Seventh Jai Ho Goa Day by Sushil Suresh posted on September 1, 2009
Australia has a huge Goan community. Melbourne's Goan community itself, though not as big as what other cities downunder boast of, is well over 20,000 people. The Goan diaspora, like many other Indian communities, is a presence in many major cities of the world. Goan culture and its links to the "homeland" are vital binding ties to this global community. World Goa Day is that time of the year to celebrate the spirit of this community and its culture. For seven years now Melbourne's Goan community have marked this occasion to showcase and promote their culture and heritage. Goans do it not just for themselves, but also to promote the spirit and values of Goa among the wider community as a contribution the community makes to the cause of multi-culturalism. All are welcome to the World Goa Day, Indians, Aussies, Arabs, people from China, Thailand, Africa, Germany, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, whatever, whoever - and that's what it means to be Goan. The inclusion of Konkani in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution in 1992 was the event that got the World Goa Day off the ground. Come 21 August, and the Goan diaspora in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Kenya, Tanzania, and some countries of the middle-east celebrate this event with greater fervor than people living in Goa. Melgoans coordinator Oscar Lobo, who has been organising the event in Melbourne for several years now, feels that World Goa Day is unique in that Goans are not a community that believes in looking within and keeping to themselves. Accordingly, World Goa Day is a time to share Goa's culture with the rest of society, opening their doors to all who may be interested to know about Goa and its people, while also being open to learning, adapting and assimilating. Small wonder that Oscar Lobo received the community leadership award from Premier John Brumby in 2007. The award recognised Lobo's achievement in bringing together Goans and the wider Australian community together at the World Goa Day celebrations. This year the event was a success, and Oscar believes that its popularity is growing. Close to 500 people turned up for the community function at the Springvale City Hall, and if the Hall had more space a few hundred others on the waiting list would've been part of the celebrations. Being Goan is being exemplary in certain ways. Melgoans claim that they are a community that integrates well into many societies. Goan culture, they claim, being a product of both Western and Indian culture, is unique in its ability to contribute to Australia's multicultural fabric. Being proud of one's own background and culture and being inclusive as well as open to others is something that, according to Melgoans, their community can be justifiably proud of. The World Goa Day is also, according to Oscar, a time to show the world that Goa is more than just the worn-out stereotypes one finds in Bollywood movies about this land and its people. For this reason Melgoans have kept a distance from other Goan organisations that have a more inward looking approach to their cultural festivals. Oscar Lobo says that Melgoans is not a community organisation, but a private entity that exists to promote Goan culture. Melgoans have no organisational hierarchy or agenda that community associations usually have. Uniting all Goans, and all those who love Goa - no matter what their perceived differences maybe - is the sole motive of the organisation. Oscar says that he looks forward to the day when Melgoans would be able to hand over the World Goa Day celebrations to other Goan organisations that are keen to organise the event. World Goa Day, Oscar adds, is that time to leave the baggage of the past behind and revive the real spirit of Goa. http://www.szubha.com/content/2009/sep/01/seventh-jai-ho-goa-day/
