Nice to be in touch again. I think that it is simply historical fact that Goa is 'a cultural bridge' between East & West. My suggestion, to politically interested younger people in Goa, is that there should be Special Status that covers artistic and literary endeavor rather than simply a caju nut & feni 'Economic Free Zone'. In Canada Quebec Province has 'special status'.
There is so much great Art & Literature coming out of India, most of it totally unknown in 'the West'. Goa would be the 'staging area' & 'upload zone' for work by such as Amitav Ghosh and my brother-in-law Poet/Translator/fine art Painter Gieve Patel---and of course 'the future generation of Indian cultural innovators. People here think that they are benefiting a lot by 'doing yoga'---nothing much more than very simple 'hatha'; they know nothing of Jnana/Raja/Kundalini or the thinking of Aurobindo and Vivekananda. The old 'free trade' thing (The Opium Wars; Waters of River Mandovi running with blood) can never be 'avenged'---but as an old saying goes, "The Mills of God grind slowly, and they grind exceeding fine. On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 8:23 PM, Venantius J Pinto < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear Dan, et al, > > The part about “strategic ‘uploading zone’” is quite apparent, and > thrilling to see, despite the vicissitudes practically all Goans contend > with. I believe you are definitely on to something significant. I cannot > put a finger on it, but sense it in my being, and tap into it in my > artistic labor. But then artists rarely know what they are doing. This is > true. There is wide gamut of intellectual “brewing” in Goa, among Goans, > and the myriad interactions Goans, and those living in Goan affinity, have > with others. > > I wrote the following as a conclusion in an essay written after a > presentation at the Goa Convention, in Lisbon. > > “It is one fact to be born—we do not choose our parents; but I hold to the > belief that to be born Goan is a birth that affords possibility in simply > being. Whatever the nature of the being--it is Goan in breadth, and cannot > be duplicated nor erased however subtle the influence. Towards that > consideration, one may reiterate that we do not come by our thoughts; they > come to us. This to me is Goaness—a Mobius strip of devotions, > sensibilities, colour, proverbs, sexuality and other flagrant exuberances > projected into the third dimension. This dimension where we encounter > ourselves and others is where I am at my best and worst as a visual > thinker. My concerns have been about promulgating a Catholicity of being > and openness by suggesting nuance and detail in otherwise opaque subjects. > This includes my interest in working visually with religious thoughts and > ideas. A collective of feelings and objects collude to create emotional > spaces—mind spaces. I enter spaces through my artistic labour and in so > doing bring about a nature I otherwise would not be privy to. Spaces to me, > much like cultures, hold in their geometries, mindsets which find their way > into shape, and form artistic metaphors.” > > The entire essay may be read at the link below: > Levitating Enclosures, Procellous Washes and Shunted Wagons > <http://venantiusjpinto.blogspot.com/2009/12/levitating-enclosures- > procellous-washes.html> > > > Thank you, > > —Venantius J Pinto > > > On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 3:14 PM, Dan Driscoll <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > May I be an enthusiastic 'seconder to this motion', and I would add that > > the 'reply/comment' protocol for those e-letter postings may well > represent > > the peduncle of a new branch on the literary consciousness. It was > > Aurobindo who wrote of 'the overmind'---a higher level of human > > consciousness achieved through intensive yogic meditation. In the West > the > > same phenomenon is addressed by the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de > > Chardin, with his 'ultra-humain'. > > > > The Bombay Parsi Dr. K.D. Sethna (of Aurobindo Ashram) wrote a definitive > > book (THE FUTURE OF SPIRITUALITY) comparing/contrasting the two > > 'super-minds', and if my reading of him is right the main difference is > > that Teilhard put more emphasis on the 'planetary aspect'---whereby much > of > > the 'ascent of man' will depend on 'collaborative reasoning'. > > > > Further to that, Goa itself may be the strategic 'uploading zone' for a > > 21st Century 'planetary consciousness'---uniting the cultural & > philosophic > > legacies of a huge cultural web of evolving Life, in what we have come > to > > know as 'the space/time continuum'. > > > > On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 2:59 PM, Roland Francis < > [email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > > Far too many members of the Goanet List hesitate to post their > thoughts, > > > opinions and replies. > > > > > > Perhaps they think they are not up to the mark, meaning they can’t > > > formulate their thoughts or put them in words. Perhaps they think they > > > would be silently ridiculed and what they have to say isn’t important > > > enough for others to read. > > > > > > Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s not that we begin to > write > > > and suddenly become wordsmiths or purveyors of fine thoughts. Like > anything > > > else, posting and writing takes sustained practice to get better. > > > > > > Putting thoughts on paper (a phrase that includes on computer) has many > > > benefits. You increase your vocabulary, you get the chance to put your > > > requests, ideas and thoughts in a more orderly way than merely spouting > > > words. It gives a chance to the reader on the other end to weigh what > you > > > are expressing more seriously. It takes us out of “he or she can be > written > > > off” territory to “lets hear what he has to say, it makes sense, > importance > > > and perhaps pleasure for me to listen”. > > > > > > Most of us Goans have English almost as a first language and are proud > to > > > say it and equally disgusted when somebody is surprised when they > discover > > > we know it. But the truth is we as a community rank pretty low on usage > > > when compared to a true English speaker. That is not due to lack of > skill, > > > it is merely due to lack of proper practice. We have sufficient > vocabulary > > > but rarely use most of it. > > > > > > To ourselves, we lead ordinary lives, but in truth most of us have > > > remarkable stories of lives lived, experiences encountered and lessons > > > learned. I discovered this when some time ago I started a series on > Goanet > > > called Persona Grata. The people I talked to told of their lives and > > > achievements matter-of-factly. To me and most people however, those > would > > > be eye-popping narrations. > > > > > > I am not asking you to write specifically about yourselves, but I am > > > encouraging you to start creating posts on anything you want to write > on or > > > remark. If it’s related in some way to Goa or your being a Goan, so > much > > > the better. > > > > > > Viva to your writing. > > > > > > Roland Francis > > > Toronto. > > > > > > >
