Goanetters annual year-end meet is on Dec 27, 2010 (Monday) from 4-6 pm at Institute Piedade (near Hotel Mandovi, opp Bread & More) in Panjim. Do come along. RSVP via SMS 9822122436, [email protected] or 2409490 (after 2 pm).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dear friends, Wilmix has sent a nice joke as an "article". But he could have also sent it in Konkani (Roman script) for better impact. Recently Lino Dourado, had suggested that we should write in Konkani and I had suggested that Wilmix send his article "Survival of the fittest" in English as well. Many Goanetters do so; Dominic is a recent example. But there is no response from Wilmix. Unfortunately, Konkani for him is the language of the stomach; meant to be used only on the tiatr stage, and not on the street where English alone reigns. All the characters in his joke (not just Ramalingam) communicate in fluent English (not even Konklish). So, why do they need Konkani in any script for communicating with the Government? Is it too much to expect that we practise what we preach? I wish you all a very Joyous Christmas season. Mogall Ixttamno, Wilmix baban "article"chea nanvan ek boroso vinod dhaddla. Inglixi vangdda to Konknnintui dhaddlolo zalear tacho odhik faido zavpacho. Halinch Linobab Douradon ami Konknnint borouncem mhunn suchovnni kel'li tedna Wilmix baban aplo to "Survival of the fittest" lekh Konknnintui uzvaddaunk taka ulo marlolo. Amche modle kaim zonn toxem kortat, dekhik Dominicbab. Punn Wilmixbab toxem korina. Amchea vaitt noxiban, Konknni mhollear Wilmixbabachi pottachi bhas, fokot tiatr machier vaporpachi, rostear nhoi; thoim Inglix eklich ranni! Wilmixbabachea "article"antlim soglinch patram (fokot Ramalingam nhoi) bori Inglix katortat. Zalear serkarak potram borounkoch tankam Konknnichi kiteak goroz poddchi? Inglix asach nhoi? Padricho sermanv vhoniekoi lagu zaum-di. Tumkam sogleank Khuxalbhorit Natalam anvddetam. Sebastian Borges On Thu, 23 Dec 2010 Wilson Wilmix <[email protected]> wrote: ?Happy Liberation Day? ! (An Article by: Wilmix Wilson Mazarello) (Day 19th December 2010,?. Time : 8 am) (Shri Flavio meets Ms. Aurol ) Flavio: ?Happy Liberation Day?! Aurol: What is so happy about ?Liberation Day? ? Flavio: It is the 19th of December, remember ? Aurol: Yes I do remember. It is the day we Goans fell from the ?frying -pan? into the ?fire?. Flavio: What ? Are you suggesting that we were ?better off?, during the Portuguese Rule ? Aurol: No! I said , it was like being in a ?frying-pan? then & now it is like being in ?hot burning fire?. Flavio: Why do you say that ? Aurol: Because then, I was being robbed by ?outside thieves?. That was tolerable. But, today I am being ?looted- wholesale?, by my own fellow-Goans. That I cannot tolerate. Flavio: Oh ! you are talking of ?thefts? ? ?Thefts? were there during the Portuguese Rule , too. Aurol: Yes they were definitely there during the Portuguese Rule, but the number of thefts, murders , rapes, and acts of corruption during the last 50 years is 10 times more than those that happened during the 450 years of Portuguese Rule. Flavio: You may be right there, but what I am talking about is not of ?thefts? and ?rapes? . I am talking about is that with ?Liberatrion? , our ?Human-Rights? were restored. Aurol: What ?Human Rights? are you talking about ? Flavio: Could you openly criticize the Portuguese Rulers ?, If you did , you would be in jail. Aurol: And who says you can criticize the Government now ? Today , if you criticize a Minister X, he sends goondas to your house, to beat up your entire family. If you criticize a Minister Y, the next day he sends the ?Income Tax Department? to raid your house . If you criticize a Minister Z , he sends the ?Police? to arrest you , for doing things you would?nt even dream of doing. Do you need to know more ? Flavio: No! No ! but those are ?misdeeds? of some individual Ministers. What I am saying is , things like, you can now, openly talk in your own mother tongue Konkani. Aurol: Who says we could not openly talk in Konkani , then ? In fact more people talked in Konkani then, than people are talking now. Flavio: What I mean to say is , you can even write to the Government in Konkani now. Aurol : Is it so ? Well let me tell you my , recent , personal experiences of writing to the Government in Konkani. Recently, our M.L.A came to us and told us that the Government is implementing the ?Official Language Act? and that if we want our works to be done fast, then we should send all our correspondence to the Government in Konkani. So everybody in our village, started writing to all Government Departments in Konkani . Believe me , not only did our works not happen fast, but from that day onwards , all our works at the Government Departments, came to a ?grinding halt?. Flavio: How can that be ? That?s just not possible. Why did?nt you go back and enquire ? Aurol: We did. I myself met one Mr. Ramalingam, in the Power Dept. and the following is the gist of our conversation : Aurol: Sir , why is my application not attended to for the last one month ? Ramalingam: Did you send your application in English , Konkani or Marathi ? Aurol: I sent it in Konkani . Ramalingam: (showing me 3 bundles of applications on his table) This biggest bundle is of applications received in English , this one second biggest bundle is of applications received in Marathi and this, the smallest bundle is of applications received in Konkani. Aurol: Then my application must be in that bundle. Ramalingam: I have attended to all these Konkani applications and there is no application bearing your name. Aurol: How is that possible ? Ramalingam : (Bending over the waste-paper basket, next to him , he pulled out a crumpled paper and said to me ) By the way, is this that something you are talking about ? Aurol: (Recognising my application) Yes, that?s it. That?s my application. Rmalingam: But what language is this ? French or Latin ? Aurol: That is my mother tongue Konkani . Ramalingam : No ! No! That is not Konkani. Konkani is this . (showing me another application from his table which was written in the Devnagari Script). Aurol: But my application is in Konkani in the Roman Script . Ramalingam : What is this Konkani in the Roman Script ? Madam , I am from South India and I have been given training by the Government of Goa , to read & write this Konkani in Devnagari Script. Anything else that we don?t understand is thrown into this ? waste-paper basket?. Aurol: Ok! Thanks for your information . (and I left the Office of the Power Dept.) Flavio: Is that so ? Then why did?nt you go back and tell that to your M.L.A who asked you to write in Konkani ? Aurol: I did. Not only I , but the entire village went to him and told him that the only Konkani we have learnt is in the Roman Script . And, you know what he said ? You better send your application again in English. Just forget all this Konkani business. What can we do if the Government Officers don?t understand Konkani in the Roman Script ? Flavio: So you sent your application again in English ? Aurol: Yes ! And we also told our M.L.A , ?why don?t you take up the cause of Konkani in Roman Script ? It affects lakhs of people in Goa?. Flavio: Then , what did he say ? Aurol: ?I will , I will ? ,he said , ?just wait till the next elections are announced. That is the right time to take up that issue?. Sebastian Borges
