Selma Carvalho: Who the Bleep cares about the Costas of Margao? Title: Who the Bleep cares about the Costas of Margao? By Selma Carvalho Source: Goan Voice UK Daily Newsletter 23 May 2010 at www.goanvoice.org.uk
Full text: The death, earlier this month, of Roque Francisco "Bebe" da Costa at the age of 43 must have come as a shock to the da Costa family, but then, the da Costas of Margao are no strangers to tragedy. Most of us know the family name because it sits large on the packets of sausages, bebinca and other packaged products we love to buy off the shelves at general stores in Goa. Much less is known about Da Costa's tryst with Goa's history, their spectacular contribution to its political and social cause. My interest in the family was aroused when I read a book by one Francisco Joao da Costa, who wrote under the pseudonym Gip. Gip was an unusual writer. J. A. Ismael Gracias, the doyen of 19th century Goan intellectuals, called Gip, the Mark Twain of Goa, and his particular genre of writing has never been matched in Goa for its skill and incisiveness. Writing a column, Notas a lapis, in O Ultramar, the first Goan newspaper, in the 1890s, he mercilessly pilloried the elite society of Margao. He satirised their pretensions of caste and preoccupation with all things Portuguese, particularly the language; their ability to mimic the language but not speak it with any amount of fluency. For this he earned the ire of his contemporaries. Goan society was not about to forgive Gip. He died young at forty, quite forgotten by both literature and history, until his tepid revival by literary critics in the 20th century. The newspaper Gip wrote in, O Ultramar, was started by his uncle, Bernardo Francisco da Costa, one of the most notable personalities of mid-nineteenth century Margao. When Bernardo was just 32, he was elected to the Cortes, the Portuguese parliament in Lisbon. Upon returning to Goa, he founded the O Ultramar in 1859, to give voice to the native Goan. The possibility of successfully running the O Ultramar seemed bleak. Yet Bernardo was insistent that it was necessary for the advancement of the people of Goa. The Goan man of Bernardo's time came of age firmly believing in the heady ideals of Republicanism which Portugal espoused. They flourished, in an atmosphere when Goans were considered equal citizens of Portugal, although hemmed-in by the realities of racial discrimination both in Goa and Lisbon. Bernardo also established the Clube e Teatro Harmonia, in an area which then must have been the hub of Margao, surrounded by the elongated houses of Margao's gentry delicately painted in hues of pastel pink and deep yellows. For anyone born on the Salcete side of the Zuari River, the Harmonia is still a bastion of the upper-echelons of Margao high society. It bears the faith smell of moth-balled blazers and pre-1961 imported wines served in cut-glass decanters, while porcelain-skinned women talk Portuguese in hushed tones. There is an aura of exclusivity which clings to its name despite the many advances Goan society has made in overcoming the ugly barriers of caste. The Da Costas were formidable social reformers in their time. To laugh at this society in its face, to try and change it through the printed word, at a time when it constituted an absolute social, economic and political hegemony, required the bravery of a David against a Goliath, at times, literally risking lives. Bernardo himself, would be falsely charged with plotting against Portugal and exiled to Diu, where he died in 1896. Bernardo's most enduring legacy was however, opening a canning company in 1885, by the name of Costa and Cia, which eventually became the Costas that we know today. The House of Costa has a long and varied history dating back to the 15th century, when many an illustrious son and daughter from the family manoeuvred the course of Goa's social and political history. Given the turmoil that Goa is in today, I hope we can find the Gip or Bernardo Francisco da Costa within us and rise to redefine Goa, yet again. For we Goans are not yet ready to become a footnote on the pages of history books. (Sources used: Assis Correia L., Goa through the Mists of History, Maureen Publishers, 2006 and Genealogia da famille Costa da Margao by Joaquim Bernardino Catao da Costa. ) Do leave your feedback at [email protected]
