Dear David, You have to understand that Aldona is a plebiean village, a Janus-like one at that, having the distinction of being the only village in Goa which has two Communidades, one of the Bamons (including the goldsmiths) called the Fraternal, and the other of the Chardos and Sudras called the Communidade de Boa Esperanca.
It used to have fierce and crude caste battles in the past, even resulting in murders in the last century. There is a cross on the road in Nachinola which marks the spot of one such tragedy where ironically a person was hacked to death by his own caste-men for opposing this caste exclusion. It is also a village where there has been a degree of communal tensions: the spot where the statue of Edward Soares stands is a contested spot. Ask about it the next time you go to the Aldona Institute. And political rivalries are not unknown to erupt all of a sudden: after an election not too long ago there was a case of arson in the market area which was allegedly to settle political scores. Given the underlying tensions, the people of Aldona seem to have of late adopted a modus vivendi of live and let live which apparently makes it more welcoming although such appearances can be deceptive. Nowadays the people probably think that it is politically incorrect or at least inexpedient to discuss caste and political issues openly, and will indignantly assert that they don't believe in caste and so on, but scratch hard for a little while, and you'll find that these caste and communal identities lie very closely under the skin. Moira on the other hand is a different bunch of bananas. The people here used to be stacked in a definite pecking order although the old order has changed immensely over the last century. The rich Catholic Bamon Ganvkars; the other Bamon Ganvkars; the others who have some stake in the Communidade was the rule of old. Nowadays their clout is gradually disappearing as many of the ganvkars have departed to foreign foreign shores. And the demographics of the village have changed immensely since Stella Mascarenhas-Keyes wrote her doctoral dissertation of 1987 published by Goa 1556 as Colonialism, Migration and the International Catholic Goan Community. In this book the village of Amora she describes is a thinly disguised version of Moira as it was then. Emigration of old gaunkars and in-migration of the Bahujan Samaj from other villages; and now the elite on the one hand and the labor class from other states on the other, has changed the ethos of the village drastically. But yes, maybe there still is a trace of the old Moideche Bamnachem snootiness existing. Maybe this is what makes you feel an 'outsider' in the village, but I wonder if there is a chance that you have been a bit standoffish yourself. Take the club for instance which is next door to where you live: what stops you from going in and sitting down and talking to whoever you find there? (Having said that there is not that much going except for a table tennis table and a couple of carrom boards and a cards table, although outside the kids play football and cricket and anybody can do that without a fee.) Otherwise, the casual membership is just Rs 30 a month and the life membership is about Rs 5000/ or so if I remember correctly, maybe less. There isn't a bar or a library so that is a bit of a dampener and as long as this state of affairs carries on life there can be a bit dim. The music that you hear coming from the club is most likely to emanate from a function where the club is hired for an afternoon or night for a wedding or a private party for a fee, for the last time something public was organized by the committee must have been around Christmas time, unless it has been a tiatr for which anybody can pay a ticket and enter. This letter is getting a bit long and my dog Laskar is crying to be taken out, so I'll stop here but there is always time to return to this theme in the future. Best Augusto On 29-Jun-2015 2:30 pm, "David de Souza" <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi > > Thank you for that pithy introduction Augusto. > > Just by the way every saturday we go to the Aldona Institute, of which we > are now members, for a drink and great conversation. The Aldona community > have embraced us and insisted that we join. We have partaken of their > Annual picnic, jumble sale, BBQ nights, Sao Joao festival and attended and > been part of the MAT talks initiated there. > > Despite the fact that when the loud speakers play at the Moira Club, we > know something is going on, no one has ever invited us in or made the > slightest gesture. > > From my own experience whenever the words 'the *Other*', and this would > include, Outsider/Insider, features in my thoughts, it should be a warning > light for a prejudice I might hold. > > A mere 2000 generations ago, proved incontrovertibly by the Genome > Project, all, ALL our ancestors shared the plains of Africa. We are ALL of > us a product of a migration, its something wonderful to celebrate rather > than spill bile over. Where do we draw our laxman rekhas? > > dd > > > On Jun 29, 2015, at 10:28 AM, augusto pinto wrote: > > Welcome to MN David. I've just added you to the list. > > David de Souza is a photographer I believe, and his wife Charmayne and he > have written a book called Itinerants: Mumbai's Nomads > http://www.airoots.org/2009/02/the-itinerants-of-mumbai/ > > His website looks pretty cool if you take the time to explore it. > http://daviddesouza.com/ > > Charmayne D'Souza is a poet who has written A Spelling Guide to Women. > > I do expect to see and read a lot from the two of you on this forum! > Best > Augusto > > On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 10:07 AM, augusto pinto <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> >> *From: *David de Souza <[email protected]> >> *Subject: **PP's letter 'Outsider'* >> *Date: *June 29, 2015 8:50:48 AM GMT+05:30 >> *To: *[email protected] >> >> Dear Augusto/Moira-net >> >> My wife Charmayne and I are both Goans, we have lived most of our lives >> in Mumbai, our ancestors moved from Goa like thousands of other Goans for >> reasons that you and all other Goans are acutely aware of. I dont need to >> make this an essay on migrations. >> >> For 17 years Charmayne and I have been in search of land to return to the >> land of our fathers and mothers. During this time we have come to Goa as >> often as our professions would allow. Three years ago we found a piece of >> land in Calizor, Moira, that both of us were drawn to, we did not know at >> the time that we had rich and famous neighbors. We loved the fact that the >> land was covered with trees, there was a gentle breeze through the day and >> the lady in the beautiful well maintained house, across the street had >> magnificent begonias. >> >> Its taken us 3 years to get to the point when our home will almost be >> ready, clearing our land papers took inordinately long for reasons that >> every Goan and non- Goan knows. >> >> Charmayne and I chose to live in modest, one bedroom Dora Apartments >> across the football ground while construction was going on. We have been >> living here since Feb 2014. Which brings me in a long winded way to the >> point of this 'response' to Prashant Panjiar's letter. >> >> There has not been a single day when we have not been reminded of the >> fact that we are 'Outsiders', sometimes subtly and most often crudely. Both >> of us dont take it personally. >> >> Charmayne and I have immersed ourselves in the community to the extent we >> can, our concerns have included Garbage and being of assistance to the >> community if needed. >> >> I cant agree more with Prashant Panjiars letter. I feel exactly the same. >> >> I wondered about the garbage outside his home and was most pleasantly >> surprised to see it cleared and looking pristine. It has always surprised >> me that Goans can just drive past a pile of festering, smelly, unsightly, >> unhygenic mess with no intention of doing anything about it. What >> surprised me even more is that barely 3 km away in Mapusa are numerous >> garbage dumps where you can dispose of your waste. Most goans have access >> to transport in some shape and form, so this mindset is extremely >> bothersome. Of course unless caught red handed, most insiders will complain >> that the garbage menace is due to the 'outsiders'. >> >> Prashant has detailed more eloquently the idea of the stereotype. If we >> have wanted to leave Mumbai its largely due to the fact that the Shiv Sena >> with its Insider/Outsider politics have damaged the character of the city >> beyond repair. (The irony is that the Kohlis have pointed out to the Shiv >> Sena that its leaders are 'Outsiders' too, a point that is deliberately >> obfuscated) So who is an Outsider and who is an Insider and does it matter? >> Entitlement is an odd thing. >> >> Initially we wanted to live for six months here and 6 months in Mumbai, >> but the more we live here, the less we want to live in Mumbai. We have not >> come here to retire, but to retread. >> >> Quite honestly I have no aspirations of ever being considered an >> 'Insider'. >> >> david >> >> >> >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Moira-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/moira-net. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Moira-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/moira-net. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >
