Frederick Noronha wrote: >If you had not spent so many years photographing Iceland, Goa might have been >saved? FN
First of all, I spent many, many years - 16 and counting - photographing Goa, traveling the length and breadth of Goa, photographing its surviving beauty as well as its takedown. I now have an extensive photographic database of imagery from Goa that nobody else has (not even your and my favourite JoeGoaUK). It is both technically and aesthetically of a very high standard, not the point-camera-and-pray activity that you are accustomed to. Almost every aspect of Goa has been covered in my work - landscape, culture, spiritual heritage, and Goans themselves. Also included is a documentation of the environmental destruction of Goa. A large body of my work still remains unpublished and will hopefully see the light of day in the coming months and years. The best part is, I did it for my pleasure, not for monetary gain or for some stupid award. So on the facts, your premise born out of malice is wrong: I spent a great deal of time in Goa. And by God’s grace I spent, and continue to spend, a great deal of time in Iceland as well, one of the last paradises on the planet. For these blessings I thank Lord Ganapati, Lord Shiva, and Lord Krishna every single day. As usual, you are blowing smoke. And you don’t have the decency to admit it. If you had not had your nose in the gutter, if you hadn’t spent time smearing people, if you had been a real journalist instead of pretending to be one, you would have known about my work in Goa. Now - “saving” Goa is a big, big task. (Goa cannot be "saved" anymore; it is gone for good). No one person, however well-intentioned and devoted, can do it alone. I rolled up my sleeves and joined the serving hands. I spent a lot of my time, effort, and money on being part of a small community doing my best. After giving a number of years to the mission, I withdrew because unlike professional ‘activists’, those scam artists, who are in it in perpetuity, I had the good sense to know my limits. We failed, but at least I gave it an honest shot. You, on the other hand, stood on the sidelines throwing impotent barbs at us. You did nothing, you fraud, except cast aspersions on people who stepped into the arena. A line from an era long past comes to mind: Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Best, r
