culture. I do not know why Sujay Gupta thought it wise to refuse to publish my article sent to him a month ago, does the cap fir him? It is upto you to reflect. I write this to you because many of those reading Herald have questioned me as to why I chose to write in Gomantak Times about Goan Culture and not in Herald. The same article is unfortunately published in Gomantak Times as the Editor their felt that my voice is the true Voice of Goans. Kindly ensure that your Editor does not misuse the pages of Herald to trumpet his own misplaced idea of Goan Culture and waylay our youth, into so called pub and casino culture, which isn’t ours. Please read my article and give your comments and the Editor on his bias attitude against Goan writers. BY: Dr. Joe D’Sousa , Panjim Date: 2.08.2014 ============================================================ This below article of Dr.Joe D'Sousa was sent a month ago to Herald but not published. Raul please read. =========================================================== *ARE WE STRAYING AWAY FROM OUR GOAN IDENTITY?* *Dr. Joe D’Souza* *Today there is a raging debate as to what constitutes Goan culture, identity and heritage. Gladly, even our quiet and sober Member of Parliament from North Goa has uncunningly entered the fray and seems to have stressed that the pub culture which is today been pushed into being shown as a birth cultural right of Goans, seems to have our MP’s thumbs down. Strangely, some paid journalists who have recently made Goa their home and have taken stock of our newspapers, with the tacit support of some vested interest group in the liquor business and the illicit trade of pub and massage parlour trade are egging upon us Goans to accept that pub and rave culture is our traditional birth right much against what truly is Goan. Many unwilling Goans have fallen to this malevolent view and sadly some of our girls have been victimized into free sex and prostitution in the garb of free love and free choice as `our birth right’.* *This sadly is a new development to waylay our youth away from our true tradition, which I wish to bring out as under. We Goans must reflect, analyse and accept what is best for us and must not be dragged into worthless debates criticizing and attacking one another on trivial issues which do more harm than good and which by and large is in the interest of a vested interest group against a truly Goan culture.* *We were teenagers living in a building in the then Bombay city, playing, fighting, arguing as well as studying, adhering basically to the principle of each one for himself and God for all. Basically most of the families in the building were from Goa and a scattered few from Kerala, Maharashtra and U. P. There were shopkeepers from Gujarat and coffee vendors from Tamil Nadu too. Basically those of us from Goa stuck together as a loose unit and coded our `Dads’ with names such as Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Churchill depending upon their behavior at home and towards all of us in general. Joe; look on and be careful – Churchill is watching you, was the warning given to me by my friends as and when my father strayed into our Boys Club play area. Not that we were very mischievous or naughty, nevertheless we tried to be at our best whenever Hitler et al i.e. our elders were around.* *During April to early June we generally came down to Goa and our families spread across Canacona, Sanvordem, Salcette, Vasco, Bardez and Tiswadi too. Occasionally, we visited one another while in Goa but generally we were restricted to our own villages. Anjuna, Chapora and Vagator was my domain and thus plucking forest berries and going fishing was my area of interest and walking 7 kilometers to the Siolim market every 15 days with my grandfather was exciting and rewarding as local vegetables, fruits, pickled meats etc. were bartered, exchanged as most vendors were well-known to one another. My grandmother specialized in growing and selling flowers, along with poultry products. All through the fifties right up to the seventies, I was totally oblivious of thefts, acts of cheating and robberies while we who visited Goa annually were in a habit of closing windows, locking doors, our grandparents had hard time to make us realize that sleeping in open aired rooms and ventilation to the house is good for health, both body and mind. Habits die hard as closed door culture was in fashion in Bombay and door to door sales persons dispensing milk, meat, fruits and vegetable were common place.* *Coming back to the topic and avoiding straying about, the reason for me writing this article and recalling memories was what I understood of Goan culture, identity or Goanness as a youth. The parents by and large were strict. There was a time to get up, duties assigned to us all like bringing milk in bottles and collecting bread was my function and washing clothes was that of my sister. We had a dress code, time to get back home before sunset, our movements were monitored, both voluntary disclosures and involuntary checking too. There were plenty of `joints’ dispensing liquor, like our tavernas in Goa but entry or visit beyond us. What appeared worse was neither our elders visited restaurants, let alone buying hotel food. It was told to us that it was contaminated, unhygienic and against basic value system and dignity. Once, I was given fried hotel snacks by my father’s friend, my mother as well as my granny were upset. `What will society think – Luiza is raising her son on hotel food! I am giving you wholesome home-made food and you are accepting this trash from the hotel, my mother used to yell. Hotel food is for those who leave their mothers in far away U. P. or Maharashtra. As a Goan mother our culture demands us to be at home and that we eat together. The family that prays and eats together will stay together.* *Why am I telling all these stories, one may question me? All this is because people specially those who know I write for newspapers question me as to why I am quiet about Muthalik.* *Surely, I recall calling our parents dictators when we were young. Surely one of our `Dads’ would have been named Muthalik because Goan parents in Mumbai during our days behaved with family members in a strict and regulated manner. Going for a Christmas dance party was rare with a condition that boys had to take their sisters along too. So what is Goan culture?* *I am happy now that my mother and the elders amongst Goans told us what not to do, what not to wear, and what not to drink, smoke or eat too. Today mothers blame everyone except themselves or their children for the drug abuse and other delinquent ways stressing that Goans are born free and that they have their freedom of choice. So it is best for me to remain quiet. Even priests today are dumb, unlike priests during my youth who proactively played active role in the moulding of our character process. Today rape of a child of three years to harming a woman of 76 years is tolerated as long it is not from your own family. Sadly we today are claiming that Goans know too well how to behave, if this is true why is it that teen-ager pregnancies are at a rising high, drug and alcohol dependency is growing alarmingly and losing ancestral properties by gambling is worrisome? Goans are either in a denial mode or staying in their own `comfort zone’. We feel that everything is hunky dory and wake up only when incidents strike and go to sleep again. We blame the sword attacker, we trumpet against Muthalik and some may even blame my good parents and accuse them of keeping us well under control far stricter than what Muthalik is saying today, but we fail to understand the cause and effects of realities of today.* *Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. We have those in the print media, using the Goan newspapers to champion about the essence of the cultural and identity of Goans, even though they have settled here only for ten odd years. In my father’s favourite phrase to me, whenever he felt my requests or suggestions were not to his liking: `Please do not teach your father how to suck’, I know what I want you to do or what is good for you. Strangely many non-Goans are preaching and promoting or even telling us what exactly is Goan culture, identity or our lifestyle; better still about our broad mindedness, openness, casualness, carefree attitude or kindness. It is our gullibility that is leading to our exploitation and misunderstanding of our own true self.* *Is the government sponsored carnivals a true representation of our culture? Are mid-night freaking and festivities a part of our lifestyle? Is Goan politeness and hospitality meaning saying yes to everything the tourism industry demands of us? Loud music, the pub culture, raves on the beach front, all this and much more will it promote tourism and our economy? It is time for us to reflect, analyse and understand about the causes which are today leading to suicides, murders, violence, rapes, divorces, abuse of drugs and waywardness. Mandar murders, the ill-famous sword attacks, rapes of children and Goan youth languishing in jails must concern us, instead of affording undue publicity to Pramod Muthalik. By our actions let us put Muthalik to shame not empty phrases over Dutch courage. Reflect and act. I want my deeds to speak and put Muthalik to shame. The Mangalore pub violence did teach Muthalik a lesson. We Goans also must learn our experiences, which are far from satisfactory today. However one thing is clear, let the one without sin cast the first stone. END*
