Were there two conventions held in Goa...I ain't sure. But at one of them, the closing-evening speaker was Keith Vaz (Zulema d'Souza of Toronto was involved in this one). Senor Vaz spoke around 4:30/5:00 at the Kala Academy, and his talk was not terribly stirring....you may have taken a feni-induced siesta Eugene and missed it!
As for the question of identity: that is exactly my point- the folks discussing goan identity ...perhaps they did not the appropriate bunch. One has to be an observer of Goan life, and understand what ails us, our problems, our past and perhaps have some ideas and insights on our future as a people with a common background. This can be an endless and pointless discussion ofcourse and names of all those professors mean squat! We have a bunch of thinkers and accomplished leaders (damm, not politicians) who should throw in their opinions: Charles Correa, the da Chunha brothers, Mangeshkar sisters, Kishori Amonkar, the tiatrists and the naatok-writers, Ulaas Buiao, Uday Bhembre, Lucio Miranda, Remo, Manohar Sardesai (his piece on naagdo petaro announcing the arrival of the hippies on Akashwani Poonji plays its self over and over in my minds ear...)! Not to suggest celebrities are better thinkers then the rest; folks on top of their game, accomplished, leaders. The only politician I would include is Mathany Saldhana, truly grounded, truly involved in the Goan problem. That said, Concani is the soul of Goan being, it reflects our outlook to life, our attitude to the world around us, reflects our being, who we are. Its our joy and it sounds beautiful to boot. Yes, I understand everyone speaks English in Goan homes these days, its in vogue. Visit a Gujrathi home, in Goa, London, in Johannesburg and the first language the off-spring speak is Gujrati, no questions asked. And how can you possibly understand and define oneself when one cannot speak ones mother tongue, the very thing that places us culturally, socially? I may be wrong in my assessment but lets hear some other opinions. Humanity of munispon is a trait and not defining as ones identity.........it deals with character and I do not see any 'munispon' in most Goans today; maybe 20 years ago. Goan culture as we know it is on the wane and was for a long time (one of the few who often spoke about this was Mario Miranda in the late 80s) and perhaps loosing our language is a sign. I mean, nothing wrong speaking Inglees and even Inglees with an accent but not speaking ones mother-tounge maybe fine and stylish momentarily but in the long run, I am sure it haunts one..........where do I come from, where do I stand, who am I? Ones mother-tounge attaches one to ones roots. These are questions that bug the mind. Speaking to younger Goans who are born and raised elsewhere...this is evident (I am talking of younger folks who are grounded) and these questions bug them. The mind is a strange. Maybe I yam just dreaming in Concani. On Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 7:56 AM, Eugene Correia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Pandu Lampiao is sadly mistaken to say that Keith Vaz > was the star attraction of the Goan convention in > 1988. Keith was not even there.
