Selma wrote:
Frederick is a combo of Che Guevera and Don Corleone
(jealous?). You on the other hand are a combo of Lord
Byron and Jacinth Vaz. More of Jacinth and less of
Byron. There are women, all over the world, who
succumb to your Jacinth Vaz ish charm, I'm sure. Some
of them want to know how to answer the telephone in
Konkanni. A new model of cell phones in Goa, has
Alfred Rose's "Kukru ku kuru" as a ringtone. Was that
your idea? :-)
Cecil replies:
You do have some redeeming features Selma. By comparing me with that truly
great comedian Jacint Vaz you have made my day and my week. You would have
made my month too but next month, August, is the dastardly month of Goa Day
when we get all sorts of messages from Goans all over, patting themselves
and each other on the back and doing nothing for Goa.
As a young man I saw Jacint Vaz performing in quite a few tiatrs, mostly in
Mapusa. I always was in awe of his flawless sense of timing and his ability
to completely captivate and control the audience. Just a slight gesture
from him could send the whole audience into uproarious laughter. Jacint had
such a reputation that just his appearance on the stage would be welcomed
with laughter - without even so much as a comic word or gesture or look. He
was truly a genius of his craft. I take him as my idol. If in my lifetime I
can do one tenth of what he did, in terms of making people laugh and forget
their worries for a while, I will consider myself a great success.
Che Guevera, Don Corleone, Lord Byron... these are western metaphors I
cannot easily relate to. When looking for heros and people to emulate I
always look around within my own community. There are many heroes around
but we often fail to recognise them and unnecessarily look outward for
heroes - and saints.
There is a Konkani saying, "Ainder asa cheddo, sodtha soglo waddo" (The
child is on your hip, why do you search the neighbourhood?). I am sure
there is a more appropriate saying but what I am trying to convey is that
often inspiration and heroes can be found in our backyard; we don't have to
look elsewhere.
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Selma replies:
I know a lot of things which no one else knows. I
maybe the only one who knows that Alfred Rose fathered
a love child, who now wants to digitalise his old
songs. See how easy it is to start a rumour on Goanet?
:-)
Cecil:
Just when I thought we could still make a decent woman out of you, there
you go again. Alfred Rose was another great man, and an Aldonkar. His
prolific output itself qualifies him for greatness, not to say that his
talent for entertainment was any less. By starting and spreading rumours
about a dead man, even in jest, you do him a grave injustice. Mischievous
acts like this, in an attempt to sound witty and have the last word, have
far reaching consequences. Questioning the supposed charity of a living
loudmouth is a different ball game from putting a shadow on the fidelity of
a dead man whose widow and children are very much alive. All the 'smileys'
in the world don't take away from the bad taste of your statement.
It ill behoves you Selma to get caught like this, in the act as it were, to
use your own language - with your skirt hitched around your waist.
Cheers!
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