It's time to get serious about anthropology in Goa: Bob Newman --------------------------------------------------------------
Of Jewish origin, Dr Robert "Bob" Newman knows Hindustani fluently and is a son-in-law of North India. From the 1970s he studied Goa as an anthropologist. Some of his writings, in the early 1980s, give a fascinating insight into this small State. Based in Marblehead, MA, this independent scholar formerly with La Trobe University in Australia can be contacted via [email protected]. An interview with Frederick Noronha FN: What do you see as Goa’s three biggest strengths? The strengths of every place are like natural resources. They might be renewable or they might be exhaustible. So, within India, Goa’s education system and the dedication to education are strong. But other states are coming up. Goa needs to keep up, move with the times, and constantly improve its education system. Goa's tradition of tolerance; the relative lack of communal tensions and violence has always been a big plus and it can continue, provided people do not use communalism to further narrow interests. A third strength is that Goa is unique in India with its Portuguese heritage and blend of cultures. This can serve it well or can be wasted and lost through over-commercialisation and lack of attention to it in education. So many films have been shot in Goa, but how many of them (OK, "Trikaal" and "Bhumika" are exceptions) really showed something Goan or focussed on Goan things? If Goa doesn't define its own culture, its own uniqueness and get it into school curricula or pass it on in some way, others will define Goa in their own way. The new growth in Goan literature is thus a positive feature. FN: Three biggest weaknesses? Failure of government to enforce its own laws. Corruption. Subsequent deterioration of environment. Talk about killing the goose that lays the golden eggs! FN: What prompted you to study Goa so fairly intensively? Well, I arrived in Goa in 1965 on my vacation from Peace Corps work around Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. I liked it a lot. I wanted to do anthropology in India. I realised that Goa had not been studied from an anthropological point of view and thought I would take the plunge. The more work I did, the more fascinated I became. FN: Whom do you see as the three bright young stars in your field, based on their research work on Goa? I claim to be the oldest but not the smartest, so to me, the others are all "young and bright"! In the generation just below me, of course the three names are Alito Siqueira, Rosa Maria Perez, and Alexander Henn. In the next generation, who are just now emerging, Claudia Pereira is the star who has just published a book. Other bright young people who will hopefully emerge, in terms of teaching and publication, are Jason Fernandes, Anjali D'Souza and Manuel Magalhães. One of the brightest stars is Bernadette Gomes. I’m always hoping that she'll publish what she's already done, not to mention doing some more. There may be some others, but I don't know much about their work. FN: In academic terms, do you think Goa is doing enough to study itself? Frankly, no. Alito and a couple of colleagues cannot carry the whole burden themselves. Goa has done well with the XCHR, the Archives and the Central Library, but these focus on history almost exclusively. I think it's time to get serious about anthropology in Goa. And why do foreigners like me have to do the work? Goans could definitely do it. FN: What more could it be doing? Well, for one thing, expand the anthropology department at the University if possible. Start such departments, okay, on a small scale, at the various colleges. Encourage people to think about Goan culture in schools -- try to build interest in now-vanishing traditions and ways of life. Encourage film makers to create films about Goan life, past and present. Try to design textbooks that would explore such Goan traditions as syncretism and tolerance, while not ignoring the past conflicts. If you have no such textbook, students get the message that "well, how important could Goan things be? There isn't even a textbook about them!" The increase in Goan literature, as I said before, is a very positive development. And emphasis on field work in any courses that come up... students need to relate theories and other people’s work to real life. FN: How do you see the trajectory of social change in Goa since you started studying the region intensely? More and more rapid. Goa was changing when I began in 1978. Now, instead of being a land of villages, agriculture and fishing, it is a land of real estate dealers, industrial estates, tourist 'projects', and urban sprawl. The coastal areas of Goa have been transformed and not so much for the better. I think it's positive that the living standard for a large number of people has risen. But their environment has badly deteriorated. That will tell in the end. Also, there has been a massive influx of people from elsewhere in India, not to mention foreign communities that may or may not be legal. Hindi is widely-spoken today. In 1978, it was a rare person who could speak it, mostly those who had worked in Bombay in lower positions. Lower caste Goans have definitely broken many of the binds that once ensnared them. That's positive too. But caste is still very much with us. Computers and the Internet have changed things all over the world, so Goa is no exception there. The more tightly the world connects, the more social change will occur in Goa. At least until some future date when everyplace is everyplace. FN: Do you see Goa as more of an open or closed society? Has it changed over the years? It's much more open than it used to be. As an Indian society, it was never really closed. If you want to see a closed society, try Japan or some village in France. Indians may not like to intermarry, etc, but they were always, in my experience, friendly, curious, and hospitable. Plus, they let you be whatever you claimed. But, in terms of daily life, "ghanti" and "paklo" are fading. New faces have appeared more than ever, not just tourists, but people who live and work there. So, we can't call Goa a 'closed society'. If some people long for the old days, that is human nature anyhow. Goa has changed and I doubt if it's going back to some mythical Golden Age. Large numbers of Indians always quickly adopt any new idea. This is one of India's (and so Goa's) great strengths. I hope some new ideas about preserving Goa and its environment catch on in Goa's government and society soon. http://www.navhindtimes.in/panorama/it-s-time-get-serious-about-anthropology-goa-bob-newman --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
