----------------------------------------------------------------- Goanetter Francis Rodrigues (Vasco/Toronto) unveils his book, The Greatest Konkani Song Hits. Launch dates: Goa (Kala Academy) on 9 Aug. 4 pm. U.K. (Staines) on 15 Aug. Canada on 20 Aug and US on 30 Aug. Details http://www.konkanisongbook.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------- Goanetter in the News: A Diplomat Who Draws the Famous By Ekaterina Strekalova Click play to view a slideshow of photos from the exhibition and Mr. D'Souza's artwork. Aug. 5 – Just when most United Nations officials were heading home, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took the elevator last night to the first floor of the Secretariat to look at a portrait of himself and inaugurate a new exhibition of pencil drawings, “Portraits of Power,” by Placido D’Souza, an artist and former diplomat who worked for Indian Foreign Service for 34 years. “I find it a truly excellent exhibition, covering a large number and variety of very famous people depicting their moods and their expressions,” said Hardeep Puri, India’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, in an interview with UNA-USA. The show also has portraits of other UN officials, politicians and Nobel Prize winners, including Mother Teresa. The art will be displayed till Aug. 14. During his service as a consul general to India, D’Souza was able to connect with many of his portrait subjects, who personally signed the work. “This gentlemen met these people as they are, sketched them the way they are. I think that makes a tremendous impact on all of us,” said Suhail Khan, from the Department of UN Peacekeeping Operations. Promela Suri, who works in the under-secretary-general’s office and is the president of the Society for Promotion of Indian Culture and Experience, a culture club in the UN that organized and curated the exhibition, said: “This exhibit is like bringing unity and diversity together, because people of power on the portraits are from all over the world. And we are bringing them to the UN, which is the right place.” Although Puri worked with D’Souza for almost 20 years in the diplomatic community, he was surprised to learn that D’Souza had another vocation. “I was not aware of the fact that he has this artistic side to his personality,” Puri said. “I only discovered that years later and this is the first time I’ve seen the exhibition myself.” An old friend of the artist, Mohan Jethwani, a former deputy commissioner of New York's Parks and Recreation Department, said of D’Souza: “He never showed his artistic side to us. When we would get together, we just sit down as a couple of friends, old-timers, and talk about old days when we were little kids in Pakistan and India, growing up. None of us had any money, all of us practically starving. We used to marvel at our fortune, at how fortunate we are to be in New York City, the greatest city in the world!” Reflecting on his childhood in India, D’Souza said to UNA-USA: “I used to sketch and draw early on. There was plenty of time in my hands. In those days, you had nothing else, frankly.” The artist referred to the lack of TV, radio and Internet in his youth as “a great advantage for free rein of your imagination.” Puri, reflecting the feelings of the many Indian people at the exhibition, said, “We are very proud to have a person who is so versatile in his talent, who is not only a very senior diplomat but also an accomplished artist.” “He is also a terrific writer,” Jethwani, a former refugee from Pakistan, said. “He started a magazine called Darshan, which talks about glories of India’s past. He introduced me to an India I didn’t even know after living here for 50 years.” When the club approached the artist to offer exhibition space in the headquarters to show his art, D’Souza said, “OK, no problem.” In a long tradition of cultural clubs within the UN community, this two-year old group is the largest membershipwise. Forty percent are of non-Indian background, including a significant number of Americans, who joined the club to learn about Indian culture. “I’m not looking particularly for publicity or commercial interest,” he added. “It’s my hobby, and I enjoy my hobby. I have no former training, I must confess. I reproduce as best as I can what I see on a portrait.” Ban personally complimented D’Souza, saying he found the portrait so close to what he looks like that he asked to have one for himself. At the end of the opening, D’Souza said to the guests: “This is work that, I hope, speaks for itself. And when your work speaks for itself, please do not interrupt.” Ekaterina Strekalova is a Ph.D candidate at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a publications intern at UNA-USA. http://www.unausa.org/Page.aspx?pid=1507
