Selma bai
Our Konkani is a beautiful language and as musical as French. Can I take this
opportunity to humbly request you to come
down from the pulpit and stop singing a line from one of our folk songs "Undir
Mhojea Mama" - the line being "ani hanv
sangtam tuka".
The words in Johnny Nash's song are apt here (check U-Tube) "there are more
questions that answers and the more I find
out the less I know". I am not satisfied that any of my enquiries have been
answered by you except with a lot of waffle,
likened to the makings of a good Goan politician. I have responded to Eddie
Fernandes who came in with "guns blazing"
and copied my response to you and hope the good people at goanet will post it.
The reason I mentioned about the Goan Short Stories competition on goanet was
that I wanted to know if it was the same
Selma who, on another forum, objected to this competition on the grounds of
"ageism". This was in view of your posts on
the standard of English of our young students in Goa.
I trust you will have taken note of what Gabe has already said about the Goan
Association UK and his important comments
about the number of its members. I still await your verification. It is my
opinion that even local organisations operating in a
small way within rules and guidelines, are more beneficial to the interest and
wellbeing of our community and the promotion
of our culture.
I wish you well in your heritage research with Goan women in their eighties
(before they go gaga) coming from East Africa
and the conclusion of your report in two years' time.
Rose and myself have been thankfully saved from meeting you as you have
mentioned your time in the UK is to end soon.
We prefer not to associate with anyone who calls Goans "a peg lower than cows"
or our men as "immature". We are proud
of our culture and our rich heritage and are saddened to watch some of our
community dissolve into all of "pond" life
thinking that grass is always greener with another community and culture or no
culture on the other side.
I know living is expensive but it is still very popular and wish you well.
Melvyn Fernandes
Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom
3 December 2011
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