Re: [Goanet] [GOABOOKCLUB] Re: A Stranger at My Table:

[Cecil Pinto]

There is so much wrong with this response that I do not know where to start.
But start, I will.




" (both published by Amazon and Kindle)"

says a lot.

I think the word is 'on' and not 'by'.

---


" sub-arctic Norway, where folks learn to ski and ice-skate before they
learn to walk"

I have yet to see this.




" This is neuroscience and has nothing to do with Colonialism or Empires."

This takes the cake!

Cheers!

Cecil

==





On Wed, 13 Mar 2024 at 03:47, 'Gilbert Lawrence' via The Goa Book Club <
goa-book-c...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

> A Stranger at My Table:  The postcolonial story of a family caught in the
> half-life of empires.
>
> Thank you, Ivo de Figueiredo, for giving us the privilege into peak into
> your family situation. For starters, all families have skeletons in their
> closet, so you need to be commended. From the little I could gleam from the
> information shared; I would concur with the first part of the title of your
> book. However, having written our books on "Insights into Colonial Goa" as
> well as "Your Happy Brain: Why and How to Hug it" (both published by Amazon
> and Kindle), I do not think the unfortunate situation had anything to do
> with Colonialism; other than the colonialism led to the diaspora status.
>
> The family situation you describe is a result of individual choices made
> and the resultant circumstances. There is a take-home lesson for diaspora
> Goans - the difficulties of merging two cultures and adapting to a new
> culture or language as an adult.  This is neuroscience and has nothing to
> do with Colonialism or Empires. The situation you describe is especially
> important for the diaspora, as our children are increasingly getting
> married across cultural and religious boundaries.  To help Goans understand
> what I am saying, for a Goan Baba to move from tropical East Africa to
> small town sub-arctic Norway, where folks learn to ski and ice-skate before
> they learn to walk is likely the least of his challenges.  There is much
> we can learn from your story; and thank you once again for sharing it.  The
> writing in your book was free-flowing and gripping - Congratulations.
>
> Just to be helpful to you and many other diaspora Goans in your
> predicament, your reluctance to reconcile with your dad has nothing to do
> with Colonization or Empires.  It is in our power to let bygones be bygones
> and seek the peace we are yearning for.  I would be happy to continue this
> dialog, if you would like to write to me privately.
>
> Best Wishes
> Dr. Gilbert Lawrence
>
> --
> *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. ***
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "The Goa Book Club" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to goa-book-club+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web, visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/391753132.2003810.1710279428760%40mail.yahoo.com
> 
> .
>

[Goanet] Ku Klux Klan - The secret history of the KKK (in two parts) | DW Documentary

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Mervyn,

How many times do I have to remind you that GoaNet is Rico's personal turf
and fan club. You and me exist here at his discretion and he decides who
can post what.

Now recently he has discovered Whatsapp Groups and is running them
similarly and disastrously by just kicking out anyone who opposes him.

Great fun watching.

Cheers!

Cecil
=



Message: 2
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2021 02:08:52 + (UTC)
From: Mervyn Lobo 
To: Goanet ,  "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb.
1994!" 
Subject: Re: [Goanet] Ku Klux Klan - The secret history of the KKK (in
two parts) | DW Documentary
Message-ID: <978483024.262004.1629425332...@mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

 This has something to do with Goa? Or Goanet or Goans?
Mervyn


On Thursday, August 19, 2021, 02:48:19 p.m. CDT, Frederick Noronha <
fredericknoron...@gmail.com> wrote:

 https://youtu.be/aDCyjdHPPtI
https://youtu.be/x99pzn1dAWc

-- 
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/? FN * ?  * ???  +91-9822122436
_/? See a different Goa here, via
_/? https://youtube.com/c/frederickfnnoronha

[Goanet] In Concert with the World

[Cecil Pinto]

 In Concert with the World
A tribute to Victor and Lea Rangel-Ribeiro

https://youtu.be/nZ-9Nx_TO7M

[Goanet] World Goa Day

[Cecil Pinto]

While there are conflicting opinions on whether Goa Day was founded by Goa
Sudharop or Rene Baretto there is another aspect to the matter.

>From my limited knowledge the Gulf Goans had mooted the idea many years
before Rene. It was celebrated by the Goan Welfare Society in Kuwait and
also by the Qatar Goans.

Cheers!

Cecil

==

Re: [Goanet] [GOABOOKCLUB] Catalogues of IFFI from Inception

[Cecil Pinto]

Give them to one of those NGOs that make paper bags instead of 'destroying'
them.
Some of the risque pictures would look good on a bag at the local general
stores.

Cheers!

Cecil

=



On Fri, 18 Oct 2019 at 13:45, augusto pinto  wrote:

> I have been an IFFI delegate since the time IFFI began in Goa.
>
> Hence I have most of the cataloguea from the first IFFI that was held in
> Goa.
>
> Now I am facing a problem because I don't have space in my house to store
> a lot of stuff which I had preserved because I thought they would be
> useful.
>
> So I am going to destroy the stuff which I don't want and amongst this are
> those old IFFI catalogues. Possibly someone among us might need these
> catalogues. If so let me know tout de suit. Otherwise I will destroy those
> catalogues. Even though I feel sorry doing this.
>
> In case anyone is interested please let me know quickly. Otherwise I will
> destroy the stuff.
>
> Augusto
>
>
> --
> *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. ***
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "The Goa Book Club" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to goa-book-club+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web, visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CABzMD-WhQere_U%2Biaa7ATExrmbTrfsOuO4U7sfJAN%3Dg9jb%3D8Uw%40mail.gmail.com
> 
> .
>

[Goanet] Fwd: We need your assistance

[Cecil Pinto]

Somebody has been hacked!

===

-- Forwarded message -
From: tase crasto 
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2019 at 22:35
Subject: We need your assistance
To:


We in London, and urgently in need of your help. Please send us £1,000 to
enable us to complete our activities here. I will refund you as soon as we
return.
Send it through Western Union Money Transfer with this information.
Receiver: Valeriana Tase Crasto Noronha.
Location: 35 Great Russell Street London, WC1B 3PP, United Kingdom.

Thanks and Regards,

Tase

[Goanet] To who can I attribute this quote?

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Dom,

I find your post ridiculously reductionist and propagating the same
stereotypes that we blame the outsider for. There are so many nuanced
in-betweens that you conveniently ignore. I expect better from a thinker of
your stature. Dramatic hollow soundbytes is not our way.

Cheers!

Cecil

==



Message: 2
Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2019 15:03:17 -0700
From: dom martin 
To: goanet@lists.goanet.org
Subject: [Goanet]  To who can I attribute this quote?
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

If the language and cynic-syntax resembles Margaret's style, then I am
obviously in trouble -- in the thundering sense that some of my other posts
may have similarly been auto-credited to her. (Note: Soundly clarifies why
I continue to remain ?unsung?:). Otherwise, Cecil, it's my quote.  And
indeed, with your assistance, I'll be more inclined to stay put on my
sinking paper-Mache pedestal if stones(or fators and fatoristas) are
summoned for the proverbial stone casting finale!

Dom Martin

<<[Goanet] To who can I attribute this quote?

[Goanet] To who can I attribute this quote?

[Cecil Pinto]

 There appears to be a symbiotic curse associated with being a Goan. If you
are born in Goa, there is an exponential drive to emigrate and the
likelihood of dying an unsung hero. If you are born elsewhere and immigrate
to Goa, the bets likely are you will eventually find yourself swimming
upstream to elude the camaraderie of conspiring crabs hurdled below. The
rest is history.

Bon Voyage, Margaret!

Dom Martin

[Goanet] Has Cyprian asked the editors to remove Ben's article? Where? When?

[Cecil Pinto]

 Message: 2
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2018 09:25:05 +0100
From: Gabe Menezes 
To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!"

Subject: [Goanet] No so sensation Joao-Roque writer apology to Cyprian
Fernandes
Message-ID:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

I apologise



Dear Cyprian

The message I tried to convey in my article has obviously been
misunderstood. I have read both your books. You?re a good man and I
apologize for disturbing your peace.

Warm regards
Ben



Received with thanks.


*I now await a similar gesture from the editors of the Joao-Roque Literary
Journal to see if they can display the same quality of responsibility as
Ben has done and remove the posting from the Internet.* Cyprian Fernandes

[Goanet] Can I use your photos for non-commercial purposes without compensating you?

[Cecil Pinto]

 Response:

No, I did not compensate her for taking her photograph since I am
not deploying her photos for a commercial use. I did ask her permission
to take her photographs. If I were to use her photos for commercial
purposes then I am legally bound to either compensate her or to
obtain a waiver via a 'model release' signature from her.

And by the way I did give her a good tip (can be seen in her left hand
in the second photo), but it was not because I took her photographs.

Thanks for asking.

Warm regards,


r

Re: [Goanet] [GOABOOKCLUB] Re: [A-O] Life in Tanganyika in the Fifties

[Cecil Pinto]

On 9 January 2018 at 21:29, Frederick Noronha 
wrote:

> It was said to have been Adolf's idea to shrink the two o's at either end
> of the *O Heraldo* masthead, in a manner which would allow*
> zero-Herald-zero* (as some paste-up artists then called it) to gain a new
> English-language name and also, simultaneously, retain its privileges by
> way of old registrations, then critical newsprint quotas, etc.
>
> Brilliant, we then thought!
>
>
1) The credit for the idea to shrink the size of the o's and make it Herald
(from O Heraldo) is claimed by many people who were working there when the
transition happened. Shamir Deniz being one. Someone should ask around and
settle the matter once and for all.

2) I notice that the owner/moderator of this Group is allowed to indulge in
'crossposting', but when anyone else cross posts he disapproves.

Cheers!

Cecil

=

[Goanet] Aldona Institute - Golden Jubilee Souvenir Appeal

[Cecil Pinto]

The Aldona Institute is Celebrating its GOLDEN JUBILEE year culminating on
19th November 2017.

Founded in 1967, the Aldona Institute is a leading and prestigious
institution serving the village of Aldona and beyond through its Social,
Cultural and Sports activities.

On this Momentous Jubilee Year, we have decided to publish with a
Commemorative Souvenir.

The rates for advertising in this Souvenir are as under:-

Description and Rate:
Back Cover (Color Glossy) - Rs.50,000/-
Front Inside Cover (Color Glossy) - Rs.25,000/-
Back Inside Cover (Color Glossy) - Rs.25,000/-
Full Page (Color 90 GSM) - Rs.15,000/-
Full Page (Black & White) - Rs.5,000/-
Half Page (Black & White) - Rs.3,000/-
Quarter Page (Black & White) - Rs.2,000/-
Strips Each (Total 8 per page) - Rs.1,000/-

We therefore appeal to members and well wishers of the Aldona Institute to
sponsor and support us in making this Souvenir a great success.

The payment may be in cash or drawn by Cheque/DD favoring
'Aldona Institute Souvenir'
A/c.No. 0335101026270
Canara Bank
Aldona Branch
IFSC - cnrb335

Advertisements and payments have to reach us before 31st October 2017.

Thanking You in anticipation,

Yours Faithfully.

Ramakant Anvekar / Dileep Aldonkar / Anselm Desa
President / Gen.Secretary / Treasurer
9890072818 / 9822580440 / 9763458908

[Goanet] Is this what GoaNet has been reduced to? What exactly is the Goa connection in these links/posts?

[Cecil Pinto]

1. Why do we cry?  The Science of tears. (Con Menezes)
   2. Easy listening selection..Fernando..Abba. (Con Menezes)
   3. Al Jazeera Head to Head in this editionAnti-semitism  and
  Islamaphobia fears threats. (Con Menezes)
   4. Dateline:  Lost children of China Part  two. (Con Menezes)
   5. Fw: Even moderate drinking may expedite brain decline.
  (Con Menezes)
   6. Adam West the 'Batman' dead  at 88. (Con Menezes)

[Goanet] An interesting take on the prevalent "long-term tourist's" depiction of Goa

[Cecil Pinto]

http://chasingxine.blogspot.in/2017/01/modern-colonial-encounters.html

Yes, Goa is very hospitable. So accommodating a place is this that if you
want to pretend the Goans don’t exist, you can do that with little protest.
We know that Goa is regarded by many as a playground of sorts, but beyond
this, spaces in Goa and depictions of Goa that are void of Goans feed into
the notion that Goa was an empty place after the Portuguese left in 1961.
This is a useful exercise for those from the Indian mainland, but what do
foreign tourists have to gain from this?

.

And a follow-up
http://chasingxine.blogspot.in/2017/03/home-staging-of-goa.html

My last essay

hit a nerve with a Scottish reader, who argued that after living in Goa for
five years, he should be considered a Goan. This is despite the fact that
he doesn’t socialize with Goans; he claimed that this is irrelevant. I
responded that being viewed as a Goan is not a question of time spent in
Goa but of engagement with the place. Engagement is a critical topic, as
Goa is treated like a reward
 for those
with money, who have fuelled the demand for investment property or who have
chosen to abandon the rat race for a quiet life here. Add to this the
numerous domestic and international tourists, who occupy different spaces
that tend not to include Goans. As I have already argued (see above-cited
essay), this is how hospitable Goa is—you can pretend there are no Goans
here.

==

[Goanet] All Goa Three-a-Side Football Tie-breaker Tournament at Aldona.

[Cecil Pinto]

All Goa Three-a-Side Football Tie-breaker Tournament.

Aldona Institute is organising its annual mega event in the true Goan
spirit, with love for football. It is a one-day event commencing on 2nd
October (Gandhi Jayanti) at 11.00 am at the Aldona Tercena in front of the
Aldona Institute. This is a call to all football lovers of any age or
gender. Any gender or mixed gender team of three can take the Spot Kick. No
age limit, no gender restrictions. Winning team get Rs. 7000/- and
runners-up Rs. 5000/-

Re: [Goanet] DoYouRemember: Polson butter?

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Roland,

Thanks for the very interesting post on classic brands below.

I Googled each of them and now am better informed.

Look forward to more such nostagia/information posts by you.

Cheers!

Cecil


Message: 2
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 18:42:00 -0400
From: Roland 
To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!"

Subject: Re: [Goanet] DoYouRemember: Polson butter?
Message-ID: 
Content-Type: text/plain;   charset=utf-8

There were some iconic brands in the consumables category in Bombay during
Nehru's socialist era. Not all of them were indigenous, but even despite
foreign goods being banned, a very few because of their popularity,
continued to be imported in limited quantities.

Polson's butter, Waterbury's compound, Eno's Fruit Salts, Cadbury's
chocolates, and Rose's Lime Juice Cordial (a great mix for gin) were a few
of these popular brands.

Some like Polson fell by the wayside to local competition, others set up
Indian plants allowed to use the parent name and still others like Rose's
Syrups managed to retain their import license due to a very select market.

Butter in those days was a middle-class urban luxury. Most Christian homes
had butter on the table for the obligatory toast and the butter in most
cases was Polson. Amul, an Indian brand from a Gujarat cooperative had
entered the market but had not made inroads. Amul was the superior butter
but Polsons was the tastier. Amul poured in big money to advertise but
Polson gave out their dinky coupons as part of the wrapper and every
housewife collected them. Coupons would take a few pice, later paise off
the next purchase and that had the lady of the house hooked with the new
concept.

It's funny how taste can override goodness in a consumable product. Tinned
Kraft cheese for example is not real cheese, just a salty processed
product, but even today diehards used to it will opt to buy it over the
more natural and healthy cheddar slabs.

Polson did not make cheese, it just made butter unlike its rival Amul whose
cheese was an excellent product considering it was made by an Indian
company in rural Gujarat.

Ignorance, in this case due to non-availability, is generally bliss. It was
not until my relatives from Africa came to Bombay on long leave and brought
Kenya Creamery churned butter tins did we realize that Polsons was really a
very poor cousin.

In the end whether it was Amul's superior product or just their big budget
advertising or political heft that did Polson in, we shall never know. Like
an old soldier, Polsons after ruling Bombay's roost for decades, didn't
die. It just faded away.

Roland Francis
Toronto.

[Goanet] Parrikar and Trump

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Roland,

Mervyn has proven time and again that your knowledge and understanding of
USA politics and Global Economics is flawed, to say the least.

With the post below you are displaying your totally fragmented
comprehension of Goan and Indian politics.

Why don't you post about things you actually know well?

Your occasional nostalgia posts are a pleasure to read.

Cheers!

Cecil

==



Message: 1
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2016 14:47:25 -0400
From: Roland 
To: "goa...@goanet.org" 
Subject: [Goanet] Parrikar and Trump
Message-ID: 
Content-Type: text/plain;   charset=us-ascii

I am seeing a lot more in common with these two politicians than meets the
eye.

Do you think Parrikar would come to the eye of Modi and become the Defence
Minister of the country from being the CM of a tiny state if he:

Did not talk of Zero Corruption no matter what his 'live and let live'
intention.

Did not make a bosom friend out of Goa's Catholic patriarch.

Did not buy out the administration's top prosecutor.

Did not be an obedient pracharak of the RSS and a Yes Man of the BJP's
brass.

Did not promise to remove all casinos from Goa while letting them provide
him with hush money.

Similarly do you think Trump would have led the pack of 17 Republican
wannabe Presidents going on to win the GOP race if he did not:

Villify the Muslims, America's favourite whipping boys.

Promise to win all future wars.

Promise to bring lost jobs home again.

Promise to repeal existing trade treaties because they were not favourable
to the country.

Build a wall with Mexico and make them pay for it.

Promise to make America great again.

Did you see how Parrikar is as quiet as a chicken except for his inane
statements on unimportant subjects using atrocious pronunciation.

If Trump becomes President, watch him doing the Parrikar and Mervyn Lobo
relocating to the USA (as promised).

Roland Francis
Toronto.

[Goanet] Can non-resident Indians please shut up?

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.dailyo.in/politics/nris-intolerance-aamir-khan-narendra-modi-rajnath-singh-people-of-indian-origin-ocis-pseudo-nationalism/story/1/7685.html

---

Can non-resident Indians please shut up?
The diaspora needs its umbilical cord cut to be good citizens of their
adoptive countries.

Can the people of Indian origin not living in India please shut up? They
seem to have an opinion about everything and anything that is happening in
and to Mother India. Sitting in the comfort of their Dollar and Pound and
Euro ensconced cushiness, they have the temerity to tell Indians in India
about what is right and what is wrong.

These once upon a time Indians are busy fanning the flames of discontent in
the country and they need to stop. It is strange mix of nostalgia coupled
with a desire to change the so called terrible conditions that they left
behind that motivates these foreigners to preach to the poor dumb folks
struggling back "home".

Ironically, more often than not most of these people who went in search of
greener pastures were not thinkers and philosophers yet they project
themselves now as the keepers of Indian culture, history and ethos. Some of
them no doubt give back in constructive ways but they are the exceptions,
for most of the others it is much easier to get on to social media and let
forth their "gyan".

For possibly decades they concentrated on carving out a legal foreign
identity and now they are Indian again? How come Indians have to learn
patriotism and the worth and value of India from those who left the country?

Are they more patriotic than Aamir Khan because they were quick witted
enough to have fled the country of their birth/ancestors before their wives
could ask a random rhetorical question like Kiran did? None of them will
give up their western passports to exchange it for the Indian one - why
should they when they had to go through such hardship to be rid of it in
the first place.

But now that their future is secure and they have what they wanted to
achieve they have become the social media conscience of India. They don't
vote, they don't pay taxes but they freely dish out their opinion.

The diaspora needs their umbilical cords cut - just shut up and be good
citizens of your adoptive countries. If you have family left over in India
- let them speak their own mind and chose as per their own convictions.

If you are a person of Indian Origin you are still a FOREIGNER and like all
foreigners, please don't meddle in the internal affairs of this country. If
you are an NRI - I suggest you carry on earning foreign exchange and
keeping tabs on your bank books rather than pontificating on how India
should yield to majoritarianism.

The true hallmark of a cultured society is - when a numerical minority can
proudly and fearless wear its identity on its sleeve and still challenge
the hegemony of the majority. Sadly, India is not that place anymore…
possibly never was but whether it will be in the future is also in
question. And the so called overseas well-wishers, who will never return,
are not helping one bit.







Virus-free.
www.avast.com

<#DDB4FAA8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

Re: [Goanet] [Moira-Net:6953] Power Shutdown on 21st

[Cecil Pinto]

Welcome Augusto.

On a related topic I once saw a Kadamba Bus with a moving digital display
that said Haldonem instead of Aldona. I did not have a camera handy then
but have not seen that since. Has anyone else seen Haldonem on a bus going
to Aldona? If so please let me know when and where it can be seen regularly
and I will photograph it - and raise hell.

Cheers!

Cecil

===

On 20 May 2016 at 21:05, augusto pinto <pinto...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for that information Cecil.
>
> Incidentally I saw with despair the way they spelled 'Pomburpaha'.
>
> I stopped complaining about such 'errors' long long ago. In my latest
> ratiion card my name has been changed to Augusta. And my village has been
> changed to Nachinola. I accepted it without too much fuss. I simply don't
> have the energy to pursue such issues.
>
> The problems which arise when names are wrongly spelled by the clerks are
> well known and yet the mistakes keep occurring with nauseating regularity.
>
> Are these spelling errors just 'errors' or are they quite deliberately
> done?  And am I realizing what is being done long after everyone else?
>
> Perplexed,
> Augusto
>
> On Fri, May 20, 2016 at 9:22 AM, Cecil Pinto <cecilpi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> POWER SHUT DOWN
>>
>> Panaji:May 19, 2016,
>>
>> Power shut down has been arranged on 33/11KV Nachinola Sub Station and 11
>> KV associated Feeders between 8.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on May 21, 2016. Areas
>> affected are V.P. Ucassaim, Moira, Nachinola, Aldona, Bastora, Pomburpaha
>> and surrounding areas.
>>
>> DI/NB/JT/PN/KM/NA/2016/257
>>
>>
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail>
>>  Virus-free.
>> www.avast.com
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail>
>> <#m_-8027421422889741757_m_7035439488384984735_DDB4FAA8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
>>
>> --
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "Moira-Net" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
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>>
>
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[Goanet] Activists and investigators

[Cecil Pinto]

Derek Almeida’s column Footlose in The Goan Everyday
22nd November 2015

-

Jumping to conclusions


The superintendent of police was enjoying a nightcap when the phone rang.
On the other end was a nervy constable. “Sir the body of a very impor­tant
activist in the community was discovered floating in a rivulet….”

“It’s 10 in the night Tuemkar,” the SP said. He was irritated. “Couldn’t
you have discovered it in the morning, after 10?”

“Sir, this is a very urgent matter,” the nervy constable said. He sounded
very nervy. “His supporters are here at the police station. They say he was
murdered. What should I do? Should I start the investigation?”

“What’s your gut feeling?” the SP asked.

“Looks like drowning, but right now his supporters have threatened to bash
me up on Facebook if I do not register the case as murder,” Tuemkar said.
He was frightened.

After much thought the SP said, “Tuemkar, this is a very big case. We can’t
do this the old fashioned way. We need an out-of-the-box approach. I think
we should call the Save Goa Samiti. Let them investigate the case.”

“Who are these people sir,” the constable asked, “do they have any
experience in investigations?”

“The Save Goa Samiti is an NGO,” the SP said, “their strength is that they
do not have any experience in in­vestigation. They will jump to
conclu­sions and save us the time required for a thorough probe.”

“They might ruin the case sir,” the nervy constable said.

“Arre baba, if we do not let them investigate, they will make life hell for
us. They will take out candle-lit pro­cessions, call press conferences,
peti­tion the chief minister, hold morchas and what not,” the SP explained.

So a call was made a representative of the Save Goa Samiti, a fellow by the
name of Savio came on the line. “It is murder,” he yelled.

“Good, good,” the SP replied, “I like people who make up their minds
quickly, without even taking a look at the body.”

Two days later the forensic experts sent in their report and Savio met the
SP at the morgue. “The report says death was due to drowning,” the SP told
him.

“That is impossible,” Savio said, “I contacted all my friends and all of
them confirm that it was murder….”

“Were they present at the murder site?” the SP asked.

“Is that important?” Savio asked, “we are conducting this investiga­tion
through Whatsapp, where we reinforce one another’s opinion and always
arrive at the same conclusion that he was murdered. You must con­duct a
second autopsy.”

A day later the second forensic report arrived and the SP called Savio.
“The second autopsy report also says death was due to drowning. It also
states that no injuries were noticed on the body.”

“Have your forensic experts gone mad?” Savio yelled. “Can’t they understand
that the man was mur­dered?”

“It there are no injuries on the body and there is water in his lungs and
the only witnesses to the incident said he went in the water for a swim and
never came back, how was he mur­dered?” the SP asked.

“How the hell should I know?” Savio yelled. “That is your job. And your job
is to investigate the case and ensure that your conclusion is the same as
ours.”

“But there is no evidence of mur­der,” the SP shouted.

“Then we’ll conduct a third autop­sy,” Savio said, “and this time we will
conduct it.”

A day later Savio was at the SPs of­fice. “Were your findings any different
from that of the forensic experts?” the SP asked him.

Savio gave him a sheepish look. “I couldn’t identify the body because I
don’t know what the chap looks like.”

“What now?” the SP asked.

Despite this setback Savio was un­deterred. “I have a demand,” he told the
SP, “we will stop our candle-lit ag­itation only if the case is handed to
an officer without a high conviction rate. He must be supervised by the
human rights commission, which must be supervised by a high court judge,
who must be supervised by a supreme court judge, who must be supervised by
a judge from the international court of justice at The Hague ……”

“That would be difficult,” the SP said, “Why don’t we just hand it over to
the crime branch?”

“I’ll settle for that,” said Savio, “because I am tired of molten wax
dripping on my fingers.”

=

[Goanet] Who killed Fr. Bismarque?

[Cecil Pinto]

Who killed Fr. Bismarque?
by Cecil Pinto

Who killed Fr. Bismarque?
I, said the Voter,
For me he didn’t matter,
I killed Fr. Bismarque.

Who saw him die?
I, said the Gaunkar
Boson mhojea bankar,
I saw him die.

Who caught his blood?
I, said the Activist
Waving my clenched fist,
I caught his blood.

Who'll be chief mourner?
I, said the Villager,
By ignoring the pillager,
I'll be chief mourner.

Who'll dig his grave?
I, said the Editor,
I love playing predator,
I'll dig his grave.

Who'll carry the coffin?
I, said the Social Networker,
Like a kneejerker,
I'll carry the coffin.

Who'll toll the bell?
I said the Reader,
Rumour-spreader and Breeder,
We'll toll the bell.

All the armchair detectives
Fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,
When they heard the bell toll
For poor Fr. Bismarque.

==

[Goanet] VRR and DPFF

[Cecil Pinto]

Many happy returns to Victor Rangel Ribeiro, who turns 90 years young today
( hope it's still Oct 3 in at least some part of the US). VRR has been a
mentor to quite a few of us here. Needless to say he is still busy writing
and his high energy levels put us to shame.

Also to Domnic Fernandes who has a book release, birthday and village feast
all rolled into today (Sunday Oct 4 2015 in Goa). I have learnt a lot about
Goa from him and express my gratitude here. FN


--


Ditto from me.
I too have learned a lot from these two truly great Goans.

Cheers!

Cecil

===

[Goanet] Fwd: [aldona-net] Importance of Documentation : Issued in public Interest

[Cecil Pinto]

-- Forwarded message --
From: Savio Figueiredo rende...@yahoo.com [aldona-net] 
aldona-...@yahoogroups.com
Date: 16 August 2015 at 20:17
Subject: [aldona-net] Importance of Documentation : Issued in public
Interest
To: Aldona-net aldona-...@yahoogroups.com




IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION
It is my experience that most people do not have any system for maintaining
their important documents and this creates difficulties in emergencies due
to which they have run around and even pay extra money to get urgently
required documents.

Therefore it is important that each family puts into practice a simple
system for saving and maintaining the important documents  for EACH
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF THE FAMILY. All it takes is A SIMPLE CLIP FILE and A
LITTLE BIT OF DISCIPLINE to immediately file , the original document, make
a Xerox copy or scan the same and write down the number in a diary. All
these 3 steps will ensure that the document is not lost forever  as using
the copy one can easily get a duplicate. If you can afford it , scan the
documents and save them in your e-mail, storage media  , Cloud etc

Before giving you a checklist of documents to be saved  one has to ensure
that YOUR NAME AND THAT OF OTHERS IN THE DOCUMENTS SUCH AS PARENTS 
GRANDPARENTS ARE SPELT CORRECTLY WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE OF EVEN AN ALPHABET
AS THIS CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE . In case there is a difference
get it corrected immediately or don’t accept a defective document.

Here is the checklist  of  important secular documents irrespective of
religion
1.   Birth Certificate
2.   Bonafide certificate of Primary Education  Secondary Education (
Upto Std X
3.   Leaving Certificate for SSCE
4.   Bonafide Certificate of Higher Secondary School Certificate
Examination( HSSCE)
5.   Leaving Certificate for HSSCE
6.   Bonafide Certificate for Diploma/ Graduation / University
7.   Leaving Certificate  ofDiploma Institution/ University
8.   All Marksheets  Passing certificates till date (
School/HSSCE/University etc)
9.   Photographs at various stages of life
10.   Aadhar Card
11.   Election Photo Identity Card ( EPIC or Voters Card)
12.   PAN card
13.   DSSS Sanction No ( if applicable)
14.   GRIHA Aadhaar Sanction No. ( if applicable)
15.   Driving Licence
16.   Bank Pass Books , Fixed Deposit receipts( Ladli Laxmi), NSC and other
financial documents
17.   Caste Certificate ( applicable to Scheduled Castes/OBC/Scheduled
Tribes)
18.   Residence Certificate ( valid only for 3 years, but you have one to
get next one is much easier)
19.   Divergence Certificate in case of different names
20.   Marriage Certificate issued by Civil Registrar ( Govt)
21.   All certificates pertaining to employment such as Appointment letter,
payslips and Experience certificates.
22.   Passport
23.   Comunidade Registration No ( if applicable )
24.   Professional / Social or other membership cards or certificates
25.   Death Certificates  Medical Certificates ( cause of death)of late
family members
26.   Any other important certificate

Religious certificates for Catholics used by the Church authorities
1.   Baptism Certificate
2.   Confirmation Certificate ( needed at the time of marriage)
3.   Marriage Certificate

This list is by no means complete and is only indicative.

Again please   ensure that  the names are spelt exactly the same in each
and every certificate and one humble suggestion for the sake of your own
children please give them simple names ( there are thousands to choose from
) and not some odd names made up of a combination of parents names or a
different spelling of a common name.

Savio Figueiredo B. Pharm
Community Pharmacist

Dr Carlos Medical Stores
Aldona, Bardez, Goa 403508
Tel : 00918322293307 (M) 9822142037



*Only when the last tree has dies and the last river been poisoned and the
last fish been caught, we will realise we cannot eat money. Cree India
Proverb*

__._,_.___
--
Posted by: Savio Figueiredo rende...@yahoo.com
--
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• Messages in this topic

[Goanet] Sexual harassment case at Goa Cable News Channel takes a 'Tehelka' turn

[Cecil Pinto]

The danger of false allegations.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-stands-alone-on-name-shame-policy/articleshow/48498166.cms

---

India stands alone on ‘name  shame’ policy

Atul Thakur,TNN | Aug 16, 2015, 02.50 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The government's announcement that it would maintain a publicly
available database of sex offenders is being portrayed as a significant
step in addressing the threat posed by criminals whose crimes largely go
unreported and hence encourage them to repeat the offence.

It also addresses the general perception that such criminals tend to repeat
their act and hence need to be monitored.

A look at laws in other major countries, however, suggests that only the
names of convicted offenders are required to be listed. In many cases, the
public at large does not even have access to this database though the
police do.

A 2014 report of the office of sex offender sentencing, monitoring,
apprehending, registration and tracking (SMART), the US government agency
to monitor such crimes, states that such registers are maintained by at
least 19 countries including the US, the first country to pass a national
sex offender registration law in 1994. Other major countries that have
similar laws include the UK, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa and
South Korea.

According to the report Austria, Finland, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Switzerland and UAE are among many countries that have considered or were
considering such laws.

A study of conditions of registration as sex offender in the US, UK, Canada
and Australia shows that it is mandatory for those convicted for certain
sexual crimes to register themselves in the sex offender database.
Typically, the offenders are classified in various categories depending on
the seriousness of the offence and the perceived threat to society.

In the US, there are three levels of registered sex offenders. Following
their release after the conviction, sex offenders are required to register
with the community's division of criminal justice service, which examines
their case. Depending on factors like the use of force, victim's age,
number of victims, use of weapons, alcohol or drugs to assault the victim,
offenders are classified into level 1, 2 or 3.

Level 1 offenders are people who are considered the least likely to repeat
the crime. Level 3 is the classification given to those judged most likely
to commit the crime again.

Offenders are further classified as 'sexual predator', 'sexually violent
offender' or 'predicate sex offender'. Level 1 offenders, if not classified
in the above three categories, are required to register themselves for 20
years. Level 2 and Level 3 offenders along with people classified as
predators, violent offenders or predicate offenders have to register
themselves for life.

Failing to provide information of their whereabouts to the register is an
offence punishable with imprisonment for up to ten years.

Other countries too have levels of classification and registration periods
for sex offenders. In a majority of the countries that maintain sex
offenders' registries, the database is not publically available. For
instance, the UK, Germany, France, Canada and Australia don't maintain a
publically available database.

The monitoring is done by informing the local police and community leaders
when a person convicted of a sexual offence starts living in a particular
community.


Times View

The home ministry's proposal to 'name and shame' those charged for sexual
offences by putting their names in the public domain runs completely
contrary to the principle that underlines our justice system - the accused
are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Other countries too have a
system of making the names of sexual offenders public, but nowhere is this
done prior to conviction.

The reasons are obvious. A person charged with a sexual crime may
ultimately be judged innocent by the courts. How fair would it be in such
cases for his reputation to have been badly tarnished in the meantime? The
ministry's suggestion that where this happens the name can be taken off the
list does nothing to redress the damage done.

It also needs no great imagination to see how such a system could be badly
abused by people out to settle scores with one another. It's an idea that
needs to be amended before it is rolled out.

=

[Goanet] Awakening to the Cosmos within - Vivek Menezes on Clarice Vaz's work

[Cecil Pinto]

In her light-filled house skirted by rice paddies in a peaceful vaddo
of Saligao, Clarice Vaz is steadily building a unique oeuvre of
artworks that are a formidable monument to her irrepressible passion,
and a profoundly moving tribute to her beloved son, the late Craig
Vaz.

Vaz signs her artwork with Craig’s name to keep it alive forever,
permanently cherished by the owners of his mother’s paintings, as they
circulate around the world and in Goa. Their increasing popularity
should not come as a surprise, despite the fact their creator is a
registered nurse who has only turned to painting full-time relatively
recently. This because Clarice Vaz has been relentlessly, and highly
impressively, innovative with her techniques and themes. The
self-taught “fluid”technique yields canvases that are hypnotically
powerful, drawing the viewer deep into glimpses of eternity. The
“spin” paintings - executed on a home-made machine in the Vaz back
garden - pack an irresistible, colourful punch. The additional suite
of “syringe’ paintings are perhaps unique in art history – they
required a nurse’s expert hand to create these extraordinarily
detailed works depicting an idealized Goa.

Today’s art world is dominated by manufactured superstars, by
surface-deep cleverness and calculation. This leave little spaces for
sincerity, for sheer perseverance. But these are precisely the rare
the characteristics that shine through Clarice Vaz’s work, palpably
imbued with love and dedication, and the compulsive quest for the
divine spark that fuels this artist’s vision.

It is not a secret that Craig Vaz was felled by a very rare,
undiagnosed ailment that his mother also carries. But Clarice Vaz
refuses treatment, and instead paints for hours every day. The
practice of deep meditation with her artistic tools and innovative
mediums is – quite literally – a life-saver. This too can been seen in
the artwork, these are paintings that truly matter.

For the path-breaking art exhibition, Aparanta, which took place in
the Old GMC building in Panjim in 2007, the brilliant curator and
writer Ranjit Hoskote took several days to travel around Goa, to visit
artists in their home studios. At that time, there was very little
local interest for most of them, coupled with a strong national
resistance to the very idea of “Goan art”.

But Hoskote detected the presence of something truly significant
happening in scattered villages across Goa. Noting that Goan artists
have fed art world for generations like “an invisible river”, he
reported being shocked to repeatedly find “meteorically brilliant
artists” languishing unknown because of “a lack of context”. Goa
glaringly lacked critics and collectors with the wherewithal and
confidence to celebrate talent where it flourished. Instead,  shallow
diktats from Delhi and Mumbai held sway, even here in the land of
Fonseca and Trindade and Gaitonde, and Saligao’s own Francis Newton
Souza.

Less than a decade after Hoskote magisterially registered Goa’s
twenty-first century art trajectory in the national imagination, many
things have changed for the better. Some artists in Goa have started
to earn real success, and national critical appreciation. The
collector base is steadily burgeoning. But the challenge still remains
whether this still-forming art world can understand and accept real
artistic talent and guts when it shows up unannounced, or from an
unexpected source. Clarice Vaz’s heartfelt paintings demand that kind
of recognition, and our collective congratulations for her remarkable
achievement.

By Vivek Menezes

---

www.claricevaz.in
www.claricevaz.com

[Goanet] Scholarships for Aldona students

[Cecil Pinto]

The Aldona Institute annually gives out scholarships to deserving and
talented students from Aldona. Nominations are sent in by the Aldona
schools. There are also substantial scholarships for students from Aldona
pursuing higher studies in Law, Arts, Engineering etc. which often go
unclaimed because no applications came in. If you know a student from
Aldona studying any of the above please tell them to send in an application
to the President, Aldona Institute, along with ID Proof from the
institution (Eg. Salgaoncar College of Law) and the last marksheet, before
10th August 2015. Scholarships will be disbursed on 15th August.

Cheers!

Cecil

=

[Goanet] The Massacre of Innocents at Cuncolim on 15th July 1583

[Cecil Pinto]

Five Jesuit priests and four young boys, all unarmed, were slaughtered on
15th July 1583 in Cuncolim.
Will someone explain to me why the people who massacred them are being
celebrated?

Cheers!

Cecil

=

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuncolim_Revolt#The_Massacre


The five Jesuits met in Orlim Church on 15 July 1583, and thence proceeded
to Cuncolim, accompanied by one European—Goncalo Rodrigues—and 14 native
converts, with the objective of erecting a cross and selecting ground for
building a church. Meanwhile, several villagers in Cuncolim, after holding
a council, advanced in large numbers, armed with swords, lances, and other
weapons, towards the spot where the Christians were.

According to the account given by the Catholic Encyclopaedia, published by
the Vatican, Gonçalo Rodrigues attempted to confront the advancing crowd
with a gun, but was stopped by Fr. Pacheco who stopped him and stated: We
are not here to fight. Then, he addressed the crowd in Konkani, their
native language, and stated Do not be afraid. Following this, the
villagers attacked the party. Father Rudolph received five cuts from a
scimitar and a spear and was killed on the spot. According to the Vatican,
he died praying God to forgive the assailants, and pronouncing the Holy
Name.

Next, the crowd turned on Fr. Berno who was horribly mutilated, and Fr.
Pacheco who, wounded with a spear, fell on his knees extending his arms in
the form of a cross. Fr. Anthony Francis was shot with arrows, and his head
was split open with a sword.

Br. Aranha, wounded at the outset by a scimitar and a lance, fell down a
deep declivity into the thick crop of a rice-field, where he lay until he
was discovered. He was then carried to a Hindu idol, to which he was bidden
to bow his head. Upon his refusal to do this, he was tied to a tree and was
shot to death with arrows. The spot where this tree stood is marked with an
octagonal monument surmounted by a cross, which was repaired by the
Patriarch of Goa in 1885.

Along with the five priests, Gonçalo Rodrigues, a Portuguese, and fourteen
native Christians were also killed. Of the latter, one was Dominic, a boy
of Cuncolim, who was a student at Rachol Seminary, and had accompanied the
priests on their expeditions to Cuncolim and pointed out to them the Hindu
temples. He was killed by his own Hindu uncle for assisting the priests.

Alphonsus, an altar-boy of Fr. Pacheco had followed him closely, carrying
his breviary. The Hindus cut off his hands on his refusal to part with the
breviary and cut through his knee-joints to prevent his escape. He survived
in this condition until the next day when he was found and killed. He was
later buried in the church of the Holy Ghost at Margao in South Goa.
According to the Vatican, several of the victims, including Francis
Rodrigues and Paul da Costa had earlier affirmed their desire to be
martyred for the Church. However, the native Goans killed with the Jesuits
were excluded from the list of the martyrs of the faith when the church
beatified the missionaries. This was due to the then prevailing attitude
among the missionaries that the local Catholics were by nature incapable of
performing spiritual feats.

===

[Goanet] Portuguese Singing for English Speakers - by Cecil Pinto

[Cecil Pinto]

Watch this video and you will be able to sing a few Portuguese songs
confidently, even if you don't know Portuguese!
https://youtu.be/pOOl-UQ6fNk

Re: [Goanet] Influential People in Goan Cyberspace

[Cecil Pinto]

Frederick Noronha wrote:
Hi Cecil, Interesting. But what do you mean by 'influential'? Is there any
criteria for that? Regular postings? Early participation? Taken seriously?
Played a significant role at some stage?
I would think that all these are very different attributes, and it's
difficult to compare across categories. Who knows, someone posting even a
single post might have made a big difference to someone else's life!


CP:
I think you answered your own question.
If YOU think someone is influential please proffer his/her name. At the
nomination stage everything is subjective.

--


FN:
And the person I think you're missing (big time) is this adopted Dutch son
of Goa:
http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0601/msg00043.html
https://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com/tag/dutch-cyberspace-indian-multinationals-xs4all-patrice-riemens-india-research-on-india-hippies-from-hell-goa-amsterdam/

I first ran into him (in real life, that is), I think around 1996 when
Goanetters had their annual meeting at the Taj Aguada! After that, I've met
him in rural Bangalore, Uganda and all kinds of odd places. Once he came
over to my house and said, That looks like a nice bed, do you mind if I
take a ten-minute siesta?



CP:
I agree I have missed out on many people in my top-of-the-head listing.
If YOU think someone is influential please proffer his/her name, and not
weblinks.

Also consider that person's current influence July 2014 to July 2015. I
forgot to mention that.
Past glory is not considered.

Cheers!

Cecil

Re: [Goanet] [aldona-net] Re: [Moira-Net:6574] Utt Moidekara Utt

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Jeffery,

Good question.

Augusto Pinto has been told time and again by various Moderators that
unnecessary cross posting across groups, without proper context, causes
misunderstanding and confusion. Unfortunately Augusto thinks he is the
cat's whiskers and every word he writes has to read by all and sundry.

Well every cat has his day.

Cheers!

Cecil




On 3 July 2015 at 14:45, Jeffrey Dsouza dsouzajeff...@yahoo.com
[aldona-net] aldona-...@yahoogroups.com wrote:



 Thanks Cecil for the below clarification, much appreciated. May I know who
 is the owner of Aldonanet and why do we have to post topics related to
 Moira and it's internal politics on our Aldona net.

 I think we are diverting our attention on something unwanted and not
 related to Aldona.

 Regards

 Jose Zeferino De Graca Dsouza

[Goanet] Influential People in Goan Cyberspace

[Cecil Pinto]

As a mental exercise I tried make a listing of people very active and
influential in Goan Cyberspace. My criteria did not take into account their
real-life influence but only their interaction and influence in Goan
Cyberspace (Goa related - Mailing Lists, Social Networking etc). This list
is far from complete and just off the top of my mind. Please add to this
(in Alphabetical order) and once we have a substantial and comprehensive
number we can do some analysis and maybe even a nomination process to a
Short List and finally a Voting Process to choose the Top 50 or something.
All in good fun. Please don't start any controversies but apply your mind
while nominating.

---

Aires Rodrigues
Albertina Almeida
Amita Kanekar
Anou Raut Desai
Anuradha Sengupta
Armando Gonsalves
Augusto Pinto
Ben Antao
Bosco D'Mello
Cajetan Baretto
Cecil Pinto
Colin Savio Coelho
Dale Luis Menezes
Derrick Dias
Domnic Fernandes
Eddie Fernandes
Edson Dias
Ella Mascarenhas
Eugene Correia
Frederick Noronha
Gabe Menezes
Gaspar Almeida
Hansel Vaz
Helga do Rosario
Herman Carneiro
Hubert Gomes
Irineu Gonsalves
Isabel Santa Rita Vas
Janet Rubinoff
Jason Keith Fernandes
Jatin Naik
Joe Goa UK
Joel D'Souza
Jose Colaco
Jose Lourenco
Leonard Fernandes
Lino Dourado
Mario Goveia
Mayabhushan Nagvenkar
Mervyn Lobo
Miguel Braganza
Nigel Britto
Odette Mascarenhas
Prasad Pankar
Rabindra Pimenta
Racheal Fernandes
Rajan Parrikar
Rajiv D'Silva
Remo Fernandes
Rene Baretto
Sachin Chatte
Salus Correia
Samir Kelekar
Sandeep Heble
Santosh Helekar
Savika Gomes
Selma Cardoso
Simon D'Silva
Soter D'Souza
Sudeep Dalvi
Swapnil Salkar
Tensing Rodrigues
Teotonio D'Souza
Tim de Mello
Ulyssess Menezes
Valmik Faleiro
Valmiki Naik
Victor Hugo Gomes
Victor rangel Ribeiro
Vivek Menezes
Wendell Rodricks
Yulette Coutinho



===

Re: [Goanet] [GOABOOKCLUB] Re: Vindictive Goan Woman - A reply

[Cecil Pinto]

1) Will the moderators of Goa Net and Goa Book Club please confirm if they
are 'sister' forums and if they are what does that mean?
2) If I have a grouse with a member/posting on one forum am I allowed to
vent it on the other sister forum?

Incidentally I think Selma's post on Goa Book Club was acceptable because
it involved books, writing, authors etc and NOT because it was a 'sister'
forum.

Cheers!

Cecil




On 17 May 2015 at 17:35, 'Selma C' via The Goa Book Club 
goa-book-c...@googlegroups.com wrote:

 As tedious as all this is for members, it's very important to me.

 If Goanet (Goa book club's sister forum) allows defamatory posts and I am
 not a member of that forum then I have no option but to seek redressal
 here. Augusto is right to let me do so because he knows that membership of
 Goanet and Goa book club overlaps considerably. Those who don't want to
 read the posts can delete without reading them.

 Best wishes,
 Selma

[Goanet] Earth and Heaven in Conversation: Dr. Jose Pereira, Scholar Artist at Work

[Cecil Pinto]

A documentary by Isabel Vas and Cecil Pinto about the great Goan polymath.

Part 1
https://youtu.be/dd8aA_gQpSc

Part 2
https://youtu.be/yF4jRg9tGLk

[Goanet] Books

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Valmiki,

You did well.

Dotor Bab Fransicso, like you, is gentleman.

Both of you are South Goan aristocrats. Get a room and f**k each other.

But seriously if battle lines are drawn I will go with Valmiki. Despite
being a friend of the Colacos.

Sorry Dotor, not as you are thinking. Valmiki has always been a gentleman
in his dealings. Even now. I respect that.

Ask Radharao to intervene. You Bamons!

Relax.

Cheers!

Cecil

=




]


From: Valmiki Faleiro valmi...@gmail.com

I have much respect for Dr. Francisco Colaco.
On the three points in his post below, I say:

1. I have no issues with opinions, including of 'historians'.
Nowhere have I claimed, or labour under the impression, that
I am a historian. Or that the book is a 'magnum opus'! I wish
Dr. Colaco had to spell out its multiple short-comings,
which I would have accepted in all humility.

2. The allegation of my bringing into the open the private and
intimate lives of inhabitants of Largo da Igreja and their
revered ancestors is not illustrated with a single instance.
How can I comment? If I have erred, I will no hesitation to
apologize and make amends.

3. I have dealt only with facts. If what I believed to be true
was indeed not, it could be pointed out. The comments on my
aunts and father are patently false, to the knowledge of
the local community.

Best, v


From: Francisco Colaco dr_col...@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, Apr 21, 2015 at 10:43 PM
Subject: [Goanet] A deceptive book
To: Estb. 1994! Goa's Premiere Mailing List goanet@lists.goanet.org


by Dr. Francisco Colaco

I am a great admirer of Valmiki Faleiro and had lavished a lot of praise on
Valmiki as a brilliant writer and master of the pen. I stand by what I
said. But after perusing his book ?Soaring Spirit? minutely this is what I
have to say:-

1.  The historians whom I met on that day and thereafter admit it is no
historical book at all. A magnus opus that makes sweeping statements about
contentious subjects should contain well-known references and a
readily-accessible bibliography. That the book was written in three months
cannot be advanced as an excuse for its multiple short-comings

2.  Valmiki?s book, instead of being a historical book, reads like a
book of khani?. He has indeed stooped to abysmal depths by selectively
bringing into the open the private and intimate lives of inhabitants of
Largo da Igreja and their revered ancestors. He seems totally confused when
he brings into play the new settlers like Massurkars and Barretos in good
light, while directing his ire, a fruit of his fertile imagination, against
those against whom his family had a grudge, notwithstanding the fact that
the Cola?os in particular, to cite one example,  contributed so much
towards the welfare of Holy Spirit Church and the Comunidades unlike his
family.

3.  Valmiki would have sounded more congruent if, while washing other
people?s dirty linen, he had brought under scrutiny his own. It is abysmal
to learn that he talks of his half-mad ?gossip-monger? aunts as
?encyclopedias? who gave him the inputs for his book. Further, he fails to
mention about his own father who was a manic-schizophrenic and had to be
tied when he ran amuck and went into a state of murderous frenzy. Yet, he
seems bent on soiling other people?s good name which is tantamount to
defamation.

As a member of the ancestral Cola?o family, I have two advices for Valmiki.
First, ?let a book about ?history? be a ?historical book?. Second, ?those
who have glass houses should not throw stones?

[Goanet] Goan Catholics welcome statement by Lata Dhavalikar

[Cecil Pinto]

The Catholic community in Goa has burst into celebration following Lata
Dhavalikar’s call to Goan Hindus to not send their children to 'convent'
schools. It might be noted that on April 6th while addressing a convention
at Margao, Lata, who is the wife of Dipak Dhavalikar, a Minster in the Goa
Cabinet, urged Hindus to desist from aping Western culture.

Fr. Jerson Rebello, convenor of Citizens for Justice and Social Peace,
says, “As minority institutions our schools are often unable to accommodate
Catholic children because so many Hindu children also apply for admission.
If Lata's appeal finds grounds then we will be able to accommodate our own
and educate them in the proper religious and moral way we would like to,
without having to be appearing secular.”

Maria Pinto e D’Costa, President of the Catholic PTAs of Goa was even more
excited at this development. “So many of our Catholic children who were
forced to take admission in non-Catholic schools will now find that they
can join the schools they prefer - Catholic managed schools. It will be a
ghar wapsi of sorts for them. They are back where they belong!”

Carmen Fernandes who has two of her daughters studying at St. Mary's High
School in Moira said, “When our school PTA is calling for funds it mostly
bees us Catholic parents who give generously. Most Hindu parents want the
benefit of a 'convent' education for their childrens but do not wish to
reach into their pockets when St. Mary's is needing funds.”

Patrick D'Silva (MA) Chairman of the Catholic Headmasters and
Headmistresses Union of Goa said, “I think all of us Catholics should thank
Latajee for this fantastic suggestion and hope that it is heeded by the
majority community. We are offering a tatkal scheme for Hindu students
wanting to leave Catholics schools. We will not only give them a Leaving
Certificate within one hour we will also give them a Inconvenience Fee of
Rs. 500/-”

Meanwhile news is filtering in of Catholics all over the state clamouring
for a statue of Lata Dhavalikar to be installed at some prominent place in
Ponda or Bicholim. A large section of the Catholic populace of Goa is of
the view that she should be canonised. Even in rural areas of Goa Catholic
dominated villages are organising ladinhas and prayer services in
celebration of Lata's appeal.

The managements of Catholic schools in Goa are busy preparing themselves
for an exodus from their schools. The post-Easter period promises to be a
good one for Goan Catholics.

==

[Goanet] Goanet - Great City?

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Mervyn,

Your analysis of recent GoaNet posts is very interesting and insightful.

But I do not know why you called Roland's post a bauble. Vivian lives many
months of the year in Goa and the remaining months in various places in the
USA including Baltimore. Even when in Goa Vivian travels around a lot and
observes things and gets involved in real-life issues. What does Vivian
know about cities and Baltimore and Panjim and Goa as compared to Roland
Francis? After all Roland does more armchair research and analysis than any
six overseas GoaNetters combined.

Cheers!

Cecil
==


From: Mervyn Lobo mervynal...@yahoo.ca
To: estb. 1994!Goa's premiere mailing list goanet@lists.goanet.org
Subject: Re: [Goanet] Goanet - Great City?


Goanet used to be a great meeting place, once upon a time.?
This evening, as I started opening the posts for the past 10 days I found:
1) Approx 65% of the emails were composed entirely of a link i.e.
essentially directing the reader away from this forum.
2) Another 25% of the emails were from people who either have a tough time
writing a simple thought or are writing entire posts encrypted.?
3) Two posts from an interesting writer who sends a copy here, of what he
writes elsewhere.
4) Lots of great pictures.
5) And then, there is the following bauble!
On Sun, 3/15/15, Roland Francis roland.fran...@ymail.com wrote:
Dear Vivian,
Years of living in Goa have no doubt made you soft in the head.
How else could I explain your Panjim could be a world class city and
comparing what happened in Baltimore to the possibility in Goa.
Are you cut off from reality, Socorrkar?

[Goanet] Ghor bhav - a discussion on the term and concept

[Cecil Pinto]

GHOR BHAV

Very often it happens here in Goa that when all siblings have settled
abroad, or are working abroad, one brother (or sister) either takes on or
is given the responsibility of looking after the aging parents and the
family house and property. Is there a term for such a brother who stays
back? Maybe on the lines of 'ghor zanvuim' (house son-in-law). Can he be
called ghor bhav or ghor bhoinn. Have I just coined a term that will
soon come into popular usage? Do you know of any ghor bhavs?


--
This post above from me on Facebook elicited interesting comments and
responses. Below is a selection. Does anyone here on GoaNet have any
opinions on the term/matter?
--

Irineu:
There have been cases but the term you coined has not been known. Should we
credit you with the term?

Cecil:
You don't have to credit me when you use it while speaking but if you use
it while writing you have to put- (c) Cecil Pinto. This is only till
October 2015 after which I will generously declare it Public Domain and
everyone can use it without acknowledging my coining of the term. Example
of usage, My ghor bhav [(c) - Cecil Pinto] Edwin said Mummy insisted on
being taken by taxi for all the ladainhas and so to please send some more
money.

Joy:
Very true, something to ponder on. It is a sacrifice

Cecil: Joy, I don't know about sacrifice. In some cases the siblings abroad
contributed handsomely towards the upkeep of parents and house and the ghor
bhav [(c) - Cecil Pinto] would have an additional source of income which
allowed him to live a better lifestyle.

Margarida:
gosh Cecil so many of these around Goathey sacrificed and stayed
behindbut when it comes to division of propertythey all come back
ouncing on the GHOR BHAU anim BHOIN

Cecil:
Margarida although I like the sound of 'ghor rakhno' it sounds somewhat
like a cowherd's job. I COIN A NEOLOGISM AND SUDDENLY EVERYBODY IS A
LEXICOGRAPHER AND WANTS TO COIN SIMILAR TERMS AND TAKE CREDIT! Bah!

Anthony:
padiser bhau vo bhoin as unsucessfull to settle else where !

Cecil:
Anthony, not always was the ghor bhav [(c) - Cecil Pinto] 'padisher'. Very
often he had no desire to go abroad - for example someone like me. He
often, by his presence in Goa, provided an opportunity to his siblings to
enjoy a better lifestyle abroad without having to worry about matters back
home.

Joy:
Cecil Pinto, understand personification! Ghor mazor is a term commonly used
in konkani referring to people tied down to the house responsibility

Cecil:
Joy, please understand I am a cunning linguist. The term 'ghor mazor'
refers to someone who likes to stay at home. It has no connection with
'responsibility'. Till today the term 'ghor mazor' has only been used
online once and so it qualifies as a Googlewhack because if you put it
without quotes in Google it produces only one result.
http://issuu.com/goa-streets/docs/web_f8d57a34d71b21/20 . Now look at the
usage there. It was in a QA to an agony aunt column which was written at
the time by Jose Lourenco and has a sexual connotation.

Gabe:
The one who stays behind should inherit lock stock and barrel imho.

Michelle:
My brother is ghor bhav (c) cecil pinto) but he does not look after anyone.
My mum looks after him.

Arsenio:
Ghor iramo

Cecil:
Arsenio, irmao is an elder brother. A ghor bhav [(c) - Cecil Pinto] is not
always the eldest brother.

Cecil:
Side topic: The word 'irmao' is a loan word from the Portuguese language
and means brother. In Konkani it conventionally means elder brother or is
used as a term of respect for a unrelated elder male. Some people argue
that it means 'brother' and not 'elder brother'. I am not sure of this. The
fact that you will never call a younger male 'irmao' says something, no?

Savika:
Cecil Pintothis is unfair to those who collectively share
responsibility towards their parentsand an encouragement to those that
are waiting to shed responsibility to a prime person in the family

Cecil:
What is unfair Savika? The practice? Why? It works for so many people. What
is your exact objection?

Savika:
Cecil Pinto, Yes the words that you want to coin 'ghor bhav' (sounds
horrible ).In my circles so far everyone takes ownership of elderly
parents

Cecil:
Savika you must be inhabiting very rarefied circles. You mean to say nobody
in your 'circles' lives or works abroad and has elderly parents here in
Goa? None of them has siblings here who take care of the parents? Now
taking 'ownership' and actually taking physical care of parents are two
different things. Nobody denies 'ownership' of their parents. But due to
circumstances if they are abroad they keep in touc with their parents and
send enough remittances to them, and the caretaker sibling/s, to live a
comfortable life. What is wrong with this? Everyone's happy.

Savika:
Cecil Pintomy 'circles' are definitely more mature than yoursI know
people who take their parents with them abroad too and are treating them
well..u

Re: [Goanet] Demiss Roussous Nana Mouskouri

[Cecil Pinto]

Frederick FN Noronha
We grew up in the 1970s, listening
to this music... in a Goa which was then otherwise turning it back on
Western music. FN

---

I grew up in the 1970s too and don't recall Goa turning it back on Western
music - then or ever.

Will Frederick kindly explain what he means.

Cheers!

Cecil

==

[Goanet] Meet me in Panjim - Friends' Corner

[Cecil Pinto]

I stumbled upon this interesting eatery, Friend's Corner, inside Alfran
Plaza in Panjim.

Run by a young Goan Catholic couple, the light snacks on offer are different
from the normal (veg and chicken) available at such snack shops.
Croquettes, Rissois, Sorpatel, Feijoada, Beef Stew, Vindaloo, Sannas,
Alebele... truly a sampling of Goan Catholic cuisine. I tried a few and
liked what I tasted.

Ok, ok. Ignore the 'Bugger' and such typos in thge Menu, but do support
places like this that remain true to our cultural heritage and don't pander
to the Indian tourist and remove all beef and pork from the menu. Plus it
is in the centre of Panjim and has a mezzanine seating which is perfect for
meeting - Friends!

Spread the word.

Cheers!

Cecil
=

[Goanet] Excerpt from Goan Jokebook

[Cecil Pinto]

Excerpt from:

Risque Goan Jokes (pp 170, Rs. 290/- softcover)
Compiled and translated by Cecil Pinto
--
Limericks Section
--

There was a young woman from Baina
Who laughed out loud like a hyena
When asked to stop screeching
She started beseeching
Saying, 'Mhoje koddem zaina!

===

[Goanet] The myth of Goans being stereotyped in Bollywood films - by Sachin Chatte

[Cecil Pinto]

Part 1
http://sachinchatte.blogspot.in/2014/09/desperately-seeking-stereotypesbut.html

Part 2
http://sachinchatte.blogspot.in/2014/10/the-myth-about-goan-stereotypes-in.html

==

[Goanet] Excerpt from Goan Jokebook

[Cecil Pinto]

Excerpt from:

Risque Goan Jokes (pp 170, Rs. 290/- softcover)
Compiled and translated by Cecil Pinto
-
Limericks Section
-

There was a young man from Raia
With loins constantly on fire
Once when caught fapping
He couldn't help yapping
'I bees full of desire!'

[Goanet] Read about Churchill and Joaquim and Costao and Alvarnez. Better than a movie script.

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/991357/


Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal - Mumbai
Joaquim Alemao And Ors. vs Commissioner Of Customs on 13 February, 2004
Equivalent citations: 2005 (188) ELT 231 Tri Mumbai
Bench: J Balasundaram, Vice, A M Moheb
ORDER Moheb Ali M., Member (T)

1. Costao Fernandes. a junior officer in Marmagoa Custom House gathered
secret intelligence that a huge quantity of gold was going to be smuggled
in to the country. The landing would take place near Fartade beach, one of
those lonely beaches of Goa.

2. He decided to form a one-man-army to fight the smugglers of Goa. If
people think that one-man-armies are the figments of fevered imagination of
Hollywood producers, they are very wrong. Costao is a real figure.

3. Churchill Alemao started his life as tea boy and rose to become the
Chief Minister of the state of Goa. Democracy at its very best. Ciabro
Alemao, Joaquim Alemao, late Alvarnez Alemao, all brothers of Churchill had
equally humble beginnings but rose to become the rich and famous of Goa.
Capitalism and its virtues.

4. Anthony Jon Rodrigues is an employee of late Alvarnez. He works as a tax
collector. He did not rise to become anything. He was only 29 years old.
Still young.

5. Subhash Pandey, a non-descriptive person works for a construction
company engaged in constructing a beach resort called Verca Beach Resort
close to Carmona Beach. He drives a Maruti car belonging to one of
Churchill's brothers. He did the vanishing trick after the incident and
surfaced to reply to the show-cause notice issued to him amongst others.
These then are the dramatists personae.

6. Churchill, Ciabro, Joaquim, Rodrigues, and Subhash Pandey are some of
the persons penalised Under Section 112 (a) and (b) of the Customs Act
ranging from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs by the Commissioner. Hence these
appeals by them.

7. We may now narrate the events that lead to adjudication proceedings.
Briefly though.

8. On the night of 15th May, 1991, the one man army was keeping a nightly
vigil on Fartade Beach from a secret place. He was pointedly asked during
his cross-examination as to where the secret place was. He refused to
divulge it. Some places have to remain secret. They would be useful for
other officers to keep similar vigils if they are so inclined. Costao
observed Joaquim, Ciabro, and Alyarnez and their associates coming to the
site of construction around 8:30 pm in various vehicles on that night. They
proceeded towards the beach and after a while left the place. Nothing much
happened that night. The officer continued to keep his lonely watch. Next
day morning (16th May, 1991), he saw Churchill, Ciabro, and Joaquim and two
to three others visiting the site of construction. Costao thought that no
smuggler however influential would dare to land contraband goods in broad
daylight so he went home. He was wrong.

9. Around 10:30 am, he received a call that a great deal of activity was
going on at Carmona beach. The lone ranger hurled himself in the direction
of the beach on his motor cycle. He noticed Ciabro standing near Luis Bar
close to the beach. At that time, a white Contessa car (hereafter referred
to as the car) bearing number GA-02-A-4567 and a Maruti car bearing
number plate DAC 5492 were parked near the beach. Costao saw four heavy
battery-type boxes being loaded in the car under the supervision and
directions of Alvavnez. He also saw one such box being loaded in the Maruti
car driven by Subhash Pandey. Costao decided to follow the vehicle which
had more boxes and therefore, went after the car. On the way, he instructed
a good Samaritan to inform his wife (Costao's) to telephone the Customs
office about his movements and proceeded in pursuit of the car.

10. Costao intercepted the car at Verca village, jumped into the front seat
and requested the driver, Alvaniez to stop the vehicle (such politeness).
The latter did not oblige, there was a scuffle, a knife was pulled by
Alvaniez and in the ensuing struggle, Alvaniez was grievously hurt. The
officer took out the ignition key, opened the dickey, managed to open one
of the battery-type boxes, pulled out a gold biscuit, showed it to the
crowd which had gathered by then and requested for help and for some water.
Neither of which was given. So he threw the gold biscuit back into the
dickey, locked it, deflated the tires of the vehicle, threw the key away,
and walked away in his blood-stained clothes in the general direction of
one Mrs. Antonite's house (these Customs officers live rather dangerously).
Meanwhile, Alvarnez was wasted.

11. It is worthwhile to remember that the above narration of events is
solely based on the statement of Costao Fernandez recorded Under Section
108 of the Customs Act and the affidavit filed by him before us. There are
however witnesses to the struggle in the front seat of the car and to the
fact that Costao was attempting to open the dickey. After he left the
scene, he was not privy to the events that 

[Goanet] North Goans marrying South Goans

[Cecil Pinto]

If you use the Mandovi and Zuari rivers as demarcators Goa can be divided
into North, Mid and South territories. Now I notice besides marrying in
their own territory most Goan Catholics will marry only into an adjoining
territory. A South or North Goan will marry a Mid-Goan and vice versa. But
rarely does a South Goan marry a North Goan. On the rare occurrence of such
a union it provides a perfect balance in the relationship and the progeny
have a truly pan-Goan attitude. This is a theory I am trying to formulate
and would like examples proving or disproving it.

Cheers!

Cecil
===

[Goanet] Desperately Seeking Stereotypes... by Sachin Chatte

[Cecil Pinto]

http://sachinchatte.blogspot.in/2014/09/desperately-seeking-stereotypesbut.html

Re: [Goanet] business of medicine, Goa style

[Cecil Pinto]

A response from my friend Savio Figueiredo
who can be contacted on rendeep1 at yahoo dot com

-

I do not wish to get personal. I googled Mr Roland Francis and have noted
that he is based in Toronto Canada.I dont know whether he is from the
Pharma field . On the other hand  I am a Pharmacy Graduate  and have worked
in Pharma industry in Goa in the manufacturing , Materials- Purchase,
 Logistics and now Retail Pharmacy for more than  29 years. I have worked
in Managerial positions in the CMM Group of Companies  German Remedies
Ltd.and have been associated with M/s Unichem Laboratories Ltd.

Just because we are employees of the company does not mean that they have
purchased our souls.Please note that we are possibly talking about life
saving medicines and it would be a criminal act to play with the lives of
patients. During my time I have been witness to batches worth lacs of
rupees being trashed as they did not meet standards. I have known the QC
Pharmacists stand their ground about the quality of the  raw materials 
final products.

India produces the best  cheapest medicines in the whole world. Why on
earth would someone wish to bring in medicines  in container loads and sell
them cheap in Goa ? This may have been happening 40 years back when there
was no manufacturing base in Goa  India

Today I can proudly state that the availability of spurious, duplicate or
mis-branded products at the pharmacy level in Goa  is almost zero and the
FDA in Goa is one of the most honest Departments in Goa as well as India
and this has been so over the last 25 years  more due to honest leadership
of the Directors.

To say that everything is hunky dory ofcourse would mean that either I am
naive or a fool with no idea about what goes in the Pharma Industry. I
cannot speak for Government tendered medicines or vouch for their quality.
There are many issues such as homeopaths  ayurveds  quacks prescribing
allopathic medicines left right  centre under the nose of the MCI , 
setting between physicians  pharmaceutical companies  which results in
unnecessary medicines being prescribed to the patients in private  public
domains, over-presription of antibiotics by GP's who do not have the right
 the knowledge to prescribe them, prescription of new molecules without
follow up etc which needs to be exposed and will be.

Savio Figueiredo B. Pharm
Community Pharmacist

Dr Carlos Medical Stores
Aldona, Bardez, Goa 403508
Tel : 00918322293307 (M) 9822142037

The hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray  ( copied from a
T-shirt slogan at Mapusa Market)

=

[Goanet] business of medicine, Goa style

[Cecil Pinto]

I read the report below by Shiv Kumar and found it did not quite ring true.
I asked a knowledgeable and experienced pharmacist friend to comment.
Both viewpoints are below:

Judge for yourself.

Cheers!

Cecil





Shiv Kumar - Journalist:

Last week, I was in Goa for my business. I met a few of people from
the audit departments of a few pharma companies whose plants are in
Goa.

After building a good rapport, one auditor confided with me that their
people routinely fake test data for audit, even now after Ranbaxy and
Wockhardt scare.

Another audit guy who works for an MNC pharma said that their plant
makes formulations for their global operations. in that, they give
ingredients exactly as specified. However, they sell the same API (raw
material) to Indian companies for Indian distribution (the MNC does
not sell in India under its brands). There, they give lower quality
ingredients, though they specify higher grade. So if the API is meant
to be 60% active ingredient, it is usually 45-50% active ingredient
and it is sold at cheaper prices to Indian pharma companies. Indian
companies prepare tablets and sell, even though they know that the
ingredient is of less than specified potency. Everybody in the
industry apparently knows this open secret in Goa.

A PRO of a well-known hospital in Goa told me there are some small
time pharma companies who bring a couple of containers of their drugs
into Goa and sell those tablets at very cheap rates to local doctors /
pharmacies with strange, unknown brands. They throw parties for the
doctors requesting them to write prescriptions for their brands. Once
the containers are finished, they disappear. The brand or the company
never comes again to the doctors.

Finally, another trend in Goa medical practice: Some generic pharma
companies approach big specialist doctors and offer to prepare tablets
in the doctor's name!! They offer to make customised formulation with
the doctor's branding. So you hear some funny brands that you never
hear anywhere else. Only the other local doctors can tell that this
brand is such and such doctor's brand of tablets. I took photos of
some tablet strips. They were definitely not tested for anything. I
know a lot about pharma industry, being involved with it for 21 years.
One look at the contents and I could tell that all these ingredients
cannot be put in one tablet - sort of a polypill with 38 ingredients.

Some Goa doctors told me that these days, they trust medicines only if
they are imported




Savio Figueiredo - Pharmacist:

This is a case of a complete work of  fiction created from a little fact

1. There is a huge amount of documentation work involved in the manufacture
of pharmaceuticals - some important , other just donkey work. There are
important parameters like the the weight of tablets manufactured, the
ambient temperature, pressure  humidity and there are cleaning records. It
is true that some of the documentation manipulated and just filled up, but
I do not think the quality is compromised

2. Please note that the pharmacists working in the industry are decent
human beings   professionals and most of them have ethics and will in no
way allow such sub-standard products to the manufactured. I have worked in
the manufacturing and now have good friends in the manufacturing quality
control  quality assurance depts. They will in no way partake, support and
allow such blatant criminal acts.

3. That Doctors are hand in gloves in the industry is a universal fact and
direct money transfer is involved forget about gifts, parties and foreign
trips

I am in the process of compiling info about the mess in Goa and will
shortly give it a suitable journalist for investigation and public
disclosure


-

[Goanet] Historical fiction movies as educational tools

[Cecil Pinto]

Dada, the old man from Jurassic Park died, my son Desmond casually
informed me one day last week.

What?! To reduce the greatness of Richard Attenborough to his role in
just one movie was an insult to the man.

Haven't you heard of the movie Gandhi?, I asked Desmond. Turned out he
had not. And my wife Beatrice had heard of it but not seen it. Bah!

More than thirty years back I had seen it in Alankar Theatre in Mapusa and
I remember it as being a splendid movie. Interestingly I was studying 12th
Arts at Xavier's at the time and was bunking my History lecture to see the
movie. My lecturer, Rita Ferrao from Aldona, saw me walking down the
staircase when I should be sitting in her class.

I hope you're going for Gandhi?, she asked me.

Yes. ma,am!

Ok. No problem. I expect you to make a 10 minute presentation about the
movie tomorrow to the class.

Sure ma,am!

Mrs. Ferrao was the best History teacher I have ever encountered. Most
unconventional in her approach,she would be enthusiastically bouncing all
over the classroom enthralling us with her descriptions and opinions which
went way beyond the boring textbooks. And she also encouraged students to
bring in History related stuff to class - like my presentation.

Anyway, yesterday I download Gandhi and we watched it together as a family.
It was equally engrossing after more than three decades. Beatrice majored
in history and found revelations there too. Desmond was of course
fascinated and keeps asking me questions about the Freedom Movement and
Partition etc, which I don't struggle to answer - thanks to Wikpaedia!
Although he has studied about Gandhi and Independence in school this movie
has really got Desmond very interested in Indian history again.

Since we are all amateur history buffs in the family, and historical
movies, Indian and International, can act as a educational tool I have
decided to download a few movies - mainly for Desmond but for us too. Below
is the list. Please feel free to suggest additions or subtractions
depending on suitability.

Lincoln (2012)

Alexander (2004)

Marie Antoinette (2006)

Downfall (2004)

Gladiator (2000)

Schindler's List (1993)

Ben-Hur (1959)

The Patriot (2000)

Mississippi Burning (1988)

Spartacus (1960)

Elizabeth (1998)

Lagaan (2001)

Water (2005)

Ashoka the Great (2001)

Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005)

The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)

Sardar (1993)

Veer Savarkar (2001)

Gautama Buddha (2007)

Asoka (2001)

Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005)

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005)

Rang de Basanti (2006)

=

[Goanet] Chaturthi Carols

[Cecil Pinto]

This is Goa!
Can we re-write Christmas Carols for Ganesh Chaturthi?



I'm dreaming of a green Chovoth.
Where springs and streams overflowed.
Where all that was seen, was shades of green,
And raindrops formed puddles on the road.

I'm dreaming of a green Chovoth,
Cause I can't go back to my Ganv.
Hope your house is tidy and clean
And your loaded Matoli is green.



Time permitting I will work on:
- I'll be Home for Chovoth
- Walking in a Rainy Chaturthi
- It's beginning to look a lot like Chovoth

Suggestions welcome but please don't harm any religious feelings.

===

[Goanet] Maybe the India Censor Board feel Goan girls can't be virgins

[Cecil Pinto]

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/finding-fanny-arjun-kapoor-deep
ika-padukone-homi-adajania-virgin-censor-board-deleted/1/379258.html

[Goanet] Table Tennis at Aldona Institute on Sunday, 10th August 2014

[Cecil Pinto]

The Aldona Institute is organising a one-day Table Tennis tournament on
Sunday, 10th August 2014
The categories are Mens' Singles, School Boys and Girls Singles.
School students should carry valid School I.D. cards.
SMS entries to 9850471201 by 9th August.
Limited entries only.

=

[Goanet] What does your school PTA say about admitting kids with HIV?

[Cecil Pinto]

Roland Francis:
Even if you disclaimed education, merely being informed and aware as you
claim to be, should have convinced you of the correct stand without the
necessity
 of self doubts on the subject of HIV infected children viz they have the
full rights of all children including access to education without
discrimination and harassment. There can be no second thoughts about this
under the guise of sincerely analysing my reactions. If you think like
this, no wonder people with a little less than your level of information
and awareness could do what they did in Rivona.


Cecil:
Unlike you Roland, I am not perfect and not always sure that my reactions
are correct. I try to walk a mile in the other person's shoes before
passing judgement.

All men should strive
to learn before they die
what they are running from,
And to, and why.
~James Thurber




Roland:
If I am blinkered and negative than your phrase is extremely naive not to
be termed divisive. Pity a writer could not have said it more clearly. No
matter how you mask or spin it, the phrase could have been unambiguous with
Our Children, Our Children's Children, if that is what you meant.


Cecil:
As I said before I have used the phrase before, for other causes, to good
effect. Only a convoluted mind could interpret it as you did. If you feel
your English is superior you can please coin slogans and sell them. Though
I doubt anyone would buy, Our Children, Our Children's Children. It
sounds smug and selfish.

-

Roland:
My last word on this subject.


Cecil:
It better be. You have forgotten the issue at hand and are trying to play
with words and defend your stupid assumptions.
But I must admit I was looking forward to Roland's Lessons in Proper
English Usage for Copywriting Professionals.

Cheers!

==

[Goanet] Job Offer Hoax Alert - India/Qatar

[Cecil Pinto]

Please note that a non-existent company
QATAR FOUNDATION FOR CONSTRUCTION AND OIL SERVICES
is sending out Appointment Letters with fantastic offers to job seekers.

The letter is very authentic looking with very lucrative terms and has
authentic looking stamps of the Qatar Labour Department etc.

It is a well planned con job. First they browse career sites and contact
candidates and ask them for an updated bio-data.

They then send an Appointment Letter and ask the candidate to contact some
representative here in Delhi, India. This representative in turn eventually
asks for Visa fees. Once the Visa fees are paid the agent disappears.

A close relative of mine almost fell for the trap but fortunately I have
friends in Qatar who confirmed for me that the company did not exist and
that there are many such Job Offer cons going on.

Please inform prospective job seekers you know to be very wary of job
offers that sound too good to be true and to do their homework diligently.

Cheers!

Cecil

[Goanet] What does your school PTA say about admitting kids with HIV?

[Cecil Pinto]

Roland Francis:
Cecil, I would easily count you one of the cognoscenti when compared to the
class that needs education.


Cecil:
Thanks you for the certification but I consider myself informed and aware
rather than 'educated'.





Roland:
Therefore it is surprising that you mention your doubts on how you yourself
would have reacted in a school situation in Panjim, like that of Rivona. I
thought education would count for the difference in your behaviour about
which there should have been no doubts on the score that children with HIV
do not deserve to be shown any difference from those without that
condition, period.


Cecil:
I always question myself and my actions, reactions and motivations. It is
very easy to do armchair analysis from a distance. It is easy for me to
condemn the parents of the Rivona school sitting here in Panjim. What if I
was in their place? How would I have reacted if kids living with HIV were
admitted in my son's school. I ask myself such questions all the while.
Only after asking myself these questions, and sincerely analyzing my
reactions, can I then turn the scope on the Rivona parents. And
incidentally I passed my own test with flying colours. But yes one must do
a lot of introspection before being critical of what others do.

Fore example there are lots of Goans living abroad who are very vocal in
Goan cyberspace. Which is good. We can learn from exchanges. But some of
them constantly scream in a shrill voice telling us what to do and what not
to do. Most of these people have a very vague idea of ground realities here
in Goa. These people should also pause and walk a mile in our shoes before
screaming their nonsense advice.




Roland:
And I certainly hope that in your last sentence For our kids and their
kids you do not mean for their kids with HIV and our kids without,
because it certainly lends itself to that interpretation, when one knows
you have skill in wordcraft and all.


Cecil:
Your interpretation exposes your blinkered understanding of issues. For
our kids and their kids is a slogan I have used before when raising funds
or awareness for issues related to young people. It is a beautiful phrase
that encompasses everyone. Our children, their children, our children's
children. Only a convoluted mind could interpret it in the negative way you
have.

Cheers!

==

[Goanet] What does your school PTA say about admitting kids with HIV?

[Cecil Pinto]

Let's walk the talk.

It's too easy to blame the Government, or the school management or the
parents of those children in Rivona who refused to let HIV kids be admitted
into their school. It's too easy to criticize from a distance. What if it
was the school where my child studied? How would the parents have reacted?
How would I have reacted?

Here's what I suggest. Let each of us parents, wherever we are in Goa,
request our school PTA to have a special meeting with a single point
agenda. Asking each parent, Are you open to admitting children with HIV
into this school?. I know there will not be a unanimous 'YES' in any
school. No problem. We then approach the Government, and the Education
Department and Human Rights organizations to have education and
sensitization programs for our parents. We allay everyone's fears till we
can reach an unanimous decision, even if it takes weeks. Each school PTA
then sends their now 'informed' decision to the Education Department.

HIV is not going anywhere in a hurry. The problem will re-occur in some
other school tomorrow. Let us be prepared to welcome these kids after we
have been made to understand that there is no problem with their presence.
Let what happened in Rivona never happen again.

If you are a parent in Goa please contact your school PTA and ask them to
call this Special Meeting. If you are not a parent in Goa please share this
so that a Goan parent will see it and do the right thing. For our kids, and
their kids!

[Goanet] Arrest the Rivona parents

[Cecil Pinto]

Bring back the Untouchability Offences Act of 1955 and arrest all the
parents of the Rivona School students. They are teaching the HIV kids like
'untouchables' or 'harijans' and therefore have to be penalised by the
Government.

Untouchability is the practice of ostracizing a group by segregating them
from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate.

Are the Rivona parents of such a high caste that they can treat OUR kids
like Untouchables? Arrest them all!

Cheers!

Cecil

=

[Goanet] The Goa Public Dressing Act 2014 (GPDA)

[Cecil Pinto]

Goa Public Places to be segregated four ways, from Fully Clothed to
Clothing Optional


Goa PWD Minister Sudhin Dhavlikar’s statement about banning bikinis on Goan
beaches has stirred the hornet’s nest on this sensitive topic. While most
people are opposed to such a move to ban bikinis, they also agree that some
foreign and Indian tourists, and even locals, sometimes dress most
inappropriately for the occasion or location. “Whereas a woman dressed in a
bikini is perfectly ok at a beach the same outfit would not be in place in
the market or in the church. “, said Tourism Secretary Ms. Perpetua
D’Costa. “Of course if someone turns up with jeans and T-Shirt for a formal
wedding function that too is inappropriate but those are private events and
the Government has no business in deciding what is worn there, but in
public places definitely the Government has to intervene.”


The Goa Public Dressing Act 2014 (GPDA) is being drafted to address just
this problem.  Says D’Costa, “We have asked the Goa College of Art students
to help us design appropriate graphic signage so that the people of all
states and countries, regardless of language, can understand the signboards
which will have text in English and Konkani.”


Basically there will be four types of public zones.  The first will be
‘Fully Clothed’ (Samko Nesson) which will apply to all religious
institutions like churches, temples etc. “The Fully Clothed zone is very
strict”, says D’Costa, and does not allow sleeveless tops, or shorts or
mini-skirts. The attire and attitude should be one of reverence. In time to
come we will expand this Fully Clothed zone to include place like the
Legislative Assembly, Secretariat, Bishop’s Palace, Kala Academy Black Box,
Governor’s Palace, Classical Music performances etc. “


The next zone is ‘Casual Clothed’ (Besto Nesson), which means one can wear
shorts, sleeveless tops, spaghetti straps and mini-skirts - but not beach
wear or underwear.  Nor can men be topless or women display excessive
cleavage. This zone will apply to most public spaces like markets, roads,
public transportation, Government offices, sports events, press briefings,
art exhibitions, film festivals etc. D’Costa paused here to explain, “Keep
in mind that each of these zones is Upward Compatible. That is, nobody can
stop a person wearing a tuxedo from attending a football match, which is a
Casual Clothed zone, but there is no Downward Compatibility so a woman in a
short skirt cannot enter a Fully Clothed zone.”


From  there we move to Semi Clothed (Ordho Nesson)that includes bikinis,
swimwear, toplessness for males etc - but no underwear masquerading as
beach wear . This basically is for beach areas and for swimming pools,
natural springs etc. “Relaxation will be made during Sao Joao,  Carnival,
Holi etc where certain Casual Clothed zones will temporarily be allowed
Semi Clothed status.”, says D’Costa, “Again I repeat about Upward
Compatibility. If a saree clothed woman wishes to wade into the water that
is fully her prerogative, and the Government cannot interfere although
lifeguards can advice caution.”


“And lastly we have a Clothing Optional (Zai Zalear Nagdo) zone where it is
left to the individual to decide if he or she wants to wear clothes or not.
One beach in North Goa and two beaches in South Goa have been identified
for this zone. Some European tourists feel the need to bathe and sunbathe
in the nude. Why should we deny them that privilege? We just charge a steep
entry fee to these zones. The tourists hopefully will pay the fee to get a
degree of freedom-from-clothing and the other tourists who want to ogle,
while themselves remaining Semi Clothed, will perhaps be deterred by the
steep fee. These zones will be adults only, and maybe at a later stage,
like offshore-casinos, not open to Goans as it might corrupt their morals.”


Of course there are many issues to be resolved in the GPDA. “For example
what differentiates a mini-skirt from a normal skirt. When is something a
banian, which is not acceptable in a Semi Clothed zone, and when is it a
tank-top - which is acceptable. What about traditional attire like the
pudvem or the kashti or a lungi which sometimes can be quite revealing. A
saree showing a lot of midriff also would be questionable. Also the
question of how much female cleavage would have to show to differentiate
between Casual and Semi Clothed? How does one define and measure
butt-cleavage which is sometimes unintentional but can constitute indecent
exposure ? If bra-straps are intentionally and prominently on display can
that be construed as displaying one’s underwear -which is not allowed even
in the Semi Clothed zone? What about these young boys who wear low drooping
trousers that reveal the top of their underpants? What opacity makes an
outfit see-through?  Are intentionally torn jeans – indecent exposure? Why
a gender difference for toplessness?  Can  an  indecent slogan or graphic
on a t-shirt cause offense?”


“We have formed 

[Goanet] Goa Feni in North America

[Cecil Pinto]

Mervyn Lobo wrote:
Returning to our beloved Cashew Feni, I know we are in agreement on which
village produces the best stuff.

Cecil:
At one time,many years back, I would swear by the Feni of my Siolim
supplier. Much water, and adulterants, have flown under the bridge since
and I have moved on to better offerings from other villages. My newest good
discovery was in Bicholim this year.

--


Mervyn:
Lastly, two years ago someone gifted me a bottle of cashew in Goa which was
the best feni bottle I have ever opened. The bottle itself is gorgeous,
with a mini bottle shaped like the fruit, within it. The contents? Well let
me put it this way, it is so precious that the bottle is still half full.
But you remain the lucky one for now, as cashew feni aged in wooden
barrels, is available in Goa. With premium feni now available in Toronto, I
hope it is only a matter of time before we get aged feni in Toronto as well.


Cecil:
1) Do not judge a Feni by its bottle. Yes, that particular brand/bottle has
a pretty decent Feni but the price makes it not suitable for regular
drinking. I wouldn't mind paying 1/3rd the price for the same liquid in a
regular bottle. Overly fancy bottles are for tourists and showcases.

2) Roland would look at the bottle as half-empty.

3) The 'Feni aged in oak barrels' and 'Feni in fancy bottles' and 'Feni
tasting sessions in 5-Star hotels for Page-3 folks who will not drink Feni
for the remaining 364 days of the year' shows the lack of imagination of
the leaders of the Feni industry in Goa. Probably the only person who is
looking at Feni seriously and experimenting and researching and studying
and testing in a proper way is Hansel Vaz (of Cazulo fame). How exactly
does the oak barrel enhance the taste of Caju Feni? Will it make it vastly
different from the infusions currently used? Does a liquor with a powerful
bouquet like Caju Feni actually need any infusions? These and similar
questions should be asked before mindlessly aping the West and focussing on
marketing gimmicks rather than improving quality through existing methods.
There are a few traditional distillers out there churning out fantastic
stuff. They should be encouraged and empowered - which is what Hansel is
doing. I do my bit in support too - by consuming copious amounts!

---

Mervyn:
PS. I am still searching for that all elusive, The Connoisseurs Guide to
Cashew Feni.

Cecil:
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps

Cheers!

==

[Goanet] Goa Feni in North America

[Cecil Pinto]

Roland Francis wrote:
1) Human legs crushing the cashew fruit is definitely not an American idea
of quality.


Cecil:
Roland must be knowing that the finest wine is produced by crushing grapes
using 'human legs'. And wine is just a fermented drink, not a distilled
alcohol like Caju Feni where any possible impurities will be eliminated in
the process of distillation. You Canadians are very impressed by American
quality standards whereas we Indians know that this is all nonsense and
America is only protecting its own alcohol industry from competition.

--

Roland:
2) Does Global Spirits belong to a known Goa liquor firm like PVV or is it
a large independent.

Cecil:
It is part of the PVV group and exports only their own brands, to the best
of my knowledge.

Cheers!

===

[Goanet] Konkani films

[Cecil Pinto]

Frederick Noronha writes:
I agree things can work somewhat better if one locates a committed
Goa/diaspora-linked business to stock such 'cultural products'. Just
yesterday I was reading and trying to understand how Jerome Mendes (of
Leonora's Restaurant in Nuvem) changed the visibility of old Goan Konkani
films worldwide!

--

Dear Frederick,

Could you please expand on that. What did Jerome Mendes do regarding old
Konkani films?

Cheers!

Cecil
===

[Goanet] Fwd: Reply on behalf of GoaNet

[Cecil Pinto]

Mervyn Lobo has been asking Frederick Noronha for details of GoaNet
moderators but Frederick, expectedly, has been avoiding answering. A
similar question had been asked by Santosh Helekar in 2008. My reply then
(below) hopefully will throw some light on the answer.




From: Cecil Pinto cecilpi...@gmail.com
Date: 8 September 2008 17:50



Santosh Helekar asked:

1. How many Goanet moderators are there, and what are their names?

Answer:
http://www.goanet.org/modules.php?op=modloadname=Newsfile=articlesid=9
Herman Carneiro, Boston, MA, USA
Frederick FN Noronha, Goa, India
Viviana Coelho, San Francisco, CA, USA
Bosco D'Mello, Toronto, Canada

In descending order of knowledge of Goa, Goans and Konkani:
Frederick FN Noronha, Goa, India
Bosco D'Mello, Toronto, Canada
Herman Carneiro, Boston, MA, USA
Viviana Coelho, San Francisco, CA, USA

Herman has moderated nothing for many years.
Viviana moderates once in a way. Just to show she is around and in a
powerful position. She knows precious zilch about real life in Goa.
Bosco does most of the work and is King.
But it is Frederick who is God and steers everything exactly the way
he wants it. Don't believe any crap he gives about not bening involved
with GoaNet moderation.

---

2. How are the moderator duties divided between them?

Answer:
A hot potato posting is bounced between them till someone decides to
take responsibility. Bosco and Viviana may be flawed in their
moderation (who isn't?) but mostly have the decency to sign their
names to a rejection. If you see an anonymous rejection it is
Frederick's work. Sometimes a hot potato just disappears, thanks to
Frederick, without any other moderator knowing what happened. I have
often offered my considerable Net expertise for free as a moderator
but been refused. They ask for volunteers often but only for the
'junior' positions. Frederick love power and is not willing to give up
what he has built over so many years. I don't blame him. Only wish he
would be open about his actions.



3. Are all Goanet members placed on moderation, or are there some
whose messages are allowed to show up on Goanet unmoderated?

Answer:
There are a few who are in unmoderated mode. It is none of your
business to know who and why.

--

4. Does the history of a poster on Goanet determine how closely
his/her posts are screened?

Answer:
Is the Pope Catholic?

-

5. What is done to ensure that there is no ideological bias in
rejection or acceptance of posts e.g. supporters of BJP vs Congress vs
Marxist party, Christian viewpoint vs Hindu viewpoint, etc?

Answer:
Fortunately Frederick is pretty balanced in his views so he gives a
pretty even playing field. It is only when his personal interests are
at stake that he comes down strong.

-

6. Can the actual reason for rejection be stated more clearly, and the
name of the person who moderated the post be provided, each time a
post is rejected?

Answer:
No. That would expose Frederick.

--

As Frederick has said time and again, if you feel you have a better
model  then feel free to start a new Goa Cyber Group yourself.
Frederick made Goanet what it is through sheer dint of hard work. He
deserves to control it any way he chooses.

Cheers!

Cecil

[Goanet] The Goa Facebook anti-Modi comment is mentioned in this humour column.

[Cecil Pinto]

The Goa Facebook anti-Modi comment is mentioned in this humour column.

http://stupidusmaximus.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/its-all-good-nothing-to-see-here-move-on/

[Goanet] Smartphone App for House Blessing - Bejiment Tracker

[Cecil Pinto]

Smartphone App for House Blessing - Bejiment Tracker

As an altar-boy I used to accompany the parish priest around my ward,
Goncoi, in Aldona, as he went about blessing the houses in the days after
Easter., says Leroy Lobo. I noticed how everyone had been waiting in
their houses quite a while for the priest to make his appearance. This is
because everybody knows what day the priest will come, but nobody knows the
exact time he will make it to their house. It could be anywhere between 4
pm and 7 pm depending on what route he takes.

Leroy, who plans to study Computer Engineering has developed a Android
compliant software that will make waiting for the priest a thing of the
past. Bejiment Tracker is the name of this practical App which allows
anyone to track where the priest is and what route he is taking. I spoke
to my parents, and even my uncles in Carona, and realised that this
what-time-will-the-priest-arrive problem has been around for generations. A
quick calculation told me that in Goa itself about seventy eight thousand
four hundred and twenty two man hours are wasted every year by people
waiting indefinitely for the priest to turn up. Also take into account the
energies wasted and the amount of money spent on phone calls to neighbours
to ask if they have any clue where the priest is.

I have designed it basically for the altar-boy to initialize the app on
his phone and to update it as he progresses. This is because most of the
older priests are not comfortable with Smartphones., says Leroy. Basically
the app tracks the priests route and movement automatically, using GPS, and
this information is made available to any Smartphone user by interacting
with Google Maps or Latitude.  It's basically a free App but in the Premium
paid version there is further information made available. The altar-boy
keys in how much donation was given at each house, so you can keep the
correct amount ready at hand. Not too much or too little, all depending on
what your neighbours gave.

As an ex altar-boy I could see visible signs of how long time people had
been waiting. New candles burnt to more than half their length, watery
Queens raspberry that has turned warm with the ice cubes having melted long
back, aunties with streaks on their faces having streams of sweat running
through the talcum powder...

Bejiment Tracker is in Beta Testing stage right now but will be available
for download by Easter next year.

Read more at:
http://www.ucanews.com/news/priests-face-house-blessing-hurdles/14161

[Goanet] Natasha goes as bald as an Easter Egg, for kids in Goa

[Cecil Pinto]

A young woman from Aldona, Natasha Lisa DeSouza, has agreed to shave her
head bald on Easter Sunday if she can raise Rs. 50,000/- for charity. The
two Goan charities she has in mind are Sethu and Bookworm.

Sethu is doing fantastic work for children with mental disabilities. Check
it out at: http://www.sethu.in

Bookworm is encouraging the reading habit among kids through libraries,
workshops and outreach programs - including one in Aldona. Check it out at:
http://www.bookwormgoa.in/

This is how it works. You pledge an amount by contacting Cecil Pinto 
cecilpi...@gmail.com. Cecil will guide you on how to get the money across
to the charity of your choice. Please specify if it is Sethu or Bookworm
that you prefer. Official receipts will issued by the respective
organisations you donate to. Your name and the amount pledged will be
displayed on an accumulative list on Facebook. If the targeted amount of
Rs. 50,000/- can be reached by or before 19th April then Natasha will have
her head shaved clean on Easter Sunday. Photographic evidence of this will
be posted publicly.

Natasha has been game enough to suffer the ignominy of being bald so that
kids in Goa can benefit. Please assist her by pledging and donating some
money ASAP. We have only a few days left for Easter Sunday, 20th April.
Even if you cannot spare the cash at least spread the message by sharing
this post. And lets all have fun in the process.


==

[Goanet] Vinayak Naik's talk at the Dalgado Akademi's function on March 6th 2014

[Cecil Pinto]

Devnagari Konkani, in effect, is nothing but a Goan version of Marathi.

BY VINAYAK NAIK
Editor-in-Chief, Goa Today magazine

Dear friends, I would have, ideally, liked to speak to you this evening, in
Konkani. But I have decided to speak in English instead simply because the
type of Konkani I speak has a pronounced Devnagari flavour.  And this
function being, essentially, one of Romi Konkani, I do not want anybody in
this august assembly here in front of me, to run away with the idea, right
at the start of my talk, that I may be a supporter of Devnagari brand of
Konkani. Actually, that’s precisely what I am not. Most of the people
present here, of course, know it. But some may not. That’s why this
clarification.

In fact, I would like to mainly dwell, at some length, on the rather
problematical Romi-Devnagari issue on this occasion. I’ll do that in just a
moment. But before I launch into that topic, I would like to extend my
hearty  congratulations   to  the Dalgado Konknni Akademi for the fabulous
work  it has been doing, all along, right from  its initiation,  for the
prime purpose of  fostering the growth of  Konkani –  especially Romi.  In
fact, no praise would be too high for Dalgado Akademi and all its
constituents for having striven, all these years, to keep the Konkani flag,
or rather the Romi Konkani flag flying. Very well done indeed!

Also,  I would like to congratulate the  five  outstanding  Konkani
personalities who have  become the  Dalgado Konknni Akademi award
recipients, this time, for their meritorious endeavour towards Konkani’ s
elevation as well as propagation.  No doubt about it, it’s an honour each
one of them has most deservedly earned.

Well, along with the five awardees, I too feel honoured, on this occasion.
In fact  not just honoured, but doubly honoured, because it’s the second
time that the Dalgado  Konkani Akademi has deemed it fit to have me as the
Chief Guest for its function , the earlier occasion having been, well over
 three years ago, when the late Dr Olivinho  Gomes’ book had been
ceremoniously  released  at my hands.

Now, I’ll get down to brass tacks and come to the subject I promised to
discuss, a while ago. I mean, the ongoing Romi Konkani versus Devnagari
Konkani scuffle.

Those who know me well enough, are fully aware of my pro-Romi stand right
from the time the script controversy came to the fore. In fact, I have been
absolutely consistent and rigid in holding on to that stand. Mark you, it
has not seen even the slightest mutation over the years.  One can easily
check this fact by reading afresh the Romi Konkani –friendly editorials I
have written in the magazine I have been editing, Goa Today, over the last
18 years.  Well, I have never done it with a view to playing to the
gallery. Or for that matter, to seek popularity for myself in Goa’s Romi-
Konkani-espousing community.  I have done it all along, going by the
prompting of my heart.

Today, 18 years down the line, I would say, my commitment to the cause of
Romi Konkani is stronger than it has been ever before. It is my immutable
belief that it is Romi Konkani which should have been recognised as the
sole Official Language of Goa, and not Devnagari Konkani, which is
unfortunately the case. The Devnagari brand of Konkani, relatively
speaking, is very recent. In fact, I would call it a post-Liberation
creation. Honestly, I don’t remember having heard of the term Devnagari
Konkani until   Goa’s Liberation. That’s because it didn’t exist at all.
Maybe just an odd man or two had scribbled a few lines in Devnagari
Konkani, but that output was too little to merit being labelled as
Devnagari Konkani literature.

Believe me, some people, who have been reading my editorials, have
expressed great surprise over my patently pro-Romi stance.  Some have even
questioned as to how I could be having so much affection for Romi Konkani
despite not being able to even hold a simple conversation in it. Well,
there you are! That’s precisely the reason! Because I don’t understand Romi
well enough, I am able to genuinely appreciate the large-scale difference
that exists between the Devnagari version of Konkani and Romi Konkani. The
two are far too different!   All the more reason therefore, according to
me, for their independent existence.

The lovers of the so called Devnagari Konkani are conveniently trying to
give the impression that the two versions of Konkani – Devnagari and Romi –
are very nearly synonymous. Meaning, they are as good as the same. But, in
reality, that is not the case at all! I dare say, they are poles apart.
That’s why one should try and understand the difficulty in learning
Devnagari Konkani experienced by thousands of Christian children in Goa,
who have been exposed, from the time they were out of the womb, to only one
brand of Konkani at home. And that’s Romi!

The contention of several Devnagari Konkani votaries is that since all the
kids  coming from the  Catholic households in Goa have to study the

[Goanet] The Buttocks of Naked Women and Further Meditations on Sacred Art: Sajan Venniyoor

[Cecil Pinto]

http://kafila.org/2014/03/05/the-buttocks-of-naked-women-and-further-meditations-on-sacred-art-sajan-venniyoor-2/

[Goanet] Why not 'Cheers!

[Cecil Pinto]

Venantius J Pinto wrote:
Hopefully Floriano's response gets published in the Press/Letters.
Also a suggestion: skip signing off with Cheers.


--

Dear Venantius,

Please expand on your suggestion. What is wrong with signing off with
Cheers?

Cheers!

Cecil
=

[Goanet] Playboy priest

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.ucanindia.in/news/playboy-priest-goes-on-trial-in-croatia/23384/daily

[Goanet] Lusofonia Games Inaugural Speech in many languages - by Cecil Pinto

[Cecil Pinto]

Friends, Goans countrymen et  des gens d'autres pays. Aapno divas shubh
rahe. Svet je majhen!  Pourquoi dis-je’ Lusofonia Games’ when I should be
saying ‘Lusophony Games’ or ‘Jogos da Lusiphonia’ Porque não é qualquer um
corrigir alguém? Is it because of the political sensitivity of the event?
Or are people just being polite and snickering behind my back? Que sera
sera.

Vishnu Surya Wagh, Kala Academychya Sanmaneet Adhashya ahey. Alikadey
paryat tyani Goa Lusophony Games sahbhagi verodh kela hota. We couldn’t let
this become an international embarrassment to our state. Nous laissons Wagh
composer une chanson speciale pour les jeux. Cosa fa? Was macht er? To
kitem korta? Unhonee panch alag alag bhasa mein ek geet banaya! Matro ekti
bhasha jotheshṭo noe.

Now where does that leave me, mogall bhavano anu bhoinenim? I have to beat
that. Voici donc mon discours inaugural dans plus de cinq langues.
Versuchen Sie schlagen das, Vishnu Wagh! Anche il pazzo dice talvolta
parole da savio.

Thodde der ke liye rajniti aur vyakaran ko bhul jate hain aur khell ke bare
mein baat karte hain.  Da chi mi fido, mi guardi Dio, da chi non mi fido
guarderò io. Jaise Pierre de Coubertin ne kaha,  “La chose la plus
importante dans les Jeux Olympiques n'est pas de gagner mais de participer,
l'essentiel dans la vie n'est pas la conquête, mais bien lutter.” But that
was about the Olympics. Bem, eu nao posso fazer nada se os Jogos Lusofonia
sao tao recentes que nao ha citacoes dignos sobre eles. Mens sana in
corpore sano

Quinhentos anos de volta a Goa Português capturado.  Panch dashak pahele
Bharat ne Goa ko murt karaya. That can be taken as an invasion or a
liberation men jeg er ikke her for at diskutere, at.  Portugal amkam ek
channel koshem zalam. Les Jeux Lusophonie nous permettent de canaliser
l'argent de Delhi. A Portuguese passport allows us a channel to Europe.
 Life is about channels. Laten wij deze kanalen te herkennen en vieren ze.
A caval donato non si guarda in bocca. Pecunia, si uti scis, ancilla est;
si nescis, domina.

Long live the Lusophony Games!  Viva Portugal! Jai Hind! Zoi Goem! Politics
are temporary, channels are forever!

===

[Goanet] An appeal from Claude Alvares - Goa Foundation

[Cecil Pinto]

I found the appeal below at:
https://www.facebook.com/GoaFoundation

As you must be knowing Goa Foundation has been fighting the valiant fight
to save Goa from the evil greedy designs of the mining lobby. I think the
time has come for us to strengthen Claude's hands by donating whatever
amount we can.


-

Yes, I have to finally admit, we need some money. The Supreme Court case in
Delhi is taking a toll on our already stretched finances and unlike mining
companies we do not own any iron ore mines!

Fighting PILs, like we do, causes a lot of consternation among those
critical of our actions. Goa CM once told the press we need to know how
these people can fight their cases in the Supreme Court. He said that when
he filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Congress politician,
Mauvin Godinho, he had to shell out 10-12 lakhs. [It would have been nice
if he had told us where he got the 10-12 lakhs.] And no lawyer is going to
argue a case for a politician free of cost.

In an interesting case in which we were involved (challenging the
construction of the Grand Hyatt in Goa, where the principal opponents were
Vinod Goenka and Shahid Balwa: remember the 2G scam accused?), we found we
were bereft of counsel because our usual counsel, Indira Jaising, had
accepted the offer to become Addl Solicitor General of India. What to do?
So we asked K K Venugopal whom we had met when he was awarded the Padma
Bhushan (as Norma Alvares had received her Padma Sri at the same time). KKV
told us he would fight our cases without charge when needed. So when Indira
opted out, we went to KKV. Even though some 8 years had passed since he had
made the offer, we met him and he spontaneously agreed.

The problem arose after the hearings in the Supreme Court in that matter
were completed. Promptly within the month we became subject to a formal
inquiry conducted by the income tax which wanted to know from where we had
received the money to pay KKV (who admittedly is one of India's most highly
paid counsel). We sent them our audited accounts and they shut up. But they
could have simply asked KKV and he would have told them he argued the
matter free of cost (pro bono). Lawyers still do that in Delhi for genuine
PIL matters. But look at the reach of our opponents in that case!

Now we have the same issue being made about the present mining case. How
could we have filed this petition which has deprived the govt of some 1500
crores? The hidden charge is we are being financed by opposition parties.
In the Supreme Court, ranged against us (and Goa's environment) are India's
front-ranking lawyers. Mercifully, the truth is always free. You pay
lawyers because you want to hide it. Prashant Bhushan has politely declined
even talking of fees in the matter since this is a PIL and he is well aware
of the work of the Goa Foundation. [Several other Delhi lawyers appear pro
bono (free) for the Goa Foundation. They include Sanjay Parikh, Raj
Panjwani, Ritwick Dutta (with his associates Rahul and Parul) and Anita
Shenoy.]

So what do we need money for? Travel up and down from Delhi, that's all.
Air tkts now average 10-15K one way. Friends in Delhi look after us so we
don't have to stay in hotels. So if you have some additional cash which is
doing nothing but adding to inflation -- or worse, might someday be eaten
by termites -- send it to us for use. This is the mother of all environment
battles Goa and Goans are fighting, in order to protect ourselves long term
protection from an industry which believes solely in dig and sell and which
wants to convert this most priceless and astonishingly green piece of earth
into a replica of the barren and cratered face of the moon.

If you write in, we can send you the Goa Foundation bank information.

--

Please contact Goa Foundation directly at:

Phone: 0832 226 3305
Email: goafoundat...@gmail.com
Website: http://goafoundation.org/


Cheers!

Cecil

=

[Goanet] Goa Today Editor-in-Chief Vinayak Naik's Editorial on the raging 'Script Row'

[Cecil Pinto]

‘Colonising’ Romi

BY VINAYAK NAIK

As Chairman of the Kala Academy, Vishnu Wagh has shown the broadness of
vision as none before him had done. His decision to put the writers of Romi
Konkani on a par with those of Devnagari Konkani is concrete proof of that.
I would reckon it as a master  move, one that would help assuage the
feelings of the Romi Konkani votaries who have really had a raw deal ever
since Konkani’s recognition as the State official language and its
subsequent incorporation into the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

I have said it on numerous occasions in the past that although ‘One
Language One Script’ ought to be the norm, exceptions should be made in
some extraordinary cases, especially like the one of Konkani. There are
already several languages, which are coursing along swimmingly, despite the
multiplicity of scripts they have. I remember having presented, some time
back, in these columns, the whole catalogue of those languages. And I don’t
think it would be proper on my part to go over that roster yet again.

That the proponents of single script for Konkani have a very self-centred
agenda is beyond question. It’s so obvious that their sole aim is to
disallow the apportioning of their ‘ill gotten gains’ with their
Romi-Konkani favouring partners of the Konkani Movement. Theirs is a
classic case of trying to be perennially on the beneficial side – ‘Heads I
win, tails you lose’.

So, what wrong has Vishnu Wagh done by giving the Romi Konkani writers
something that was long overdue to them? And why should the Devnagariwalas
react to the move adversely as though they have been made to forgo
something? Doesn’t that indicate their utter lack of consideration for
their former associates without whose invaluable assistance Konkani would
never have got to the coveted position in Indian languages it now enjoys?
One can easily see through their bigotry.

Make no mistake, Romi Konkani differs from Devnagari Konkani by a long way.
The distinction is tellingly apparent. So, how can the Devnagariphiles make
a case as though the two are one and the same? I would say, even if it
means legitimising another brand of Konkani by recognising Romi Konkani,
there would be nothing wrong in it.  In fact, that is exactly the type of
action warranted at the moment, keeping in mind the ground reality. For
sure, that would help set the record straight, which, at present, is so
lopsidedly tilted in favour of the votaries of Devnagari Konkani.

One more thing! All the Devnagari Konkani stalwarts, past and present – to
a man – have a proven ability in writing chaste Marathi.  That’s because, I
say it again, there is not much difference between those two languages. For
them, it’s just the question of switching gears, as it were – from
Devnagari-Konkani-writing to writing in Marathi. But that isn’t the case
with Romi Konkani. It’s so very dissimilar – not only lexically, but
phonetically and scriptally as well.  And all these factors should have
gone in favour of Romi’s unconstrained existence as a language. But the
reverse happened. And that’s indeed very tragic!

I would like to re-stress here that there is not much that is common
between Romi Konkani and the Devnagari brand of Konkani. To tell the truth,
the commonness between Devnagari Konkani and Marathi is umpteen times more
than between Devnagari Konkani and Romi.  The articulation of almost
hundred per cent of the words used in Romi Konkani is strikingly different
from what it is for Devnagari Konkani. So how, in all fairness, can one
call both Devnagari Konkani and Romi Konkani as one language? Call it just
Romi, and not Romi Konkani, if one is very sensitive to the nomenclatural
division of Konkani into two languages. I am only trying to make a strong
case for Romi Konkani’s separate subsistence, unshackled by the shadow of
Devnagari.

The near-synonymy between Marathi and Devnagari Konkani of the Goans is
such that a user of the latter can easily understand at least eight of the
ten words used in a sentence framed in Marathi. But he would struggle to
understand even two out of the ten words used in a sentence of the same
size framed in either the Bhatkal or Kumtha brand of Konkani. At least,
that’s the case with me. So, how can the Goan Devnagariphiles arrogate to
themselves the right of deciding on any matter pertaining to Konkani, on
behalf of the entire Konkani-using community?

Moreover, how can Devnagari Konkani be imposed on the users of Romi
Konkani, which is currently the case, right at the primary school stage
itself? The acceptance of Devnagari Konkani as the sole official language
for Konkani was, ostensibly, a terrible act of trickery – a vile trick
played on the unsuspecting adherents of Romi! For those who insist on
‘One-Script-One-Language’ for Konkani, I ask, why not reverse the order?
 Would they ever be ready to accept Romi as the sole script for Konkani to
avert the duality of scripts for Konkani? Would they have put up with the

[Goanet] House available on lease in Calangute

[Cecil Pinto]

Location:
Gauravaddo, Calangute, Goa
Near Mark Memorial High School
About 300 meters after Art Chamber

Google Maps location:
https://maps.google.co.in/?ll=15.530783,73.767346spn=0.00276,0.003449t=hz=18

Interior of Calangute - not beach side.
200 sq mtr house on a 1100 sq mtr property
Old Goan style with Mangalore tiled roof


Front porch
Living room
3 bedrooms
Dining room
2 bathrooms
Kitchen


3 phase electricity, inverter, well, modern plumbing
Walled backyard

Available on long-term lease. 11 months renewable.

Expected rent Rs. 30,000/- a month.
More if used for commercial purposes.

-

Cheers!

Cecil

cecilpi...@gmail.com
+9822164364

[Goanet] Flat in Candolim holiday complex available on lease

[Cecil Pinto]

Single bedroom flat available on 11 month Leave  License in holiday
complex at Candolim with swimming pool. Recently refurbished,
airconditioned and fully furnished. Ideal for single person or couple.
Rs.15,000/- a month. Contact Santan D'Costa +8554063340 / 08322280011  or 
ddcos...@yahoo.com

==

[Goanet] The Hills are Alive with the Sounds of Farming

[Cecil Pinto]

Gauree Malkarnekar of the Times of India (Goa) has been doing a superb job
recently, reporting about how the villagers from the mining belt are
reacting to the fact that their farms and fields are becoming productive
again - now that mining has been banned. Do read the articles (links below)
and forward this mail to people who understand how much harm mining has
done to Goa.

And of course provide your feedback to Gauree (gauri1183 at gmail dot com).
Such genuine journalism has to be appreciated.

Cheers!

Cecil


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/After-over-a-dozen-years-hope-sprouts-in-Pissurlems-fields/articleshow/22303415.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Why-ask-Cavrem-residents-on-being-told-mining-may-restart/articleshow/22219957.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Mining-operations-may-restart-but-Surla-has-its-own-dilemma/articleshow/22130597.cms

[Goanet] Francis de Tuem said what?

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0nP9Qsschk

[Goanet] Our documentary film about Abbe Faria is now on YouTube

[Cecil Pinto]

http://youtu.be/2mdL24UOXVs

In search of Abbe Faria: The hypnotic vision of a Goan pioneer

Kator re Bhaji: The year 2006 marks the 250th Birth Anniversary of Jose
Custodio de Faria, a son of Goa, who is widely regarded as the father of
hypnotism. Isabel Santa Rita Vas embarks on a journey to document the
history and achievements of Abbe Faria through a series of interviews with
people who have studied or encountered the Abbe in some way or the other.
Her search for the essence of Abbe Faria is filmed by Cecil Pinto. This
documentary is a tribute of respect for the Abbe - arguably the greatest
Goan ever. It hopes to inspire others to take up the cause for Abbe Faria
to be given his due place of prominence in Goan history.


Please watch, and share.


Cheers!


Cecil

[Goanet] Me and mine were affected - by Cecil Pinto (with apologies to all real poets)

[Cecil Pinto]

When you raped my land
I was affected.
When your truck ran over my school-going daughter
I was affected.
When my mother died of lung disease
I was affected.
When you destroyed my father's fields
And paid him a pittance
I was affected.
When you tore out mountains
Leaving red-earth scars
And homeless birds and animals
I was affected.
When you bought more trucks
And more trucks
And built your mansions
And fattened your bank accounts
While covering my village
With fine dust that slowly killed and corrupted everything
I was affected.

And now after making enough money for many generations
Because you cannot make even more money
Suddenly you become the victim?
Suddenly you are mining affected?!

===

[Goanet] Is your organ going into someone else's body, like mine will?

[Cecil Pinto]

Will your organs go into other people's bodies like mine will?

No! It's not what it sounds like. Donate your body today and become
immortal after you die. Your body will live forever and ever, though
other lives. Takes just two minutes to fill up the form at
www.ileadindia.com

Today is Organ Donation Day!

Cheers!

Cecil
=

[Goanet] Tasteless illustration in Herald

[Cecil Pinto]

The Herald today had this frivolous and insensitive illustration on
the front page.
(http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=10112boxid=517280uid=dat=7/30/2013)
This is a sad suicide and not a happy Sao Joao! I think the Editor of
Herald owes not only the family of the deceased but also its
readership a front page apology. Please forward this to your friends
if you agree with me and also contact the Editor and convey your
sentiments. Email: m...@herald-goa.com, edi...@herald-goa.com  Phone:
0091-832-2224202,2224460,2228083

Cheers!

Cecil

[Goanet] Exclamation!

[Cecil Pinto]

This year the novenas as well as Feast Day masses of St. Francis
Xavier will be filmed and streamed live over the internet so people
can watch them on their computers and tablets. This software
application is free for downloading and has been named
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
... i-Saiba!

[Goanet] Aldona Institute Table Tennis Tournament this Sunday - 28th July

[Cecil Pinto]

The Aldona Institute is organizing its Annual Table-Tennis Tournament
on 28th July 2013 for school children in Boys and Girls categories.
Participants are requested to carry valid school ID cards. The men's
tournament will be on 4th August. SMS your entries to 9850471201
latest by 26th July.

[Goanet] Mopa as capital

[Cecil Pinto]

On a social networking site (Goa Speaks on Facebook) it has been
suggested that the capital of Goa be shifted to Mopa from Panjim to
take full advantage of the infrastructure that will be developed for
the new airport. It will also help to de-congest Panjim and make it
the sleepy little town we all loved.

Mopa should be then renamed as Mopanaji or Nova Panjim to retain
continuity. Or maybe renamed as Mopalika or Mopanagar to make it
easier for Mahrashtrians to pronounce. Or maybe Mopanajinagarepullam
to satisfy Karnataka too at one stroke.

Also the Secretariat and the Assembly can be shifted to the new
capital to benefit the hinterland people and create opportunities.

Any thoughts on these suggestions and related issues? Please copy your
responses to goa...@goanet.org to initiate a public discussion.

Cheers!

Cecil

[Goanet] Government servant salaries are crippling Goa -Editorial in The Goan

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.thegoan.net/Edit/Editorials/Why-are-we-doomed-to-carry-govt-deadweight/04848.html


29 June 2013
Why are we doomed to carry govt deadweight?

We have said this out loud. And it is time for Goa to rise in chorus.
Can we continue to fund a salary bill of 3025 crores annually to
57,000 government employees, twenty percent of whom are officially
redundant because they are non-functional. It will also be very fair
to assume another twenty percent occupy positions and do jobs that
merely 5 percent can do.

As a newspaper that is closely watching government spends on its own
people from the taxes we pay, we discovered that our financial
engagement continues after government employees stop serving,
officially that is. With the numbers of government employees added to
the rolls with absolutely no need assessment, the financial damage
last longer than their tenures.

Currently the government pays pension amount of Rs 240 crores and a
superannuation amount of Rs 288 crores annually, taking the retirement
payout bill to Rs 528 crores. These amounts can fund Goa’s health and
education. It is five times higher than the fifty crores the Chief
Minister plans to give as grants cum interest free loans to fifty
schools. The amounts paid as pension alone is enough to fund the
government mid-day meal scheme and new schemes like foster care and
for technical courses to rehabilitate sexually abused victims.

Therefore, the amount that is being paid out to sustain the fat in the
system is at the cost having funds available for welfare and people
oriented schemes. A mere reduction of Rs 500 crores in the payouts to
government servants keeps borrowings and interest on them under
complete check.

There were many in the government who were stunned to read the figure
Rs 3025 crores as what we pay as government salaries. Senior
secretaries in the government have confided that the real redundancy
is far higher than twenty percent that the government admits to. “Five
people do the work of twenty at middle and senior levels. That is a
fact,” a senior officer remarked. The government should immediately
make rationalising the government work force its top most priority.
Having done that, it needs to commission an independent, international
human resources (HR) agency to do an HR audit to determine the exact
workforce in every department, corporation and autonomous or
semi-autonomous corporation. A massive downsizing plan should then be
out in force, keeping in mind the need to adapt to technologies like
cutting on paper, scanning and mailing documents, the acceptability of
digital signatures and a trackable file turnaround system. The target
should be to downsize governance by half and you are suddenly left
with Rs 2000 crores annually.

Tragically the biggest impediment to this will be the system itself,
where MLAs ministers and government officials will get together to
ensure that a good system does not come in the way of the now
established template of governance. The Congress manipulated dates on
appointment letters to issue back dated job letters when the code of
conduct for the assembly elections set in, in December 2011. As the
election code kicked in, those who got jobs on manipulated appointment
letters flooded government officers, not knowing what their jobs were.
So they sat outside the offices, soaking in the sun, reading
newspapers, playing carom and coming back home, while so many ordinary
men and women with good degrees struggled to get call letters from
companies for respectable white coloured private sector jobs, which
the people of Goa do not fund with their taxes.

But it’s a system for the powerful all right. It’s a system where a
retired and much loved school teacher from Karmali Vilas Naik, dies
waiting for his pension from the very school he served almost all his
working life, while the son of the Civil Supplies minister gets
another shot at applying for the post of mamlatdar at his daddy
dearest’s civil supplies department, after missing out in the first
attempt with daddy dearest cancelling the first round. It almost
reminded us of our childhood when a cricket game would be called off
if the boy who owned the bats was given out.

A bloated bureaucracy is the biggest impediment to our progress and
yet the ruling class feels removing this impediment would knock off
the biggest perks of a politician - giving government jobs to
supporters and supplicants.

The Goan will continue to bring you the big picture on this and
perhaps more importantly, the smaller pictures and stories of
deadweight in governance that we are doomed to carry, unless we the
people stand up now.

=

[Goanet] Modi's Miracle deconstructed

[Cecil Pinto]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Modis-Himalayan-miracle/articleshow/20765218.cms

Modi’s Himalayan miracle
Abheek Barman | Jun 26, 2013, 12.00 AM IST

On the evening of Friday, June 21, as India reeled from the shock of
the calamity in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat chief
minister Narendra Modi landed up in Dehradun with a handful of
officers. By Sunday, it was claimed that he had rescued 15,000
stranded Gujaratis from the wreckage of Uttarakhand and sent these
grateful folks back home.

This miracle was played up in media. But how was this feat achieved in
a day or so, when India's entire military establishment has struggled
to rescue around 40,000 people over 10 days?

Reports say that Modi pulled off this coup with a fleet of 80 Innovas.
How did these cars manage to reach places like Kedarnath, across roads
that have been washed away, over landslides that have wrecked most
access routes?

But let us assume Modi's Innovas had wings as well as helicopter
rotors. Including the driver, an Innova is designed to carry seven
people. In a tough situation, assume you could pack nine passengers
into each car. In that case, a convoy of 80 Innovas could ferry 720
people down the mountains to Dehradun at one go. To get 15,000 people
down, the convoy would need to make 21 round trips.

The distance between Dehradun and Kedarnath is 221 km. So 21 trips up
and down would mean that each Innova would have to travel nearly 9,300
km.

It takes longer to travel in the hills than in the plains. So,
assuming an average speed of 40 km per hour, it would take 233 hours
of driving to pull off the feat.

This assumes non-stop driving, without a second's rest to identify the
Gujaratis to be rescued and keeping the rest of the distressed folk at
bay, or any time to load and unload the vehicles. And forget about any
downtime for the gallant rescuers.

That is nearly 10 days of miraculous work. And Modi pulled it off in a day.

Actually, in less than a day: a breathless media reported that by
Saturday, 25 luxury buses had brought a group of Gujaratis back to
Delhi. For some reason, four Boeing aircraft also idled in some
undisclosed place nearby.

Modi, ever modest, himself did not make the claim of rescuing 15,000
Gujaratis from Himalayan disaster in a day. It was likely dumped on a
gullible media by his public relations agency, an American outfit
called Apco Worldwide. In 2007, Apco was hired, ostensibly to boost
the Vibrant Gujarat summits, but to actually burnish Modi's image, for
$25,000 a month.

He is in good company. Apco has worked for the dictator of Kazakhstan,
Nursultan Nazarbaev, the governments of Malaysia and Israel and the
American tobacco lobby.

For the latter, it set up front organisations to rubbish evidence
which proved that tobacco causes cancer. Apco has also worked for
pariah regimes like Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and Nigerian strongman
Sani Abacha.

Its powerful advisory council includes former Israeli diplomats Itamar
Rabinovich and Shimon Stein, as well as Doron Bergerbest-Eilon, who
was the highest ranked officer in the Israel security agency.

Apco is credited with Modi's makeover and his holographic campaigns.
Before Apco, Vibrant Gujarat was a tame affair: the first three
summits generated investment promi-ses between $14 billion and $150
billion. After Apco, in 2009 and 2011, these jumped to $253 billion
and $450 billion.

Apco worked tirelessly to rope in investor interest from America. It
also lobbied with politicians in Washington to remove the ban on Modi
travelling to the US. The ban was imposed after the massacre of
Muslims in Gujarat as Modi presided over the state in 2002. So far,
Apco hasn't succeeded in getting Modi a US visa.

And the Vibrant Gujarat numbers are all hot air. An analysis by my
colleague Kingshuk Nag in his biography of Modi shows that only 3.2%
of the 2009 number has materialised on the ground. Of the 2011 figure,
a mere 0.5% is for real.

But Modi does not need Apco to lie. In 2005 he announced that
state-owned company GSPC had made India's biggest gas discovery: 20
trillion cubic feet (tcf) valued at more than $50 billion, off Andhra
Pradesh. This was 40% more than what Reliance had found in the same
area. Modi then egged on GSPC to grab projects in Egypt, Yemen and
Australia.

Many suspected that Modi's gas claim was hot air, but in the absence
of evidence few could say so. But by 2012, the Centre's directorate
general of hydrocarbons (DGH), which analyses and certifies all energy
finds, said that it could vouch for only a tenth of Modi's claim:
there was only 2 tcf of gas. And that too in areas tough to exploit.

Meanwhile, under Modi's rousing leadership, GSPC had poured in nearly
$2 billion into exploration, much of it raised as debt based on its
supposed 20 tcf gas find. When the gas vanished, GSPC went bust.

To rescue it, Modi asked the company to venture out into more areas,
like city gas distribution. There have been problems 

[Goanet] Lusophony Games

[Cecil Pinto]

Vishnu Surya Wagh keeps claiming that his objection to Goa and India
participating in the Lusophony Games is because India is not a
Portuguese speaking country.

Please will someone direct Wagh to the last few lines of the paragraph below.

-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusophony_Games

The Lusophony Games (Portuguese: Jogos da Lusofonia) is a
multinational multi-sport event organized by the ACOLOP, which
involves athletes coming from Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking)
countries, namely those belonging to the CPLP (Community of Portuguese
Language Countries), but also others where there are significant
Portuguese communities or that have a common past with Portugal.
--

India and Goa both share a common past with Portugal. Simple.

Cheers!

Cecil
===

[Goanet] London..Journeys of migratory Goans through Visual Narratives

[Cecil Pinto]

Eddie Fernandes wrote to Frederick Noronha:

Since you now acknowledge that this is the first exhibition, why not give it
credit?

-



Firstly...

Eddie, Selma and whoever else was involved, congratulations on what
appears to be a really fantastic and path-breaking exhibition.

That aside I find this nit-picking on whether or not it is the first
exhibition/collection a little tiresome.

I remember some years back the raging debates about whether or not
Rene Baretto thought up the concept, and coined the term Goa Day.
Kuwait-Goans, Qatar-Goans, even the Sanvordem Parish Youth Association
(if I'm not mistaken), claimed credit. But Rene persevered with his
contention and eventually crowned himself the Father of Goa Day.

Similarly Herman Carneiro is the Father of GoaNet.

Who originated something? Who sustained it? Who popularised it? All
are important.

Incidentally Expressions was the first (and till date only) flower
delivery service provider in the world since 2001 to offer digital
photographs of receivers with the flowers.
http://www.goa-world.com/goa/expressions/faq.htm#22. What’s this about
photographs

Cheers!

Cecil
=

[Goanet] Levels of arguments

[Cecil Pinto]

Frederick FN Noronha wrote:

The ten levels of debate in a JC argument:

* Argue decently.
* Reply with questions.
* Name-call childishly.
* Defend friends, if necessarily angrily.
* Cite Andamans, Daman Bridge, Siddhis, and a few other all-time favourites.
* Take your debate to other lists, suitably masalafied
* Remember one comment made 758 days ago.
* Blast your education, school/college you attended.
* Proffer advice on ethics of journalism, the subject you teach, the
culture in agriculture,
  etc, etc, etc...
* Question your language (English is not an easy language or some such
logic)

If you 'graduate' to 8, 9 or 10, it means you're doing pretty well in the
debate. On the other hand, get stuck in meaningless papi karma of
question-replies-question or
I-said-you-said-that-he-said-but-she-did-not-say means you're getting stuck
somewhere between the Bermuda triangle and the Bahamas cyclones. Definitely
not a good place to be...

FN

-



Dear Rico,

Though your 10 levels above are fairly accurate they are not comprehensive.

For example you have forgotten the level where Jose Colaco slips into
a strange version of Pidgin English. Also the level where he will
issue veiled threats to reveal some Very Important Communication from
his famous archived Zip Drives. In recent years also he tends to slip
into convoluted legalese but that is understandable after his recently
acquired legal qualifications.

Most importantly Jose Colaco believes that attack is the best defence.
Not for a moment will he admit to any of his shortcomings or
weaknesses. He will instead attack the person who pointed them out
with unrelated counter accusations of his own. I noticed he has
already done it to you, Rico, in a subsequent posting. I wonder what's
in store for me. Predictable actually.

Cheers!

Cecil

=

[Goanet] Should Goans be allowed to drink on beaches?

[Cecil Pinto]

http://goastreets.com/goa-news/picnics-on-the-beach/

[Goanet] If cow slaughter is not banned in Kerala why is it banned in Goa?

[Cecil Pinto]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_slaughter_in_India

[Goanet] Is the Resurrection only a metaphor?

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.ucanindia.in/news/suggestion-that-the-resurrection-is-only-a-metaphor-sparks-anglican-uproar/20902/daily

Suggestion that the resurrection is only a metaphor sparks Anglican uproar

Letter to the Church Times opens a heated debate.
Posted on May 6, 2013, 12:32 PM

There has been a fine old spat in the Church Times over a letter from
a reader who suggests that the Resurrection of Jesus was nothing to do
with his body, which remained dead, but that it meant, for the
disciples, that “he was still with them in spirit”.

The reader, Antony Alexander, was prompted by an article in the paper
which observed that resurrection was something “that happens to a
body, the body of Jesus in the tomb”. “Such doctrines certainly bear
the imprimatur of hoary antiquity,” Mr Alexander responded, “but are
they acceptable to a modern generation that has spent years studying
science and the laws of nature at school?”

He then sketched out a scenario in which the disciples contemplated
the fact that “their beloved Leader had been crucified and was no
more. They then began to realise, however, that the reality of Christ
was spiritual.” He was “still with them in spirit as much as he had
ever been”.

The following week, Edward Nugee, a barrister, wrote to say that
“unless one is going to discard the whole of the first few chapters of
Acts and much of Paul, it is obvious that on the first Easter Day,
Jesus made it clear beyond argument that he was alive.”

On the same page, Canon R H W Arguile remembered that “a former
colleague, now a Roman Catholic priest, told me of his shock when he
discovered, as a curate, that his vicar meant by 'Christ is risen’,
very much the same as saying 'Che lives’.”

It is not as though no one had thought of the “spiritual” sense of the
Resurrection before. There was a good deal of this sort of thing a
century ago. But it is far more interesting to see how such ideas were
dealt with much nearer the time of Jesus.

About the year 110 there were plenty of people around who had spoken
to Jesus’s disciples. One of them was Ignatius, bishop of Antioch,
today just in Turkey, near the border with war-torn Syria. He was
condemned to die in Rome, and, with his mind suitably concentrated,
wrote seven short letters on his journey to meet the beasts that would
tear him apart.

In his letter to the people of Smyrna, Ignatius declared that Jesus
“after his resurrection was still possessed of flesh, and I believe
that he is so now”. Ignatius quoted Jesus’s words after his
Resurrection (depicted, above, by Piero della Francesca, in about
1465), as reported in the Gospel of Luke: “Lay hold, handle me, and
see that I am not an incorporeal spirit.”

Naturally, someone today who thinks it wrong to believe in the bodily
resurrection may refuse to believe in the veracity of the Gospel
accounts. But the earliest generations of Christians, like Ignatius
and his friend Polycarp, and the next generation, Irenaeus and his
contemporaries, did believe that the Gospel accounts were true. In any
case, they accepted the evidence of the disciples, who had been alive
a generation or two earlier.

For Ignatius, quite a lot rode on the question of whether Jesus had
risen again in the flesh. His own body was soon to be ground up by the
teeth of lions, like wheat, as he wrote. If Jesus had not risen in the
flesh, what hope had Ignatius?

If all of Ignatius that was to survive was his “spirit”, then it could
neither see nor hear, neither imagine anything nor have any emotions.
These all depended on his body rising again. If God could not bring
about the resurrection of Jesus, his Son, the rest of us would have
little chance.

If Jesus’s human soul alone survived his death, that wouldn’t be much
help. If the spirit that survived his death was God in heaven, well,
he was there before ever Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It’s Jesus alive
as a whole human being, body and spirit, who offers hope.

A phrase in the Creed that Christians say each Sunday states that they
believe in “the resurrection of the dead”, indeed look forward to it.
Perhaps some skate over it. But it is the only way that in the course
of time they will be able to follow Jesus.

Source: Telegraph

===

[Goanet] Dr Manmohan Singh, Hon'ble Prime Minister of India and Mr S Gopalakrishnan (Kris), President of CII - Exclsuive Photo's

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Members of the Press,

Please find attached pictures of Mr S Gopalakrishnan (Kris), the newly
elected President of CII who called on Dr Manmohan Singh, Hon'ble Prime
Minister of India today in New Delhi. 

The discussion focused on the role of Indian industry on improving the
overall economic climate, with special emphasis on investments into India,
reducing current account deficit and fiscal deficit, enhancing
employability, entrepreneurship and MSME. 

Also seen in the photograph are Ajay S Shriram, President Designate, CII and
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII. (CII Photo 2)

May I request you to kindly carry the same in your esteemed daily.

 

With Warm regards,

 

Cecil Pinto

*

Cecil F Pinto

Confederation of Indian Industry
Goa State Office (Western Region)
502, Unitech City Center,
M. G. Road, Panaji, Goa 403 001
Tel: 0832 - 2422790 / 2422796 / 9822982505
e-mail:  mailto:ciig...@dataone.in cecil.pi...@cii.in

*

 

 



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contents in any form is strictly prohibited. If it appears that you are not
the intended recipient or this message has been forwarded to you without
appropriate authority, please immediately delete this message permanently
from your records and notify the sender. CII makes no warranties as to the
accuracy or completeness of the information in this message and accepts no
liability for any damages, including without limitation, direct, indirect,
incidental, consequential or punitive damages, arising out of or due to use
of the information given in this message.



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of the intended recipient and may contain information that is confidential,
legally privileged or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you
are not the intended recipient, please note that any unauthorized use,
review, storage, disclosure or distribution of this message and/or its
contents in any form is strictly prohibited. If it appears that you are not
the intended recipient or this message has been forwarded to you without
appropriate authority, please immediately delete this message permanently
from your records and notify the sender. CII makes no warranties as to the
accuracy or completeness of the information in this message and accepts no
liability for any damages, including without limitation, direct, indirect,
incidental, consequential or punitive damages, arising out of or due to use
of the information given in this message.


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Disclaimer

This message, including any files transmitted with it, is for the sole use 
of the intended recipient and may contain information that is confidential, 
legally privileged or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you 
are not the intended recipient, please note that any unauthorized use, 
review, storage, disclosure or distribution of this message and/or its 
contents in any form is strictly prohibited. If it appears that you are not 
the intended recipient or this message has been forwarded to you without 
appropriate authority, please immediately delete this message permanently 
from your records and notify the sender. CII makes no warranties as to the 
accuracy or completeness of the information in this message and accepts no 
liability for any damages, including without limitation, direct, indirect, 
incidental, consequential or punitive damages, arising out of or due to use 
of the information given in this message.

[Goanet] Aldona Institute Anniversary Dine Dance on Saturday 17th November

[Cecil Pinto]

Passes available at:
Trade Winds - Parish Centre
Dr. Carlos Medical Stores
Aldona Institute Bar


Only for Aldona Institute members and their guests.
Admission for guests only if accompanied by members.

Spread the word!

=

[Goanet] Why are our children not being taught about Goa's 12th taluka?

[Cecil Pinto]

Why are our children not being taught about Goa's 12th taluka?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharbandora

My friend Jose Lourenco brought the 12th taluka to my attention.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-24/goa/29182008_1_taluka-tiswadi-and-ponda-ganjem

I wan't aware myself.

Cheers!

Cecil

===

[Goanet] Tie-Breaker Tournament at Aldona

[Cecil Pinto]

Tie-Breaker Tournament at Aldona

The Aldona Institute is organising a Three-a-Side football Tie-Breaker
at the Terecena Grounds on Saturday, 8th September, from 9 pm onwards.
First Prize is Rs. 5000/- and the Runners Up will get Rs. 3000/-

[Goanet] GOA SUDHAROP: The future is now and it is bright

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear George,

Please convey my congratulations to these young Goan women on their
achievement. Many people complain that Goan events in the UK, USA and
Canada are just song-and-dance events. I say that let them sing and
dance as much they like if they are collecting funds for Goan causes
back home.

Cheers!

Cecil

===



From: George Pinto georgejpi...@yahoo.com
To: Goanet goa...@goanet.org
Subject: [Goanet] GOA SUDHAROP: The future is now and it is bright

Today approximately 200 Goans (and non-Goans) picnicked in the San
Francisco Bay Area. Nothing especially newsworthy until two important
facts are known: the organizers were two very young women (Genine Lobo
and Nicole Fernandes) and unlike a typical picnic, this event was fun
and a fund-raiser.

Approximately $800 (a preliminary estimate) was raised to benefit a
Goan cause (to be determined). Like Candace and the Oakland A's game
in July (approximately $550 raised), our youth have made this the new
model of any Goan event - combine fun and fund-raising for a good
cause.

The torch has passed, our youth are in charge. They are confident,
clear-visioned, passionate, and believe in success.

A big thank you to the organizers, their families and friends who
produced a perfect picnic.

Goa Sudharop
www.goasudharop.org

Re: [Goanet] Willy Goes's audio book

[Cecil Pinto]

Dear Willy,

Congratulations on this great achievement -a first for the Konkani
movement. And do keep the Konkani flag flying high in your unique way. I
always feel privileged to have a fine gentleman like you as a friend.

Cheers!

Cecil

===


On 18 July 2012 15:50, wilfred goes willyg...@rediffmail.com wrote:

 Hi Friends,
 Good Day
 I have just uploaded my novelette 'Khand' in audio format. You dont have
 to read it. Just download it and listen to it.
 This is the first ever Konkani audio book in cyberspace. Hope you will
 enjoy it.
 click on the link to open the book.
 Regards,
 ~Willy Goes


 http://archive.org/details/Khand--ANovelInKonkanibyWillyGoesFromGoa




 http://sigads.rediff.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/www.rediffmail.com/signatureline.htm@Middle?
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[Goanet] Goan Catholic nun from Aldona made member of Rajasthan minorities panel

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3430795.ece

Catholic nun made member of Rajasthan minorities panel

In a first perhaps in the whole of North India, Rajasthan Government
has nominated a Catholic nun as a member of the State's Minority
Commission. Sister Mariola Sequeira, of the order of the Mission
Sisters of Ajmer (MSA), teaches English in Ajmer's prestigious Sophia
College, but she is known in the human rights circles as an “activist
nun”.

An active member of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Rajasthan, the Mangalore-born Sister Mariola has been the State
coordinator of the Prison Ministry India (PMI) since 2004 and an NGO
member of the Grievance Committee on Sexual Harassment at the
Workplace at Central Jail, Ajmer. Trained in journalism as well, she
regularly writes for church publications and the Hong Kong-based news
service, UCAN. In March 2010, television news channel CNN-IBN chose
Sister Mariola for the “Real Heroes Award” for her work in
rehabilitating women prisoners. Her advocacy and campaign for six
years had resulted in the release of a mentally-ill prisoner from
Central Jail on January 25 last year, after 18 years of imprisonment.

“The activist friends are very happy about the appointment so are my
superiors in the Church and the convent. The first to ring me up and
congratulate were social activists Aruna Roy and Kavita Srivastava,”
said Sister Mariola talking to The Hindu from Ajmer. Former MLA
Mohammed Mahir Azad is the chairman of the Rajasthan Minorities
Commission. Along with Sister Mariola, the State Government has also
nominated Zuban Khan, Sardar Maninder Singh Bagga and a Buddhist
representative, Gurvant Rahul Chawda, to the Commission.

--- end of report --



The report above in The Hindu newspaper wrongly reports Sister Mariola
as being 'Mangalore-born'. I know Sister Mariola only in passing but
do know some of her siblings well. To the best of my knowledge the
family was in Mumbai for a while but shifted back to their ancestral
home in Corjuem, Aldona, in the late Nineteen Sixties. Sister
Mariola's father Joaquim Xavier Sequeira was an ex-Western Railways
officer and not only was involved in the St. Vincent de Paul Society
in Aldona but also did two stints as the Sarpanch of the Village
Panchayat. Her mother Agnes, also from Corjuem - a Castellino, was
active in the Legion of Mary, Bible Courses and local Church
activities.

Sister Mariola was born in Mumbai but later studied at St. Thomas
Girls School in Aldona and in fact worked for a while in Goa before
joining the Mission Sisters of Ajmerin 1979.

All these facts I collected my just making a few phone calls to
reliable sources. My point being that a reporter for a national paper
like The Hindu could surely have got his facts right about Sister
Mariola's origins. She is very much a Goan (and Aldonkar) by ancestry
and domicile. And definitely was not born in Mangalore. I hope they
will now set the record straight.

Cheers!

Cecil

[Goanet] Why a good Hindu should not tuck his shirt in. Goan connection in video.

[Cecil Pinto]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI2K6K8w0vgfeature=player_embedded#!

[Goanet] Arossim book

[Cecil Pinto]

I purchased Themistocles D'Silva's book (Beyond the Beach: Arossim
Goa, in Historical Perspective) at its launch but only got around to
reading it a few days back. A very interesting and well researched
book.

A few questions come to mind:

Page 72 describes the unprecedented rains from August 10th to 27th in
1940 that caused a lot of damage to Arossim, Colva and Benaulim. Were
other Goan villages also effected or was this a local phenomenon?

Page 66 describes 'habshis' using the hollow stalk of a papaya leaf as
a snorkel while fishing in ponds. Was that a general practice for
fishing? Is there anyone practising such papaya snorkel fishing in Goa
now?

Page 57 describes how village fresh water ponds function as rainwater
catch basins, necessary to maintain a high water table, watering holes
for cattle, source of fish, water for various other needs, and as a
pass time for rod-fishing enthusiasts. At a recent Aldona Gram Sabha
there was discussion of filling up some small village ponds as they
were breeding grounds for mosquitos and parasitic weeds. But if
village ponds serve so many other roles surely they should not be
filled up. Any opinions on this?

Page 50 describes how after the visit of a Statue of Our Lady of
Fatima to Goa in November of 1949, later in 1951, a replica of the
statue was carried from house to house. Was this the first instance of
the Saibin tradition all over Goa or is there some other origin in
other villages?

Page 32 describes the cutting of the paddy sheaves or Novem as one of
the Hindu traditions retained by the Catholic church in Goa. If this
indeed is a Hindu tradition then do the Hindus also celebrate it? In
what form and where? And why and different from the Catholic
celebration?

Page 17 says there are only two toddy tappers left in Arossim, one
being Jose Cruz. Could someone get me in telephonic touch with them? I
haven't had good Coconut Feni in many years. The stuff available in
the market is either adulterated or outright chemical.

I look forward to explanations and opinions specially from our very
own one-man-encyclopedia Domnic Fernandes. Feel free to change the
Subject line depending on which of my queries you are commenting upon.

Cheers!

Cecil

=

[Goanet] The Prayers of Orphans

[Cecil Pinto]

As expected Frederick feels the need to make convoluted comments on
relatively simple matters to show he has an opinion on everything.



FN:
This does sound good, and leaves us with a warm, fuzzy feeling. A
tribute to the dear departed AND a meal for the poor.
Sounds like one of those win-win situations that neo-liberal
capitalism keeps reminding us about.


CP:
Neo-liberal capitalism? What's that? Is it connected to anti-Semitism?
Will it somehow be connected anyway? I was talking about wasteful and
unnecessary expenditure related to deaths, specifically
Death/Condolence/Anniversary announcements.

-


FN:
But just for the sake of debate, may I ask:
* Should the same principle apply in every case where we could cut out
the middle-man. Or is there some other principle on which we make the
decision?


CP:
Who said anything about eliminating a middle-man? There always is a
middleman. In this case the middlemen are the caterer, the transporter
of food, the vendors of stationery items, vendors of beverages, the
nuns...



FN:
* Do we see our newspapers as serving society today, or not? Or is it
a mixed bag?
* If they aren't serving society, is it because they are making too
much money in advertising? Or is the crisis actually traceable to
somewhere else (i.e. they're too dependent on big advertisers, cover
prices of newspapers have not grown over the years so readers barely
matter now, readers are not influential enough in keeping check on the
system, growing political and/or industrial control over our media,
the rise of a class of professionals within the media whose interests
may not tally with those of  the wider society, etc, etc?)


CP:
Where is all this coming from? I spoke about giving to the needy
instead of feeding greedy publishers.

-

FN:
As you know, I've been living off the media (in a way) for the past
quarter century. At the same time, I have a love-hate relationship
with the Fourth Estate (or should we say Froth Estate, as it is
increasingly turning out to be?)


CP:
And (in a way) I am part of the advertising industry and so by arguing
the case for smaller (or no) Death/Condolence/Anniversary adverts I am
hurting my own industry. That is not the point. It's the principle.
There's nothing wrong with advertising when it serves an ethical
purpose -commercial or otherwise. A Death Notice or even an
Anniversary Notice is a way of disseminating information. Notice the
little 'Friends and relatives accept this as the ONLY intimation' at
the bottom of every Goan Death advert? That is a bloody joke. The
friends and relatives who matter have been informed by phone, email,
Facebook, what-have-you? The newspaper advertisement is not for them,
but for the general public and those who might have been missed out.

Now when you release a huge advertisement, as opposed to a small one,
what additional information are you conveying? That you are rich? That
you want to convey you are in some way superior? Or that the deceased
was superior? Will more 'friends and relatives' come to the Mass if
there are bigger and more advertisements?

A well written obituary that speaks of the deceased and his life and
achievements would be far more appreciated and cost nothing. Send it
to GoaNet and Goan Voice UK and GoaWorld and every Goan in the world
will see it. And those who are not networked are not coming for the
Mass anyway.

And what about Condolence adverts? What do they convey and to who?
They inform the public that so-and-so was beloved by so-and-so and
will be missed. Can't that be conveyed in a cheaper and more efficient
fashion directly to the family of the deceased?

Most important can't all the monies spent on these huge ego-fulfilling
adverts be better spent on doing some charity on behalf of the
deceased? I have had many people who have written in saying that they
have left specific instructions to their next of kin that no money
should be spent on such big advertisements and wasteful expenditures.
Hats off to them!

--


FN:
Some of us journalists put together a book called *In Black and
White*, which is available as a free download in the interest of
public debate: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11523/11523.txt
Keep in mond however, that this is still ajournalists'-eye-view
perspective of the debate. Citizens' voices on the media are yet to be
adequately heard or even voiced.


CP:
What this has to do with Death Advertisements is beyond me but I guess
Frederick can't help plugging his products - commercial or otherwise.

-

FN:
Being the contrarian that I am, let me point out however that even if
media payments can be small in this part of the globe, my work there
has created enough of a surplus to allow me the time to focus on
issues I love working on. In that sense, I would not say an advert in
the media is necessarily a waste of
money-that-could-be-put-to-better-use. What I would agree is that our
media has a long, long, long way to go before they