"Apinirvanmayati-nanlo-yati-shitatam" The details of MFG projects were sent as committed in my previous post-critical comments are welcome etc. People who weigh their microseconds in gold would never waste time in reading it unless there is a compelling reason (or treason…)
Each and every mail on this issue would be published without editing in my compilation. So can I humbly submit that Madam Miranda is at liberty to post anything and everything.. Madam Miranda need to visit all the MFG sponsored “toilet block” beneficiary villages… I would personally request my good friends Mr. Rajendra Kerkar and Mr. Ramesh Ganwas to ensure that…esp, after the derogatory stylistics of the mail.. Actually Mirandabai has hit the nail very hard…. People demand these facilities, simple toilet (Sandas) facilities, the same people from mining area for whom everyone’s heart bleeds..and they have no money to spare! At Lamgao, below the mines I had to join a lota parade a few years back early morning… I don’t know how Sanagth workers funded by Dempo mining co. are managing… I have no idea if Madam Miranda visits mining areas of Goa with Canadian or British portable toilets.. but we Goans are inconvenienced and crave for western style toilets.. Madam Miranda’s historic mail would be very useful to the toilet deprived people of mining area for understanding how foreign funded campaigners view a basic sanitation issue.. and crack jokes.. Until Canadian or British MNC mining interests take over the responsibility of exporting/donating through Mirandabai’s NGO, or their agents in Goa/rest of India, the state of the art toilets to the poor mining regions of Goa, MFG may really send the money down the toilet…. As regards to toilets, I clean my own everyday and take no offense for Miranda’s comments. People should read –“ Zen and the art of toilet cleaning’ with due humility. Since I am no more associated with MFG, Madam Miranda could also direct the question to Dr.Narayan Dessai, the non official member on MFG executive committee since 2007 (and a former research student of University of Sussex alumni Prof. Peter Rony Desouza, the better half of London School of Economics alumni Dr. Ligia Noronha) with reference to the following observations… “More than six decades ago, Mahatma Gandhi and his disciple Vinoba Bhave took pride in cleaning toilets because they felt humiliated and ashamed by this ugly blindspot among their countrymen. Gandhi was particularly pained by the custom of night-soil carriers who existed by the millions and he wanted to bring dignity to the lives of entire castes that engaged in this means of livelihood, generation after generation.” So you, see, there is no ‘conflict of interest’ if we develop expertise in toilets… As regards skills like plumbing, carpentry etc. Madam Miranda may get detail tips from a senior and experienced MFG EC member like Dr. Narayan Desai who incidentally was also principal of a junior college managed by a Goan mine owner in the very heart of north Goa’s mining belt. And if that is not sufficient she is free to dig into the expertise of other respected members (except late Shri Jagdish Wagh) of Goa’s civil society who had been on Executive committee of MFG before and direct the same comments and questions to them which are enshrined in the ‘stinking’ mail… Message: 10 Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:01:08 +0100 From: Carmen Miranda <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: [Goanet] Where the Mineral Foundation of Goa money goes? Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Where the Mineral Foundation of Goa money goes? Apparently down the toilet! Given that the bulk of Mineral Foundation of Goa's work is to build school toilets and school benches according to the minutes of Feb. 10, 2010 meeting of executive committee of MFG, kindly published by Dr. Nandkumar Kamat for our information, why does the MFG need to recruit the expertise of a scientist like Dr Nandkumar Kamat?!!!! Is he an expert also in toilet plumbing and ergonomically desinged school bench carpentry? Is the MFG wasting Dr Kumar's time or is Dr Kumar wasting our time? Carmen Miranda -- Dr. Nandkumar Kamat, GOA
