---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**** http://www.GOANET.org ****
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rape of Goa - A photo documentary
by
Rajan P. Parrikar
Venue: Menezes Braganza Art Gallery, Panjim, May 21-24, 2008
http://www.parrikar.org/misc/doc-notice.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celebrating and perpetuating Nature
Traditions, summer fests and zatra of Mother Nature!
[or Sirigao, Sirigaokars and silly Gaokars]
By Miguel Braganza
Today, the sleepy village of Sirigao woke up to the pomp and glory of
celebrating the Earth goddess, Lairaiee. What Lairaiee represents is no
longer an issue with the Trimurthi-worshipping villagers in Sirigao.
Considered the twin sister of Tulzai, in the many forms of Sateri or the
formless Earth goddess, the birthday of Lairaiee is celebrated either in the
same week or a month away from the feast of Milagris Saibinn of Mapusa.
The Konknne, including the Kristao Konknne, follow the lunar calendar, but
other traditions impact on the date of celebrating the Milagris fest. The
same holds good for applicability of the laws of the land in "liberated"
Goa, as can be seen in the legislative, executive, judicial and now,
increasingly, in the people's courts or Gram Sabha meetings.
In Goa, even a 'May Queen Ball' held for the second year becomes
"traditional". So do "traditional" vote banks spring in fukat nagars! Mining
which penetrated Goa's foothills in the 1950s, the tourist hospitality
business that literally took off with "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" or LSD
in the end 1960s and real estate which erected itself in concrete since the
1980s, have now replaced agriculture and fishery in Goa as the "traditional"
occupation of Goans, pro-Goans and anti-Goans alike. Ramponkars of yesterday
have now become fishers of Yen.
The Sirigao zatra of the Earth Goddess, celebrated with the red backdrop of
the mountainous rejection dumps of open-cast iron ore mines (which have been
ordered by the High Court to temporarily stop pumping out the water from the
pits dug deep in the bowels of the Mother Earth at Sirigao), is a fitting
paradox. Water in the once perennially overflowing pond, called "Dhonddanchi
Tolli", has dried up due to pumping out of the water from the deep mining
pits, well below the water table.
Water, the universal symbol of life, is filled in the bone-dry pond by the
same tankers that supply drinking water to the village, which once enjoyed
fresh water from the unpolluted streams. The Dhondds now ritually dip their
feet in water, supplied by the mine-owners, en route to the famed walk on
hot coals in the wee hours of the morning. This is their "agni pariksha". Do
they worship Lairaiee or GOD [Good Ole Dollar] obtained by stripping Sirigao's
green cover, drying the waters in her fountainhead and selling her entrails?
The rituals remind me of the famous management story about the monk and the
cat. The story goes thus: There was once a cat that meowed endlessly and
disturbed the prayer sessions at a monastery in the Himalayas. The head monk
then ordered that the cat be tied far away from the prayer hall each day
before the prayers. This was religiously followed till one day the monk
died. The tradition continued. One day, the cat died. The prayers were
stopped. The new head of the monastery ordered that a new kitten be found,
and tied to the same stake as was done before, so that the prayers could be
re-started as per the tradition!
The people of Colomb in Sanguem are fighting to prevent their village from
becoming another Sirigao. They worship the Earth Goddess as Shantadurga, the
form of Sateri adopted during the transition of animists and Nature
worshippers of the Konkan, or Konknne, to organized religion. So do the
people of Mapusa who moved to Dhargal but kept their faith in Shantadurga.
The dynamic "shanti" of Shantadurga worshipping Bicholim is a myth, exploded
by deafening blasts of gelatine or dynamite all around the town painted red
by mining.
Ironically, the temples are the first target of renovation "funding" by the
mine-owners or their front companies and organisations. The poor Scheduled
Tribe villagers of Colomb claim that Rs.1.5 crores is on offer for
renovating the Sateri or Shantadurga temple in their village. So far, the ST
villagers have rejected it in favour of worshipping Sateri as Mother Nature
by keeping the hills intact. May their tribe increase!
The Botanical Society of Goa or, simply BSG, believes in "Greening the
minds". It began organizing the Konkan Fruit Fest [KFF] along with the
Corporation of the City of Panaji [CCP] from May, 2003. The idea of holding
the fruit festival came from Ashok Mogu Naik, the Chairman of the Panjim
Municipal Corporation and the first Mayor of CCP. The idea was developed by
the BSG through a consultative process that saw its scope expanded to take
in the whole of the Konkan at the instance of Dr. Ajit Shirodkar, Chairman
of the Western Ghats Kokum Foundation and now a Patron Member of BSG also.
It was enthusiastically supported by the Chief Officer-turned-Commissioner
of PMC/CCP, Sanjit Rodrigues.
The KFF is still making history and producing ripple effects in Maharashtra,
Karnataka and Kerala through fruit festivals. Sindhudurg district celebrates
it silver jubilee this week with such a festival. Last month, I was in Kochi
with the OFAI team at the third annual "Organic Kerala" exhibition in the
Town Hall of North Ernakulam-Kochi. The event reminded me of the BSG's
"Konkan Fruit Fest". The 5th edition of KFF will be held from 16 to 18 May
at Dayanand Bandodkar Road, Panaji. Dr. Heman Y. Karapurkar, former Director
of Agriculture and Chairman of GPSC, is the event Chairman. Competitions in
fresh ripe fruits will be judged on 16 May morning. Jams, juices, squashes,
preserves, candy and wine of fruits of the Konkan for the competition are to
be submitted for judging on 16 May. One can be proud of the Konkan and enjoy
its fruits, sustainably!
Fruit eating competitions are a recent rage. One can join the fun on 17 May
at 4.00 P.M. . The participants have to bring the ripe fruits, which will be
weighed before and after the two minutes eating period. Though the winner
often eats up to a kilogram of fruit in that time, no competitor has egg on
his or her face: it is just fruit pulp!
One does not have to sell one's land to have a decent life. Cultivating one's
land gives one income to live and helps to perpetuate the livelihood to the
coming generations. If we live like there is no Tomorrow, there will be no
tomorrow. USA is slowly realizing the effect of mortgaging the future. Do we
need to learn it the hard way, too? (ENDS)
The Miguel Braganza weekly column at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=482
==============================================================================
The above article appeared in the May 9, 2008 edition of the Gomantak Times,
Goa
