[Goanet-News] Explaining a complex language in a simple way (on Richard Cabral's Konkani in the Roman Script: A Short Grammatical Study)

[Goanet Reader]

*Explaining complex Konkani in a simple way*

Frederick Noronha
fredericknoron...@gmail.com (+91-9822122436)

Konkani is a complex language, often misunderstood.  Or not adequately
understood.  This is perhaps more acute today in the case of Roman-script
Konkani.  Despite its centuries-old tradition, it was abruptly ditched
thanks to a single sentence in the 1987 Goa Official Language Act.  But
this doesn't mean the language (or script) has suddenly lost its
relevance.  This is what a new book on the subject reminds us.

First encounter makes it look like a technical book -- Grammar is something
that many of us don't like in school.  But a closer look makes 'Konkani in
the Roman Script: A Short Grammatical Study' a catchy read.  You can dip
into certain pages and learn something new; or, if you're deep into the
subject, you might read it more closely.

Ricardo (aka Richard) Cabral's new book pulls together what he calls "a
mixed bag".  In his book, he promises to touch topics ranging from language
to linguistics, prescriptive grammar to descriptive grammar, philology to
etymology, etc.  In simpler lingo, this means studying the language, its
structure and development, how the language should be used, how it actually
gets used, studying the language in oral and historical sources, and
tracing the roots of the words. But it also has chapters on 'The
Romanization Process', Konkani verbs in grammar, phonology, morphology,
syntax and ergativity.  In simpler language: the science of speech sounds,
the study of words and how they relate to one another, and other
grammatical patterns.

Of interest to the general reader would be the book's very brief listing of
the "phase-wise development" of Romi Konkani, including through the many
books published in the script.

Before you get the wrong impression, this book can be read at different
levels.  One way would be to see it as a complex text on language.  Another
would be to read it as a series of interesting 'did-you-know' type facts
about *Amchi Bhas*, or Our Language, as the elders of an earlier generation
called Konkani. The idea behind this book, Cabral says at the outset, is to
have the Konkani language described in English to make this knowledge
available also to Goans in the diaspora (p.7).  Indeed, there is interest
there, and among foreign scholars as well.

* * *

Roman script-Konkani came about with the European encounter (clash of
civilisations, or however you wish to see it) after the early 16th
century.  Cabral makes it clear that before the arrival of the Portuguese,
there was no Goa existing within its present boundaries.  *Ganvkari *records
are found in the Goykannada script.  Some parts of Goa had their records in
Marathi written in the Balbodh or Modi scripts.  Konkani was till then a '
*balabhasha*' or '*boli'*, a spoken language.

Cabral has his book packed with interesting insights on language and
culture, not to overlook politics and history.  Among the issues he focuses
on are the aboriginal Gauddas/Kunnbis and language.  His description of
their language use, and how it differs from the Konkani spoken by others,
is interesting (p.12-16).

The book briefly looks at dialects, including Antruzi (from the region of
Ponda, now embedded in the official language variant).  We're told Konkani
makes extensive use of the principle of 'Sandhi' -- a concept from
Sanskrit.  This refers to the "innate  musicality of words and
expressions".  Besides 'stress' and 'intonation', a language also has
'rhythm' and 'metre'.  Syllables are arranged in a way to create a euphonic
(pleasant-sounding) effect when syllables are correctly enunciated or
pronounced.  Is this what makes Konkani a 'sweet' language, as some claim?

The second chapter is all about etymology, starting with the parts of
speech of Konkani.  Unless you're a linguistic masochist, the average
reader might find this a bit too pedantic. Next is a chapter on the grammar
of verbs.  The wide use of examples, from the world of simple spoken
Konkani, makes this easier to understand.

In the Phonology section, Cabral reminds us how important it is to get the
sounds right.  Konkani, unlike English, has the 'hard' and 'soft'
sounds.  '*Hanv
modde dovorle*', depending on how it is pronounced, could mean either 'I
kept the cadaver' or 'I kept [it] in the middle', as is pointed out.

You could cull out an entire long list of 'did you know that's' from this
book, or maybe even create a quiz based on this book.  Did you know that '
*araddi*' means foothills or '*keri'* refers to a land having the keri
plants?  Or that Bombay once became the 'vibrant nerve centre' of most
Konkani publications of so many genres -- prayers, novenas, essays, short
stories, news write-ups, dramas, novellas, novels, etc?  And of course, the
potboiler books known as '*romansi*' too.

Konkani 'reduplication' of words is interesting too (p.140).  For instance,
words like *rusrus* (activity), *khoddkhodd *(shivering), *mirmire*
 (grief), 

[Goanet-News] Músicas de Carnaval (The Brazilian Music and Culture Club, Goa)

[Goanet Reader]

The Brazilian Music and Culture Club was launched in Goa
recently.  Marcelle Feigol Guil, the Guimarães Rosa Visiting
Lecturer (Portuguese Language & Brazilian Studies) at the
Shenoy Goembab School of Language and Literature (Goa
University) curated the songs below, specially for the event.
Sessions are expected to continue till April.

Here are the links to some of the videos watched as part of
the first session titled "Músicas de Carnaval".  Also
included are links to informative websites on some of the
genres discussed, as well as the Youtube links where you can
find the songs listened to.

Carnaval songs according to their genres:

*Marchinha de Carnaval:*
Ó abre alas
(by Chiquinha Gonzaga)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_vaRKqCDYM

*Samba-enredo:*
Atrás da Verde e Rosa só não vai quem já morreu
(by Jamelão e Estação Primeira de Mangueira)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MS0tLrL1P4

*Axé:*
A Luz de Tiêta
(by Caetano Veloso - soundtrack of the film Tiêta do Agreste, based on the
novel of the same name by Jorge Amado)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFuhAaKwzeg
(recorded by Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso)

*Faraó*
(by Margareth Menezes, Brazil's current Minister of Culture)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMetkVlp9GY

*Afoxé/ Bloco afro*
Filhos de Gandhi
(by Gilberto Gil)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYTsk8E_PAw
(and Patuscada de Gandhi, which we didn't have time to listen to, but I
thought you'd also enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXa6zAem1w)

*Frevo*:
https://www.travel-brazil-selection.com/informations/brazilian-culture/carnaval/recife-olinda/
*Sarandeiros:* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS8r3wG8-Js

*Maracatu:* https://jubadoleao.com/2/geek-out/what-is-maracatu/
*Maracatu de Baque Solto (Carnaval performance in Pernambuco):*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEsG45YRYwY

*Olodum:*
https://www.theurbandetective.com/blogs/how-the-brazilian-carnivals-band-olodum-became-a-massive-social-movement
Videoclip with Michael Jackson (recorded in Pelourinho, Salvador- Bahia):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNJL6nfu__Q

*Filhos de Gandhi:* https://www.britannica.com/topic/Filhos-de-Gandhy

*Parintins Folk Festival:*
https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/p/pa-pn/-parintins-folk-festival/

The next session is on March 6, 2024.  Contact for Professora Marcelle
Feigol Guil +55 11 96544-7329 <+55%2011%2096544-7329> or
marc...@unigoa.ac.in 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] Explaining a complex language in a simple way (on Richard Cabral's Konkani in the Roman Script: A Short Grammatical Study)

[Goanet Reader]

*Explaining complex Konkani in a simple way*

Frederick Noronha
fredericknoron...@gmail.com (+91-9822122436)

Konkani is a complex language, often misunderstood.  Or not adequately
understood.  This is perhaps more acute today in the case of Roman-script
Konkani.  Despite its centuries-old tradition, it was abruptly ditched
thanks to a single sentence in the 1987 Goa Official Language Act.  But
this doesn't mean the language (or script) has suddenly lost its
relevance.  This is what a new book on the subject reminds us.

First encounter makes it look like a technical book -- Grammar is something
that many of us don't like in school.  But a closer look makes 'Konkani in
the Roman Script: A Short Grammatical Study' a catchy read.  You can dip
into certain pages and learn something new; or, if you're deep into the
subject, you might read it more closely.

Ricardo (aka Richard) Cabral's new book pulls together what he calls "a
mixed bag".  In his book, he promises to touch topics ranging from language
to linguistics, prescriptive grammar to descriptive grammar, philology to
etymology, etc.  In simpler lingo, this means studying the language, its
structure and development, how the language should be used, how it actually
gets used, studying the language in oral and historical sources, and
tracing the roots of the words. But it also has chapters on 'The
Romanization Process', Konkani verbs in grammar, phonology, morphology,
syntax and ergativity.  In simpler language: the science of speech sounds,
the study of words and how they relate to one another, and other
grammatical patterns.

Of interest to the general reader would be the book's very brief listing of
the "phase-wise development" of Romi Konkani, including through the many
books published in the script.

Before you get the wrong impression, this book can be read at different
levels.  One way would be to see it as a complex text on language.  Another
would be to read it as a series of interesting 'did-you-know' type facts
about *Amchi Bhas*, or Our Language, as the elders of an earlier generation
called Konkani. The idea behind this book, Cabral says at the outset, is to
have the Konkani language described in English to make this knowledge
available also to Goans in the diaspora (p.7).  Indeed, there is interest
there, and among foreign scholars as well.

* * *

Roman script-Konkani came about with the European encounter (clash of
civilisations, or however you wish to see it) after the early 16th
century.  Cabral makes it clear that before the arrival of the Portuguese,
there was no Goa existing within its present boundaries.  *Ganvkari *records
are found in the Goykannada script.  Some parts of Goa had their records in
Marathi written in the Balbodh or Modi scripts.  Konkani was till then a '
*balabhasha*' or '*boli'*, a spoken language.

Cabral has his book packed with interesting insights on language and
culture, not to overlook politics and history.  Among the issues he focuses
on are the aboriginal Gauddas/Kunnbis and language.  His description of
their language use, and how it differs from the Konkani spoken by others,
is interesting (p.12-16).

The book briefly looks at dialects, including Antruzi (from the region of
Ponda, now embedded in the official language variant).  We're told Konkani
makes extensive use of the principle of 'Sandhi' -- a concept from
Sanskrit.  This refers to the "innate  musicality of words and
expressions".  Besides 'stress' and 'intonation', a language also has
'rhythm' and 'metre'.  Syllables are arranged in a way to create a euphonic
(pleasant-sounding) effect when syllables are correctly enunciated or
pronounced.  Is this what makes Konkani a 'sweet' language, as some claim?

The second chapter is all about etymology, starting with the parts of
speech of Konkani.  Unless you're a linguistic masochist, the average
reader might find this a bit too pedantic. Next is a chapter on the grammar
of verbs.  The wide use of examples, from the world of simple spoken
Konkani, makes this easier to understand.

In the Phonology section, Cabral reminds us how important it is to get the
sounds right.  Konkani, unlike English, has the 'hard' and 'soft'
sounds.  '*Hanv
modde dovorle*', depending on how it is pronounced, could mean either 'I
kept the cadaver' or 'I kept [it] in the middle', as is pointed out.

You could cull out an entire long list of 'did you know that's' from this
book, or maybe even create a quiz based on this book.  Did you know that '
*araddi*' means foothills or '*keri'* refers to a land having the keri
plants?  Or that Bombay once became the 'vibrant nerve centre' of most
Konkani publications of so many genres -- prayers, novenas, essays, short
stories, news write-ups, dramas, novellas, novels, etc?  And of course, the
potboiler books known as '*romansi*' too.

Konkani 'reduplication' of words is interesting too (p.140).  For instance,
words like *rusrus* (activity), *khoddkhodd *(shivering), *mirmire*
 (grief), 

[Goanet] Músicas de Carnaval (The Brazilian Music and Culture Club, Goa)

[Goanet Reader]

The Brazilian Music and Culture Club was launched in Goa
recently.  Marcelle Feigol Guil, the Guimarães Rosa Visiting
Lecturer (Portuguese Language & Brazilian Studies) at the
Shenoy Goembab School of Language and Literature (Goa
University) curated the songs below, specially for the event.
Sessions are expected to continue till April.

Here are the links to some of the videos watched as part of
the first session titled "Músicas de Carnaval".  Also
included are links to informative websites on some of the
genres discussed, as well as the Youtube links where you can
find the songs listened to.

Carnaval songs according to their genres:

*Marchinha de Carnaval:*
Ó abre alas
(by Chiquinha Gonzaga)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_vaRKqCDYM

*Samba-enredo:*
Atrás da Verde e Rosa só não vai quem já morreu
(by Jamelão e Estação Primeira de Mangueira)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MS0tLrL1P4

*Axé:*
A Luz de Tiêta
(by Caetano Veloso - soundtrack of the film Tiêta do Agreste, based on the
novel of the same name by Jorge Amado)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFuhAaKwzeg
(recorded by Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso)

*Faraó*
(by Margareth Menezes, Brazil's current Minister of Culture)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMetkVlp9GY

*Afoxé/ Bloco afro*
Filhos de Gandhi
(by Gilberto Gil)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYTsk8E_PAw
(and Patuscada de Gandhi, which we didn't have time to listen to, but I
thought you'd also enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXa6zAem1w)

*Frevo*:
https://www.travel-brazil-selection.com/informations/brazilian-culture/carnaval/recife-olinda/
*Sarandeiros:* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS8r3wG8-Js

*Maracatu:* https://jubadoleao.com/2/geek-out/what-is-maracatu/
*Maracatu de Baque Solto (Carnaval performance in Pernambuco):*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEsG45YRYwY

*Olodum:*
https://www.theurbandetective.com/blogs/how-the-brazilian-carnivals-band-olodum-became-a-massive-social-movement
Videoclip with Michael Jackson (recorded in Pelourinho, Salvador- Bahia):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNJL6nfu__Q

*Filhos de Gandhi:* https://www.britannica.com/topic/Filhos-de-Gandhy

*Parintins Folk Festival:*
https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/p/pa-pn/-parintins-folk-festival/

The next session is on March 6, 2024.  Contact for Professora Marcelle
Feigol Guil +55 11 96544-7329 <+55%2011%2096544-7329> or
marc...@unigoa.ac.in 

[Goanet-News] YOUTH-ANESIA: THE QUICKSANDS OF EL DORADO YOUTH-ANESIA: THE QUICKSANDS OF EL DORADO (Chris Fernandes)

[Goanet Reader]

By Chris Fernandes

To each child of Goa, the proverbial El Dorado.

We love you
We need you
There is no one like you
We are fighting for you
 --Excerpt from Candide, by Voltaire

Candide was not yet tired of interrogating the good old man;
he wanted to know in what manner they prayed to God in El
Dorado.

"We do not pray to Him," said the worthy sage.  "We have
nothing to ask of Him.  He has given us all we need, and we
return Him thanks without ceasing."

Candide, curious to see the priests, asked where they were.
The good old man smiled.  "My friend," said he, "we are all
priests.  The King and all the heads of families sing solemn
canticles of thanksgiving every morning, accompanied by five
or six thousand musicians."

* * *

1 Four teenagers materialized out of the dusty alley, bumped
fists and grinned at each other in the flickering moonlight.
They stealthily made their way up the stairway of Wing 5,
Rosary Apartment, and into the refuge of the terrace that
linked the residential complex.  The suffocating Goan summer
had only just begun its three month reign of pain and the
city-fathers' perverse penchant for digging roads didn't
help.

The boys had grown up together in a suburb of Panjim, the
genteel 24-carat riverside jewel, that had served as the
capital of Goa since colonial times.  Irfan a.k.a Bob and his
brother Ehsaan, Bjorn and Dominic sat down in a circle and
put down their offerings: a grand total of seven cigarettes.
After a long day of loafing with their respective pool
parlour cliques/delinquent gangs, this little bounty was a
testament to childhood camaraderie.

  Dom had first encountered the brothers when he was
  ten and was accosted (repeatedly) by the ferocious
  twosome while taking a shortcut through their
  apartment complex.  After dodging them didn't work,
  he tried smiling at them and said a cheery `hey
  buddy', which worked wonders.  The Nirbhan
  brothers' countenance changed, they echoed his
  Americanised greeting, stopped hitting him and the
  three of them had been thick as thieves ever since.

Bjorn joined them a while later.  His family had fled back to
Goa after the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait and the three
firebrands had spotted him sitting sadly on his first floor
balcony.  They bellowed at him to come and join them for a
game of soccer and discovered that, despite his height, he
was both a gifted goalie and talented impressionist.

The terrace tradition they had developed was simple.  A
single cigarette was lit, each took a drag and passed it
right, the cardinal rule being that no one was allowed to
flick the ash.  The person who did drop the precipitous pile
was obliged to forego his puff the next round.  Ehsaan,
endeared for his clumsiness, always burst out into his
riotous chuckle when someone made a face or cracked a joke.

Tonight was no different.  He kept getting knocked out of
their smokey Russian roulette but, as always, good naturedly
took it in stride.  The night was young and the boys had
hours to kill.

"The test results of the three boys who died at Sunbeam
finally came out," drawled Bjorn as he handed the cigarette
to Bob.  "After almost a year, the lab didn't find any
evidence of drugs.  Three healthy young men just somehow
managed to get heart attacks, together, while waiting in
queue for an edm.  Like large crowds are rare in India!"

Bob shook his head in disgust, "That's crap and you know it.
The guys od'd and the government lied.  The drug mafia and
the tourism minister are in bed together, his son hosted the
Sunbeam after-party at his nightclub, which is why his dad,
`Mr.  Thirty Percent Commission', allowed the festival to
continue after the first death on day one.  Bastards!"

"The show must go on," rasped his brother, mimicking the
feckless tourism minister's trademark monotone and the exact
phrase he used to write off the first death on Day One of the
notorious electronic dance music festival.

"It's not just the tourism minister, all the forty thieves
are in on the scam," sighed Dom.  "The Ports Minister's
driver was arrested recently for buying commercial quantities
of skunk on the dark web using Bitcoin.  I'm sure he wasn't
acting alone."

Bjorn grimaced as he added, "Yeah, his patrão's competition
calls him Pablo Escobar, which is hilarious.  When he was mla
of Calangute, he ran Paradiso (an illegal rave) that was held
on a government-owned property.  The prick is just pissed off
now because he's out of business."

  Bob snickered and added, "Paradiso wasn't that bad,
  what about the ketamine factory the DRI raided a
  few years ago?  That godown belonged to the Goa
  government too and was leased to the
  secretary-general of the ruling party, who
  illegally sublet it to killers and international
  drug dealers.  The DRI found a hundred kilos of
  ketamine at the factory and the man didn't 

[Goanet] YOUTH-ANESIA: THE QUICKSANDS OF EL DORADO YOUTH-ANESIA: THE QUICKSANDS OF EL DORADO (Chris Fernandes)

[Goanet Reader]

By Chris Fernandes

To each child of Goa, the proverbial El Dorado.

We love you
We need you
There is no one like you
We are fighting for you
 --Excerpt from Candide, by Voltaire

Candide was not yet tired of interrogating the good old man;
he wanted to know in what manner they prayed to God in El
Dorado.

"We do not pray to Him," said the worthy sage.  "We have
nothing to ask of Him.  He has given us all we need, and we
return Him thanks without ceasing."

Candide, curious to see the priests, asked where they were.
The good old man smiled.  "My friend," said he, "we are all
priests.  The King and all the heads of families sing solemn
canticles of thanksgiving every morning, accompanied by five
or six thousand musicians."

* * *

1 Four teenagers materialized out of the dusty alley, bumped
fists and grinned at each other in the flickering moonlight.
They stealthily made their way up the stairway of Wing 5,
Rosary Apartment, and into the refuge of the terrace that
linked the residential complex.  The suffocating Goan summer
had only just begun its three month reign of pain and the
city-fathers' perverse penchant for digging roads didn't
help.

The boys had grown up together in a suburb of Panjim, the
genteel 24-carat riverside jewel, that had served as the
capital of Goa since colonial times.  Irfan a.k.a Bob and his
brother Ehsaan, Bjorn and Dominic sat down in a circle and
put down their offerings: a grand total of seven cigarettes.
After a long day of loafing with their respective pool
parlour cliques/delinquent gangs, this little bounty was a
testament to childhood camaraderie.

  Dom had first encountered the brothers when he was
  ten and was accosted (repeatedly) by the ferocious
  twosome while taking a shortcut through their
  apartment complex.  After dodging them didn't work,
  he tried smiling at them and said a cheery `hey
  buddy', which worked wonders.  The Nirbhan
  brothers' countenance changed, they echoed his
  Americanised greeting, stopped hitting him and the
  three of them had been thick as thieves ever since.

Bjorn joined them a while later.  His family had fled back to
Goa after the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait and the three
firebrands had spotted him sitting sadly on his first floor
balcony.  They bellowed at him to come and join them for a
game of soccer and discovered that, despite his height, he
was both a gifted goalie and talented impressionist.

The terrace tradition they had developed was simple.  A
single cigarette was lit, each took a drag and passed it
right, the cardinal rule being that no one was allowed to
flick the ash.  The person who did drop the precipitous pile
was obliged to forego his puff the next round.  Ehsaan,
endeared for his clumsiness, always burst out into his
riotous chuckle when someone made a face or cracked a joke.

Tonight was no different.  He kept getting knocked out of
their smokey Russian roulette but, as always, good naturedly
took it in stride.  The night was young and the boys had
hours to kill.

"The test results of the three boys who died at Sunbeam
finally came out," drawled Bjorn as he handed the cigarette
to Bob.  "After almost a year, the lab didn't find any
evidence of drugs.  Three healthy young men just somehow
managed to get heart attacks, together, while waiting in
queue for an edm.  Like large crowds are rare in India!"

Bob shook his head in disgust, "That's crap and you know it.
The guys od'd and the government lied.  The drug mafia and
the tourism minister are in bed together, his son hosted the
Sunbeam after-party at his nightclub, which is why his dad,
`Mr.  Thirty Percent Commission', allowed the festival to
continue after the first death on day one.  Bastards!"

"The show must go on," rasped his brother, mimicking the
feckless tourism minister's trademark monotone and the exact
phrase he used to write off the first death on Day One of the
notorious electronic dance music festival.

"It's not just the tourism minister, all the forty thieves
are in on the scam," sighed Dom.  "The Ports Minister's
driver was arrested recently for buying commercial quantities
of skunk on the dark web using Bitcoin.  I'm sure he wasn't
acting alone."

Bjorn grimaced as he added, "Yeah, his patrão's competition
calls him Pablo Escobar, which is hilarious.  When he was mla
of Calangute, he ran Paradiso (an illegal rave) that was held
on a government-owned property.  The prick is just pissed off
now because he's out of business."

  Bob snickered and added, "Paradiso wasn't that bad,
  what about the ketamine factory the DRI raided a
  few years ago?  That godown belonged to the Goa
  government too and was leased to the
  secretary-general of the ruling party, who
  illegally sublet it to killers and international
  drug dealers.  The DRI found a hundred kilos of
  ketamine at the factory and the man didn't 

[Goanet] FOLK TALES: BIMÃ AND THE DOLL THAT SPOKE (Carolina Costa)

[Goanet Reader]

BIMÃ E A BONECA QUE FALAVA
BIMÃ AND THE DOLL THAT SPOKE

  “Bimã e a boneca que falava” or in English, “Bimã
  and the doll that spoke”, is a story of a girl
  whose life was saved from a Giant because of a doll
  which was hidden in the tree trunk in her back
  yard.  Bimã had seven brothers and when they had to
  leave for a year, the youngest brother decided to
  get a doll who could speak and hid it in the tree
  trunk in their back yard.  He instructed the doll
  to watch over Bimã while they were away and to tell
  her who was outside should anyone try to call.
  Nobody knew about it.  One day, the Giant came to
  the house and Bimã opened the door despite the doll
  advising her not to.  When the brothers returned,
  the doll told them what had happened, and they
  arranged a strategy to kill the Giant and take Bimã
  out of his belly.  At the end, the doll transformed
  into a pretty girl and the younger brother fell in
  love with her.  They got married and lived happily
  ever after.

--#--

My father used to tell us stories when my sister and I were
children.  He told us he learned the stories from his
grandmother and mother when he was a child in Goa.  I believe
the stories were initially told in Konkani but my father
translated them into Portuguese so we could understand.

This story is part of a collection of stories my father used
to tell us.  Sometime around 1990 until 2012, I decided to
write them down as accurately as possible so I would not
forget.  As far as I know, these stories are original.  They
were part of our imagination as children, and I have not yet
heard or read anything similar.

--#--
Por/Written by Carolina Costa
carolinacost...@yahoo.com

  Era uma vez, numa aldeia remota, viviam juntos sete
  irmãos e uma irmã numa casa.  Nas imediações dessa
  aldeia, vivia também um Gigante muito mau que comia
  pessoas.  Os aldeões tinham muito medo do Gigante e
  raramente aproximavam-se da casa onde ele morava.

Como não tinham nem pai nem mãe, a irmã mais nova, Bimã, era
para eles como um talismã precioso.  Gostavam bastante dela e
tratavam-na com muito carinho.  Sempre que podiam,
presenteavam-na com vestidos bonitos, sapatos, fitas para o
cabelo, rebuçados ou qualquer outra coisa que a irmã
gostasse.

Os irmãos trabalhavam fora e a Bimã, cuidava da casa, da
roupa, do quintal e fazia a comida que eles levavam para o
trabalho.  Ela também preparava com aprumo comidas saborosas
e costurava camisas bonitas para os irmãos.  E assim viviam
alegres e felizes.

Um dia os irmãos tiveram de partir para trabalhar numa terra
longínqua e voltariam depois de um ano.  Antes da partida,
porém, compraram mantimentos e encheram a dispensa com tudo o
que Bimã precisaria durante o ano.

João, o seu sétimo irmão, decidiu também comprar uma boneca
que falava e colocou- a num buraco que escavou no tronco de
uma árvore que havia no quintal.  Depois, tapou-o com a casca
da árvore e não disse nada a ninguém.  Deu instruções à
boneca de modo a que esta vigiasse todas as pessoas que
apareciam à porta de casa e dissesse à Bimã quem é que tocava
à porta.

No dia da partida, os irmãos despediram-se de Bimã fizendo as
habituais recomendações: ela não deveria saír de casa e nem
abrir a porta a estranhos.  Todos os irmãos tinham uma chave
e quando chegassem, abririam a porta.  Esta ficou a acenar lá
do muro do quintal até eles se tornarem pequenos pontinhos no
horizonte.

Os dias foram passando e Bimã fazia a sua habitual rotina.
Cuidava da casa e do quintal e tinha muito cuidado quando
abria a porta de casa, certificando-se sempre de que não
havia estranhos por perto.  Ao anoitecer, fechava
cuidadosamente a porta à chave, as janelas e corria os
cortinados.  Às vezes, sentava-se na ombreira da porta com o
olhar fixo no caminho que saía da aldeia pensando nos irmãos
e no dia em que estes regressariam a casa.

Um dia, o lume apagou-se.  Bimã procurou fosfóros na dispensa
e não encontrou nenhum.  Abriu gavetas e procurou por toda a
casa, mas dos fosfóros, nem sinal.  Faltavam alguns dias para
os irmãos regressarem.  Resolveu esperar.  A comida também
começava a escassear e Bimã pensou em pedir lume a algum
vizinho próximo.  Saíu cedo e avistou uma casa que deitava
fumo pela chaminé.  Aproximou- se, bateu à porta e uma
senhora idosa apareceu na ombreira.

- Bom dia, senhora, disse Bimã.  Podia dar-me um pouco de
lume, por favor?  Os meus fosfóros acabaram-se e, quando os
meus irmãos chegarem, pagar-lhe-ei.

- Ai minha menina, claro que posso, disse a velha senhora.
Mas a menina não devia andar por estas paragens!

- Porque não?

- Porque aqui vive um gigante que come pessoas!  Esse gigante
é meu filho e eu tenho muito medo dele.  Espera aqui um
pouco, disse a velha e entrou em casa.  Quando regressou,
trouxe uma 

[Goanet-News] FOLK TALES: BIMÃ AND THE DOLL THAT SPOKE (Carolina Costa)

[Goanet Reader]

BIMÃ E A BONECA QUE FALAVA
BIMÃ AND THE DOLL THAT SPOKE

  “Bimã e a boneca que falava” or in English, “Bimã
  and the doll that spoke”, is a story of a girl
  whose life was saved from a Giant because of a doll
  which was hidden in the tree trunk in her back
  yard.  Bimã had seven brothers and when they had to
  leave for a year, the youngest brother decided to
  get a doll who could speak and hid it in the tree
  trunk in their back yard.  He instructed the doll
  to watch over Bimã while they were away and to tell
  her who was outside should anyone try to call.
  Nobody knew about it.  One day, the Giant came to
  the house and Bimã opened the door despite the doll
  advising her not to.  When the brothers returned,
  the doll told them what had happened, and they
  arranged a strategy to kill the Giant and take Bimã
  out of his belly.  At the end, the doll transformed
  into a pretty girl and the younger brother fell in
  love with her.  They got married and lived happily
  ever after.

--#--

My father used to tell us stories when my sister and I were
children.  He told us he learned the stories from his
grandmother and mother when he was a child in Goa.  I believe
the stories were initially told in Konkani but my father
translated them into Portuguese so we could understand.

This story is part of a collection of stories my father used
to tell us.  Sometime around 1990 until 2012, I decided to
write them down as accurately as possible so I would not
forget.  As far as I know, these stories are original.  They
were part of our imagination as children, and I have not yet
heard or read anything similar.

--#--
Por/Written by Carolina Costa
carolinacost...@yahoo.com

  Era uma vez, numa aldeia remota, viviam juntos sete
  irmãos e uma irmã numa casa.  Nas imediações dessa
  aldeia, vivia também um Gigante muito mau que comia
  pessoas.  Os aldeões tinham muito medo do Gigante e
  raramente aproximavam-se da casa onde ele morava.

Como não tinham nem pai nem mãe, a irmã mais nova, Bimã, era
para eles como um talismã precioso.  Gostavam bastante dela e
tratavam-na com muito carinho.  Sempre que podiam,
presenteavam-na com vestidos bonitos, sapatos, fitas para o
cabelo, rebuçados ou qualquer outra coisa que a irmã
gostasse.

Os irmãos trabalhavam fora e a Bimã, cuidava da casa, da
roupa, do quintal e fazia a comida que eles levavam para o
trabalho.  Ela também preparava com aprumo comidas saborosas
e costurava camisas bonitas para os irmãos.  E assim viviam
alegres e felizes.

Um dia os irmãos tiveram de partir para trabalhar numa terra
longínqua e voltariam depois de um ano.  Antes da partida,
porém, compraram mantimentos e encheram a dispensa com tudo o
que Bimã precisaria durante o ano.

João, o seu sétimo irmão, decidiu também comprar uma boneca
que falava e colocou- a num buraco que escavou no tronco de
uma árvore que havia no quintal.  Depois, tapou-o com a casca
da árvore e não disse nada a ninguém.  Deu instruções à
boneca de modo a que esta vigiasse todas as pessoas que
apareciam à porta de casa e dissesse à Bimã quem é que tocava
à porta.

No dia da partida, os irmãos despediram-se de Bimã fizendo as
habituais recomendações: ela não deveria saír de casa e nem
abrir a porta a estranhos.  Todos os irmãos tinham uma chave
e quando chegassem, abririam a porta.  Esta ficou a acenar lá
do muro do quintal até eles se tornarem pequenos pontinhos no
horizonte.

Os dias foram passando e Bimã fazia a sua habitual rotina.
Cuidava da casa e do quintal e tinha muito cuidado quando
abria a porta de casa, certificando-se sempre de que não
havia estranhos por perto.  Ao anoitecer, fechava
cuidadosamente a porta à chave, as janelas e corria os
cortinados.  Às vezes, sentava-se na ombreira da porta com o
olhar fixo no caminho que saía da aldeia pensando nos irmãos
e no dia em que estes regressariam a casa.

Um dia, o lume apagou-se.  Bimã procurou fosfóros na dispensa
e não encontrou nenhum.  Abriu gavetas e procurou por toda a
casa, mas dos fosfóros, nem sinal.  Faltavam alguns dias para
os irmãos regressarem.  Resolveu esperar.  A comida também
começava a escassear e Bimã pensou em pedir lume a algum
vizinho próximo.  Saíu cedo e avistou uma casa que deitava
fumo pela chaminé.  Aproximou- se, bateu à porta e uma
senhora idosa apareceu na ombreira.

- Bom dia, senhora, disse Bimã.  Podia dar-me um pouco de
lume, por favor?  Os meus fosfóros acabaram-se e, quando os
meus irmãos chegarem, pagar-lhe-ei.

- Ai minha menina, claro que posso, disse a velha senhora.
Mas a menina não devia andar por estas paragens!

- Porque não?

- Porque aqui vive um gigante que come pessoas!  Esse gigante
é meu filho e eu tenho muito medo dele.  Espera aqui um
pouco, disse a velha e entrou em casa.  Quando regressou,
trouxe uma 

[Goanet-News] Megan De Souza:Chol Re Bhopllea, ttunnuk-ttunnuk

[Goanet Reader]

Megan De Souza:Chol Re Bhopllea, ttunnuk-ttunnuk

NOTE: [Bhopllea — pumpkin.

  Megan Roselind De Souza has been pursuing her
  Master’s degree in Konkani at the Goa University.
  Her hobbies include reading and writing.  She
  writes: ‘I have written poems, stories, essays,
  songs, children literature and have won prizes for
  the same. My write-ups were published on the
  Konkani newspaper Bhaangarbhuin  and O Heraldo. I
  write in two of Konkani scripts, Devnagri and
  Roman. I find joy in acting, singing and have
  performed in short films and tiatrs. Public
  speaking and compering are among the activities I
  enjoy. I have also organised competitions and
  sessions with the help of my teachers.'

  Of this story, she writes: ‘When I was a child, my
  mother used to recite this short story to me while
  putting me to sleep.’

Poixil'lea eka ganvant, datt rana mozgotim, ek lhanxem ghor
aslem.  Hea ghorant ek xanni-xittuk zanntteli ravtali.

Tichea dhuvek halinch kazar korun xezarchea ganvant dilolem.
Ek dis tinne aple dhuvek bhett diupachem chitlem.

Punn dhuveger voita zalear tika poilim tem datt ran hupchem
podtalem.  Devak ulo marit, kalliz ghott korun ti ghorantli
bhair sorli.

Cholta-cholta vatter tika ek vhoddlo-bhoyanok vagh mell’llo.
Tea vaghak polleun ti samki kachabul zali.

Tichea hati-paiantlean samko koddkoddo suttlo.  Vaghan tika
bhukechea nodren, tonddantli lall golloyt, lhenvttea suran
vicharlem, “Zannttele, khui vetay ge?”

Zannttelen bhiukuria avazan zap dili, “Hanv mhojea dhuveger
voita.”

Ani rakesacho hanso kaddun vaghan mhollem, “Aghe ss!  Hanv
tukam atanch khait zalear tuji haddam pasun tujea dhuveger
pavchinat.  Hahahaha…”

Ani ek-ek paul fuddem marit to zanntele mhoreant yeunk laglo.

Zanntelen apli bud’dh vapurli ani vegi-vegim mhunnunk lagli,
“Punn vagha tum mhaka atam khait zalear hanv titlim ruchik
lagchina.  Poi, hanv atam mhoje dhuveger pott bhor
khatelim-pietelim ani tuddumb zaun heach vattentlean ietelim.
Tedna zori tum mhaka khait zalear mhoje itlem ruchik mas
tukam anik khuinch mellchena.”

Vagh zanntelechem aikun bhul’luslo ani tichea sangnneak
hoikar diun tannem tika fuddem vochpak dilem ani zanntelen
huskea meklli apli fuddli vatt dhorli.

Cholta-cholta atam zanntelek bhukel’lo, rogtak axel’lo xinv
mell’llo.  Vaghakodden zal’lo sonvad xinvakodden zalo.
Xinvan chitlem, “Dattel’le-mottel’le zanttelek khaupacho
sontosuch vegllo astolo” ani tannem umedin, zannttelek kainch
korinastona, tika fuddli vatt dhorpak dili.

Hech toren lall golloun apleacher nodor ghaltolea bhirankull
zonnavorank zanntelek tondd diunchem poddlem ani zanntteli
aple xittuk zapevorvim soglleank poisait geli.

Xeki ti aplea dhuveger pavli.  Aple dhuve vangdda molladik
vell sarun, tache borabor khobri marun, pott bhor khaun-piun
zanntelen aplo dis khuxalkaien sarlo.

Sanz zali ani zannttelecho porot ghora vochpacho vell ailo.
Dhuven mogan tika porot ghora vhorpak porsantlo ek mott’tto
bhopllo kaddun dil’lo.

Tea bhoplleak polleun zanntelen porot apli xittuksann
vaporli.  Sogllem ghoddil’lem aple dhuvek sangun tinne tichea
dhuvekoddlean adar maglo ani sangil’lea promannem dhuven tika
tea bhopllean lipoilem ani nettan tea bhoplleak dhukol’lem.

Bhitor boxil’li zannteli umedin bhorun, “Chol Re Bhopllea
Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk, Chol Re Bhopllea Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk”, gaupak
lagli.

Vatter zannttelek sabar zonavoram mell’lli jim tichi vat
polloit aslim, tantunt to vagh ani to xinv legit aslelo.

Bhoplleachea vasan tankam anik kosloch vas yena zaun te
ragabhorit zal’le ani ragan aple votten ietelea bhoplleak
khott marun bhoplleak fuddem-fuddem dhuklot ravle.  Ani oxe
toren bhopllea bhitor boxil’li zannteli, “Chol Re Bhopllea
Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk, Chol Re Bhopllea Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk”, gait
aplea ghora surokxit pavli.

--
चल रे भोपळ्या टुणूक टुणूक

पयशिल्ल्या एका गावांत, गच्च रानांमदीं एक ल्हानशें घर आसलें.  ह्या घरांत एक
शिटूक म्हातारी रावताली.  हालींच तिच्या धुवेक लग्न करून शेजारच्या गांवांत
दिल्लें.  एक दीस तिणें आपले धुवेक भेट दिवपाचें चितलें.  पूण धुवेगेर पावपाक
त्या
दाट रानांतल्यान वच्चे पडटालें.  देवाक उलो मारीत ती भायर सरली आनी
सवका-सवकास पावलां फुडें मारपाक लागली.

चलता-चलता वाटेर तिका एक भयानक, विक्राळ वाग मेळ्ळो, वागाक पळोवन ती
काचाबूल जाली.  वागान तिका भुकेच्या नदरेन तेळीत विचारलें, “म्हातारे खंय
वयता गे?” म्हातारेन कडकडत जाप दिली, “हांव म्हज्या धुवेगेर वता”, वागान
तिका लाळ गळयत म्हळें, “आगे हांव तुका आतांच खायत जाल्यार तुजी हाडां पसून
तुज्या धुवेगेर पावचिनात”, अशें म्हणीत देवचाराचो हांसो काडीत म्हातारे वटेन
वाग आपलीं पावलां मारपाक लागलो.  म्हातारेन तर्क काडीत वागाक म्हळें,
“अरे!  तूंवेन म्हाका आतांच खाल्लें जाल्यार हांव तितलीं रुचीक लागचिंना.  हांव
म्हज्या धुवेगेर बरेंच खावन-पिवन टुणटुणीत जावन येतलीं तेन्ना तूं म्हाका
खावपाक
यो आनी दुबावाविरयत तुकां म्हजे इतलें रुचीक जेवण आनीक खंयच मेळचेंना”.  वाग
म्हातारेचें आयकून फुल्लो आनी म्हातारेच्या 

[Goanet] Megan De Souza:Chol Re Bhopllea, ttunnuk-ttunnuk

[Goanet Reader]

Megan De Souza:Chol Re Bhopllea, ttunnuk-ttunnuk

NOTE: [Bhopllea — pumpkin.

  Megan Roselind De Souza has been pursuing her
  Master’s degree in Konkani at the Goa University.
  Her hobbies include reading and writing.  She
  writes: ‘I have written poems, stories, essays,
  songs, children literature and have won prizes for
  the same. My write-ups were published on the
  Konkani newspaper Bhaangarbhuin  and O Heraldo. I
  write in two of Konkani scripts, Devnagri and
  Roman. I find joy in acting, singing and have
  performed in short films and tiatrs. Public
  speaking and compering are among the activities I
  enjoy. I have also organised competitions and
  sessions with the help of my teachers.'

  Of this story, she writes: ‘When I was a child, my
  mother used to recite this short story to me while
  putting me to sleep.’

Poixil'lea eka ganvant, datt rana mozgotim, ek lhanxem ghor
aslem.  Hea ghorant ek xanni-xittuk zanntteli ravtali.

Tichea dhuvek halinch kazar korun xezarchea ganvant dilolem.
Ek dis tinne aple dhuvek bhett diupachem chitlem.

Punn dhuveger voita zalear tika poilim tem datt ran hupchem
podtalem.  Devak ulo marit, kalliz ghott korun ti ghorantli
bhair sorli.

Cholta-cholta vatter tika ek vhoddlo-bhoyanok vagh mell’llo.
Tea vaghak polleun ti samki kachabul zali.

Tichea hati-paiantlean samko koddkoddo suttlo.  Vaghan tika
bhukechea nodren, tonddantli lall golloyt, lhenvttea suran
vicharlem, “Zannttele, khui vetay ge?”

Zannttelen bhiukuria avazan zap dili, “Hanv mhojea dhuveger
voita.”

Ani rakesacho hanso kaddun vaghan mhollem, “Aghe ss!  Hanv
tukam atanch khait zalear tuji haddam pasun tujea dhuveger
pavchinat.  Hahahaha…”

Ani ek-ek paul fuddem marit to zanntele mhoreant yeunk laglo.

Zanntelen apli bud’dh vapurli ani vegi-vegim mhunnunk lagli,
“Punn vagha tum mhaka atam khait zalear hanv titlim ruchik
lagchina.  Poi, hanv atam mhoje dhuveger pott bhor
khatelim-pietelim ani tuddumb zaun heach vattentlean ietelim.
Tedna zori tum mhaka khait zalear mhoje itlem ruchik mas
tukam anik khuinch mellchena.”

Vagh zanntelechem aikun bhul’luslo ani tichea sangnneak
hoikar diun tannem tika fuddem vochpak dilem ani zanntelen
huskea meklli apli fuddli vatt dhorli.

Cholta-cholta atam zanntelek bhukel’lo, rogtak axel’lo xinv
mell’llo.  Vaghakodden zal’lo sonvad xinvakodden zalo.
Xinvan chitlem, “Dattel’le-mottel’le zanttelek khaupacho
sontosuch vegllo astolo” ani tannem umedin, zannttelek kainch
korinastona, tika fuddli vatt dhorpak dili.

Hech toren lall golloun apleacher nodor ghaltolea bhirankull
zonnavorank zanntelek tondd diunchem poddlem ani zanntteli
aple xittuk zapevorvim soglleank poisait geli.

Xeki ti aplea dhuveger pavli.  Aple dhuve vangdda molladik
vell sarun, tache borabor khobri marun, pott bhor khaun-piun
zanntelen aplo dis khuxalkaien sarlo.

Sanz zali ani zannttelecho porot ghora vochpacho vell ailo.
Dhuven mogan tika porot ghora vhorpak porsantlo ek mott’tto
bhopllo kaddun dil’lo.

Tea bhoplleak polleun zanntelen porot apli xittuksann
vaporli.  Sogllem ghoddil’lem aple dhuvek sangun tinne tichea
dhuvekoddlean adar maglo ani sangil’lea promannem dhuven tika
tea bhopllean lipoilem ani nettan tea bhoplleak dhukol’lem.

Bhitor boxil’li zannteli umedin bhorun, “Chol Re Bhopllea
Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk, Chol Re Bhopllea Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk”, gaupak
lagli.

Vatter zannttelek sabar zonavoram mell’lli jim tichi vat
polloit aslim, tantunt to vagh ani to xinv legit aslelo.

Bhoplleachea vasan tankam anik kosloch vas yena zaun te
ragabhorit zal’le ani ragan aple votten ietelea bhoplleak
khott marun bhoplleak fuddem-fuddem dhuklot ravle.  Ani oxe
toren bhopllea bhitor boxil’li zannteli, “Chol Re Bhopllea
Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk, Chol Re Bhopllea Ttunnuk-Ttunnuk”, gait
aplea ghora surokxit pavli.

--
चल रे भोपळ्या टुणूक टुणूक

पयशिल्ल्या एका गावांत, गच्च रानांमदीं एक ल्हानशें घर आसलें.  ह्या घरांत एक
शिटूक म्हातारी रावताली.  हालींच तिच्या धुवेक लग्न करून शेजारच्या गांवांत
दिल्लें.  एक दीस तिणें आपले धुवेक भेट दिवपाचें चितलें.  पूण धुवेगेर पावपाक
त्या
दाट रानांतल्यान वच्चे पडटालें.  देवाक उलो मारीत ती भायर सरली आनी
सवका-सवकास पावलां फुडें मारपाक लागली.

चलता-चलता वाटेर तिका एक भयानक, विक्राळ वाग मेळ्ळो, वागाक पळोवन ती
काचाबूल जाली.  वागान तिका भुकेच्या नदरेन तेळीत विचारलें, “म्हातारे खंय
वयता गे?” म्हातारेन कडकडत जाप दिली, “हांव म्हज्या धुवेगेर वता”, वागान
तिका लाळ गळयत म्हळें, “आगे हांव तुका आतांच खायत जाल्यार तुजी हाडां पसून
तुज्या धुवेगेर पावचिनात”, अशें म्हणीत देवचाराचो हांसो काडीत म्हातारे वटेन
वाग आपलीं पावलां मारपाक लागलो.  म्हातारेन तर्क काडीत वागाक म्हळें,
“अरे!  तूंवेन म्हाका आतांच खाल्लें जाल्यार हांव तितलीं रुचीक लागचिंना.  हांव
म्हज्या धुवेगेर बरेंच खावन-पिवन टुणटुणीत जावन येतलीं तेन्ना तूं म्हाका
खावपाक
यो आनी दुबावाविरयत तुकां म्हजे इतलें रुचीक जेवण आनीक खंयच मेळचेंना”.  वाग
म्हातारेचें आयकून फुल्लो आनी म्हातारेच्या 

[Goanet] Damini Mane: Rakhandar -- The Guardian

[Goanet Reader]

It was the time of the Saptha, the seven days of celebrations
devoted to God Damodar, when I would meet my cousins and
their families.  Like every other group of kids, we too were
mischievous and curious.

  It was that time of the year when my great great
  aunt would visit us in Vasco.  All of us kids
  called her Ayi.  She was really old, had a face
  full of wrinkles, but sharp eyes and a voice that
  held command.  Nobody spoke against her, her word
  was final; but with us kids she was always very
  friendly.  Despite being so old she stood in a
  queue with us, she wore a cotton saree in the
  kashti style.  She would talk for hours together.
  You might say she would get tired because of her
  age, but no, she was always ready with an argument
  or discussion when anything came up.

I was way younger then.  It was a tiring and boring task to
just stand in the queue, as we kids would be very fidgety.
We tried to run, but with her heavy voice she'd say, 'If you
run again, you won't get any of the sweets or presents I
brought for you.  This is a sacred temple of Lord Damodar.
You should stand in a queue and thank God Damodar for
protecting us from all evil.'

That's when it started.  I got more curious, how was He
protecting us?  Is there magic in the air or was He watching
us?  Like, if I ran and fell on the ground, would he avert
the fall?  Or would he make my wound disappear?  These were
the questions I fired off to Ayi when we got back home.

It was dinner time when we all sat together and ate in peace.
The questions were still going around in my mind and I could
not help but place them before Ayi.  She called us all to the
balcony where we spread a mat and sat on it.  Usually this
setting was more for stories and games.  Even this time, Ayi
was about to tell us a story.  We waited in anticipation.
She always had such awesome stories, ones that even lasted weeks.
She sat on the wooden armchair which had an extended arm.
She sighed and told us to huddle closer and listen to what
she was saying.  'Tonight, I'm going to tell you something
very interesting, so listen carefully.  Do you remember
Ramesh from our vaddo (hamlet)?  Well it's about him.'

Ramesh was a constable.  So he usually reported for night
duties.  A very cunning fellow he would take bribes.  To top
it all, he was a bully.  Once, he was at his night duty,
chatting with his friends.  It was around midnight.  He found
himself all alone and everything had gone quiet.  He saw an
old man in a bright white dhoti, a black kurta and white
cloth around his neck, passing by.  He had a thick stick and
it had a bunch of ghungroo (small metallic bells strung
together) attached to it.

With every step, his ghungroo would make a sound.  He wore
Kolhapuri chappals.  With every step, the chappals would make
a creaking sound as if he had been walking for a long time.
Ramesh saw him and simply went behind the old man.  He used
his stick to bang on the ground in a classic, constable way
and said, `Hey, who are you?  Go away from here'.

The old man stalled for a few seconds, but he did not turn to
look back at Ramesh.  Very rudely, the constable called him
names, but the old man did not respond; he just continued
walking.  It was about time for Ramesh to be relieved of his
duty.  He went inside the station and packed his bag.  When
he sat on his bike, his eyes itched a lot.  He couldn't
figure out why.  By the time he reached home, his eyes were
bloodshot and red.  Sleep might cure it, he thought.

On the next day, when Ramesh opened his eyes, it was dark.
He thought he was dreaming but he could feel his eyes
blinking.  Suddenly he realised the horrible reality.  He
screamed continually for he had lost his eyesight.

Nothing had changed, yet I felt the atmosphere changing.  Ayi
didn't stop though.  She started with her next story.

So this one was about Ignacio, whose house was near the
church.  Remember the person whose son would bring us
chocolates?  Many years back, they had a tragic incident in
their family.  His daughter had been admitted to the
hospital.  Ignacio and his wife would stay in the hospital
with his daughter, but sometimes he had to go back alone at
night.  On such days, he would walk all the way from the
hospital to his house.

Once, on such a night, he was walking along the road.  That
night he was feeling uneasy.  With his carrybag clutched
close to his chest, he was walking in the dark.  He continued
to walk a short distance further and then stopped.  He felt
as if someone was following him.  Again and again, he would
walk and stop to confirm that nobody was behind him.  After a
few steps, he heard a motorcycle coming but he refrained from
asking for a lift.  Ignacio heard its horn and the vehicle
stopped.  The bike stopped right beside him.  He could not
see its rider's face properly in the dark.

'Hey Ignacio, are you heading home at 

[Goanet] Damini Mane: Rakhandar -- The Guardian

[Goanet Reader]

It was the time of the Saptha, the seven days of celebrations
devoted to God Damodar, when I would meet my cousins and
their families.  Like every other group of kids, we too were
mischievous and curious.

  It was that time of the year when my great great
  aunt would visit us in Vasco.  All of us kids
  called her Ayi.  She was really old, had a face
  full of wrinkles, but sharp eyes and a voice that
  held command.  Nobody spoke against her, her word
  was final; but with us kids she was always very
  friendly.  Despite being so old she stood in a
  queue with us, she wore a cotton saree in the
  kashti style.  She would talk for hours together.
  You might say she would get tired because of her
  age, but no, she was always ready with an argument
  or discussion when anything came up.

I was way younger then.  It was a tiring and boring task to
just stand in the queue, as we kids would be very fidgety.
We tried to run, but with her heavy voice she'd say, 'If you
run again, you won't get any of the sweets or presents I
brought for you.  This is a sacred temple of Lord Damodar.
You should stand in a queue and thank God Damodar for
protecting us from all evil.'

That's when it started.  I got more curious, how was He
protecting us?  Is there magic in the air or was He watching
us?  Like, if I ran and fell on the ground, would he avert
the fall?  Or would he make my wound disappear?  These were
the questions I fired off to Ayi when we got back home.

It was dinner time when we all sat together and ate in peace.
The questions were still going around in my mind and I could
not help but place them before Ayi.  She called us all to the
balcony where we spread a mat and sat on it.  Usually this
setting was more for stories and games.  Even this time, Ayi
was about to tell us a story.  We waited in anticipation.
She always had such awesome stories, ones that even lasted weeks.
She sat on the wooden armchair which had an extended arm.
She sighed and told us to huddle closer and listen to what
she was saying.  'Tonight, I'm going to tell you something
very interesting, so listen carefully.  Do you remember
Ramesh from our vaddo (hamlet)?  Well it's about him.'

Ramesh was a constable.  So he usually reported for night
duties.  A very cunning fellow he would take bribes.  To top
it all, he was a bully.  Once, he was at his night duty,
chatting with his friends.  It was around midnight.  He found
himself all alone and everything had gone quiet.  He saw an
old man in a bright white dhoti, a black kurta and white
cloth around his neck, passing by.  He had a thick stick and
it had a bunch of ghungroo (small metallic bells strung
together) attached to it.

With every step, his ghungroo would make a sound.  He wore
Kolhapuri chappals.  With every step, the chappals would make
a creaking sound as if he had been walking for a long time.
Ramesh saw him and simply went behind the old man.  He used
his stick to bang on the ground in a classic, constable way
and said, `Hey, who are you?  Go away from here'.

The old man stalled for a few seconds, but he did not turn to
look back at Ramesh.  Very rudely, the constable called him
names, but the old man did not respond; he just continued
walking.  It was about time for Ramesh to be relieved of his
duty.  He went inside the station and packed his bag.  When
he sat on his bike, his eyes itched a lot.  He couldn't
figure out why.  By the time he reached home, his eyes were
bloodshot and red.  Sleep might cure it, he thought.

On the next day, when Ramesh opened his eyes, it was dark.
He thought he was dreaming but he could feel his eyes
blinking.  Suddenly he realised the horrible reality.  He
screamed continually for he had lost his eyesight.

Nothing had changed, yet I felt the atmosphere changing.  Ayi
didn't stop though.  She started with her next story.

So this one was about Ignacio, whose house was near the
church.  Remember the person whose son would bring us
chocolates?  Many years back, they had a tragic incident in
their family.  His daughter had been admitted to the
hospital.  Ignacio and his wife would stay in the hospital
with his daughter, but sometimes he had to go back alone at
night.  On such days, he would walk all the way from the
hospital to his house.

Once, on such a night, he was walking along the road.  That
night he was feeling uneasy.  With his carrybag clutched
close to his chest, he was walking in the dark.  He continued
to walk a short distance further and then stopped.  He felt
as if someone was following him.  Again and again, he would
walk and stop to confirm that nobody was behind him.  After a
few steps, he heard a motorcycle coming but he refrained from
asking for a lift.  Ignacio heard its horn and the vehicle
stopped.  The bike stopped right beside him.  He could not
see its rider's face properly in the dark.

'Hey Ignacio, are you heading home at 

[Goanet-News] Damini Mane: Rakhandar -- The Guardian

[Goanet Reader]

It was the time of the Saptha, the seven days of celebrations
devoted to God Damodar, when I would meet my cousins and
their families.  Like every other group of kids, we too were
mischievous and curious.

  It was that time of the year when my great great
  aunt would visit us in Vasco.  All of us kids
  called her Ayi.  She was really old, had a face
  full of wrinkles, but sharp eyes and a voice that
  held command.  Nobody spoke against her, her word
  was final; but with us kids she was always very
  friendly.  Despite being so old she stood in a
  queue with us, she wore a cotton saree in the
  kashti style.  She would talk for hours together.
  You might say she would get tired because of her
  age, but no, she was always ready with an argument
  or discussion when anything came up.

I was way younger then.  It was a tiring and boring task to
just stand in the queue, as we kids would be very fidgety.
We tried to run, but with her heavy voice she'd say, 'If you
run again, you won't get any of the sweets or presents I
brought for you.  This is a sacred temple of Lord Damodar.
You should stand in a queue and thank God Damodar for
protecting us from all evil.'

That's when it started.  I got more curious, how was He
protecting us?  Is there magic in the air or was He watching
us?  Like, if I ran and fell on the ground, would he avert
the fall?  Or would he make my wound disappear?  These were
the questions I fired off to Ayi when we got back home.

It was dinner time when we all sat together and ate in peace.
The questions were still going around in my mind and I could
not help but place them before Ayi.  She called us all to the
balcony where we spread a mat and sat on it.  Usually this
setting was more for stories and games.  Even this time, Ayi
was about to tell us a story.  We waited in anticipation.
She always had such awesome stories, ones that even lasted weeks.
She sat on the wooden armchair which had an extended arm.
She sighed and told us to huddle closer and listen to what
she was saying.  'Tonight, I'm going to tell you something
very interesting, so listen carefully.  Do you remember
Ramesh from our vaddo (hamlet)?  Well it's about him.'

Ramesh was a constable.  So he usually reported for night
duties.  A very cunning fellow he would take bribes.  To top
it all, he was a bully.  Once, he was at his night duty,
chatting with his friends.  It was around midnight.  He found
himself all alone and everything had gone quiet.  He saw an
old man in a bright white dhoti, a black kurta and white
cloth around his neck, passing by.  He had a thick stick and
it had a bunch of ghungroo (small metallic bells strung
together) attached to it.

With every step, his ghungroo would make a sound.  He wore
Kolhapuri chappals.  With every step, the chappals would make
a creaking sound as if he had been walking for a long time.
Ramesh saw him and simply went behind the old man.  He used
his stick to bang on the ground in a classic, constable way
and said, `Hey, who are you?  Go away from here'.

The old man stalled for a few seconds, but he did not turn to
look back at Ramesh.  Very rudely, the constable called him
names, but the old man did not respond; he just continued
walking.  It was about time for Ramesh to be relieved of his
duty.  He went inside the station and packed his bag.  When
he sat on his bike, his eyes itched a lot.  He couldn't
figure out why.  By the time he reached home, his eyes were
bloodshot and red.  Sleep might cure it, he thought.

On the next day, when Ramesh opened his eyes, it was dark.
He thought he was dreaming but he could feel his eyes
blinking.  Suddenly he realised the horrible reality.  He
screamed continually for he had lost his eyesight.

Nothing had changed, yet I felt the atmosphere changing.  Ayi
didn't stop though.  She started with her next story.

So this one was about Ignacio, whose house was near the
church.  Remember the person whose son would bring us
chocolates?  Many years back, they had a tragic incident in
their family.  His daughter had been admitted to the
hospital.  Ignacio and his wife would stay in the hospital
with his daughter, but sometimes he had to go back alone at
night.  On such days, he would walk all the way from the
hospital to his house.

Once, on such a night, he was walking along the road.  That
night he was feeling uneasy.  With his carrybag clutched
close to his chest, he was walking in the dark.  He continued
to walk a short distance further and then stopped.  He felt
as if someone was following him.  Again and again, he would
walk and stop to confirm that nobody was behind him.  After a
few steps, he heard a motorcycle coming but he refrained from
asking for a lift.  Ignacio heard its horn and the vehicle
stopped.  The bike stopped right beside him.  He could not
see its rider's face properly in the dark.

'Hey Ignacio, are you heading home at 

[Goanet] Giann Maria Fernandes:The House Next Door

[Goanet Reader]

  I heard it again; the sound, akin to the rustling
  of dry leaves as if somebody was sweeping the
  ground.  It was the dead of midnight and by now I
  was familiar with that spooky sound emanating from
  the neighbouring house.  It was absurd that anyone
  would want to sweep at such a silent, shadowy, cold
  hour.  But the absurd goings-on are steeped in a
  poignant past that assert its presence even today.

We reside in a hamlet in north Goa, five minutes from the
shore, two minutes from the market and luckily off the main
road.  We are three houses on the inner lane and our
neighbourhood believes that the second house is haunted.
There, I blurt it out -- haunted. If I share it with my
friends, the credulous and religious ones tremble with fear
for they believe in such possibilities. The ones with a
scientific and pragmatic outlook laugh on my face and retort
that I digest every myth and legend that comes my way. And
the idea that the neighbouring house is spooky had been an
anathema to Mum too, until a year ago.

The enigmatic `guest house' (as we always referred to it),
the `haunted' one, reposes besides ours. It is abandoned now
and its original owners -- Sylvie and José Gomes -- have passed
away. During her lifetime, Sylvie essayed to sell the
property and the dilapidated house dirt cheap yet no one
ventured to lay their hands on it. Then, she renovated the
structure, adding an outhouse and a winsome park. The house
as it stands now is rectangular in shape adorned by a rounded
balcony on the first floor. At the side of it is the
outhouse and, in front of it, the park. Sylvie had cracked a
contract with a leading petroleum company to offer the house
as a guest house to the company's employees whenever they
wanted a vacation. The price rate was fixed at Rs 15 per
night. She employed caretakers to look after the house for
she never resided there, but always lived in Poona.

The caretakers were a family of four -- parents and two
children. The parents were Vincente and Lara Paul; their
children, Carol and Rahul. I shared a pleasant camaraderie
with Carol, we were of the same age. But Grandma strictly
forbid my sisters and me from entering the guest house or the
outhouse where the caretakers lived. For that matter, no
other person in the neighbourhood ever entered that arena
unless if it was for the saibin (community rosary before the
statue of Our Lady) organised by Lara Paul.

The first time I heard the saga behind the guest house being
a haunted one, was when Mum and Dad audaciously suggested
buying it out after Sylvie had approached them. This was
before she could renovate the house. Dad had returned from
the ship for a transient vacation and Mum somehow persuaded
him to purchase the neighbouring house. Dad was sceptical,
but on Mum's insistence he initiated the suggestion to
Grandma. Dad was fidgety the whole time and I had never seen
him with such diminished confidence.

"Mai, the price is good and if we get hold of that chunk, we
will be able to expand our area," Dad opined in a
matter-of-fact way, avoiding Grandma's gaze.

  "Raimund, you really mean what you say or are you
  in a mood for jesting?  You all know very well that
  your grandfather had enough means to purchase that
  property years ago, but your grandmother put her
  foot down saying that none of us would buy that
  pensãoche ghor (accursed house) even for half the
  price.  Not even Pedro's family bought that
  property even though they live besides it.  All of
  us have preferred to let go of the access that we
  can get, rather than purchase it at the price of
  misfortune," Grandma snapped.

Dad glanced at Mum with an `I told you so' expression.

"Mai," Mum now entered the field of discussion, "who believes
in this pensão (curse) and all that?  They are all old wives'
tales."

Much to Dad's embarrassment, Grandma took the term literally
and personally.

"Leilia!  You think I have crafted such stories about
Sylvie's house.  It's not for nothing that the house is
regarded as a pensãoche ghor.  Among all her siblings, Sylvie
inherited the property and the house.  And see, Sylvie and
José were never blessed with children.  Moreover, a few years
post their marriage, José was diagnosed with a terminal
illness and the poor man passed away after much suffering.
Even when they would come down from Poona, they would never
take shelter in that house, but would reside elsewhere.  They
would occasionally spend the day there, but that was it.
Hence we rarely saw much of Sylvie even when she was in Goa
for a short vacation.  In those days, my mother-in-law
herself had experienced weird sounds and I too remember
hearing them when I was newly married.  You will never
believe it unless you have heard it with your own ears."

Suddenly they realised that I had been fastidiously listening
to the 

[Goanet-News] Giann Maria Fernandes:The House Next Door

[Goanet Reader]

  I heard it again; the sound, akin to the rustling
  of dry leaves as if somebody was sweeping the
  ground.  It was the dead of midnight and by now I
  was familiar with that spooky sound emanating from
  the neighbouring house.  It was absurd that anyone
  would want to sweep at such a silent, shadowy, cold
  hour.  But the absurd goings-on are steeped in a
  poignant past that assert its presence even today.

We reside in a hamlet in north Goa, five minutes from the
shore, two minutes from the market and luckily off the main
road.  We are three houses on the inner lane and our
neighbourhood believes that the second house is haunted.
There, I blurt it out -- haunted. If I share it with my
friends, the credulous and religious ones tremble with fear
for they believe in such possibilities. The ones with a
scientific and pragmatic outlook laugh on my face and retort
that I digest every myth and legend that comes my way. And
the idea that the neighbouring house is spooky had been an
anathema to Mum too, until a year ago.

The enigmatic `guest house' (as we always referred to it),
the `haunted' one, reposes besides ours. It is abandoned now
and its original owners -- Sylvie and José Gomes -- have passed
away. During her lifetime, Sylvie essayed to sell the
property and the dilapidated house dirt cheap yet no one
ventured to lay their hands on it. Then, she renovated the
structure, adding an outhouse and a winsome park. The house
as it stands now is rectangular in shape adorned by a rounded
balcony on the first floor. At the side of it is the
outhouse and, in front of it, the park. Sylvie had cracked a
contract with a leading petroleum company to offer the house
as a guest house to the company's employees whenever they
wanted a vacation. The price rate was fixed at Rs 15 per
night. She employed caretakers to look after the house for
she never resided there, but always lived in Poona.

The caretakers were a family of four -- parents and two
children. The parents were Vincente and Lara Paul; their
children, Carol and Rahul. I shared a pleasant camaraderie
with Carol, we were of the same age. But Grandma strictly
forbid my sisters and me from entering the guest house or the
outhouse where the caretakers lived. For that matter, no
other person in the neighbourhood ever entered that arena
unless if it was for the saibin (community rosary before the
statue of Our Lady) organised by Lara Paul.

The first time I heard the saga behind the guest house being
a haunted one, was when Mum and Dad audaciously suggested
buying it out after Sylvie had approached them. This was
before she could renovate the house. Dad had returned from
the ship for a transient vacation and Mum somehow persuaded
him to purchase the neighbouring house. Dad was sceptical,
but on Mum's insistence he initiated the suggestion to
Grandma. Dad was fidgety the whole time and I had never seen
him with such diminished confidence.

"Mai, the price is good and if we get hold of that chunk, we
will be able to expand our area," Dad opined in a
matter-of-fact way, avoiding Grandma's gaze.

  "Raimund, you really mean what you say or are you
  in a mood for jesting?  You all know very well that
  your grandfather had enough means to purchase that
  property years ago, but your grandmother put her
  foot down saying that none of us would buy that
  pensãoche ghor (accursed house) even for half the
  price.  Not even Pedro's family bought that
  property even though they live besides it.  All of
  us have preferred to let go of the access that we
  can get, rather than purchase it at the price of
  misfortune," Grandma snapped.

Dad glanced at Mum with an `I told you so' expression.

"Mai," Mum now entered the field of discussion, "who believes
in this pensão (curse) and all that?  They are all old wives'
tales."

Much to Dad's embarrassment, Grandma took the term literally
and personally.

"Leilia!  You think I have crafted such stories about
Sylvie's house.  It's not for nothing that the house is
regarded as a pensãoche ghor.  Among all her siblings, Sylvie
inherited the property and the house.  And see, Sylvie and
José were never blessed with children.  Moreover, a few years
post their marriage, José was diagnosed with a terminal
illness and the poor man passed away after much suffering.
Even when they would come down from Poona, they would never
take shelter in that house, but would reside elsewhere.  They
would occasionally spend the day there, but that was it.
Hence we rarely saw much of Sylvie even when she was in Goa
for a short vacation.  In those days, my mother-in-law
herself had experienced weird sounds and I too remember
hearing them when I was newly married.  You will never
believe it unless you have heard it with your own ears."

Suddenly they realised that I had been fastidiously listening
to the 

[Goanet] Dr. Luis Dias: O João Grande e o João Pequeno

[Goanet Reader]

  My paternal grandmother, Maria Marta Apresentação
  Lobo e Dias (called Mãe by my brother Victor and
  me, even though she was our grandmother), was
  around for just about four years of my existence
  from the age of three to six.  But I remember her
  so well.

She had a sad life; she was widowed very young, aged just 41,
when her husband Dr. Vítor Manuel Dias was in the prime of
his life, and she thus had to shoulder the burden of
educating six young children. Further, she had to suffer the
pain of losing three of them in her own lifetime.

Just a few years after her husband's death from a cerebral
haemorrhage in 1949, she herself was paralysed by a series of
strokes.  When our family returned from Germany in 1970, she
was wheelchair-bound, and needed help for basic bodily
functions.  But she still possessed the faculty of speech
(which, tragically, yet another stroke took away about a year
before her death in 1973), and was as doting a grandmother as
her circumstances would allow her.  I remember the Christmas
bonbons that had to be elegantly wrapped just so, under her
watchful eye, and they are still part of magical Christmas
memories of my childhood.

Mãe taught my brother Victor and me our prayers, and Bible
stories, and she would tell us bedtime stories as well. I
was introduced to Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and so many
others by her. We would listen, wide-eyed, as the stories
unfolded and good ultimately triumphed over evil.

  But I never ever learnt the ending of one story she
  told us, because we would nod off like clockwork
  after a few sentences: it was the story of Tall
  John and Short John. All I remembered through the
  sleepy haze was the eponymous characters, and
  something to do with a horse, but that was it.

I somehow assumed the story must be part of the standard
fairy-tale repertoire, and through my later years I scoured
through the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles
Perrault but I had no luck. I tried speaking to a few
old-timers, but that didn't lead anywhere either. I tried a
Google search for 'Tall John and Short John': nil results.
So I guess I sort of called off the search and let the matter
rest.

In 1996, I visited Lisbon for the first time, and met my
first cousin Vítor's daughter Marta, named after Mãe, all of
four years old. Her own favourite story was 'Capuchinho
Vermelho' (Red Riding Hood), and she even had a smart red
cape to match. I remember reading that same story to her
from her storybook in my halting Portuguese, with her perched
on my lap.

I didn't meet Marta Junior again until just a few days ago;
she was in turn visiting Goa for the first time. The toddler
was now a grown young woman. We exchanged family stories and
memories while poring over old family photo albums, and we
spoke about bedtime stories. She remembered 'Capuchinho
Vermelho', and I asked her about Tall and Short John, on the
off-chance that the story might have survived through her own
grandmother Lena (Mãe's daughter). But she didn't know of it.

Then, in a flash of inspiration, I decided to change the
Google search to Portuguese. I typed 'João Grande e João
Pequeno'. And lo, the seventh hit among 1,34,00,000 results
gave me the much-sought answer.

It is a blog post on a Portuguese Sapo [https://www.sapo.pt/]
blogging site, and I am still no wiser about the provenance
of the story. But it seems to me that Mãe must have known
this story in Portuguese, and translated it into English for
the benefit of my brother and me. Having recently arrived
from Germany, we were having a tough enough time with English
and Konkani, so perhaps Portuguese would have seemed like
language overload. But I can't help wishing that we had been
introduced much earlier to more languages.  The early years
are the best for this.

So: should I tell you the story of 'O João Grande e o João
Pequeno' or might it have a soporific effect upon you as well?

  It's certainly a long winded story, with many
  twists and turns.  Basically, there were two Johns
  (or Joãos) in a certain parish, so they were
  distinguished and nicknamed by their vital stats:
  the tall and thin one was called Grande, and the
  short and stocky one Pequeno.  Both lived alone
  (sozinho) with their respective grandmother.  But
  JG was rich, and owned much land and horses (I knew
  there were horses in the story!) while JP was poor,
  with just a little land and a single horse.

One day JP borrows some of JG's horses to plough his field,
but when urging them on at the plough, calls them his own
horses, which enrages JG.  When repeated warnings are
unheeded, JG kills JP's lone horse.  And so begins a cascade
of tit-for-tat exchanges (involving further killing of
horses, grandmothers and eventually JG himself), with JP
being the more cunning, and therefore the 

[Goanet-News] Sheela Jaywant: They've Come

[Goanet Reader]

"THEY'VE come, Aaji-Bai,” Alka-akka's yell welcomed us.

We had reached our 'ancestral house' in our 'native
place', Palolem, Canacona, mid-1960s.

Aaji was my maternal grandmother. Bai was my grandfather's
sister, married at the age of six, maybe, widowed soon after,
and subsequently banished to her parental home; she had spent
her life wearing the inauspicious scarlet kaapad, unadorned,
devoted to slogging.

 They shared an identity: Aaji-Bai.  They had grown
 together, shared joys, suffered grief, and were now
 bedridden together.  Thin necks, drooping shoulders,
 hunched backs, hollow chests.  Wrapped in nau-vari
 (nine-yard) saris, no blouse.  The loose padar
 covered their bosoms and midriffs.

If they itched, young Alka-akka scratched for them, guided by
their instructions. She fed them pez-kodi (rice gruel and
curry), bathed them. I don't remember any foul smells, which
means Alka-akka looked after them well.  Their sparse hair
was tightly tied into little knots behind their heads.

We cousins did the customary feet-touching namaskar to
Aaji-Bai. No hugging or kissing.

Bai lay in a corner, upon neatly folded layers of clean
sheets, her frail frame, possibly arthritic, curled up like a
shrivelled, shelled prawn. Aaji sat upon a bed, legs
dangling lifelessly post-stroke, resting against a thin
pillow propped against the wall behind her.

Bald gums. Incessantly moving chins. Drooling.
Incomprehensibly lisping.

"Ayka, aaa the children afyaid? We yook ugly, yike wisches."

"Afraid nothing. They are your grandchildren; see you every year."

Bai: "My eyes aaa yed and hoyyible."

Aaji: "Oyd peop'ye look sca'y."

"I shouldn't have held the mirror for you," Alka-akka sounded
exasperated as she scurried to help with our luggage, wiping
her hands on the back of her frayed, once-colourful parkar.

My maternal uncle, Sudan-mama, the only offspring who did not
'settle' outside Goa, lived in Vasco and monitored their
care.  He had fetched us from the harbour at Panaji five
hours away by bus-ferry-taxi.

We'd had a long journey.

  My parents had shifted to Bombay in the 'fifties,
  for education or earning a living.  The longing to
  keep 'in touch with one's roots' was strong.  My
  summer or Christmas vacations began and ended on a
  Chowgule steamship.

We took a best-bus from Shivaji Park to the docks at dawn,
with our 'hold-alls' and packed 'chapati-bhaji'.  Glass
bottles covered with damp cloths kept the drinking-water
cool. Luggage included Bata shoes, Champion oats, Brown and
Polson's custard powder, Horlicks, even peas, carrots and
apples and for the travel-sickness prone, an empty tin of
Dalda...  just in case.

On board, we spotted faces from the previous year who, like
us, were doing a temporary migration, flats locked,
school-books in tow, to villages along the Konkan coast.

On the return, we carried dried fish, jackfruits, clusters of
coconuts, sacks of rice, dabbas of homemade laddoos and
chivdas, sun-dried saaths and saanndges.  No wine.

We middle-decker children ran up and down the steps from the
swank, uninteresting cabin-area to the crowded, exciting
lower-deck which had fowl, pressure-cookers, furniture,
cages, plastic buckets, etc.

By day, mats and sheets were moved on the deck, to keep in
the shade.

At night, off Ratnagiri, a dangerously swaying rope ladder
was lowered to a bobbing row-boat.  Children went first, then
the baggage, then adults, by the light of a lantern;
efficiently, but with much yelling.  Strong hands and a sense
of balance were the safety measures.  And an old truck tyre.
None feared accidents.

No lights twinkled on-shore.  Undiluted darkness, salty
smells, strong breezes.

  Everybody spoke in Konkani.  Even the Catholics who
  normally spoke English and the Hindus who preferred
  Marathi at home.  There were unexpected treats,
  like the passing by of a huge naval ship or the
  lunar eclipse we saw once.

Ferry rides across the Mandovi and the Zuari were hot and
sweaty.  By the time we reached Chaudi, by a carreira
(old-style bus) from the jetty, and then home in a taxi, we
de-urbanised.  The bulb-less rooms, the giant sentinel banyan
in the aangan (courtyard), the high tiled roof and Aaji-Bai
did the trick.

On the beach, there were times when ours were the only
footprints on the sand. A million-shell carpet-on-sand, the
rapponn to choose the next meal from, the coir smouldering
'neath our bathwater and the buffaloes in the yard.  Forays
to the toilet were with escort, lest a snorting pig chomp off
a slice of our bums. The slide upon which excreta fell still
exists. The tin-shed that stood above it has collapsed into
ruin. The pigs are gone, gone.

As taught, we kept the tulshi-vrindavan to our right and our
vaans (footwear) outside when we entered or exited the
aangann. We learnt from the servants how to weave, with our
fingers, toes, 

[Goanet] Sheela Jaywant: They've Come

[Goanet Reader]

"THEY'VE come, Aaji-Bai,” Alka-akka's yell welcomed us.

We had reached our 'ancestral house' in our 'native
place', Palolem, Canacona, mid-1960s.

Aaji was my maternal grandmother. Bai was my grandfather's
sister, married at the age of six, maybe, widowed soon after,
and subsequently banished to her parental home; she had spent
her life wearing the inauspicious scarlet kaapad, unadorned,
devoted to slogging.

 They shared an identity: Aaji-Bai.  They had grown
 together, shared joys, suffered grief, and were now
 bedridden together.  Thin necks, drooping shoulders,
 hunched backs, hollow chests.  Wrapped in nau-vari
 (nine-yard) saris, no blouse.  The loose padar
 covered their bosoms and midriffs.

If they itched, young Alka-akka scratched for them, guided by
their instructions. She fed them pez-kodi (rice gruel and
curry), bathed them. I don't remember any foul smells, which
means Alka-akka looked after them well.  Their sparse hair
was tightly tied into little knots behind their heads.

We cousins did the customary feet-touching namaskar to
Aaji-Bai. No hugging or kissing.

Bai lay in a corner, upon neatly folded layers of clean
sheets, her frail frame, possibly arthritic, curled up like a
shrivelled, shelled prawn. Aaji sat upon a bed, legs
dangling lifelessly post-stroke, resting against a thin
pillow propped against the wall behind her.

Bald gums. Incessantly moving chins. Drooling.
Incomprehensibly lisping.

"Ayka, aaa the children afyaid? We yook ugly, yike wisches."

"Afraid nothing. They are your grandchildren; see you every year."

Bai: "My eyes aaa yed and hoyyible."

Aaji: "Oyd peop'ye look sca'y."

"I shouldn't have held the mirror for you," Alka-akka sounded
exasperated as she scurried to help with our luggage, wiping
her hands on the back of her frayed, once-colourful parkar.

My maternal uncle, Sudan-mama, the only offspring who did not
'settle' outside Goa, lived in Vasco and monitored their
care.  He had fetched us from the harbour at Panaji five
hours away by bus-ferry-taxi.

We'd had a long journey.

  My parents had shifted to Bombay in the 'fifties,
  for education or earning a living.  The longing to
  keep 'in touch with one's roots' was strong.  My
  summer or Christmas vacations began and ended on a
  Chowgule steamship.

We took a best-bus from Shivaji Park to the docks at dawn,
with our 'hold-alls' and packed 'chapati-bhaji'.  Glass
bottles covered with damp cloths kept the drinking-water
cool. Luggage included Bata shoes, Champion oats, Brown and
Polson's custard powder, Horlicks, even peas, carrots and
apples and for the travel-sickness prone, an empty tin of
Dalda...  just in case.

On board, we spotted faces from the previous year who, like
us, were doing a temporary migration, flats locked,
school-books in tow, to villages along the Konkan coast.

On the return, we carried dried fish, jackfruits, clusters of
coconuts, sacks of rice, dabbas of homemade laddoos and
chivdas, sun-dried saaths and saanndges.  No wine.

We middle-decker children ran up and down the steps from the
swank, uninteresting cabin-area to the crowded, exciting
lower-deck which had fowl, pressure-cookers, furniture,
cages, plastic buckets, etc.

By day, mats and sheets were moved on the deck, to keep in
the shade.

At night, off Ratnagiri, a dangerously swaying rope ladder
was lowered to a bobbing row-boat.  Children went first, then
the baggage, then adults, by the light of a lantern;
efficiently, but with much yelling.  Strong hands and a sense
of balance were the safety measures.  And an old truck tyre.
None feared accidents.

No lights twinkled on-shore.  Undiluted darkness, salty
smells, strong breezes.

  Everybody spoke in Konkani.  Even the Catholics who
  normally spoke English and the Hindus who preferred
  Marathi at home.  There were unexpected treats,
  like the passing by of a huge naval ship or the
  lunar eclipse we saw once.

Ferry rides across the Mandovi and the Zuari were hot and
sweaty.  By the time we reached Chaudi, by a carreira
(old-style bus) from the jetty, and then home in a taxi, we
de-urbanised.  The bulb-less rooms, the giant sentinel banyan
in the aangan (courtyard), the high tiled roof and Aaji-Bai
did the trick.

On the beach, there were times when ours were the only
footprints on the sand. A million-shell carpet-on-sand, the
rapponn to choose the next meal from, the coir smouldering
'neath our bathwater and the buffaloes in the yard.  Forays
to the toilet were with escort, lest a snorting pig chomp off
a slice of our bums. The slide upon which excreta fell still
exists. The tin-shed that stood above it has collapsed into
ruin. The pigs are gone, gone.

As taught, we kept the tulshi-vrindavan to our right and our
vaans (footwear) outside when we entered or exited the
aangann. We learnt from the servants how to weave, with our
fingers, toes, 

[Goanet] Vivek Costa Pereira: Take That!

[Goanet Reader]

Vivek Costa Pereira: Take That!

PEDRO would always shout late evenings, after coming home,
"Take that, and that...  and that."

All the neighbours despised him and felt pity for his wife,
Marie.

Yet, every morning, the couple went about doing their work,
almost normally. Pedro would work as a manual labourer,
whenever called. Marie would go from house to house, selling
vegetables.

  It was quite common for the neighbours to be
  overheard offering advice to Pedro to reduce his
  consumption of liquor, if not give up drinking
  altogether.  They would ask Marie: "Is he getting
  too physical?"

As usual, I was sitting at one of the corner tables at John's
Bar, sipping my beer.  Diagonally opposite me, the next table
was occupied by Pedro, nursing his palm feny with coke and
water.  On the vacant chair by his side, he had kept a bottle
wrapped in a plastic bag.

Now, this had become a sort of a routine -- me sipping beer
from my corner, and Pedro nursing feny from the opposite end
of the room. He always came in with that bottle in a plastic
bag. I never saw him ordering more than half a pint of palm feny.

How could just half a pint of feny have such an effect on
him? This was the million dollar question that bothered my
curious mind for years together.

"Today and now is the right time," I once said to myself.  It
was raining cats and dogs outside.  The lights had failed; it
was a pitch-dark night.

I gathered courage, picked the glass with one hand and the beer
bottle with the other. I moved as cautiously as a commando
would to Pedro's table. I ordered another pint of palm feny
for the man.

  Pedro, who was otherwise very reserved when it came
  to interacting with anyone, began to confide in me
  more and more with every extra sip that he was
  having just then.

Finally, Pedro broke down and admitted that he was a
hen-pecked husband.  Sobbing, he said that Marie was very
bossy at home with him, but timid with the neighbours.  She
would beat him with a stick every evening.  The harder she
thrashed him, the louder he would shout, "Take that!"

When I asked about the bottle he brought with him, he said it
was filled with plain water. When going home, he would put
the plastic bag in his pocket and proudly exhibits the bottle
in his hands.

I reached him home that night and kept my bedroom window
open. What a silent night it was, after years!

Retiring to bed, I began to introspect on the masks I wear,
and contemplated on the masks my acquaintances wear.

The next morning, when Pedro was passing by, he appeared to
have lost his usual self-confidence.  When Marie came to sell
vegetables, I noticed she had a black eye.

-- 
Vivek Costa Pereira is originally from Raia, Goa, and now
lives at Duler in Mapusa.  He recently retired from Lourdes
Convent, Saligão, where he was a popular teacher.  He is an
active participant of a Salcete Konkani group, SUGF on
WhatsApp, where this story was first shared, and much
appreciated.

This is an excerpt from  All Those Tales (Nellie Velho
Pereira & FN, Eds).  Goa,1556 ISBN 978-93-95795-65-4.  2024.
Pp242.  Rs500 (in Goa).  See cover here:
https://groups.google.com/g/goa-book-club/c/wkYAQ4D2VA0 or
http://t.ly/kan08

If you'd like to join the Tell Your Story group that offers
mentoring in writing, click on the WhatsApp link below
https://chat.whatsapp.com/C5ge87N4WeJAW54oUXqnBO

[Goanet-News] Vivek Costa Pereira: Take That!

[Goanet Reader]

Vivek Costa Pereira: Take That!

PEDRO would always shout late evenings, after coming home,
"Take that, and that...  and that."

All the neighbours despised him and felt pity for his wife,
Marie.

Yet, every morning, the couple went about doing their work,
almost normally. Pedro would work as a manual labourer,
whenever called. Marie would go from house to house, selling
vegetables.

  It was quite common for the neighbours to be
  overheard offering advice to Pedro to reduce his
  consumption of liquor, if not give up drinking
  altogether.  They would ask Marie: "Is he getting
  too physical?"

As usual, I was sitting at one of the corner tables at John's
Bar, sipping my beer.  Diagonally opposite me, the next table
was occupied by Pedro, nursing his palm feny with coke and
water.  On the vacant chair by his side, he had kept a bottle
wrapped in a plastic bag.

Now, this had become a sort of a routine -- me sipping beer
from my corner, and Pedro nursing feny from the opposite end
of the room. He always came in with that bottle in a plastic
bag. I never saw him ordering more than half a pint of palm feny.

How could just half a pint of feny have such an effect on
him? This was the million dollar question that bothered my
curious mind for years together.

"Today and now is the right time," I once said to myself.  It
was raining cats and dogs outside.  The lights had failed; it
was a pitch-dark night.

I gathered courage, picked the glass with one hand and the beer
bottle with the other. I moved as cautiously as a commando
would to Pedro's table. I ordered another pint of palm feny
for the man.

  Pedro, who was otherwise very reserved when it came
  to interacting with anyone, began to confide in me
  more and more with every extra sip that he was
  having just then.

Finally, Pedro broke down and admitted that he was a
hen-pecked husband.  Sobbing, he said that Marie was very
bossy at home with him, but timid with the neighbours.  She
would beat him with a stick every evening.  The harder she
thrashed him, the louder he would shout, "Take that!"

When I asked about the bottle he brought with him, he said it
was filled with plain water. When going home, he would put
the plastic bag in his pocket and proudly exhibits the bottle
in his hands.

I reached him home that night and kept my bedroom window
open. What a silent night it was, after years!

Retiring to bed, I began to introspect on the masks I wear,
and contemplated on the masks my acquaintances wear.

The next morning, when Pedro was passing by, he appeared to
have lost his usual self-confidence.  When Marie came to sell
vegetables, I noticed she had a black eye.

-- 
Vivek Costa Pereira is originally from Raia, Goa, and now
lives at Duler in Mapusa.  He recently retired from Lourdes
Convent, Saligão, where he was a popular teacher.  He is an
active participant of a Salcete Konkani group, SUGF on
WhatsApp, where this story was first shared, and much
appreciated.

This is an excerpt from  All Those Tales (Nellie Velho
Pereira & FN, Eds).  Goa,1556 ISBN 978-93-95795-65-4.  2024.
Pp242.  Rs500 (in Goa).  See cover here:
https://groups.google.com/g/goa-book-club/c/wkYAQ4D2VA0 or
http://t.ly/kan08

If you'd like to join the Tell Your Story group that offers
mentoring in writing, click on the WhatsApp link below
https://chat.whatsapp.com/C5ge87N4WeJAW54oUXqnBO

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] Floriano Fernandes: A Political Leader from our Childhood

[Goanet Reader]

It is often heard being said that prophets are seldom
recognised in their own home.  In this article of mine, one
will find similarities relating to one of the finest,
charismatic Goan political leaders who helped the people of
Goa to retain their unique identity and self-respect.  Had it
not been this son of the soil, Goa would have been doomed and
by now been a small district of Maharashtra.  I am proud to
write a few lines on my hero and the man whom I adore for
saving Goa as a separate entity.

  It was on April 20, 1915, that a cute baby boy was
  born in the neighbouring country Burma, now known
  as Myanmar.  The youngest son of Erasmo de Sequeira
  and Ana Julia de Sa, he was none other then Dr.
  Jack de Sequeira, commonly known as The Father of
  the Opinion Poll, 1967.  His supporters and well
  wishers affectionately called him Dotor Siker.  His
  actual name was João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira.  He
  studied at the Lyceum in Portuguese and later at
  the Escola Médica de Goa.  A brilliant student, he
  completed his degree in Medicine, Médico-Cirurgião,
  at the young age of 21.

Following the political changes of the 1960s, his main aim
was to save the unique identity of Goa and Goans so that a
separate statehood could be achieved.  This important agenda
got fixed in his mind, which made him think seriously,
enter politics and work for Mother Goa.

As an active campaigner, Dr. Jack de Sequeira, the United
Goans leader, could be ruthless. On the battlefield he was
fearless and dared to take hard decisions. In the public
utterances, he has acquired the reputation for being brutally
frank. Yet even his opponents in politics would concede that
he was a thoroughly likeable politician of those times.

FACTS OR ASSUMPTIONS?

In short, I am going to write here as to why and how the issue
of Opinion Poll, 1967, was brought into the public discourse.

One fine day, I came across a photo of Dotor Siker as chief
guest for a function of the Merces Club.  He was then the
Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Santa Cruz
constituency, which covered Merces.  It was this photo that
got embedded in my mind, and I took the decision to highlight
the issue throughout Goa via the Goan press.

  The local English newspaper Herald supported my
  views.  People were wondering as to why the great
  leader had been kept in the dark for a such a long
  time.  Why was his work for Goa not being
  recognised nor written about in the history books
  of Goa?  Was it a conspiracy or a deliberate
  attempt to hide his name under the carpet?  The man
  who saved Goa from a sought-after Merger into the
  neighbouring State of Maharashtra, which would mean
  the dissolution of its entity, can't just left
  behind a curtain.  His untiring efforts for Goa and
  Goans cannot be kept away from the present and
  coming generations.  It was our duty to pass on
  this message to those who are yet to be born.

The Party which fought to merge Goa into Maharashtra is still
holding the upper hand, and enjoying every possible benefit
from the Goa Government and the private sector. Leaders who
did so much of the groundwork were left behind and forgotten.
Was it not an injustice to the Father of the Opinion Poll
1967 and the first Opposition Leader in the Legislative
Assembly?  Why do we Goans need to be so ungrateful to this
son of the soil?

I made a decision to campaign for a life-sized statue of Dr.
Jack de Sequeira at a prominent place with help and support
from our organisation and the senior citizens of my village.

One day, I was surprised by a man who had come to my shop
searching for me by name. He had been the personal driver of
Dr. Jack de Sequeira. The daughter of Dr. Siker, Margarida
Sequeira, had sent his driver to invite me to her house at
Campal, opposite the current-day Kala Academy.

So I promptly accepted the invitation as it would give me an
opportunity to personally contact, discuss, and get
first-hand information from the family members of the Father
of the Opinion Poll.  They had got to know about the work
that I had been doing to get recognition for the work done
during the Opinion Poll and the demand that we had put before
the government for a life size statue of Dotor Siker.

We had passed a gram sabha resolution in my village of
Merces. Then, I contacted a few more villages in Goa for
similar resolutions. The Herald, the local daily newspaper,
was kind enough to publish our press notes. I tried to
contact a few village seniors who had attended meetings
addressed by Dotor Siker during the Opinion Poll. They
shared many important bits of information. This helped carry
our work forwards.

We started to commemorate, every year, the Opinion Poll held
on January 16, 1967, which had decided Goa's fate. This 

[Goanet-News] Floriano Fernandes: A Political Leader from our Childhood

[Goanet Reader]

It is often heard being said that prophets are seldom
recognised in their own home.  In this article of mine, one
will find similarities relating to one of the finest,
charismatic Goan political leaders who helped the people of
Goa to retain their unique identity and self-respect.  Had it
not been this son of the soil, Goa would have been doomed and
by now been a small district of Maharashtra.  I am proud to
write a few lines on my hero and the man whom I adore for
saving Goa as a separate entity.

  It was on April 20, 1915, that a cute baby boy was
  born in the neighbouring country Burma, now known
  as Myanmar.  The youngest son of Erasmo de Sequeira
  and Ana Julia de Sa, he was none other then Dr.
  Jack de Sequeira, commonly known as The Father of
  the Opinion Poll, 1967.  His supporters and well
  wishers affectionately called him Dotor Siker.  His
  actual name was João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira.  He
  studied at the Lyceum in Portuguese and later at
  the Escola Médica de Goa.  A brilliant student, he
  completed his degree in Medicine, Médico-Cirurgião,
  at the young age of 21.

Following the political changes of the 1960s, his main aim
was to save the unique identity of Goa and Goans so that a
separate statehood could be achieved.  This important agenda
got fixed in his mind, which made him think seriously,
enter politics and work for Mother Goa.

As an active campaigner, Dr. Jack de Sequeira, the United
Goans leader, could be ruthless. On the battlefield he was
fearless and dared to take hard decisions. In the public
utterances, he has acquired the reputation for being brutally
frank. Yet even his opponents in politics would concede that
he was a thoroughly likeable politician of those times.

FACTS OR ASSUMPTIONS?

In short, I am going to write here as to why and how the issue
of Opinion Poll, 1967, was brought into the public discourse.

One fine day, I came across a photo of Dotor Siker as chief
guest for a function of the Merces Club.  He was then the
Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Santa Cruz
constituency, which covered Merces.  It was this photo that
got embedded in my mind, and I took the decision to highlight
the issue throughout Goa via the Goan press.

  The local English newspaper Herald supported my
  views.  People were wondering as to why the great
  leader had been kept in the dark for a such a long
  time.  Why was his work for Goa not being
  recognised nor written about in the history books
  of Goa?  Was it a conspiracy or a deliberate
  attempt to hide his name under the carpet?  The man
  who saved Goa from a sought-after Merger into the
  neighbouring State of Maharashtra, which would mean
  the dissolution of its entity, can't just left
  behind a curtain.  His untiring efforts for Goa and
  Goans cannot be kept away from the present and
  coming generations.  It was our duty to pass on
  this message to those who are yet to be born.

The Party which fought to merge Goa into Maharashtra is still
holding the upper hand, and enjoying every possible benefit
from the Goa Government and the private sector. Leaders who
did so much of the groundwork were left behind and forgotten.
Was it not an injustice to the Father of the Opinion Poll
1967 and the first Opposition Leader in the Legislative
Assembly?  Why do we Goans need to be so ungrateful to this
son of the soil?

I made a decision to campaign for a life-sized statue of Dr.
Jack de Sequeira at a prominent place with help and support
from our organisation and the senior citizens of my village.

One day, I was surprised by a man who had come to my shop
searching for me by name. He had been the personal driver of
Dr. Jack de Sequeira. The daughter of Dr. Siker, Margarida
Sequeira, had sent his driver to invite me to her house at
Campal, opposite the current-day Kala Academy.

So I promptly accepted the invitation as it would give me an
opportunity to personally contact, discuss, and get
first-hand information from the family members of the Father
of the Opinion Poll.  They had got to know about the work
that I had been doing to get recognition for the work done
during the Opinion Poll and the demand that we had put before
the government for a life size statue of Dotor Siker.

We had passed a gram sabha resolution in my village of
Merces. Then, I contacted a few more villages in Goa for
similar resolutions. The Herald, the local daily newspaper,
was kind enough to publish our press notes. I tried to
contact a few village seniors who had attended meetings
addressed by Dotor Siker during the Opinion Poll. They
shared many important bits of information. This helped carry
our work forwards.

We started to commemorate, every year, the Opinion Poll held
on January 16, 1967, which had decided Goa's fate. This 

[Goanet] Shubhankar Shah: Kamal's Kavita -- My Baiaji's Life Story

[Goanet Reader]

Shubhankar Shah: Kamal's Kavita -- My Baiaji's Life Story

  What do you think of when you hear of a Physical
  Education teacher?  A muscular young man with a
  moustache that hides a small forest underneath?
  Well, how wrong would you be if you saw my late
  grandmother, Kavita Pawaskar, a diminutive woman
  who barely touched five feet in height.

She was probably one of the earliest female PE teachers in
Maharashtra in the late 1950s, as she would unfailingly
re-collect on those warm, summer nights in my childhood.  We
were all living together in my uncle's small apartment in
Margão and sleeping beside Baiaji was a common habit of mine.

The nights were muggy, and mosquitoes kept me company. But
there was also Baiaji who stayed awake with me. While her
name was Kamal (meaning lotus), she changed it to Kavita
(meaning poem) after her marriage and moving to Goa in 1963.
But I could never pronounce it as a child.  So, I called her
Baiaji, meaning 'teacher-grandmother' due to her profession.

Baiaji had her share of bedtime ghost stories, especially the
ones which involved my uncle going jogging early in the
morning near Aquem Church or the ones from her paternal farm
in Chalisgaon, but it was always her life stories that
fascinated me the most.  I was amazed by the stories and even
more so by the storyteller in front of me.

My grandmother, of all the women in India, was a P.E.
teacher in her youth?  That's definitely not how one imagines
their wrinkled and frail old grandmother to be.  Though, to
be fair, she was a rather disciplined and staunch lady with a
very strong personality. Hence, in hindsight, her profession
makes complete sense.

Getting back to the story  I remember Baiaji telling me
about her time in Poona (now Pune) around 1956 where she
studied the STC and C.P,Ed. at the SP College. (Sir
Parashurambhau College was set up in 1916 as the New Poona
College and later renamed after the father of the then ruler
of the Jamkhandi State.)

Although she was allowed to pursue higher education by her
parents (her adamant desire and willingness overcoming any
objections), she was very much short of money to pay for her
dreams.  Baiaji's elder sister came to her rescue and
generously handed her Rs.400 after selling all her gold
jewellery.  She had to give her basement on rent to pay for
Baiaji's monthly expenses in Pune, reflecting her kindness
towards her.  Even now, Baiaji would tear up and confess her
gratitude to her late sister, without whom her aspirations
would have been utterly tarnished.

Baiaji underwent both the STC (Senior Teaching Certificate)
and C,O,Ed (Certificate in Physical Education) courses
simultaneously, working from 6 a.m.  to 6 p.m.  Her mornings
began with wake-up calls to immediately appear on the ground
in a strict dress code; this would force the students of the
time to wear their polished shoes at night and go to bed to
avoid infractions.

The instructors, it seemed, were bent on breaking the
students to birth new P.E. teachers that were tough as
nails. Hence, the rigours of the training programme were
laid bare. After lunch, Baiaji would teach in a local school
which I assume was a kind of an internship for her teaching
course. Sundays were spent in washing clothes and other
hostel-related activities. Sometimes she would also explore
prominent Pune locales with her friends to learn more about
the city.

  While she was studious, Baiaji was no stranger to
  adventures either.  Her PE Teachers education took
  her to camps in the forest where she had to keep
  vigil overnight as her classmates slept.  Snakes
  and scorpions were abundant in those forests, so to
  keep herself awake and to ward off wild animals,
  she would tie a ghungru (musical anklet used by
  classical Indian dancers) to a stick and tap on it
  through the night.  Camp activities there involved
  crossing rivers on wonky footbridges, going across
  a rope between two trees with just upper body
  strength, and the like.  Hence, her training in
  Physical Education was quite thorough and
  challenging.

She narrated an incident from one of those camps to me.  The
girls were asked to sleep in a pucca house in the forest,
which was quite the reprieve from the usual make-shift tents.

As the night progressed and everyone was fast asleep, the
roof tiles started to rumble as if someone were dancing on
top. Screams of "thief, thief" were roused.  The
teacher-in-charge whistled to signal the immediate presence
of everyone on the ground.

All the girls ran there in a jiffy, while my grandmother did
the same. Except that Baiaji took her pillow with her. On
being questioned, she revealed that all her female classmates
had entrusted their jewellery to her, which she had kept in
her pillow! Her quick thinking and smart response got her a
commendation from 

[Goanet-News] Shubhankar Shah: Kamal's Kavita -- My Baiaji's Life Story

[Goanet Reader]

Shubhankar Shah: Kamal's Kavita -- My Baiaji's Life Story

  What do you think of when you hear of a Physical
  Education teacher?  A muscular young man with a
  moustache that hides a small forest underneath?
  Well, how wrong would you be if you saw my late
  grandmother, Kavita Pawaskar, a diminutive woman
  who barely touched five feet in height.

She was probably one of the earliest female PE teachers in
Maharashtra in the late 1950s, as she would unfailingly
re-collect on those warm, summer nights in my childhood.  We
were all living together in my uncle's small apartment in
Margão and sleeping beside Baiaji was a common habit of mine.

The nights were muggy, and mosquitoes kept me company. But
there was also Baiaji who stayed awake with me. While her
name was Kamal (meaning lotus), she changed it to Kavita
(meaning poem) after her marriage and moving to Goa in 1963.
But I could never pronounce it as a child.  So, I called her
Baiaji, meaning 'teacher-grandmother' due to her profession.

Baiaji had her share of bedtime ghost stories, especially the
ones which involved my uncle going jogging early in the
morning near Aquem Church or the ones from her paternal farm
in Chalisgaon, but it was always her life stories that
fascinated me the most.  I was amazed by the stories and even
more so by the storyteller in front of me.

My grandmother, of all the women in India, was a P.E.
teacher in her youth?  That's definitely not how one imagines
their wrinkled and frail old grandmother to be.  Though, to
be fair, she was a rather disciplined and staunch lady with a
very strong personality. Hence, in hindsight, her profession
makes complete sense.

Getting back to the story  I remember Baiaji telling me
about her time in Poona (now Pune) around 1956 where she
studied the STC and C.P,Ed. at the SP College. (Sir
Parashurambhau College was set up in 1916 as the New Poona
College and later renamed after the father of the then ruler
of the Jamkhandi State.)

Although she was allowed to pursue higher education by her
parents (her adamant desire and willingness overcoming any
objections), she was very much short of money to pay for her
dreams.  Baiaji's elder sister came to her rescue and
generously handed her Rs.400 after selling all her gold
jewellery.  She had to give her basement on rent to pay for
Baiaji's monthly expenses in Pune, reflecting her kindness
towards her.  Even now, Baiaji would tear up and confess her
gratitude to her late sister, without whom her aspirations
would have been utterly tarnished.

Baiaji underwent both the STC (Senior Teaching Certificate)
and C,O,Ed (Certificate in Physical Education) courses
simultaneously, working from 6 a.m.  to 6 p.m.  Her mornings
began with wake-up calls to immediately appear on the ground
in a strict dress code; this would force the students of the
time to wear their polished shoes at night and go to bed to
avoid infractions.

The instructors, it seemed, were bent on breaking the
students to birth new P.E. teachers that were tough as
nails. Hence, the rigours of the training programme were
laid bare. After lunch, Baiaji would teach in a local school
which I assume was a kind of an internship for her teaching
course. Sundays were spent in washing clothes and other
hostel-related activities. Sometimes she would also explore
prominent Pune locales with her friends to learn more about
the city.

  While she was studious, Baiaji was no stranger to
  adventures either.  Her PE Teachers education took
  her to camps in the forest where she had to keep
  vigil overnight as her classmates slept.  Snakes
  and scorpions were abundant in those forests, so to
  keep herself awake and to ward off wild animals,
  she would tie a ghungru (musical anklet used by
  classical Indian dancers) to a stick and tap on it
  through the night.  Camp activities there involved
  crossing rivers on wonky footbridges, going across
  a rope between two trees with just upper body
  strength, and the like.  Hence, her training in
  Physical Education was quite thorough and
  challenging.

She narrated an incident from one of those camps to me.  The
girls were asked to sleep in a pucca house in the forest,
which was quite the reprieve from the usual make-shift tents.

As the night progressed and everyone was fast asleep, the
roof tiles started to rumble as if someone were dancing on
top. Screams of "thief, thief" were roused.  The
teacher-in-charge whistled to signal the immediate presence
of everyone on the ground.

All the girls ran there in a jiffy, while my grandmother did
the same. Except that Baiaji took her pillow with her. On
being questioned, she revealed that all her female classmates
had entrusted their jewellery to her, which she had kept in
her pillow! Her quick thinking and smart response got her a
commendation from 

[Goanet] Andria Antão: Bai and Baya Weavers

[Goanet Reader]

Andria Antão: Bai and Baya Weavers

It was common knowledge that monsoons meant the mangoes of
Casa Antão came down with the slightest gush of the wind.

  Well, this knowledge was not limited to its
  residents alone but was known to the whole ward,
  since the tree loaded with ripe produce was bent
  slightly towards the road. And with every year's
  monsoon thus started the charade of old uncles and
  aunties starting their annual early morning walks,
  which lasted till the last succulent mango was
  devoured and chanced upon.

Sure, it raised our sugar levels but it also made us good
athletes as we raced to grab every fallen ambo.  Although
this tree was cut a long time ago, my memories of it will
surely last a lifetime.

Under this tree, as vividly as I remembered the tree, I
remember the balcão. And being seated at the balcão meant
hot tea served alongside biscuits, and if Bai was in a good
mood, sometimes alebele, filos, shira or simply godshe.  The
last I disliked disdainfully as a child.

  Who is Bai, you ask?  My grandma, who everybody
  called Bai, and upon picking that up I assertively
  refused to give up calling her anything other than
  that as a child until it stuck.  Apart from the
  delightful snacks and lifting of my hands slightly
  above the usually appropriate height during the
  besav, which the elders would offer by saying
  vodle zavvmmm (`May you grow big/great'), only
  one memory of her stays with me till today.

The memory of her telling... tales.

Bai had an observant eye even at her advanced age which could
not bear to see people going hungry.  Even if one lied, she
knew it immediately!  And I detested having lunch, call me a
fussy eater if you must.  But my assertiveness could not
match Bai's cunning.  After one spoonful for Papa, one for
Mama, one for granny -- and when the unending exhaustive list
of family relations was over -- she decided on another
technique.  She started narrating tales.

As I sit in my balcony sipping tea, a break from working on
assignments and projects, the wind is gushing and gently
rustling the leaves until suddenly something catches my eye.

Dangling from a coconut tree, a baya weaver (called sherook,
in my tongue) is working laboriously on his nest.  Bai was
fascinated by these birds as she was with animals in general,
weaving them into stories for me.  One such story was about a
jungle full of animals.

This jungle had a ferocious lion who proclaimed himself the
king as no one could match his might and his speed.  Animals
were terrified of him and all unwillingly obeyed him. He
preyed on animals strong and weak and ate to his heart's content.

One day the wise old sheep spoke to the whole jungle in the
lion's absence, finally deciding that by next summer the lion
would learn his lesson.  It was decided that she would go to
the lion and tell him that each day, one animal would
willingly volunteer to be eaten by him.  The lion thought it
would be convenient for both him and the animal, a fair deal
and an opportunity to be treated like royalty.

As decided, the lion ate his fill without even moving from
his place, fattening day by day.  This went on for days,
weeks, and months.  Summer arrived and everyone gathered
around the old sheep taunting her about her failed stratagem,
fearing what awaited them.

The wise sheep finally spoke.  She said that the lion's
dictatorship was now over.  Upon hearing this, the lion
became furious and decided that -- as revenge -- he would
attack animals, waiting for them to quench their thirst at
the pond and the river at their most vulnerable.  But when he
tried to run, the furious lion could not run fast enough.
Struggling to even walk, his speed was no longer his asset.
Unable to run, prance and prey, the lion perished.

I loved this story as a child for it had colourful animals
that spoke, a happy ending and...  and what else did it have?

As I remember this story in retrospect, looking at the baya
weaver's nest I know change and growth is the only constant.
Bai, her story and this baya weaver's nest brings me
inspiration on a windy day as the wind continues to rustle
and tussle the branches and me.  Well I have assignments and
projections to complete.  Back to work, I suppose.

--

  Andria Antão is a student of English Literature.
  She writes: 'When I pondered long and hard on what
  to write about, it suddenly occurred to me -- Bai.
  Although her memory lingers on forever, I know
  little about this lady primarily because she was
  bedridden and her memory failed her before I was
  born.  The story is purely about what I think she
  would say to me, what she would narrate.  Bai isn't
  my grandmother; she is my grand-aunt.  But I wish
  to remember her as my grandmother.  She had no
  

[Goanet-News] Andria Antão: Bai and Baya Weavers

[Goanet Reader]

Andria Antão: Bai and Baya Weavers

It was common knowledge that monsoons meant the mangoes of
Casa Antão came down with the slightest gush of the wind.

  Well, this knowledge was not limited to its
  residents alone but was known to the whole ward,
  since the tree loaded with ripe produce was bent
  slightly towards the road. And with every year's
  monsoon thus started the charade of old uncles and
  aunties starting their annual early morning walks,
  which lasted till the last succulent mango was
  devoured and chanced upon.

Sure, it raised our sugar levels but it also made us good
athletes as we raced to grab every fallen ambo.  Although
this tree was cut a long time ago, my memories of it will
surely last a lifetime.

Under this tree, as vividly as I remembered the tree, I
remember the balcão. And being seated at the balcão meant
hot tea served alongside biscuits, and if Bai was in a good
mood, sometimes alebele, filos, shira or simply godshe.  The
last I disliked disdainfully as a child.

  Who is Bai, you ask?  My grandma, who everybody
  called Bai, and upon picking that up I assertively
  refused to give up calling her anything other than
  that as a child until it stuck.  Apart from the
  delightful snacks and lifting of my hands slightly
  above the usually appropriate height during the
  besav, which the elders would offer by saying
  vodle zavvmmm (`May you grow big/great'), only
  one memory of her stays with me till today.

The memory of her telling... tales.

Bai had an observant eye even at her advanced age which could
not bear to see people going hungry.  Even if one lied, she
knew it immediately!  And I detested having lunch, call me a
fussy eater if you must.  But my assertiveness could not
match Bai's cunning.  After one spoonful for Papa, one for
Mama, one for granny -- and when the unending exhaustive list
of family relations was over -- she decided on another
technique.  She started narrating tales.

As I sit in my balcony sipping tea, a break from working on
assignments and projects, the wind is gushing and gently
rustling the leaves until suddenly something catches my eye.

Dangling from a coconut tree, a baya weaver (called sherook,
in my tongue) is working laboriously on his nest.  Bai was
fascinated by these birds as she was with animals in general,
weaving them into stories for me.  One such story was about a
jungle full of animals.

This jungle had a ferocious lion who proclaimed himself the
king as no one could match his might and his speed.  Animals
were terrified of him and all unwillingly obeyed him. He
preyed on animals strong and weak and ate to his heart's content.

One day the wise old sheep spoke to the whole jungle in the
lion's absence, finally deciding that by next summer the lion
would learn his lesson.  It was decided that she would go to
the lion and tell him that each day, one animal would
willingly volunteer to be eaten by him.  The lion thought it
would be convenient for both him and the animal, a fair deal
and an opportunity to be treated like royalty.

As decided, the lion ate his fill without even moving from
his place, fattening day by day.  This went on for days,
weeks, and months.  Summer arrived and everyone gathered
around the old sheep taunting her about her failed stratagem,
fearing what awaited them.

The wise sheep finally spoke.  She said that the lion's
dictatorship was now over.  Upon hearing this, the lion
became furious and decided that -- as revenge -- he would
attack animals, waiting for them to quench their thirst at
the pond and the river at their most vulnerable.  But when he
tried to run, the furious lion could not run fast enough.
Struggling to even walk, his speed was no longer his asset.
Unable to run, prance and prey, the lion perished.

I loved this story as a child for it had colourful animals
that spoke, a happy ending and...  and what else did it have?

As I remember this story in retrospect, looking at the baya
weaver's nest I know change and growth is the only constant.
Bai, her story and this baya weaver's nest brings me
inspiration on a windy day as the wind continues to rustle
and tussle the branches and me.  Well I have assignments and
projections to complete.  Back to work, I suppose.

--

  Andria Antão is a student of English Literature.
  She writes: 'When I pondered long and hard on what
  to write about, it suddenly occurred to me -- Bai.
  Although her memory lingers on forever, I know
  little about this lady primarily because she was
  bedridden and her memory failed her before I was
  born.  The story is purely about what I think she
  would say to me, what she would narrate.  Bai isn't
  my grandmother; she is my grand-aunt.  But I wish
  to remember her as my grandmother.  She had no
  

[Goanet] Aparna Talaulicar: Once Upon a Time in Goa

[Goanet Reader]

Aparna Talaulicar: Once Upon a Time in Goa

Aage aage khetle aaka,
Raati biti bhovu naka,
Tuka dekhlyar maka khata

CHILDHOOD stories evoke precious strands of holiday memories
of Goa for me, of my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, a
house large enough to lose myself in, a storeroom filled with
coconuts, tall kitchen cupboards in which the toffee and
biscuit jars were kept out of reach, evenings spent at
Miramar beach and then a bedtime ritual of surrounding myself
with pillows before listening to a bedtime story.

  My parents were born and brought up in Goa.  My
  father lived there until he left for his higher
  education in Dharwad, Pune and later London until
  he returned to India and found a job in Bombay.  My
  mother completed her schooling in Goa and left to
  join my father when they got married.  They started
  married life as paying guests in a flat belonging
  to a Bihari family on Marine Drive.  Ma used to say
  that she learnt how to cook from the lady of that
  family.  But by the time I was born, Ma was
  definitely an expert cook of Goan cuisine.

I was a baby when my parents took me to Goa to meet my family
there for the first time.  I don't remember that trip, but I
know we drove there from Bombay and that Toby, our cat, was
also with us and was left behind in Goa with my grandparents
because I had a cat allergy.

Some of the first stories I heard were about Toby's exploits.
He was a beautiful, regal sort of black cat who preceded me
in my family by two or three years.  He was rescued and
brought home by my eldest brother who was about seven years
old at the time.  When they found out that a new baby was
coming, both my brothers were very excited.  The cradle which
had not been used for over seven years was brought out,
cleaned and kept ready.  Toby saw it and thought it was for
him.  Ma found him fast asleep in it.  But apparently after I
was born and took up my rightful place in the cradle, Toby
understood and from then on his favourite place was
underneath the cradle.  And when I woke up and cried, Toby
would go bounding to the kitchen to tell Ma to come.  Ma
loved telling us that his meow sound when he called her was
different and really sounded like 'Ma'!

So everyone was very sad when I got a rash and the doctor
pronounced me allergic to cats and told my parents to choose
--  baby or cat.  Sadly for Toby, they chose me and that's how
everyone drove to Goa to drop Toby off.

Like I said, I don't remember all this, but I do suspect that
this is when I fell in love with Goa.  Because, in all my
memories of childhood, I remember counting the days before I
could go there and hating having to leave to come back to
Bombay.  I did not mind at all not having my parents with me
when I was in Goa.  Because of the big age gap between my
brothers and me, I was more free during the holidays than
them.  So either Bhau, my grandfather or Maya, my maushi
(aunt), or even both of them, would travel to Bombay and
bring me back to Goa with them.

  Maya was in charge of me in Goa and I loved this.
  She was a couple of decades older than me but it
  didn't feel like that; she was like a really loving
  elder sister and I had a lot of fun with her.

She spent a lot of time with me, pandering to my every whim,
telling me stories, taking me to Miramar where we would make
sandcastles while watching the sun set.  She told me stories
at meal times --  probably as a way of getting me to eat
better.  She would deftly roll a bite of rice into a ball and
top it up with a teesri (clam) and call it a rabbit.  Several
animals later, the meal would be done.  There were stories
with afternoon naps and at bedtime.  Sometimes she would read
aloud from a story book and at other times tell me Goan
children's stories.  We all spoke in Konkani to each other
and, until I went to school at the age of four, it was the
only language I knew.

One of my favourite stories was one about a prawn and an
Indian hog plum (ambado).  This is what I remember

On a lovely moonlit night, a prawn decides to take a stroll
on the sand.  She is clearly visible as she scuttles along in
the moonlight and when she passes a hog plum tree, this is
what she hears: 'Aage aage khetle aaka; raati-biti bhovu
naka; tuka dekhlyar mhaka khata!' (My dear sister prawn,
please stop roaming at night, once they find you, they want
to eat me!)

Here I would stop Maya and make her repeat the little rhyme
and then we would chant it together several times before my
need to move on with the story surfaced.  I would ask, "Whose
voice was it?  Why didn't he want the prawn to go for a walk?"

She would explain, "You like eating sungtache hooman (prawn
curry) with ambade (Indian hog plum) in it, don't you?"

-- "Yes!  I love the sour ambade and I eat all of the soft,
fleshy part and leave the rest."

-- "And the prawns are so tasty too!  But 

[Goanet-News] Aparna Talaulicar: Once Upon a Time in Goa

[Goanet Reader]

Aparna Talaulicar: Once Upon a Time in Goa

Aage aage khetle aaka,
Raati biti bhovu naka,
Tuka dekhlyar maka khata

CHILDHOOD stories evoke precious strands of holiday memories
of Goa for me, of my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, a
house large enough to lose myself in, a storeroom filled with
coconuts, tall kitchen cupboards in which the toffee and
biscuit jars were kept out of reach, evenings spent at
Miramar beach and then a bedtime ritual of surrounding myself
with pillows before listening to a bedtime story.

  My parents were born and brought up in Goa.  My
  father lived there until he left for his higher
  education in Dharwad, Pune and later London until
  he returned to India and found a job in Bombay.  My
  mother completed her schooling in Goa and left to
  join my father when they got married.  They started
  married life as paying guests in a flat belonging
  to a Bihari family on Marine Drive.  Ma used to say
  that she learnt how to cook from the lady of that
  family.  But by the time I was born, Ma was
  definitely an expert cook of Goan cuisine.

I was a baby when my parents took me to Goa to meet my family
there for the first time.  I don't remember that trip, but I
know we drove there from Bombay and that Toby, our cat, was
also with us and was left behind in Goa with my grandparents
because I had a cat allergy.

Some of the first stories I heard were about Toby's exploits.
He was a beautiful, regal sort of black cat who preceded me
in my family by two or three years.  He was rescued and
brought home by my eldest brother who was about seven years
old at the time.  When they found out that a new baby was
coming, both my brothers were very excited.  The cradle which
had not been used for over seven years was brought out,
cleaned and kept ready.  Toby saw it and thought it was for
him.  Ma found him fast asleep in it.  But apparently after I
was born and took up my rightful place in the cradle, Toby
understood and from then on his favourite place was
underneath the cradle.  And when I woke up and cried, Toby
would go bounding to the kitchen to tell Ma to come.  Ma
loved telling us that his meow sound when he called her was
different and really sounded like 'Ma'!

So everyone was very sad when I got a rash and the doctor
pronounced me allergic to cats and told my parents to choose
--  baby or cat.  Sadly for Toby, they chose me and that's how
everyone drove to Goa to drop Toby off.

Like I said, I don't remember all this, but I do suspect that
this is when I fell in love with Goa.  Because, in all my
memories of childhood, I remember counting the days before I
could go there and hating having to leave to come back to
Bombay.  I did not mind at all not having my parents with me
when I was in Goa.  Because of the big age gap between my
brothers and me, I was more free during the holidays than
them.  So either Bhau, my grandfather or Maya, my maushi
(aunt), or even both of them, would travel to Bombay and
bring me back to Goa with them.

  Maya was in charge of me in Goa and I loved this.
  She was a couple of decades older than me but it
  didn't feel like that; she was like a really loving
  elder sister and I had a lot of fun with her.

She spent a lot of time with me, pandering to my every whim,
telling me stories, taking me to Miramar where we would make
sandcastles while watching the sun set.  She told me stories
at meal times --  probably as a way of getting me to eat
better.  She would deftly roll a bite of rice into a ball and
top it up with a teesri (clam) and call it a rabbit.  Several
animals later, the meal would be done.  There were stories
with afternoon naps and at bedtime.  Sometimes she would read
aloud from a story book and at other times tell me Goan
children's stories.  We all spoke in Konkani to each other
and, until I went to school at the age of four, it was the
only language I knew.

One of my favourite stories was one about a prawn and an
Indian hog plum (ambado).  This is what I remember

On a lovely moonlit night, a prawn decides to take a stroll
on the sand.  She is clearly visible as she scuttles along in
the moonlight and when she passes a hog plum tree, this is
what she hears: 'Aage aage khetle aaka; raati-biti bhovu
naka; tuka dekhlyar mhaka khata!' (My dear sister prawn,
please stop roaming at night, once they find you, they want
to eat me!)

Here I would stop Maya and make her repeat the little rhyme
and then we would chant it together several times before my
need to move on with the story surfaced.  I would ask, "Whose
voice was it?  Why didn't he want the prawn to go for a walk?"

She would explain, "You like eating sungtache hooman (prawn
curry) with ambade (Indian hog plum) in it, don't you?"

-- "Yes!  I love the sour ambade and I eat all of the soft,
fleshy part and leave the rest."

-- "And the prawns are so tasty too!  But 

[Goanet] The Christmas 'Party' That Turned Sour (M.G. Devasahayam)

[Goanet Reader]

The Christmas ‘Party’ That Turned Sour
As evident from the 'Not in Our Name' campaign, which has drawn over 3,200
signatures, a vast majority of Christians are hurt by the display of
cult-sycophancy.
https://thewire.in/rights/the-christmas-party-that-turned-sour

[Goanet-News] The Christmas 'Party' That Turned Sour (M.G. Devasahayam)

[Goanet Reader]

The Christmas ‘Party’ That Turned Sour
As evident from the 'Not in Our Name' campaign, which has drawn over 3,200
signatures, a vast majority of Christians are hurt by the display of
cult-sycophancy.
https://thewire.in/rights/the-christmas-party-that-turned-sour

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet-News] Modi's Attempt to Woo the Christian Community (Ram Puniyani)

[Goanet Reader]

Ram Puniyani
ram.puniy...@gmail.com

On December 25, 2023, Prime Minister Narnedra Modi invited
many Christians for an interaction and to greet them.  He
lauded the community for their social work [1] and hailed the
inclusive teachings of Lord Jesus Christ.  He also went on to
recall his long association with the community leaders. A
couple of days later in Kerala nearly two hundred Christians
joined the BJP.  The Hindu newspaper reports, "A meeting of
the BJP State leadership in Kottayam here on Monday decided
to launch a 10-day-long Sneha Yathra, which seeks to win over
the community by explaining its position [2] on various
issues, including the Manipur violence." At the same time,
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan was on the dot when he stated
that, "Things have reached such a pass in Manipur that a
section of people...  Christian community cannot live  We
have seen the state Government and Central Government
maintaining silence." (I E Jan 2, 2024, Mumbai)

  As the next general elections are approaching, the
  RSS-BJP have activated their attempts to woo the
  Christian community.  As such the present plight of
  Christian community is reflected in various
  national and international reports and indices of
  religious freedom.  Two incidents of persecution
  take place every day as per the Vada Na Todo
  Abhiyan (The Don't Break Your Promise Campaign).
  In UP "...100 pastors and even ordinary men and
  women, are in jail under charges of [3] illegal
  conversions when all they were doing was
  celebrating birthdays or conducting Sunday prayers."

The Government is also investigating agencies against
Cardinal and Pastors as per the memorandum cited above.
According to the United Christian Forum, a total of
302 attacks [4] took place against Christians in the first
seven months of 2022.  A petition filed by Archbishop Peter
Machado, National Solidarity Forum and Evangelical Fellowship
of India, states that the "State has failed to take immediate
and necessary action against groups that have caused
widespread violence [5] and used hate speech against the
Christian community, including attacks at their places of
worship and disruption of prayer meetings."

The United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF) has, for the fourth consecutive year,
declared India as a country of particular concern [6] and
asked the US Administration to draw up their policies
accordingly.

As per Open Doors in South Africa, "Since the current
government came to power in May 2014 pressure on Christians
has risen dramatically  Hindu extremists attack others
with impunity, using extreme violence in some area.
Increasing numbers of states are also implementing
anti-conversion laws, supposedly to stop Hindus being
forcibly converted to other religions [7], but in reality,
they are often used as an excuse to harass and intimidate
Christians  Being a pastor is one of the riskiest
vocations in the country today.  Hindu extremists target them
with violent attacks to sow fear in the wider Christian
community."

The present plight of Christian community is rooted in the
Hindutva discourse where Islam and Christianity are regarded
as foreign religions.  The RSS's second Sarsanghchalak, M.S.
Golwalkar in his book The Bunch of Thoughts states that
Muslims, Christians [8] and Communists are an internal threat
to Hindu nation.

The RSS propaganda in Shakhas is conducted on these lines.

With the increase in intensity of Hindutva activities, the
anti-Christian violence began in the Adivasi areas to begin
with.  The propaganda was that Christian missionaries are
undertaking conversions through force, fraud and allurement.

  As such, Christianity is one of the oldest
  religions of India.  One account says that it began
  with St Thomas arriving on Malabar Coast and
  setting up a Church in AD 52.  Other accounts date
  it to somewhere in 4th Century AD.  Today the
  percentage of Christians in India, as per the
  latest available population census, is 2.3% (2011).
  Interestingly there is constant drop in this from
  1971 data.  The percentage of Christians in the
  country has reduced from 1971- 2.60%, 1981-2.44%.
  1991-2.34%, 2001- 2.30%, 1911-2.30% (population
  census figures.)

The constant propaganda on these lines led to rise in
anti-Christian violence manifesting in the Dangs (Gujarat,
December 25, 1998 to January 3, 1999).  This was followed by
the most ghastly burning-alive of Pastor Graham Stains on the
night of January 22, 1999 by RSS affiliate Bajrang Dal's
activist Rajendra Pal aka Dara Singh , who is currently
undergoing a life term.

  This act was described by the then President of
  India Dr.  KR Narayanan as one belonging to the
  "world's inventory of black deeds".  Stains was 

[Goanet] Modi's Attempt to Woo the Christian Community (Ram Puniyani)

[Goanet Reader]

Ram Puniyani
ram.puniy...@gmail.com

On December 25, 2023, Prime Minister Narnedra Modi invited
many Christians for an interaction and to greet them.  He
lauded the community for their social work [1] and hailed the
inclusive teachings of Lord Jesus Christ.  He also went on to
recall his long association with the community leaders. A
couple of days later in Kerala nearly two hundred Christians
joined the BJP.  The Hindu newspaper reports, "A meeting of
the BJP State leadership in Kottayam here on Monday decided
to launch a 10-day-long Sneha Yathra, which seeks to win over
the community by explaining its position [2] on various
issues, including the Manipur violence." At the same time,
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan was on the dot when he stated
that, "Things have reached such a pass in Manipur that a
section of people...  Christian community cannot live  We
have seen the state Government and Central Government
maintaining silence." (I E Jan 2, 2024, Mumbai)

  As the next general elections are approaching, the
  RSS-BJP have activated their attempts to woo the
  Christian community.  As such the present plight of
  Christian community is reflected in various
  national and international reports and indices of
  religious freedom.  Two incidents of persecution
  take place every day as per the Vada Na Todo
  Abhiyan (The Don't Break Your Promise Campaign).
  In UP "...100 pastors and even ordinary men and
  women, are in jail under charges of [3] illegal
  conversions when all they were doing was
  celebrating birthdays or conducting Sunday prayers."

The Government is also investigating agencies against
Cardinal and Pastors as per the memorandum cited above.
According to the United Christian Forum, a total of
302 attacks [4] took place against Christians in the first
seven months of 2022.  A petition filed by Archbishop Peter
Machado, National Solidarity Forum and Evangelical Fellowship
of India, states that the "State has failed to take immediate
and necessary action against groups that have caused
widespread violence [5] and used hate speech against the
Christian community, including attacks at their places of
worship and disruption of prayer meetings."

The United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF) has, for the fourth consecutive year,
declared India as a country of particular concern [6] and
asked the US Administration to draw up their policies
accordingly.

As per Open Doors in South Africa, "Since the current
government came to power in May 2014 pressure on Christians
has risen dramatically  Hindu extremists attack others
with impunity, using extreme violence in some area.
Increasing numbers of states are also implementing
anti-conversion laws, supposedly to stop Hindus being
forcibly converted to other religions [7], but in reality,
they are often used as an excuse to harass and intimidate
Christians  Being a pastor is one of the riskiest
vocations in the country today.  Hindu extremists target them
with violent attacks to sow fear in the wider Christian
community."

The present plight of Christian community is rooted in the
Hindutva discourse where Islam and Christianity are regarded
as foreign religions.  The RSS's second Sarsanghchalak, M.S.
Golwalkar in his book The Bunch of Thoughts states that
Muslims, Christians [8] and Communists are an internal threat
to Hindu nation.

The RSS propaganda in Shakhas is conducted on these lines.

With the increase in intensity of Hindutva activities, the
anti-Christian violence began in the Adivasi areas to begin
with.  The propaganda was that Christian missionaries are
undertaking conversions through force, fraud and allurement.

  As such, Christianity is one of the oldest
  religions of India.  One account says that it began
  with St Thomas arriving on Malabar Coast and
  setting up a Church in AD 52.  Other accounts date
  it to somewhere in 4th Century AD.  Today the
  percentage of Christians in India, as per the
  latest available population census, is 2.3% (2011).
  Interestingly there is constant drop in this from
  1971 data.  The percentage of Christians in the
  country has reduced from 1971- 2.60%, 1981-2.44%.
  1991-2.34%, 2001- 2.30%, 1911-2.30% (population
  census figures.)

The constant propaganda on these lines led to rise in
anti-Christian violence manifesting in the Dangs (Gujarat,
December 25, 1998 to January 3, 1999).  This was followed by
the most ghastly burning-alive of Pastor Graham Stains on the
night of January 22, 1999 by RSS affiliate Bajrang Dal's
activist Rajendra Pal aka Dara Singh , who is currently
undergoing a life term.

  This act was described by the then President of
  India Dr.  KR Narayanan as one belonging to the
  "world's inventory of black deeds".  Stains was 

[Goanet] FROM GOANVOICE: Eddie Fernandes Announces Goan Voice 2.0

[Goanet Reader]

Eddie Fernandes Announces Goan Voice 2.0
The New Year will witness the transition of Goan Voice, the only Goan
website to attract advertising. I have been running the service for over 23
years without missing a single day and I am unable to devote the energy to
continue, having turned 85 years. I have therefore handed over to a new
direction headed from Goa by Vivek Menezes and others. Goan Voice 2.0 will
continue some of the vital work necessary to connect Goans in diaspora and
at home, and keep abreast of the achievements and challenges of our
marvellous transnational community in every corner of the world. After a
short hiatus, you will hear and see much more from the new team based in
Goa. Meanwhile to can catch Diaspora Death announcements and other
important news items here. Please communicate with Vivek Menezes at
edi...@goanvoice.org.uk
Next Site Update, if any, at 23:00 GMT

[Goanet-News] FROM GOANVOICE: Eddie Fernandes Announces Goan Voice 2.0

[Goanet Reader]

Eddie Fernandes Announces Goan Voice 2.0
The New Year will witness the transition of Goan Voice, the only Goan
website to attract advertising. I have been running the service for over 23
years without missing a single day and I am unable to devote the energy to
continue, having turned 85 years. I have therefore handed over to a new
direction headed from Goa by Vivek Menezes and others. Goan Voice 2.0 will
continue some of the vital work necessary to connect Goans in diaspora and
at home, and keep abreast of the achievements and challenges of our
marvellous transnational community in every corner of the world. After a
short hiatus, you will hear and see much more from the new team based in
Goa. Meanwhile to can catch Diaspora Death announcements and other
important news items here. Please communicate with Vivek Menezes at
edi...@goanvoice.org.uk
Next Site Update, if any, at 23:00 GMT

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet-News] Michelle's Goa, a story told bluntly (FN, in NT)

[Goanet Reader]

Michelle's Goa, a story told bluntly

FN

Michelle Mendonca Bambawale's just-published book 'Becoming
Goan' (Ebury-Penguin, 2023) is a story told at three levels.
First, it is the story of a return to Goa by a daughter of
the soil whose family has been out for generations.

  Secondly, it tells you about the rapid (sometimes
  destructive) changes Goa has been going through, as
  it becomes a victim of its own charm.  Everyone
  (and their dog, literally sometimes) wants to
  settle here, triggering off intense real estate
  speculation, which is changing the place, its
  profile, and its politics.  It also has
  implications related to corruption and
  (mis)governance.

The third level you could read her book is that of a guide to
some positive things -- village initiatives, arts showcases
(some genuine, others hyped up) and must-visit spaces that
any visitor to Goa might like to discover.

Poona-bred Michelle (her mum was a headmistress at St Ann's,
the prominent girl's school there) starts her Goa story in
the midst of the dramatic 2020 pandemic.  Earlier, she's
visited here often, like many an expat Goan.  But, this time
it was returning to Goa for real.  Not a task for the
faint-hearted.

With the first chapter titled 'Who Am I?  A Real Goan or a
Pandemic Migrant?' (p.1), you have no doubts where the story
is headed.  Cut to chapter 11 'Juggling the Joys and
Challenges of Managing a Home in Goa' (p.  167), and the Goa
reader could easily identify with it.

She makes the very valid point that visiting Goa on a holiday
is one thing; but actually living here is quite something
else.  It's certainly not "lying on a beach or in a hammock,
eating seafood, listening to great live music, sipping a
cocktail with a flower..."

  Life in Goa means continually answering friends'
  queries about real estate and travel.  Leaking
  roofs.  Monkeys breaking tiles (this is Siolim).
  Caring for pets.  Watching out for snakes.  Creepy
  crawlies of various kinds.  Plucking coconuts, and
  getting pluckers.  Stray cows.  Big bulls.  Keeping
  the garden green.  A never-ending list of daily
  chores.  Fighting spotty village phone networks.
  Struggling to get work done on schedule and within
  budgets.

As Michelle puts it: "I used to believe that by taking care
of babies and puppies, I had learnt all the crisis management
skills I needed to survive in the big, bad world, till I had
to manage a house in Goa." (p.190).

One aspect of the book which struck the Goa book collector in
me was its focus on Siolim.  This large, historic village has
had some modest booklets and souvenirs published on it
(notably by the late sacristan Sebastian D'Cruz) but nowhere
what it deserves.  Michelle's book kind of fills this gap.

Four chapters deal with this theme -- Chs 5-8.  These cover
Siolim's stories and legends, and the author's own
reminiscences of visiting it as a young girl in the 1970s and
1980s.  But, things change too; it's not just nostalgia.

Chapter 7 is titled 'Siolim Now -- Angsty Urban-Rural
Purgatory'.  That this charming village is now a mix of Hell
and Heaven comes across depending on whom you listen to.  In
Ch 8, she also suggests that there are "many" Siolims and
Goas, and one can see the diverse sides of each.

If one wants an update of how an uncontrollably-urbanising
space works in today's Goa, this is it.

  Michelle takes us through a whirlwind tour of this
  "fish-laden" land on the Chapora river, its
  feni-making skills and pioneer as a centre for
  girl's education.  Besides its shrines, she
  introduces us to prominent Siolkars (Johnson & His
  Jolly Boys, Remo, Reginaldo Fernandes, the king of
  the Konkani potboiler, among many more).  She
  offers an old, redrawn map of the village, tells us
  how some of Goa's "sweetest mangoes" were created
  in this village, and that football was probably
  born here.  We also encounter the "only Beethoven
  statue outside of Europe" in this village itself.

She introduces her villagers through stereotypes, which she
admits to sketching.  People you can find in Siolim today
include locals, returning Goans, long-term 'foreigners',
those 'finding themselves', musicians who moved to Goa, the
"creative cohort" (chefs, writers, artists, designers,
filmmakers, photographers and architects), retired folk,
entrepreneurs, activists, working professionals, Russians,
"luxury (vanity) homeowners", investment homeowners,
celebrities, urban and middle-class single-women, the
LGBTQIA+ community, and the "Covid city escape crew" or
"pandemic migrants".  Each is described in an almost
tongue-in-cheek manner.

Without doubt, two critical chapters for anyone wanting to
understand Goa better are the ones on Portuguese property law
("The 

[Goanet] Michelle's Goa, a story told bluntly (FN, in NT)

[Goanet Reader]

Michelle's Goa, a story told bluntly

FN

Michelle Mendonca Bambawale's just-published book 'Becoming
Goan' (Ebury-Penguin, 2023) is a story told at three levels.
First, it is the story of a return to Goa by a daughter of
the soil whose family has been out for generations.

  Secondly, it tells you about the rapid (sometimes
  destructive) changes Goa has been going through, as
  it becomes a victim of its own charm.  Everyone
  (and their dog, literally sometimes) wants to
  settle here, triggering off intense real estate
  speculation, which is changing the place, its
  profile, and its politics.  It also has
  implications related to corruption and
  (mis)governance.

The third level you could read her book is that of a guide to
some positive things -- village initiatives, arts showcases
(some genuine, others hyped up) and must-visit spaces that
any visitor to Goa might like to discover.

Poona-bred Michelle (her mum was a headmistress at St Ann's,
the prominent girl's school there) starts her Goa story in
the midst of the dramatic 2020 pandemic.  Earlier, she's
visited here often, like many an expat Goan.  But, this time
it was returning to Goa for real.  Not a task for the
faint-hearted.

With the first chapter titled 'Who Am I?  A Real Goan or a
Pandemic Migrant?' (p.1), you have no doubts where the story
is headed.  Cut to chapter 11 'Juggling the Joys and
Challenges of Managing a Home in Goa' (p.  167), and the Goa
reader could easily identify with it.

She makes the very valid point that visiting Goa on a holiday
is one thing; but actually living here is quite something
else.  It's certainly not "lying on a beach or in a hammock,
eating seafood, listening to great live music, sipping a
cocktail with a flower..."

  Life in Goa means continually answering friends'
  queries about real estate and travel.  Leaking
  roofs.  Monkeys breaking tiles (this is Siolim).
  Caring for pets.  Watching out for snakes.  Creepy
  crawlies of various kinds.  Plucking coconuts, and
  getting pluckers.  Stray cows.  Big bulls.  Keeping
  the garden green.  A never-ending list of daily
  chores.  Fighting spotty village phone networks.
  Struggling to get work done on schedule and within
  budgets.

As Michelle puts it: "I used to believe that by taking care
of babies and puppies, I had learnt all the crisis management
skills I needed to survive in the big, bad world, till I had
to manage a house in Goa." (p.190).

One aspect of the book which struck the Goa book collector in
me was its focus on Siolim.  This large, historic village has
had some modest booklets and souvenirs published on it
(notably by the late sacristan Sebastian D'Cruz) but nowhere
what it deserves.  Michelle's book kind of fills this gap.

Four chapters deal with this theme -- Chs 5-8.  These cover
Siolim's stories and legends, and the author's own
reminiscences of visiting it as a young girl in the 1970s and
1980s.  But, things change too; it's not just nostalgia.

Chapter 7 is titled 'Siolim Now -- Angsty Urban-Rural
Purgatory'.  That this charming village is now a mix of Hell
and Heaven comes across depending on whom you listen to.  In
Ch 8, she also suggests that there are "many" Siolims and
Goas, and one can see the diverse sides of each.

If one wants an update of how an uncontrollably-urbanising
space works in today's Goa, this is it.

  Michelle takes us through a whirlwind tour of this
  "fish-laden" land on the Chapora river, its
  feni-making skills and pioneer as a centre for
  girl's education.  Besides its shrines, she
  introduces us to prominent Siolkars (Johnson & His
  Jolly Boys, Remo, Reginaldo Fernandes, the king of
  the Konkani potboiler, among many more).  She
  offers an old, redrawn map of the village, tells us
  how some of Goa's "sweetest mangoes" were created
  in this village, and that football was probably
  born here.  We also encounter the "only Beethoven
  statue outside of Europe" in this village itself.

She introduces her villagers through stereotypes, which she
admits to sketching.  People you can find in Siolim today
include locals, returning Goans, long-term 'foreigners',
those 'finding themselves', musicians who moved to Goa, the
"creative cohort" (chefs, writers, artists, designers,
filmmakers, photographers and architects), retired folk,
entrepreneurs, activists, working professionals, Russians,
"luxury (vanity) homeowners", investment homeowners,
celebrities, urban and middle-class single-women, the
LGBTQIA+ community, and the "Covid city escape crew" or
"pandemic migrants".  Each is described in an almost
tongue-in-cheek manner.

Without doubt, two critical chapters for anyone wanting to
understand Goa better are the ones on Portuguese property law
("The 

[Goanet-News] Belgaum blues: Kuswar, a plate with upto 20 different sweets ... (Cecilia deSilva Suarez)

[Goanet Reader]

o the door.  Somehow I can't recall
seeing them at any other time of year.

The highlight of Christmas was of course attendance at
midnight service -- High Mass with singing of the Latin mass
in several voices and well-known carols.  I absolutely loved
it.  Thanks to Mukund, the local dressmaker, the ladies would
turn out in new outfits and warm coats.

After midnight Mass, parents and children would go to bed
whilst the teenagers would go carolling through to the early
hours of the morning, stopping at friends' homes for a cuppa
and to taste the kuswar perhaps at Wildred deSouza's or Philo
deCruz's. It was particularly warming on the cold December
nights. On one occasion we even managed to go to Dickie la
Tushe's in Hidalga some on the back of Dickie's motorbike.

In our household, Joe and John would invite some friends of
other religions to Christmas lunch (Medio Bhada and Madaya)
where there would be a spread of all kinds of food, potato
chops, sorpatel pillau, sannas.  Mum would prepare Burmese
Kwoh Shwei followed by the kuswar, of course.

  After lunch, do you remember attending the
  Christmas Tree party organised by the St Vincent de
  Paul Society?  It was held in the grounds of St
  Paul's under the leafy gol mohur tree (now no
  more).  It was intended for underprivileged
  children, where little bags of sweets and toys were
  distributed but teenagers loved to attend as it was
  an opportunity to meet up with their friends and
  then go to a party.

Those were such wonderful days of our youth, the memories of
which have remained with me for a lifetime.  The shortages of
food never spoilt the excitement or fun at Christmas.  Don't
you think we are spoilt nowadays with the plentiful supply of
food?

Affectionately,
Cecilia

Cecilia deSilva Suarez, Epsom, February 2012.

-- 
This missive was written as the first contribution to a
somewhat delayed ebook on Goan experiences in Belgaum, India.
If you'd like to contribute an article to the same, contact
Cliff D'Silva (who features as 'baby brother Clifford' above)
via WhatsApp +91-90493 19910 or email cliffa...@gmail.com

Goanet Reader is compiled and edited by Frederick Noronha
(FN) fredericknoron...@gmail.com

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] Belgaum blues: Kuswar, a plate with upto 20 different sweets ... (Cecilia deSilva Suarez)

[Goanet Reader]

o the door.  Somehow I can't recall
seeing them at any other time of year.

The highlight of Christmas was of course attendance at
midnight service -- High Mass with singing of the Latin mass
in several voices and well-known carols.  I absolutely loved
it.  Thanks to Mukund, the local dressmaker, the ladies would
turn out in new outfits and warm coats.

After midnight Mass, parents and children would go to bed
whilst the teenagers would go carolling through to the early
hours of the morning, stopping at friends' homes for a cuppa
and to taste the kuswar perhaps at Wildred deSouza's or Philo
deCruz's. It was particularly warming on the cold December
nights. On one occasion we even managed to go to Dickie la
Tushe's in Hidalga some on the back of Dickie's motorbike.

In our household, Joe and John would invite some friends of
other religions to Christmas lunch (Medio Bhada and Madaya)
where there would be a spread of all kinds of food, potato
chops, sorpatel pillau, sannas.  Mum would prepare Burmese
Kwoh Shwei followed by the kuswar, of course.

  After lunch, do you remember attending the
  Christmas Tree party organised by the St Vincent de
  Paul Society?  It was held in the grounds of St
  Paul's under the leafy gol mohur tree (now no
  more).  It was intended for underprivileged
  children, where little bags of sweets and toys were
  distributed but teenagers loved to attend as it was
  an opportunity to meet up with their friends and
  then go to a party.

Those were such wonderful days of our youth, the memories of
which have remained with me for a lifetime.  The shortages of
food never spoilt the excitement or fun at Christmas.  Don't
you think we are spoilt nowadays with the plentiful supply of
food?

Affectionately,
Cecilia

Cecilia deSilva Suarez, Epsom, February 2012.

-- 
This missive was written as the first contribution to a
somewhat delayed ebook on Goan experiences in Belgaum, India.
If you'd like to contribute an article to the same, contact
Cliff D'Silva (who features as 'baby brother Clifford' above)
via WhatsApp +91-90493 19910 or email cliffa...@gmail.com

Goanet Reader is compiled and edited by Frederick Noronha
(FN) fredericknoron...@gmail.com

[Goanet-News] TRIBUTE: Norbert Rego, who knew something of everything and everything of page-making (by Dr Olav Albuquerque)

[Goanet Reader]

o accept these promotions on contract, he would have
perhaps been a Resident Editor of one of The Times of India
editions.

Journalists from The Times of India (ToI) were afraid these
journalists from The Independent would be brought down to
supercede ToI journos with long years of service.  This is
exactly what took plce.

Dina Vakil, a sophisticated Parsi lady, headed The
Independent at that time.  Unlike journalists of today, she
interacted mainly with her departmental heads and took
decisions strictly based on what they told her.  Norbert had
never worked under her -- but knew about her and her style of
functioning.

After the Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha (MMS) entered the fray, the
tug-of-war between the BUJ and the MMS intensified.  The MMS
raised slogans at the main gate of Bennett Coleman & Co., at
times using cymbals to create a din during lunch hour in the
1990s.  Pamphlets making allegations against the management
and the BUJ journalists were left on the desks of the ToI
journalists.  One such pamphlet referred to Dina Vakil as a
'Banoo' -- a derogatory term.

  Norbert who was senior to me, advised me: "Do not
  get close to either the management or the unions.
  Just do your work sincerely and assert your rights."

I took his advice seriously for 20 long years.

Norbert must be chuckling when he reads what I have written
about him.

* * *
Goanet Reader is compiled and edited by Frederick Noronha (FN).

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] TRIBUTE: Norbert Rego, who knew something of everything and everything of page-making (by Dr Olav Albuquerque)

[Goanet Reader]

o accept these promotions on contract, he would have
perhaps been a Resident Editor of one of The Times of India
editions.

Journalists from The Times of India (ToI) were afraid these
journalists from The Independent would be brought down to
supercede ToI journos with long years of service.  This is
exactly what took plce.

Dina Vakil, a sophisticated Parsi lady, headed The
Independent at that time.  Unlike journalists of today, she
interacted mainly with her departmental heads and took
decisions strictly based on what they told her.  Norbert had
never worked under her -- but knew about her and her style of
functioning.

After the Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha (MMS) entered the fray, the
tug-of-war between the BUJ and the MMS intensified.  The MMS
raised slogans at the main gate of Bennett Coleman & Co., at
times using cymbals to create a din during lunch hour in the
1990s.  Pamphlets making allegations against the management
and the BUJ journalists were left on the desks of the ToI
journalists.  One such pamphlet referred to Dina Vakil as a
'Banoo' -- a derogatory term.

  Norbert who was senior to me, advised me: "Do not
  get close to either the management or the unions.
  Just do your work sincerely and assert your rights."

I took his advice seriously for 20 long years.

Norbert must be chuckling when he reads what I have written
about him.

* * *
Goanet Reader is compiled and edited by Frederick Noronha (FN).

[Goanet-News] An unofficial history of 1961 (FN, in NT)

[Goanet Reader]

An unofficial history of 1961

Frederick Noronha
fredericknoron...@gmail.com

Six decades or almost two generations after of the dramatic
end of Portuguese rule in Goa, differing perspectives are
beginning to emerge from the ones which so far dominated the
narrative.  Given the sudden, unpleasant and contested end of
that chapter in Goa's history, the polarised versions of the
past are not surprising.

Of late, the BJP has been critical of Nehru's policy on Goa.
A well noticed (but so far, less reviewed) book now comes
from the pen of Valmiki Faleiro, journalist and author, who
incidentally cut his teeth in the media in The Navhind Times
of the 1970s.

  One can read this book at different levels.  Five
  top military personnel have offered "advance praise
  for the book" (p.ii).  Published by Vintage-Penguin
  Random House, the book's subtitle reads: "The
  Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration".  In
  ten chapters, it offers a brief and racy ride
  through Goa's history (Ch 1), and then devotes the
  next three to the buildup to the Indian action in
  1961, or Liberation.

Three further chapters (Ch 5-7) deal with the military
operations, while the last three give a breakup of how things
changed, and the "fallacies" in understanding Goa then.  An
annexure lists and introduces (via thumbnail sketches in
words) Goans who served in the Indian Army and Catholic Goan
freedom fighters.  Both respond, obviously, to times when
religion often gets confused with patriotism.

Faleiro comes up with interesting details.  An overview of
Goan history, the politics behind December 1961, or what
opponents of Lisbon's rule in Goa were doing in the crucial
years and even months before the Indian Army marched in.

The strength of his book comes from its details.  This
ironically could also be a weakness; the reader outside Goa
could be hit by simply too many details.  Likewise, Faleiro's
writing style is at times journalistic and at other times
well footnoted, almost academic.  While the former makes for
an interesting read, the lack of footnoting or due
attributions in some sections makes one wonder about
accuracy, verifiability or where the citations came from.

But, the author's knowledge of Portuguese has surely helped.
With the passing of time, some of the young military-men of
the 1960s have since risen to senior posts, crossed their
80s, and have been filling in details (through their writing
in Portugal) which we had not heard of earlier.  Recent
memoirs in Goa (such as Suresh Kanekar, Prabhakar Sinari and
Adv Fernando Jorge Colaco) have also helped the narrative.

A detailed section on Indian Defence Minister Krishna Menon's
interest in wanting to contest the Bombay elections in early
1962, and how this influenced the history of Goa, is
particularly well tackled. This has been mentioned in the
past, but there's a lot of interesting detail here.

  For a reader in Goa, the attempt to write about
  1961 from military, political, social perspectives
  can be interesting.  Some of this material lies
  scattered across many memoirs, books, magazines,
  unclassified archives, websites and other sources.
  Yet, coming across it in one place can help to
  understand the bigger picture.

  Details about Goan military-men and
  freedom-fighters, whom we otherwise hear of just as
  abstract names, fills in our understanding.
  Likewise, it might be intriguing to a reader of
  today to learn about 1961's military operations
  passing through Borim (code name: 'Dall Moth'),
  Dabolim ('Rat Din'), Vasco da Gama ('Prem Pujari'),
  Old Goa ('Madhu Bala'), Mardol ('Coca Cola'),
  Mangeshi ('Sabji Mandi'), Banastarim ('Baby Girl'),
  Panjim ('French Toast').

The role of Goa's first military Governor Candeth (connected
to Krishna Menon, his father's pupil) and Handoo are
discussed in fair detail.

We get an understanding into other complex issues of the time
-- the role of Henry the Navigator (now being reassessed);
the impact of the Dutch blockade to "emasculate Goa"; the
multiple freedom fighter groups in Goa (almost a
dozen-and-half).

One can at times disagree with some of Faleiro's
interpretations.  He suggests (p.15) that Goans could rise
well in the Indian Army, but in colonial Goa they could at
best climb to being Tenente Coronel (Lt Col).  But those who
rose in the former did so mainly after the sudden departure
of the British, post 1947, so the comparison might not be fair.

He argues that "Portuguese lethargy and a lack of foresight
to create a self-sufficient society ...largely caused the
Goan Catholic to disperse all over the world...  like the
Biblical lost tribes".  Were self-sufficient societies the
goal in colonial times?  Has that been attained in Goa even
now?  Considering some attainments by Goans 

[Goanet-News] An unofficial history of 1961 (FN, in NT)

[Goanet Reader]

An unofficial history of 1961

Frederick Noronha
fredericknoron...@gmail.com

Six decades or almost two generations after of the dramatic
end of Portuguese rule in Goa, differing perspectives are
beginning to emerge from the ones which so far dominated the
narrative.  Given the sudden, unpleasant and contested end of
that chapter in Goa's history, the polarised versions of the
past are not surprising.

Of late, the BJP has been critical of Nehru's policy on Goa.
A well noticed (but so far, less reviewed) book now comes
from the pen of Valmiki Faleiro, journalist and author, who
incidentally cut his teeth in the media in The Navhind Times
of the 1970s.

  One can read this book at different levels.  Five
  top military personnel have offered "advance praise
  for the book" (p.ii).  Published by Vintage-Penguin
  Random House, the book's subtitle reads: "The
  Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration".  In
  ten chapters, it offers a brief and racy ride
  through Goa's history (Ch 1), and then devotes the
  next three to the buildup to the Indian action in
  1961, or Liberation.

Three further chapters (Ch 5-7) deal with the military
operations, while the last three give a breakup of how things
changed, and the "fallacies" in understanding Goa then.  An
annexure lists and introduces (via thumbnail sketches in
words) Goans who served in the Indian Army and Catholic Goan
freedom fighters.  Both respond, obviously, to times when
religion often gets confused with patriotism.

Faleiro comes up with interesting details.  An overview of
Goan history, the politics behind December 1961, or what
opponents of Lisbon's rule in Goa were doing in the crucial
years and even months before the Indian Army marched in.

The strength of his book comes from its details.  This
ironically could also be a weakness; the reader outside Goa
could be hit by simply too many details.  Likewise, Faleiro's
writing style is at times journalistic and at other times
well footnoted, almost academic.  While the former makes for
an interesting read, the lack of footnoting or due
attributions in some sections makes one wonder about
accuracy, verifiability or where the citations came from.

But, the author's knowledge of Portuguese has surely helped.
With the passing of time, some of the young military-men of
the 1960s have since risen to senior posts, crossed their
80s, and have been filling in details (through their writing
in Portugal) which we had not heard of earlier.  Recent
memoirs in Goa (such as Suresh Kanekar, Prabhakar Sinari and
Adv Fernando Jorge Colaco) have also helped the narrative.

A detailed section on Indian Defence Minister Krishna Menon's
interest in wanting to contest the Bombay elections in early
1962, and how this influenced the history of Goa, is
particularly well tackled. This has been mentioned in the
past, but there's a lot of interesting detail here.

  For a reader in Goa, the attempt to write about
  1961 from military, political, social perspectives
  can be interesting.  Some of this material lies
  scattered across many memoirs, books, magazines,
  unclassified archives, websites and other sources.
  Yet, coming across it in one place can help to
  understand the bigger picture.

  Details about Goan military-men and
  freedom-fighters, whom we otherwise hear of just as
  abstract names, fills in our understanding.
  Likewise, it might be intriguing to a reader of
  today to learn about 1961's military operations
  passing through Borim (code name: 'Dall Moth'),
  Dabolim ('Rat Din'), Vasco da Gama ('Prem Pujari'),
  Old Goa ('Madhu Bala'), Mardol ('Coca Cola'),
  Mangeshi ('Sabji Mandi'), Banastarim ('Baby Girl'),
  Panjim ('French Toast').

The role of Goa's first military Governor Candeth (connected
to Krishna Menon, his father's pupil) and Handoo are
discussed in fair detail.

We get an understanding into other complex issues of the time
-- the role of Henry the Navigator (now being reassessed);
the impact of the Dutch blockade to "emasculate Goa"; the
multiple freedom fighter groups in Goa (almost a
dozen-and-half).

One can at times disagree with some of Faleiro's
interpretations.  He suggests (p.15) that Goans could rise
well in the Indian Army, but in colonial Goa they could at
best climb to being Tenente Coronel (Lt Col).  But those who
rose in the former did so mainly after the sudden departure
of the British, post 1947, so the comparison might not be fair.

He argues that "Portuguese lethargy and a lack of foresight
to create a self-sufficient society ...largely caused the
Goan Catholic to disperse all over the world...  like the
Biblical lost tribes".  Were self-sufficient societies the
goal in colonial times?  Has that been attained in Goa even
now?  Considering some attainments by Goans 

[Goanet] An unofficial history of 1961 (FN, in NT)

[Goanet Reader]

An unofficial history of 1961

Frederick Noronha
fredericknoron...@gmail.com

Six decades or almost two generations after of the dramatic
end of Portuguese rule in Goa, differing perspectives are
beginning to emerge from the ones which so far dominated the
narrative.  Given the sudden, unpleasant and contested end of
that chapter in Goa's history, the polarised versions of the
past are not surprising.

Of late, the BJP has been critical of Nehru's policy on Goa.
A well noticed (but so far, less reviewed) book now comes
from the pen of Valmiki Faleiro, journalist and author, who
incidentally cut his teeth in the media in The Navhind Times
of the 1970s.

  One can read this book at different levels.  Five
  top military personnel have offered "advance praise
  for the book" (p.ii).  Published by Vintage-Penguin
  Random House, the book's subtitle reads: "The
  Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration".  In
  ten chapters, it offers a brief and racy ride
  through Goa's history (Ch 1), and then devotes the
  next three to the buildup to the Indian action in
  1961, or Liberation.

Three further chapters (Ch 5-7) deal with the military
operations, while the last three give a breakup of how things
changed, and the "fallacies" in understanding Goa then.  An
annexure lists and introduces (via thumbnail sketches in
words) Goans who served in the Indian Army and Catholic Goan
freedom fighters.  Both respond, obviously, to times when
religion often gets confused with patriotism.

Faleiro comes up with interesting details.  An overview of
Goan history, the politics behind December 1961, or what
opponents of Lisbon's rule in Goa were doing in the crucial
years and even months before the Indian Army marched in.

The strength of his book comes from its details.  This
ironically could also be a weakness; the reader outside Goa
could be hit by simply too many details.  Likewise, Faleiro's
writing style is at times journalistic and at other times
well footnoted, almost academic.  While the former makes for
an interesting read, the lack of footnoting or due
attributions in some sections makes one wonder about
accuracy, verifiability or where the citations came from.

But, the author's knowledge of Portuguese has surely helped.
With the passing of time, some of the young military-men of
the 1960s have since risen to senior posts, crossed their
80s, and have been filling in details (through their writing
in Portugal) which we had not heard of earlier.  Recent
memoirs in Goa (such as Suresh Kanekar, Prabhakar Sinari and
Adv Fernando Jorge Colaco) have also helped the narrative.

A detailed section on Indian Defence Minister Krishna Menon's
interest in wanting to contest the Bombay elections in early
1962, and how this influenced the history of Goa, is
particularly well tackled. This has been mentioned in the
past, but there's a lot of interesting detail here.

  For a reader in Goa, the attempt to write about
  1961 from military, political, social perspectives
  can be interesting.  Some of this material lies
  scattered across many memoirs, books, magazines,
  unclassified archives, websites and other sources.
  Yet, coming across it in one place can help to
  understand the bigger picture.

  Details about Goan military-men and
  freedom-fighters, whom we otherwise hear of just as
  abstract names, fills in our understanding.
  Likewise, it might be intriguing to a reader of
  today to learn about 1961's military operations
  passing through Borim (code name: 'Dall Moth'),
  Dabolim ('Rat Din'), Vasco da Gama ('Prem Pujari'),
  Old Goa ('Madhu Bala'), Mardol ('Coca Cola'),
  Mangeshi ('Sabji Mandi'), Banastarim ('Baby Girl'),
  Panjim ('French Toast').

The role of Goa's first military Governor Candeth (connected
to Krishna Menon, his father's pupil) and Handoo are
discussed in fair detail.

We get an understanding into other complex issues of the time
-- the role of Henry the Navigator (now being reassessed);
the impact of the Dutch blockade to "emasculate Goa"; the
multiple freedom fighter groups in Goa (almost a
dozen-and-half).

One can at times disagree with some of Faleiro's
interpretations.  He suggests (p.15) that Goans could rise
well in the Indian Army, but in colonial Goa they could at
best climb to being Tenente Coronel (Lt Col).  But those who
rose in the former did so mainly after the sudden departure
of the British, post 1947, so the comparison might not be fair.

He argues that "Portuguese lethargy and a lack of foresight
to create a self-sufficient society ...largely caused the
Goan Catholic to disperse all over the world...  like the
Biblical lost tribes".  Were self-sufficient societies the
goal in colonial times?  Has that been attained in Goa even
now?  Considering some attainments by Goans 

[Goanet-News] Goa > 2075 ... from Mayabhushan Nagvenkar

[Goanet Reader]

Hi, I'm Mayabhushan.

If you're curious to know about the universe in which my
debut novel Goa > 2075 is set in, here are a few pointers
which will help sort that out for you.

  First of all, Goa isn't Goa anymore.  Goa has been
  re-branded as Go-aah by a Democratic Corporation
  which now runs the State.  Why?  Details in the
  novel.

Secondly, there is no elected government. There is no
Opposition nor ruling representatives. The Democratic
Corporation is one uniform, homogenous entity. But how did
this come to be? Details in the novel.

Third. Goa by 2075 is divided into two broad classes of
people. The Overlords, who live on the surface, and the
Subterraneans, who live below the ground. Why has it come to
be this way? Details in the novel.

The fourth thing: it's also a story of five people, in 2075,
who want to make a difference to the world around them. Do
they succeed? It's a long story, but details in the novel.

  It's a completely different world waiting for you
  out there.  For those who want to read the novel,
  that is.  Fifty years later is a world which could
  very well be a consequence of our individual and
  collective actions or inactions.

* * *

“Goa < 2075” is a live, interactive multimedia novel set in
the year 2075, largely written in the pulp genre, with a
little bit (crime, politics, sex, vengeance, empathy, humour,
environmental and social degradation) of everything.

Twice a week (and sometimes thrice) a new passage from the
write-it-as-we-go-along novel will drop via our social media
handles.  We urge you to like and follow us to be a part of
the story

Happy reading!
#Goa2075 #Multimedia #Novel #Dystopia #DystopianGoa #Subterranean #Overlords

https://www.facebook.com/share/b28FSCepLeGc5aNr/?mibextid=xfxF2i

You can tune in to three easy-to-understand explainer videos,
which break down the concept of a live, multimedia novel, the
world that Goa lives in 2075 and more about the author.

Please like, follow and subscribe to this page to stay tuned
for what's coming.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/goa2075
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goa.2075/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550853493420=ZbWKwL
LikedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goa-2075/

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] Goa > 2075 (Mayabhushan Nagvenkar)

[Goanet Reader]

Hi, I'm Mayabhushan.

If you're curious to know about the universe in which my
debut novel Goa > 2075 is set in, here are a few pointers
which will help sort that out for you.

  First of all, Goa isn't Goa anymore.  Goa has been
  re-branded as Go-aah by a Democratic Corporation
  which now runs the State.  Why?  Details in the
  novel.

Secondly, there is no elected government. There is no
Opposition nor ruling representatives. The Democratic
Corporation is one uniform, homogenous entity. But how did
this come to be? Details in the novel.

Third. Goa by 2075 is divided into two broad classes of
people. The Overlords, who live on the surface, and the
Subterraneans, who live below the ground. Why has it come to
be this way? Details in the novel.

The fourth thing: it's also a story of five people, in 2075,
who want to make a difference to the world around them. Do
they succeed? It's a long story, but details in the novel.

  It's a completely different world waiting for you
  out there.  For those who want to read the novel,
  that is.  Fifty years later is a world which could
  very well be a consequence of our individual and
  collective actions or inactions.

* * *

“Goa < 2075” is a live, interactive multimedia novel set in
the year 2075, largely written in the pulp genre, with a
little bit (crime, politics, sex, vengeance, empathy, humour,
environmental and social degradation) of everything.

Twice a week (and sometimes thrice) a new passage from the
write-it-as-we-go-along novel will drop via our social media
handles.  We urge you to like and follow us to be a part of
the story

Happy reading!
#Goa2075 #Multimedia #Novel #Dystopia #DystopianGoa #Subterranean #Overlords

https://www.facebook.com/share/b28FSCepLeGc5aNr/?mibextid=xfxF2i

You can tune in to three easy-to-understand explainer videos,
which break down the concept of a live, multimedia novel, the
world that Goa lives in 2075 and more about the author.

Please like, follow and subscribe to this page to stay tuned
for what's coming.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/goa2075
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goa.2075/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550853493420=ZbWKwL
LikedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goa-2075/

[Goanet-News] A tale of two regrets and two treasures... Remembering Valmiki Faleiro (by Melvyn Misquita)

[Goanet Reader]

A tale of two regrets and two treasures...
Remembering Valmiki Faleiro (January 6, 1956-October 5, 2023)

>From MELVYN MISQUITA
misqu...@outlook.com

As the years progress, the list of memories gets longer.  The
list of memorable moments and the list of regrets.  With the
shocking and untimely demise of eminent writer and historian
Valmiki Faleiro of Margao on October 5, two regrets and two
treasures were added to this list.

But first, a background.

  I have long admired Socrates Valmiki Faleiro --
  until October 5, I didn't even know that Socrates
  was his first name -- for his writing skills.  He
  was articulate, had profound knowledge about
  Salcete, and especially Margao, and was a master of
  history, mystery, and the occasional controversy.

Among the many fascinating articles by Valmiki, two had stood
out for me, largely because they were connected with
musicians of yesteryears.  The first was 'Goan music: a long,
twisted, and often colourful road across time' and the second
was 'San Franciscu Xavier-a: A queer story'.  More about the
first article a little later.

I would occasionally interact with Valmiki, letting him know
that I appreciated his articles in newspapers.  At some point
in time, he became aware that I was the son-in-law of the
late Jose Gracias of Borda-Margao, who was associated with
the Margao Comunidade for some time.  Valmiki, one of the
largest shareholders of the Margao Comunidade and a person of
keen interest in Comunidade affairs, had good memories of my
late father-in-law.

  My close interaction with Valmiki began barely
  three years ago and it involved work on my late
  father-in-law and a group of musicians mainly from
  Salcete who performed in a band 'Joe Blues', later
  renamed to 'Music Lovers', between 1953 and 1963.
  My work was based on a seven-decade-old diary,
  hundreds of handwritten music sheets, memorabilia
  and other artefacts which were meticulously
  preserved at the residence of my late
  father-in-law.

My father-in-law, two other founder members, Alvito da Costa
and Ronaldo Coutinho, were from Borda-Margao, while the
fourth founding member, Anacleto Figueiredo (nephew of the
Maestro Antonio Figueiredo), resided near the Holy Spirit
Church.  The 37 musicians who performed with the 'Music
Lovers' at some point in time over those 10 years included
the legendary musician, Chris Perry, and his brother, Paul
Perry.

Chris Perry's house was barely about 50 metres from the
residence of Valmiki.  Hoping to pick up some details (other
than those already known to his fans across the world) from
Valmiki, I decided to visit him at his residence.  I cannot
ascertain the exact date as all my WhatsApp messages prior to
October 2022 accidentally got deleted while I was in the
process of switching phones.

Valmiki's house is by the side of the majestic Holy Spirit
Church at Margao.  And Valmiki's house is no less impressive.
The exteriors of Valmiki's house are beautiful in aesthetics
and architecture, while the interiors, furnishings and
finishings are just as exquisite.

Valmiki and his wife, Daisy, were great hosts, welcoming me
into their house.  Within minutes, Valmiki took me to the
first floor, where we began our conversation.  I explained my
project and the musicians involved.  When the topic of Chris
Perry came up for discussion, he provided some interesting
insights into the life of the legendary musician and his
personal experiences with Chris Perry.

  But true to his nature, Valmiki could not remain on
  one topic for long.  He would divert to related
  topics with amazing ease, rattling names, places
  and events with remarkable memory.  My purpose was
  to get more information about Chris Perry, but much
  of our time was spent discussing other topics.
  They may not have been relevant to my music
  project, but they were, nonetheless, of great
  interest to me.

The topics and their narratives were unadulterated.  Nothing
was censored or edited by Valmiki, even though we were
formally meeting for the first time.  Perhaps, he saw in me
an avid listener, who sat mesmerised and absorbing his
fascinating stories.  And of course, his ability to narrate
them with clarity and precision.

Shortly after our conversation came to an end, Valmiki took
me around his house, giving me a brief guided tour of his
palatial abode.  Valmiki stopped to show me one of his many
prized possessions: A beautiful 150-year-old large teakwood
cupboard, handcrafted by a highly skilled carpenter who was
the grandfather of Joe, Chris and Paul Perry.

"This large teakwood cupboard still going strong 150 years
later to this day.  Much before Joe and Chris Perry's genius
at creating everlasting melodies, their grandfather's
handcrafted legacy silently lives on," Valmiki was to tell 

[Goanet] A tale of two regrets and two treasures... Remembering Valmiki Faleiro (by Melvyn Misquita)

[Goanet Reader]

A tale of two regrets and two treasures...
Remembering Valmiki Faleiro (January 6, 1956-October 5, 2023)

>From MELVYN MISQUITA
misqu...@outlook.com

As the years progress, the list of memories gets longer.  The
list of memorable moments and the list of regrets.  With the
shocking and untimely demise of eminent writer and historian
Valmiki Faleiro of Margao on October 5, two regrets and two
treasures were added to this list.

But first, a background.

  I have long admired Socrates Valmiki Faleiro --
  until October 5, I didn't even know that Socrates
  was his first name -- for his writing skills.  He
  was articulate, had profound knowledge about
  Salcete, and especially Margao, and was a master of
  history, mystery, and the occasional controversy.

Among the many fascinating articles by Valmiki, two had stood
out for me, largely because they were connected with
musicians of yesteryears.  The first was 'Goan music: a long,
twisted, and often colourful road across time' and the second
was 'San Franciscu Xavier-a: A queer story'.  More about the
first article a little later.

I would occasionally interact with Valmiki, letting him know
that I appreciated his articles in newspapers.  At some point
in time, he became aware that I was the son-in-law of the
late Jose Gracias of Borda-Margao, who was associated with
the Margao Comunidade for some time.  Valmiki, one of the
largest shareholders of the Margao Comunidade and a person of
keen interest in Comunidade affairs, had good memories of my
late father-in-law.

  My close interaction with Valmiki began barely
  three years ago and it involved work on my late
  father-in-law and a group of musicians mainly from
  Salcete who performed in a band 'Joe Blues', later
  renamed to 'Music Lovers', between 1953 and 1963.
  My work was based on a seven-decade-old diary,
  hundreds of handwritten music sheets, memorabilia
  and other artefacts which were meticulously
  preserved at the residence of my late
  father-in-law.

My father-in-law, two other founder members, Alvito da Costa
and Ronaldo Coutinho, were from Borda-Margao, while the
fourth founding member, Anacleto Figueiredo (nephew of the
Maestro Antonio Figueiredo), resided near the Holy Spirit
Church.  The 37 musicians who performed with the 'Music
Lovers' at some point in time over those 10 years included
the legendary musician, Chris Perry, and his brother, Paul
Perry.

Chris Perry's house was barely about 50 metres from the
residence of Valmiki.  Hoping to pick up some details (other
than those already known to his fans across the world) from
Valmiki, I decided to visit him at his residence.  I cannot
ascertain the exact date as all my WhatsApp messages prior to
October 2022 accidentally got deleted while I was in the
process of switching phones.

Valmiki's house is by the side of the majestic Holy Spirit
Church at Margao.  And Valmiki's house is no less impressive.
The exteriors of Valmiki's house are beautiful in aesthetics
and architecture, while the interiors, furnishings and
finishings are just as exquisite.

Valmiki and his wife, Daisy, were great hosts, welcoming me
into their house.  Within minutes, Valmiki took me to the
first floor, where we began our conversation.  I explained my
project and the musicians involved.  When the topic of Chris
Perry came up for discussion, he provided some interesting
insights into the life of the legendary musician and his
personal experiences with Chris Perry.

  But true to his nature, Valmiki could not remain on
  one topic for long.  He would divert to related
  topics with amazing ease, rattling names, places
  and events with remarkable memory.  My purpose was
  to get more information about Chris Perry, but much
  of our time was spent discussing other topics.
  They may not have been relevant to my music
  project, but they were, nonetheless, of great
  interest to me.

The topics and their narratives were unadulterated.  Nothing
was censored or edited by Valmiki, even though we were
formally meeting for the first time.  Perhaps, he saw in me
an avid listener, who sat mesmerised and absorbing his
fascinating stories.  And of course, his ability to narrate
them with clarity and precision.

Shortly after our conversation came to an end, Valmiki took
me around his house, giving me a brief guided tour of his
palatial abode.  Valmiki stopped to show me one of his many
prized possessions: A beautiful 150-year-old large teakwood
cupboard, handcrafted by a highly skilled carpenter who was
the grandfather of Joe, Chris and Paul Perry.

"This large teakwood cupboard still going strong 150 years
later to this day.  Much before Joe and Chris Perry's genius
at creating everlasting melodies, their grandfather's
handcrafted legacy silently lives on," Valmiki was to tell 

[Goanet-News] ØSMITAY -- Reviewing its historical accuracy (Jason J Pinto)

[Goanet Reader]

ØSMITAY -- Reviewing its historical accuracy

Jason J. Pinto
+91 75070 44269 (WhatsApp)

Mandd Sobhann productions' 'Øsmitay' is the latest portrayal
of a wide array of events and cultural traits of the Konkani
people who inhabit the Konkani coast, right from Ratnagiri in
Maharashtra to Cochin in Kerala.  The display of subaltern
Konkani groups like the Siddis, Kharvis, Kudumbis/Kunbis, and
Navayats is fascinating and helps the viewer to appreciate
Konkani culture in a more composite way.  Kudos to Bab Eric
Ozario and his team of Mandd Sobhann.

  While the movie title claims to depict the Konkani
  identity, the subtitle -- "in search for a Konkani
  identity" misleads the viewer since it deals
  primarily with the Kanara Konkani Catholics with a
  few snippets from other Konkani communities.

  Further, the names Baltu Pai, Albuquerque Pai,
  Peres Bhat suggest it to be an upper caste Catholic
  project.  Attributing the origin of Konkani
  peoples, language and traditions to the banks of
  river Saraswati is questionable as modern
  scientific, genetic, linguistic and related
  research offer different explanations.

A few scenes and events portrayed in the movie are not only
misleading but are also historically and sociologically
inaccurate.  Mangalorean Catholics of the upper castes,
namely Bamons and Chardos, like their Konkani Saraswat
brethren, have always preferred the
colonization-conversion-destruction-migration narrative to
showcase their identity aka øsmitay. The movie is a
pictorial representation of the same.

Historians like Pius Fidelis Pinto, Kranti Farias, V.K.
Kudva have often used this narrative to fit in their
historical findings on the Konkani people. Migration, due to
Inquisition and the captivity under Tipu Sultan tops the
list. They convert a complex history into a simple, tired
narrative by citing religion as the main factor which led to
displacement of the Konkani people from their original
homeland, Goa.

  The continuing unravelling of this complex history
  based on the study of evidence-based research
  methodology, and not reliance on tradition oral
  narratives, suggests that upper caste groups,
  irrespective of their religious affiliations, have
  always aligned themselves with dominant powers,
  domestic and foreign, to further their own
  interests, for trade and commerce, and to maintain
  their dominant status in caste-based hierarchy intact.

What are the historical inaccuracies in the movie which need
rectification? Which are those events that are ignored and
what are its sources?

The distinguished Goan historian Panduraga Pissurlencar, who
worked for the Goan Archives, offers us a glimpse in his
books 'Portuguese Marhatta relations' and 'Agentes da
Diplomacia Portuguesa Na India - Hindus, Muculmanos, Judeus e
Parses'. They vividly document historical events which are
often ignored by the general public.

Moreover, the Ph.D.  dissertations of Urmila Patil on the
origin of the Saraswat identity, and Parag Porbo on caste,
the findings of Alan Machado (Prabhu) in the 'Goa's
Inquisition: Facts, fiction, factoids' and 'Slaves of
Sultans' are some invaluable reference sources for relating
to the history of the Konkani people.  Any historical
narrative of the Portuguese era in Goa that does not talk of
the collaborative role played by leading Hindus -- in fact,
at that time there were no Goan Christians -- in helping
Albuquerque capture Tiswadi, falls short of the truth.  Mhal
Pai, sardesai of Verna and Timmaya Naik, a Vijayanagar
subject stationed at Honnavar, were instrumental in this
episode.

This collaboration continued throughout the Portuguese
presence in Goa. As early as 1540, Krishna Sinai (Shenoy)
was sent to Lisbon, where he was knighted for his invaluable
support to the Portuguese in many ways. Goan Brahmans served
the Portuguese administration as diplomats, translators,
ambassadors, tax-collectors (responsible for a reported 80%
of the taxes collected), traders and merchant, money lenders,
and other ways vital to sustain a regime. They even had
working relations with the Inquisition; the entire ground
floor of the Inquisition's headquarters in Goa was rented to
them to carry out their business. The portrayal of the
execution of Laxman Shirodi Pai is historically false. We
have about 12,000 case histories of those judged by the
Inquisition.  There is not one Hindu who was burnt at the
stake.

  A most serious falsification by the film is citing
  religious conversions as the cause of migration,
  and the Inquisition as an instrument of conversion.
  The Inquisition's role in Goa is clearly documented
  in Machado's 'Goa's Inquisition'.  It had no role
  whatsoever in conversions.  It's role was to ensure
  converts did not deviate from 

[Goanet] ØSMITAY -- Reviewing its historical accuracy (Jason J Pinto)

[Goanet Reader]

ØSMITAY -- Reviewing its historical accuracy

Jason J. Pinto
+91 75070 44269 (WhatsApp)

Mandd Sobhann productions' 'Øsmitay' is the latest portrayal
of a wide array of events and cultural traits of the Konkani
people who inhabit the Konkani coast, right from Ratnagiri in
Maharashtra to Cochin in Kerala.  The display of subaltern
Konkani groups like the Siddis, Kharvis, Kudumbis/Kunbis, and
Navayats is fascinating and helps the viewer to appreciate
Konkani culture in a more composite way.  Kudos to Bab Eric
Ozario and his team of Mandd Sobhann.

  While the movie title claims to depict the Konkani
  identity, the subtitle -- "in search for a Konkani
  identity" misleads the viewer since it deals
  primarily with the Kanara Konkani Catholics with a
  few snippets from other Konkani communities.

  Further, the names Baltu Pai, Albuquerque Pai,
  Peres Bhat suggest it to be an upper caste Catholic
  project.  Attributing the origin of Konkani
  peoples, language and traditions to the banks of
  river Saraswati is questionable as modern
  scientific, genetic, linguistic and related
  research offer different explanations.

A few scenes and events portrayed in the movie are not only
misleading but are also historically and sociologically
inaccurate.  Mangalorean Catholics of the upper castes,
namely Bamons and Chardos, like their Konkani Saraswat
brethren, have always preferred the
colonization-conversion-destruction-migration narrative to
showcase their identity aka øsmitay. The movie is a
pictorial representation of the same.

Historians like Pius Fidelis Pinto, Kranti Farias, V.K.
Kudva have often used this narrative to fit in their
historical findings on the Konkani people. Migration, due to
Inquisition and the captivity under Tipu Sultan tops the
list. They convert a complex history into a simple, tired
narrative by citing religion as the main factor which led to
displacement of the Konkani people from their original
homeland, Goa.

  The continuing unravelling of this complex history
  based on the study of evidence-based research
  methodology, and not reliance on tradition oral
  narratives, suggests that upper caste groups,
  irrespective of their religious affiliations, have
  always aligned themselves with dominant powers,
  domestic and foreign, to further their own
  interests, for trade and commerce, and to maintain
  their dominant status in caste-based hierarchy intact.

What are the historical inaccuracies in the movie which need
rectification? Which are those events that are ignored and
what are its sources?

The distinguished Goan historian Panduraga Pissurlencar, who
worked for the Goan Archives, offers us a glimpse in his
books 'Portuguese Marhatta relations' and 'Agentes da
Diplomacia Portuguesa Na India - Hindus, Muculmanos, Judeus e
Parses'. They vividly document historical events which are
often ignored by the general public.

Moreover, the Ph.D.  dissertations of Urmila Patil on the
origin of the Saraswat identity, and Parag Porbo on caste,
the findings of Alan Machado (Prabhu) in the 'Goa's
Inquisition: Facts, fiction, factoids' and 'Slaves of
Sultans' are some invaluable reference sources for relating
to the history of the Konkani people.  Any historical
narrative of the Portuguese era in Goa that does not talk of
the collaborative role played by leading Hindus -- in fact,
at that time there were no Goan Christians -- in helping
Albuquerque capture Tiswadi, falls short of the truth.  Mhal
Pai, sardesai of Verna and Timmaya Naik, a Vijayanagar
subject stationed at Honnavar, were instrumental in this
episode.

This collaboration continued throughout the Portuguese
presence in Goa. As early as 1540, Krishna Sinai (Shenoy)
was sent to Lisbon, where he was knighted for his invaluable
support to the Portuguese in many ways. Goan Brahmans served
the Portuguese administration as diplomats, translators,
ambassadors, tax-collectors (responsible for a reported 80%
of the taxes collected), traders and merchant, money lenders,
and other ways vital to sustain a regime. They even had
working relations with the Inquisition; the entire ground
floor of the Inquisition's headquarters in Goa was rented to
them to carry out their business. The portrayal of the
execution of Laxman Shirodi Pai is historically false. We
have about 12,000 case histories of those judged by the
Inquisition.  There is not one Hindu who was burnt at the
stake.

  A most serious falsification by the film is citing
  religious conversions as the cause of migration,
  and the Inquisition as an instrument of conversion.
  The Inquisition's role in Goa is clearly documented
  in Machado's 'Goa's Inquisition'.  It had no role
  whatsoever in conversions.  It's role was to ensure
  converts did not deviate from 

[Goanet] Those Were The Days : Remembering The Music Circle (Goa), Margao

[Goanet Reader]

Those Were The Days
Agostinho da Cruz via Facebook

Maestro late Fr Camilo Xavier School of Music, formerly known
as The Music Circle (Goa), Margao, founded in 1954, was a
music institution affiliated to the Trinity College of Music
and the Royal School of Music (London).

  This was where we started our musical career,
  studying to read and write music through solfego
  and play instruments such as the violin, cello,
  piano, guitar, clarinet, vocal training etc.  etc.

We did so under the baton of late Rev.  Maestro Fr.  Camilo
Xavier, composer, arranger and conductor, who was the founder
of the music school.

It also had a polyphonic choir popularly known as the Goencho
Naad, which earned fame in Goa and India.  It was known for
its regular performances in classical music, a choir of 40
singers (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) singing in a
cappella style with regular rehersals twice a week.

  Goencho Naad also had produced operas such as The
  Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, HMS Pinafore,
  etc.  etc all of which were backed by its 40 piece
  orchestra and 40 singers.

This school had a good team of teachers teaching violin,
guitar, piano, cello, clarinet and solfego.

Violin teachers: late Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, late
Jacinto Rodrigues, late Martinho Dourado, late Sebastian de
Veiga, Agnelo Carvalho, Alvaro Pereira.

Piano: Terezinha Gonsalves, Maria Xavier Carvalho, late Iona
Dias, Manuela Xavier Andrade, Mona Rebelo, late Thelma da
Silva, Lourdes Fernandes.

Cello:  Álvaro De Assunção Pereira.

Solfego: late Fr.  Camilo Xavier, Miguel Cotta, Maurelio
Cotta, Lisette Cotta.

Guitar: Late Jacinto Rodrigues, Agostinho da Cruz, Alvaro
Pereira,  Celso Soares.

Clarinet: late Martinho Dourado.

When I yesterday passed by the Old Market, and had a glance,
I was sad to see our music school in shambles.  This was the
very same place where once upon a time the sounds of musical
instruments were buzzing at the Old Market area right from 2
pm to 7 pm.  Twice a week there would be the reverberating
sounds of voices from the Goencho Naad.

Today the sounds of instruments and voices are silenced.
Hundreds of students completed their diploma and graduated in
courses of music, which enabled them to become professional
musicians.

Actually, the Kala Academy could have taken over and
conducted regular classes at par, I had suggested in those
days to hand over the institution to Kala Academy after the
death of Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, but nothing came of it.

Instead, the curtains came down.

Very sad state of our School of Music, Margao.

###

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=5718373074854271=a.1071076376250654

[Goanet-News] Those Were The Days : Remembering The Music Circle (Goa), Margao

[Goanet Reader]

Those Were The Days
Agostinho da Cruz via Facebook

Maestro late Fr Camilo Xavier School of Music, formerly known
as The Music Circle (Goa), Margao, founded in 1954, was a
music institution affiliated to the Trinity College of Music
and the Royal School of Music (London).

  This was where we started our musical career,
  studying to read and write music through solfego
  and play instruments such as the violin, cello,
  piano, guitar, clarinet, vocal training etc.  etc.

We did so under the baton of late Rev.  Maestro Fr.  Camilo
Xavier, composer, arranger and conductor, who was the founder
of the music school.

It also had a polyphonic choir popularly known as the Goencho
Naad, which earned fame in Goa and India.  It was known for
its regular performances in classical music, a choir of 40
singers (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) singing in a
cappella style with regular rehersals twice a week.

  Goencho Naad also had produced operas such as The
  Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, HMS Pinafore,
  etc.  etc all of which were backed by its 40 piece
  orchestra and 40 singers.

This school had a good team of teachers teaching violin,
guitar, piano, cello, clarinet and solfego.

Violin teachers: late Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, late
Jacinto Rodrigues, late Martinho Dourado, late Sebastian de
Veiga, Agnelo Carvalho, Alvaro Pereira.

Piano: Terezinha Gonsalves, Maria Xavier Carvalho, late Iona
Dias, Manuela Xavier Andrade, Mona Rebelo, late Thelma da
Silva, Lourdes Fernandes.

Cello:  Álvaro De Assunção Pereira.

Solfego: late Fr.  Camilo Xavier, Miguel Cotta, Maurelio
Cotta, Lisette Cotta.

Guitar: Late Jacinto Rodrigues, Agostinho da Cruz, Alvaro
Pereira,  Celso Soares.

Clarinet: late Martinho Dourado.

When I yesterday passed by the Old Market, and had a glance,
I was sad to see our music school in shambles.  This was the
very same place where once upon a time the sounds of musical
instruments were buzzing at the Old Market area right from 2
pm to 7 pm.  Twice a week there would be the reverberating
sounds of voices from the Goencho Naad.

Today the sounds of instruments and voices are silenced.
Hundreds of students completed their diploma and graduated in
courses of music, which enabled them to become professional
musicians.

Actually, the Kala Academy could have taken over and
conducted regular classes at par, I had suggested in those
days to hand over the institution to Kala Academy after the
death of Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, but nothing came of it.

Instead, the curtains came down.

Very sad state of our School of Music, Margao.

###

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=5718373074854271=a.1071076376250654

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet-News] Justice is crucial, not just uniformity, say women's groups in Goa

[Goanet Reader]

Goanet Reader

Women's groups meeting in Panjim on July 10, 2023, against
the backdrop of a recent push towards a "Uniform Civil Code"
in India, called for an emphasis on "justice for all
stakeholders in the family, and for all communities, rather
than uniformity".

The meet was held at the Institute Piedade Hall, and attended
by the Bailancho Ekvott, Bailancho Saad, Muslim Women's
Association, Presentation Society Goa, Saad Aangan, Why
Exclude and concerned citizens to discuss the response to the
Law Commission of India's call for views on UCC, pursuant to
discussions.

  Following the meeting, a statement released by
  Advocate Albertina Almeida, announced that the
  resolution passed read: "The goalpost has to be
  justice for all stakeholders in the family, and for
  all communities, rather than uniformity."

The meeting also sought more time over the issue, saying,
"Sufficient time is required to deliberate, and give our
views on a UCC (Uniform Civil Code)."

It added that a month's time "does not suffice to deliberate
on complex matters covering a wide range of areas such as
marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, guardianship,
adoption, marital property, inheritance, different forms of
property, and other related matters such as gender-just
tenancy rights, gender-just communidade (village community as
in Goa) holdings, community holdings, positions on conflict
of laws, that has repercussions for us in Goa, for the whole
country and for its diverse populations."

The meeting noted that Goa has "near uniform family laws".

But it pointed out that this is "not a code in the larger
sense of the term because it includes only a portion of the
Portuguese Civil Code that specifically deals with the
special contract of marriage, and rights of the components of
the family inter-se, and a Code of Customs and Usages of
Gentile Hindus, and the 2016 enacted Goa Succession, Special
Notaries and Inventory Proceedings Act, 2012."

Besides, it was noted, the law in Goa, is not totally
uniform.

  The statement added: "It being not totally uniform,
  has its pros and cons.  There are also provisions
  in Goa's family laws that are uniform in
  discrimination, there are also provisions that are
  uniform across religions but not substantively
  equal, and there are also provisions that may be
  different but can enable empowerment, given our realities."

In such a context, those at the group argued that the
"goalpost" has to be justice for all stakeholders in the
family, and for all communities, rather than uniformity.

Asking for "just laws", the group said, for that, there had
to be "adequate and informed consultative processes for an
appraisal of the Goa laws too".  This, they said, had to be
done "against the touchstone of the Constitution, from the
point of view of specially the marginalised stakeholders in
the family and from the point of view of marginalised
families."

  It was argued that what needed focus was the
  principles of substantive equality, and access to
  justice and right to life and livelihood, apart
  from right to freedom of religion.  This should be
  done both in appraising existing laws, and also
  deciding on "the way to go".

The Uniform Civil Code debate came on the agenda after the
Modi Government in New Delhi raised the potentially
contentious issue, in what some see as being a run-up to the
2024 general elections.

"We are concerned that in the rush for an Uniform Civil Code,
we in Goa may lose the positive provisions we have, like
equal rights to parental property, as also the possibility of
working towards reforms in each specific family law,
including the family laws of Goa," the statement said.

It argued that an "atmosphere has to be created for people to
articulate" the challenges they face in accessing the law or
because of the law, "which cannot easily happen within a
rhetoric where laws of a section of society are cherry-picked
for critique." It went on to say that such an attitude could
only drive women, and marginal stakeholders in the family, to
silence.

The meeting of women's group went on to urge the Law
Commission of India to "consider our above concerns about
substantive inequalities in the Goa family laws, and grant
time to all concerned to deliberate on and share our
detailed documented views."

Moderating the meet, Adv.  Albertina Almeida mentioned the
context of the meeting, stating that there is need to let
various Goa's voices be heard by the Law Commission of India.

She also said there was a "need to puncture the narrative"
that Goa's laws are totally uniform and that uniformity
automatically translates into equality.

She and other spe

[Goanet] Justice is crucial, not just uniformity, say women's groups in Goa

[Goanet Reader]

Goanet Reader

Women's groups meeting in Panjim on July 10, 2023, against
the backdrop of a recent push towards a "Uniform Civil Code"
in India, called for an emphasis on "justice for all
stakeholders in the family, and for all communities, rather
than uniformity".

The meet was held at the Institute Piedade Hall, and attended
by the Bailancho Ekvott, Bailancho Saad, Muslim Women's
Association, Presentation Society Goa, Saad Aangan, Why
Exclude and concerned citizens to discuss the response to the
Law Commission of India's call for views on UCC, pursuant to
discussions.

  Following the meeting, a statement released by
  Advocate Albertina Almeida, announced that the
  resolution passed read: "The goalpost has to be
  justice for all stakeholders in the family, and for
  all communities, rather than uniformity."

The meeting also sought more time over the issue, saying,
"Sufficient time is required to deliberate, and give our
views on a UCC (Uniform Civil Code)."

It added that a month's time "does not suffice to deliberate
on complex matters covering a wide range of areas such as
marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession, guardianship,
adoption, marital property, inheritance, different forms of
property, and other related matters such as gender-just
tenancy rights, gender-just communidade (village community as
in Goa) holdings, community holdings, positions on conflict
of laws, that has repercussions for us in Goa, for the whole
country and for its diverse populations."

The meeting noted that Goa has "near uniform family laws".

But it pointed out that this is "not a code in the larger
sense of the term because it includes only a portion of the
Portuguese Civil Code that specifically deals with the
special contract of marriage, and rights of the components of
the family inter-se, and a Code of Customs and Usages of
Gentile Hindus, and the 2016 enacted Goa Succession, Special
Notaries and Inventory Proceedings Act, 2012."

Besides, it was noted, the law in Goa, is not totally
uniform.

  The statement added: "It being not totally uniform,
  has its pros and cons.  There are also provisions
  in Goa's family laws that are uniform in
  discrimination, there are also provisions that are
  uniform across religions but not substantively
  equal, and there are also provisions that may be
  different but can enable empowerment, given our realities."

In such a context, those at the group argued that the
"goalpost" has to be justice for all stakeholders in the
family, and for all communities, rather than uniformity.

Asking for "just laws", the group said, for that, there had
to be "adequate and informed consultative processes for an
appraisal of the Goa laws too".  This, they said, had to be
done "against the touchstone of the Constitution, from the
point of view of specially the marginalised stakeholders in
the family and from the point of view of marginalised
families."

  It was argued that what needed focus was the
  principles of substantive equality, and access to
  justice and right to life and livelihood, apart
  from right to freedom of religion.  This should be
  done both in appraising existing laws, and also
  deciding on "the way to go".

The Uniform Civil Code debate came on the agenda after the
Modi Government in New Delhi raised the potentially
contentious issue, in what some see as being a run-up to the
2024 general elections.

"We are concerned that in the rush for an Uniform Civil Code,
we in Goa may lose the positive provisions we have, like
equal rights to parental property, as also the possibility of
working towards reforms in each specific family law,
including the family laws of Goa," the statement said.

It argued that an "atmosphere has to be created for people to
articulate" the challenges they face in accessing the law or
because of the law, "which cannot easily happen within a
rhetoric where laws of a section of society are cherry-picked
for critique." It went on to say that such an attitude could
only drive women, and marginal stakeholders in the family, to
silence.

The meeting of women's group went on to urge the Law
Commission of India to "consider our above concerns about
substantive inequalities in the Goa family laws, and grant
time to all concerned to deliberate on and share our
detailed documented views."

Moderating the meet, Adv.  Albertina Almeida mentioned the
context of the meeting, stating that there is need to let
various Goa's voices be heard by the Law Commission of India.

She also said there was a "need to puncture the narrative"
that Goa's laws are totally uniform and that uniformity
automatically translates into equality.

She and other spe

[Goanet-News] End of an Era: Remembering Mario Cabral (FN, The Goan)

[Goanet Reader]

In The Goan (June 20, 2023)


End of an Era: Remembering Mario Cabral
Frederick Noronha

With some trepidation, I asked the question to the senior
journalist, the first whom I encountered in the Press Room at
the old Adil Shahi Palace in Panjim.  "I've joined the Deccan
Herald, and have just applied for my accreditation.  Is it
okay if I enter here till the time I get it?"

In those days, the small Press Room was empty for much of the
day.  Except at the 4 pm tea break, and the morning peak
hour.  The media in Goa was yet to expand as it later did.
Outside it was the foreboding sign: "For accredited
journalists only."

We had all heard of the reputation of Mario Cabral e Sa, who,
news trickling in on Monday evening, told us, had just passed
away earlier that morning in Bombay/Mumbai.  He had been with
his family there for many years, after leaving the village
and land he loved, the island of Divar.

Mario thought for a second or two, and was quick with his
repartee.  "This place is now like a second-class unreserved
train compartment.  One or two passengers, more or less,
won't make much of a difference," he told me.

It took me a while to marvel at the intricacy of his reply.
He had managed to make his point without saying a rude 'no'.
Nor had he said an unequivocal 'yes', which one could have
taken as a license!

Over time, we became friends, even though we were almost a
generation apart, and, at times, writing for competing
markets.  Or even being on different sides of the fence,
quite often.

* * *

  Mario kept pushing us to do better.  He must have
  been in his 50s when we were in our 20s.  Yet, he
  was unflagging in his persistence and determination.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he demanded of us,
on the day we heard of the killing at distant Varca in an
encounter of an Alemao brother.  At his suggestion, we pooled
our resources, and took a taxi to Varca and the Margao
Hospicio, to follow up on that story.

In those times, journalism was still under-resourced, and we
were happy to wait for a story to fall in our lap.  We made
that trip, and learnt a lot.

Later, we would hear of Mario's days (in the late 1960s and
early 1970s) when he lead a small publication called "The
Goan Monitor".  It was run by the Sequeiras, Jack and his son
Erasmo, then prominent Opposition politicians.

There, he managed to mentor some great journalists including
the late Ivan Fera (who died too early, at 36).  Some of his
mentees might have not continued to see eye-to-eye with
Mario, but that's part of the growth process.  It happens.

One day, almost 14 years ago, the journalist Devika Sequeira
felt that that generation was fast moving on, probably even
being forgotten.  She invited a few of us to lunch with the
seniors.  Among them, there were journalists no longer with
us -- Gurudas Singbal, too.  Not sure if Jagdish Wagh and
Balaji Gaunekar from that first post-1961 generation were
there as well.

As was one's wont, without thinking too much over it, I
whipped out my modest TheFlip camera and asked Mario to share
with me a few reminiscences.  Those remain on YouTube, here
http://t.ly/BZCU and here http://t.ly/cSH-

In these brief encounters, Mario Cabral e Sa explains about
journalism in his times, stretching back to the Portuguese
days and how it changed subsequently.  These are episodic
(and some may say, selective) remembrances no doubt.  But it
also gives an insight into how an individual encountered the
dramatic changes.  And his memories of the same.

* * *

Every one of the journalists of our time has his or her own
"Mario moment".  As almost shy, young journalists we had a
lot to learn from him.

  It must have been after 1989, when the Congress
  tasted defeat at the hands of the VP Singh-led
  Janata Dal government, which replaced it.  As was
  the trend, the party continued to send in some
  'observers' from New Delhi.  In Panjim, they were
  ensconced at the Mandovi Hotel, meeting local
  ruling state politicians behind closed doors.
  Mediapersons were waiting long hours for some word
  to emerge, or a press conference to be announced.

One could only imagine what was happening.

Mario took it upon himself to demand that the press get a
chance to meet the high command emissaries, and not be kept
waiting indefinitely.  As the door opened, he took his
opportunity to raise a ruckus.

Hearing the noise, the then Congress leader Buta Singh came
out.  "Ah, Mr Butsing (sic)," said Mario, telescoping two
names together.  If he was taken aback, Mario was prompt to
hide it.  He proceeded to give a lecture to the visiting
politician from New Delhi as to how the Congress "had not yet
learnt its lesson in humility despite losing the elections"
and so on.

As the photographers were aiming their cameras, some
security-man placed his palm flat in front of a
photographer's lens.  "Daryl, you shoot," 

[Goanet] End of an Era: Remembering Mario Cabral (FN, The Goan)

[Goanet Reader]

In The Goan (June 20, 2023)


End of an Era: Remembering Mario Cabral
Frederick Noronha

With some trepidation, I asked the question to the senior
journalist, the first whom I encountered in the Press Room at
the old Adil Shahi Palace in Panjim.  "I've joined the Deccan
Herald, and have just applied for my accreditation.  Is it
okay if I enter here till the time I get it?"

In those days, the small Press Room was empty for much of the
day.  Except at the 4 pm tea break, and the morning peak
hour.  The media in Goa was yet to expand as it later did.
Outside it was the foreboding sign: "For accredited
journalists only."

We had all heard of the reputation of Mario Cabral e Sa, who,
news trickling in on Monday evening, told us, had just passed
away earlier that morning in Bombay/Mumbai.  He had been with
his family there for many years, after leaving the village
and land he loved, the island of Divar.

Mario thought for a second or two, and was quick with his
repartee.  "This place is now like a second-class unreserved
train compartment.  One or two passengers, more or less,
won't make much of a difference," he told me.

It took me a while to marvel at the intricacy of his reply.
He had managed to make his point without saying a rude 'no'.
Nor had he said an unequivocal 'yes', which one could have
taken as a license!

Over time, we became friends, even though we were almost a
generation apart, and, at times, writing for competing
markets.  Or even being on different sides of the fence,
quite often.

* * *

  Mario kept pushing us to do better.  He must have
  been in his 50s when we were in our 20s.  Yet, he
  was unflagging in his persistence and determination.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he demanded of us,
on the day we heard of the killing at distant Varca in an
encounter of an Alemao brother.  At his suggestion, we pooled
our resources, and took a taxi to Varca and the Margao
Hospicio, to follow up on that story.

In those times, journalism was still under-resourced, and we
were happy to wait for a story to fall in our lap.  We made
that trip, and learnt a lot.

Later, we would hear of Mario's days (in the late 1960s and
early 1970s) when he lead a small publication called "The
Goan Monitor".  It was run by the Sequeiras, Jack and his son
Erasmo, then prominent Opposition politicians.

There, he managed to mentor some great journalists including
the late Ivan Fera (who died too early, at 36).  Some of his
mentees might have not continued to see eye-to-eye with
Mario, but that's part of the growth process.  It happens.

One day, almost 14 years ago, the journalist Devika Sequeira
felt that that generation was fast moving on, probably even
being forgotten.  She invited a few of us to lunch with the
seniors.  Among them, there were journalists no longer with
us -- Gurudas Singbal, too.  Not sure if Jagdish Wagh and
Balaji Gaunekar from that first post-1961 generation were
there as well.

As was one's wont, without thinking too much over it, I
whipped out my modest TheFlip camera and asked Mario to share
with me a few reminiscences.  Those remain on YouTube, here
http://t.ly/BZCU and here http://t.ly/cSH-

In these brief encounters, Mario Cabral e Sa explains about
journalism in his times, stretching back to the Portuguese
days and how it changed subsequently.  These are episodic
(and some may say, selective) remembrances no doubt.  But it
also gives an insight into how an individual encountered the
dramatic changes.  And his memories of the same.

* * *

Every one of the journalists of our time has his or her own
"Mario moment".  As almost shy, young journalists we had a
lot to learn from him.

  It must have been after 1989, when the Congress
  tasted defeat at the hands of the VP Singh-led
  Janata Dal government, which replaced it.  As was
  the trend, the party continued to send in some
  'observers' from New Delhi.  In Panjim, they were
  ensconced at the Mandovi Hotel, meeting local
  ruling state politicians behind closed doors.
  Mediapersons were waiting long hours for some word
  to emerge, or a press conference to be announced.

One could only imagine what was happening.

Mario took it upon himself to demand that the press get a
chance to meet the high command emissaries, and not be kept
waiting indefinitely.  As the door opened, he took his
opportunity to raise a ruckus.

Hearing the noise, the then Congress leader Buta Singh came
out.  "Ah, Mr Butsing (sic)," said Mario, telescoping two
names together.  If he was taken aback, Mario was prompt to
hide it.  He proceeded to give a lecture to the visiting
politician from New Delhi as to how the Congress "had not yet
learnt its lesson in humility despite losing the elections"
and so on.

As the photographers were aiming their cameras, some
security-man placed his palm flat in front of a
photographer's lens.  "Daryl, you shoot," 

[Goanet-News] So, what did the Portuguese loot? (FN, The Goan)

[Goanet Reader]

So, what did the Portuguese loot?
---
Frederick Noronha

So, someone asked this question in cyberspace: "I genuinely
wanted to learn more about this.  I have watched a few videos
on YouTube, but they are mostly from people with agendas and
don't make sense to me as they do not validate their claims
with facts.  What did the Portuguese loot?  How did they do it?"

These days, we are getting increasingly caught up in fighting
battles over the past.  Our economy, the difficulty for our
youth to find jobs, and the crony capitalism is only getting
worse.  Together with this, the tendency to blame the past
for all our present-day ills is also getting more acute.

If things carry on this way, the average citizen might be
very reluctant to buy into this view of the past.  Two
generations after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa, at the
very least we should be able to get on and move on with life.

* * *

Most commentators here have ridiculed the chief minister's
view of the need to wipe out the Portuguese imprint on Goa.

  Many see this past as a mix of both good and
  not-so-good, even the good brought on by the
  law-of-unintended-consequences and the spillover of
  bonuses (like European nationality for Goans), plus
  the bad and the terrible.  But history is not just
  a one-way street.

Because the case against the Portuguese is being so obviously
over-stated, it is also likely that arguments favouring our
Luso rulers would be as exaggerated.

Politicians and newspaper columnists can wish what they want;
but this is unlikely to shape the outcome.  People will vote
with their feet, decide their own self-interest, and make up
their minds about what they want to claim about their own
pasts.  With or without Shivaji statues that sprout
overnight.

To see our past only in terms of "foreign invaders" who
"destroyed our religion and culture" and ruled us against our
wishes for over four-and-a-half centuries is both
over-simplistic and ahistorical.

Let's agree on one thing.

  The Portuguese were here as rulers, and they did
  not come to do social work.  This is also true of
  our other rulers, pre-1510 and post-1961.
  Including the BJP and the Congress, or for that
  matter, the regional parties when they held power.
  Their claims apart, the self-serving nature of
  politics is there for all to see.

All swear in the name of the people, but their own interests
comes first.  It may seem strange to compare rulers claiming
the justification of having a local mandate to a colonial
power (although invited to seize Goa with local accomplices).
But, it's for the people to judge how much they gained and
lost from each of these regimes.

* * *

As Children of the 1960s, we too grew up on a staple of
over-nationalistic history texts.  We were taught that
foreign rulers and were bad and that local ones were good.
Upto a point, this holds some truth.  But when we see
specific examples of local misgovernance, one can rethink
such simplistic narratives.

Writing online, the young Salesian from Mangalore, Jason
Joseph Pinto, pointed out how Portuguese colonialism was a
mixed bag for us on the west coast.  Without eulogising the
former colonial rulers, he tongue-in-cheek called for wishing
away the other side of the picture too.

  For instance, sati being abolished early on in
  Goa's history, a "Uniform Civil Code" (not exactly,
  but quite), architectural influences which have
  become part of our DNA.  Fruits from across the
  globe, a style of dress, odd forms of collaboration
  with local elites, and even protests against
  Portuguese rule...  all stem from the Luso presence
  here.

Shriniwas Khalap pointed to the Portuguese influence even on
the Marathi language.  There were Hindu influences in the
Catholic world, and influences which cut across religion.
Ruling dynasties gave way from one to another, and therein
lies another tale.

* * *

Our logic seems to be based around certain assumptions (1)
The Portuguese were rulers from afar, with another culture
and religion, and therefore hand no business to be here (2)
To have gained so much, they surely must have looted from Goa
(3) Colonisers don't rule for the benefit of some distant
folk in some other land.

All of this is true, yet the conclusions our politicians are
arriving at need not be true.

One book should be made compulsory reading for post-1961
Goans (who are almost as Lusophobic as the pre-1961 Goans
were Lusostalgic).  This is Martin Page's 'The First Global
Village: How Portugal Changed the World'.

  Let me assure you this work is not an apologia for
  colonialism.  It is written by a Briton, and the
  Brits tend to have very dismissive views of the
  Portuguese colonial enterprise.  (This is a trend
  which has incidentally also 

[Goanet] So, what did the Portuguese loot? (FN, The Goan)

[Goanet Reader]

So, what did the Portuguese loot?
---
Frederick Noronha

So, someone asked this question in cyberspace: "I genuinely
wanted to learn more about this.  I have watched a few videos
on YouTube, but they are mostly from people with agendas and
don't make sense to me as they do not validate their claims
with facts.  What did the Portuguese loot?  How did they do it?"

These days, we are getting increasingly caught up in fighting
battles over the past.  Our economy, the difficulty for our
youth to find jobs, and the crony capitalism is only getting
worse.  Together with this, the tendency to blame the past
for all our present-day ills is also getting more acute.

If things carry on this way, the average citizen might be
very reluctant to buy into this view of the past.  Two
generations after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa, at the
very least we should be able to get on and move on with life.

* * *

Most commentators here have ridiculed the chief minister's
view of the need to wipe out the Portuguese imprint on Goa.

  Many see this past as a mix of both good and
  not-so-good, even the good brought on by the
  law-of-unintended-consequences and the spillover of
  bonuses (like European nationality for Goans), plus
  the bad and the terrible.  But history is not just
  a one-way street.

Because the case against the Portuguese is being so obviously
over-stated, it is also likely that arguments favouring our
Luso rulers would be as exaggerated.

Politicians and newspaper columnists can wish what they want;
but this is unlikely to shape the outcome.  People will vote
with their feet, decide their own self-interest, and make up
their minds about what they want to claim about their own
pasts.  With or without Shivaji statues that sprout
overnight.

To see our past only in terms of "foreign invaders" who
"destroyed our religion and culture" and ruled us against our
wishes for over four-and-a-half centuries is both
over-simplistic and ahistorical.

Let's agree on one thing.

  The Portuguese were here as rulers, and they did
  not come to do social work.  This is also true of
  our other rulers, pre-1510 and post-1961.
  Including the BJP and the Congress, or for that
  matter, the regional parties when they held power.
  Their claims apart, the self-serving nature of
  politics is there for all to see.

All swear in the name of the people, but their own interests
comes first.  It may seem strange to compare rulers claiming
the justification of having a local mandate to a colonial
power (although invited to seize Goa with local accomplices).
But, it's for the people to judge how much they gained and
lost from each of these regimes.

* * *

As Children of the 1960s, we too grew up on a staple of
over-nationalistic history texts.  We were taught that
foreign rulers and were bad and that local ones were good.
Upto a point, this holds some truth.  But when we see
specific examples of local misgovernance, one can rethink
such simplistic narratives.

Writing online, the young Salesian from Mangalore, Jason
Joseph Pinto, pointed out how Portuguese colonialism was a
mixed bag for us on the west coast.  Without eulogising the
former colonial rulers, he tongue-in-cheek called for wishing
away the other side of the picture too.

  For instance, sati being abolished early on in
  Goa's history, a "Uniform Civil Code" (not exactly,
  but quite), architectural influences which have
  become part of our DNA.  Fruits from across the
  globe, a style of dress, odd forms of collaboration
  with local elites, and even protests against
  Portuguese rule...  all stem from the Luso presence
  here.

Shriniwas Khalap pointed to the Portuguese influence even on
the Marathi language.  There were Hindu influences in the
Catholic world, and influences which cut across religion.
Ruling dynasties gave way from one to another, and therein
lies another tale.

* * *

Our logic seems to be based around certain assumptions (1)
The Portuguese were rulers from afar, with another culture
and religion, and therefore hand no business to be here (2)
To have gained so much, they surely must have looted from Goa
(3) Colonisers don't rule for the benefit of some distant
folk in some other land.

All of this is true, yet the conclusions our politicians are
arriving at need not be true.

One book should be made compulsory reading for post-1961
Goans (who are almost as Lusophobic as the pre-1961 Goans
were Lusostalgic).  This is Martin Page's 'The First Global
Village: How Portugal Changed the World'.

  Let me assure you this work is not an apologia for
  colonialism.  It is written by a Briton, and the
  Brits tend to have very dismissive views of the
  Portuguese colonial enterprise.  (This is a trend
  which has incidentally also 

[Goanet-News] Goa CM's Rs 32.68-Crore (Rs 326.8 million) Advertising Largesse Ensures He's in Firm Control of Media (Devika Sequeira, The Wire)

[Goanet Reader]

Pramod Sawant's bloated budget has helped
sugar-coat media coverage around his
person and leadership.  Recently, the Goa
edition of Lokmat ran over 14 pages of
his birthday ads

Goa CM's Rs 32.68-Crore Advertising Largesse Ensures He's in
Firm Control of Media

Pramod Sawant. Photo: Twitter/@DrPramodPSawant

Devika Sequeira
22/May/2023

Panjim: Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant turned 50 on April
24.  The personal milestone fetched him "special" interviews
in almost all the local newspapers with some exceptions.

In the English daily O Heraldo, Sawant's birthday interview
made it to the top of page one, as it did in the Marathi
newspaper Navprabha.

Preceded by full-page ads that glorified him to almost cult
status à la Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief
minister's golden anniversary interview found space on page
three in the Navhind Times and Lokmat.

The Goa edition of Lokmat scored over 14 pages of Sawant's
birthday ads -- there were six full-pagers in Pudhari --
gushing in fawning admiration for the once backbencher BJP
MLA who has quickly picked up the art of self-projection and
media management.

  Goa's print media were not the only ones
  obsequiously falling in line to cover the non-news
  event of a politician's birthday.  Homegrown
  digital players, most of which exist only on social
  media, went a step further to provide live feed of
  Sawant cutting his birthday cake at his home in
  Sanquelim.

The "enterprising" Goa News Hub even managed an "exclusive"
interview with the chief minister's father, Pandurang Sawant
who welled up over his son's childhood and his unlikely climb
to the top after the former defence minister Manohar
Parrikar's death in March of 2019.

Till last year, O Heraldo which claims to be "the largest
selling English daily" in Goa, had hitched its media group to
almost exclusively promote Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool
Congress party in the state's February 2022 legislative
assembly election.

When that partnership sank with the TMC's zero score in the
Goa election, the newspaper did not hold back its punches.
With stinging and editorialised reporting it blamed TMC for
not holding its end of the bargain and for "forcing" Luizinho
Faleiro to give up his Rajya Sabha seat.  Faleiro who had
moved from the Congress to TMC in September 2021 with an eye
on the Goa February 2022 election was elected to the Rajya
Sabha in November 2021 from a seat vacated by a TMC MP.

  Goa's print and broadcast media have a
  long-standing reputation for peddling promotional
  content as "news" with little compunction,
  particularly during elections.  The regional
  media's notoriety as purveyors of "paid news" has
  found a smart investor in the chief minister who is
  proving to be far more hard-nosed and wily than his
  critics had given him credit for.

While the Union government has cut down drastically on its
media advertising expenditure in the last few years, with
most legacy media brought to heel, Sawant has given himself a
bloated budget to sugar-coat media coverage around his person
and leadership.

Between April 2020 to February of this year, the Goa
government spent over Rs 32.68 crore on advertisements to
media organisations big and small, according to documents
tabled in the state's legislative assembly on March 27,
2023.

In response to a question from Aam Aadmi Party MLA Venzy
Viegas, Sawant said no agency had been appointed to
"publicise" government schemes, but this was being done
directly through government ads released by the state's
department of information and publicity (DIP), which of
course is one of the chief minister's portfolios.

Also read: India's Overt and Covert
Chilling of Press Freedom

Among the big ticket beneficiaries of the government's media
ad spends are The Goan group which cornered a bonanza of Rs
5.15 crore over the last three years, the Navhind Times group
which got Rs 3.17 crore, the Sakal-owned Gomantak group (Rs
2.67 crore), Tarun Bharat (Rs 2.58 crore), O Heraldo group
(Rs 2.2 crore), Lokmat (Rs 2.26 crore), Pudhari (Rs 1.83
crore), Times of India (Rs 1.48 crore) and Republic Media (Rs
1.19 crore).

Sawant's publicity splurge also extended to those with
connections to the BJP and Sangh-affiliated publishing
houses.  Mirchi Republic Media Productions an events
management company run by one Bansi Balbhim Khedekar got Rs
Rs 3.31 cr in ad support as a "radio agency".

Among the Sangh publications, Bharat Prakashan, which brings
out Organiser and Panchjanya, and Kovai Media which publishes
Swarajya and a handful of others got Goa government ads worth
over Rs 1 crore collectively.  Even the Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) souvenir managed a generous Rs 10
lakh.

While hardline right-wing publications like Sanatan Prabhat
(which got Rs 21.64 lakh) have been generously supported by
Pramod Sawant, India's public broadcaster 

[Goanet] Goa CM's Rs 32.68-Crore (Rs 326.8 million) Advertising Largesse Ensures He's in Firm Control of Media (Devika Sequeira, The Wire)

[Goanet Reader]

Pramod Sawant's bloated budget has helped
sugar-coat media coverage around his
person and leadership.  Recently, the Goa
edition of Lokmat ran over 14 pages of
his birthday ads

Goa CM's Rs 32.68-Crore Advertising Largesse Ensures He's in
Firm Control of Media

Pramod Sawant. Photo: Twitter/@DrPramodPSawant

Devika Sequeira
22/May/2023

Panjim: Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant turned 50 on April
24.  The personal milestone fetched him "special" interviews
in almost all the local newspapers with some exceptions.

In the English daily O Heraldo, Sawant's birthday interview
made it to the top of page one, as it did in the Marathi
newspaper Navprabha.

Preceded by full-page ads that glorified him to almost cult
status à la Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief
minister's golden anniversary interview found space on page
three in the Navhind Times and Lokmat.

The Goa edition of Lokmat scored over 14 pages of Sawant's
birthday ads -- there were six full-pagers in Pudhari --
gushing in fawning admiration for the once backbencher BJP
MLA who has quickly picked up the art of self-projection and
media management.

  Goa's print media were not the only ones
  obsequiously falling in line to cover the non-news
  event of a politician's birthday.  Homegrown
  digital players, most of which exist only on social
  media, went a step further to provide live feed of
  Sawant cutting his birthday cake at his home in
  Sanquelim.

The "enterprising" Goa News Hub even managed an "exclusive"
interview with the chief minister's father, Pandurang Sawant
who welled up over his son's childhood and his unlikely climb
to the top after the former defence minister Manohar
Parrikar's death in March of 2019.

Till last year, O Heraldo which claims to be "the largest
selling English daily" in Goa, had hitched its media group to
almost exclusively promote Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool
Congress party in the state's February 2022 legislative
assembly election.

When that partnership sank with the TMC's zero score in the
Goa election, the newspaper did not hold back its punches.
With stinging and editorialised reporting it blamed TMC for
not holding its end of the bargain and for "forcing" Luizinho
Faleiro to give up his Rajya Sabha seat.  Faleiro who had
moved from the Congress to TMC in September 2021 with an eye
on the Goa February 2022 election was elected to the Rajya
Sabha in November 2021 from a seat vacated by a TMC MP.

  Goa's print and broadcast media have a
  long-standing reputation for peddling promotional
  content as "news" with little compunction,
  particularly during elections.  The regional
  media's notoriety as purveyors of "paid news" has
  found a smart investor in the chief minister who is
  proving to be far more hard-nosed and wily than his
  critics had given him credit for.

While the Union government has cut down drastically on its
media advertising expenditure in the last few years, with
most legacy media brought to heel, Sawant has given himself a
bloated budget to sugar-coat media coverage around his person
and leadership.

Between April 2020 to February of this year, the Goa
government spent over Rs 32.68 crore on advertisements to
media organisations big and small, according to documents
tabled in the state's legislative assembly on March 27,
2023.

In response to a question from Aam Aadmi Party MLA Venzy
Viegas, Sawant said no agency had been appointed to
"publicise" government schemes, but this was being done
directly through government ads released by the state's
department of information and publicity (DIP), which of
course is one of the chief minister's portfolios.

Also read: India's Overt and Covert
Chilling of Press Freedom

Among the big ticket beneficiaries of the government's media
ad spends are The Goan group which cornered a bonanza of Rs
5.15 crore over the last three years, the Navhind Times group
which got Rs 3.17 crore, the Sakal-owned Gomantak group (Rs
2.67 crore), Tarun Bharat (Rs 2.58 crore), O Heraldo group
(Rs 2.2 crore), Lokmat (Rs 2.26 crore), Pudhari (Rs 1.83
crore), Times of India (Rs 1.48 crore) and Republic Media (Rs
1.19 crore).

Sawant's publicity splurge also extended to those with
connections to the BJP and Sangh-affiliated publishing
houses.  Mirchi Republic Media Productions an events
management company run by one Bansi Balbhim Khedekar got Rs
Rs 3.31 cr in ad support as a "radio agency".

Among the Sangh publications, Bharat Prakashan, which brings
out Organiser and Panchjanya, and Kovai Media which publishes
Swarajya and a handful of others got Goa government ads worth
over Rs 1 crore collectively.  Even the Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) souvenir managed a generous Rs 10
lakh.

While hardline right-wing publications like Sanatan Prabhat
(which got Rs 21.64 lakh) have been generously supported by
Pramod Sawant, India's public broadcaster 

[Goanet] Goa has the potential... for bombast? (FN)

[Goanet Reader]

Goa has the potential... for bombast?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Frederick Noronha in The Goan
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

My friend Emil shared a WhatsApp message the other day.  It
didn't say much.  It just contained a long list of (what
looked like) newspaper headings.  Each one said something
nice about Goa, about its potential.  Or, how this could
become into a land of sugar and spice.

  Everyone was promising so many things, it almost
  sounded funny.  It took me a minute or two to
  realise the point that Emil was trying to make.
  Then, I caught on.

Who compiled this, I asked.  "I did," Emil shot back, "as I
found the phrase 'Goa has the potential' too often used."

Interesting! And see how it reads:

Chief minister Pramod Sawant is telling us that Goa has the
potential become a defence manufacturing hub one day, and a
"startup forum" the next.  Vijai Sardessai has been telling
us that Goa has the potential to become a "floriculture state".

Union minister Giriraj Singh has told us that Goa has the
potential to become the "fisheries hub of the country".
Never mind that people of our generation have lived through
the mechanisation of our coast, traditional fishermen's
protests, and the decimation of our fish resources.

Another report in a local English-language daily tells us
that Goa has the potential to become the "No 1 destination
for filmmakers".  And, of course, Goa also has the "potential
to" become a big investment destination (Chief Minister
Sawant again).

  Experts put it across that Goa has the potential to
  become a global board of trade, or a multi-modal
  logistic hub (Mauvin Godinho, as industries
  minister).  To former President APJ Abdul Kalam
  goes the credit of seeing Goa as a "potential
  state" for the cultivation of cash crops, spices
  and medicinal plants.  Now, who wouldn't want that?

At another stage, the wise ex-President saw Goa as having the
"potential, courage and God's grace" to transform into "a
prosperous, happy, peaceful and secure State".  Then, at
another stage, the ex-President also could see the potential
to become an "IT-rich environment [with tools] such as
tele-education, tele-medicine and e-Governance." (APJ Abdul
Kalam)

  Rohan Khaunte has seen Goa's potential "to
  double-up as a tourism-cum-knowledge destination".
  Meanwhile, the TERI, the Energy and Resources
  Institute, has also diagnosed Goa's potential "of
  being a global leader in high-value organic farming
  and being an example of enterprise-led agriculture".

Savio Rodrigues, the politician-returned expat-media person
and Republic TV's preferred quotable person from these parts,
saw Goa's potential to "have a robust healthcare economy
coupled with rising demand for medical tourism".

The list seems endless.  How much one can dig up depends only
on how much time one has to waste.  As if to catch up with
the political bombast, such approaches have spread among our
newspapers and op-ed pages too.  One saw a "potential for
safe tourism" in Goa, while another writer pushed Goa's
potential to "become an innovation hub".

  And finally, there's even one from the
  Netherlands-headquartered KPMG, one of the Big Four
  accounting organisations worldwide: "Goa has the
  potential to focus on well-being through its
  lifestyle and traditions." What exactly this means,
  could be anyone's guess.

* * *

This might seem like some harmless kite-flying on the part of
our political class.  But it is not so innocent.

Over the years, Goa has been sold a whole lot of hype,
promises and dreams.  We forget what was said and what was
promised.  This tall talk makes us feel good; but no track is
kept of it.  Wool is pulled over the eyes of the citizen.

By some coincidence, even while reading the above, I happened
to be going through some of my old books and paper clippings
from some decades ago.  What I read there also shocked me.
So many promises were made, and yet so little fulfilled.

  In 2002, the Goa Chambers was saying: "Goa offers
  the ideal locale for co-locating R at a national
  technology park to generate homegrown technologies.
  Annual venture funding fairs, technology fairs
  could catalyse the creation of the new emerging
  Indian IT markets."

In 1993, a group called the Haryana Delhi Industrial
Consultants Ltd was promising a "coconut cream project" and
all its benefits for Goa.  By 2005, ICAR, the Indian Council
of Agricultural Research was hosting a national seminar on
agro-eco tourism at Ela, Old Goa!  But talk comes cheap, and
seminar papers can often have little relevance to real life.

  By 2007, Goa was being hyped up as Best Governed
  State (west) by Dataquest.  The Goa Broad Band
  Network was inaugurated.  Built on a public-private
 

[Goanet-News] Goa has the potential... for bombast? (FN)

[Goanet Reader]

Goa has the potential... for bombast?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Frederick Noronha in The Goan
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

My friend Emil shared a WhatsApp message the other day.  It
didn't say much.  It just contained a long list of (what
looked like) newspaper headings.  Each one said something
nice about Goa, about its potential.  Or, how this could
become into a land of sugar and spice.

  Everyone was promising so many things, it almost
  sounded funny.  It took me a minute or two to
  realise the point that Emil was trying to make.
  Then, I caught on.

Who compiled this, I asked.  "I did," Emil shot back, "as I
found the phrase 'Goa has the potential' too often used."

Interesting! And see how it reads:

Chief minister Pramod Sawant is telling us that Goa has the
potential become a defence manufacturing hub one day, and a
"startup forum" the next.  Vijai Sardessai has been telling
us that Goa has the potential to become a "floriculture state".

Union minister Giriraj Singh has told us that Goa has the
potential to become the "fisheries hub of the country".
Never mind that people of our generation have lived through
the mechanisation of our coast, traditional fishermen's
protests, and the decimation of our fish resources.

Another report in a local English-language daily tells us
that Goa has the potential to become the "No 1 destination
for filmmakers".  And, of course, Goa also has the "potential
to" become a big investment destination (Chief Minister
Sawant again).

  Experts put it across that Goa has the potential to
  become a global board of trade, or a multi-modal
  logistic hub (Mauvin Godinho, as industries
  minister).  To former President APJ Abdul Kalam
  goes the credit of seeing Goa as a "potential
  state" for the cultivation of cash crops, spices
  and medicinal plants.  Now, who wouldn't want that?

At another stage, the wise ex-President saw Goa as having the
"potential, courage and God's grace" to transform into "a
prosperous, happy, peaceful and secure State".  Then, at
another stage, the ex-President also could see the potential
to become an "IT-rich environment [with tools] such as
tele-education, tele-medicine and e-Governance." (APJ Abdul
Kalam)

  Rohan Khaunte has seen Goa's potential "to
  double-up as a tourism-cum-knowledge destination".
  Meanwhile, the TERI, the Energy and Resources
  Institute, has also diagnosed Goa's potential "of
  being a global leader in high-value organic farming
  and being an example of enterprise-led agriculture".

Savio Rodrigues, the politician-returned expat-media person
and Republic TV's preferred quotable person from these parts,
saw Goa's potential to "have a robust healthcare economy
coupled with rising demand for medical tourism".

The list seems endless.  How much one can dig up depends only
on how much time one has to waste.  As if to catch up with
the political bombast, such approaches have spread among our
newspapers and op-ed pages too.  One saw a "potential for
safe tourism" in Goa, while another writer pushed Goa's
potential to "become an innovation hub".

  And finally, there's even one from the
  Netherlands-headquartered KPMG, one of the Big Four
  accounting organisations worldwide: "Goa has the
  potential to focus on well-being through its
  lifestyle and traditions." What exactly this means,
  could be anyone's guess.

* * *

This might seem like some harmless kite-flying on the part of
our political class.  But it is not so innocent.

Over the years, Goa has been sold a whole lot of hype,
promises and dreams.  We forget what was said and what was
promised.  This tall talk makes us feel good; but no track is
kept of it.  Wool is pulled over the eyes of the citizen.

By some coincidence, even while reading the above, I happened
to be going through some of my old books and paper clippings
from some decades ago.  What I read there also shocked me.
So many promises were made, and yet so little fulfilled.

  In 2002, the Goa Chambers was saying: "Goa offers
  the ideal locale for co-locating R at a national
  technology park to generate homegrown technologies.
  Annual venture funding fairs, technology fairs
  could catalyse the creation of the new emerging
  Indian IT markets."

In 1993, a group called the Haryana Delhi Industrial
Consultants Ltd was promising a "coconut cream project" and
all its benefits for Goa.  By 2005, ICAR, the Indian Council
of Agricultural Research was hosting a national seminar on
agro-eco tourism at Ela, Old Goa!  But talk comes cheap, and
seminar papers can often have little relevance to real life.

  By 2007, Goa was being hyped up as Best Governed
  State (west) by Dataquest.  The Goa Broad Band
  Network was inaugurated.  Built on a public-private
 

[Goanet-News] Meet Joe Falcao: A Journey Through Seven Countries To Becoming A Unicorn CFO

[Goanet Reader]

This feature focuses on Joe (José) Falçao, an early Goanetter
who has been on this network since the mid-1990s, when it
first started. Congratulations! Thanks to Eddie Fernandes'
goanvoice.org.uk for sharing the link.

* * *

Meet Joe Falcao: A Journey Through Seven Countries To
Becoming A Unicorn CFO

Jack McCullough
Senior Contributor

A look at the challenges and opportunities facing CFOs.

Apr 17, 2023,05:00am EDT

Joe Falcao, the Chief Financial Officer
at Orva, has had a long and fascinating
journey from his birthplace in Kenya to
his current position as CFO.  Falcao has
worked in various countries, and these
experiences have given him a deep
appreciation for diverse cultures and a
global perspective that has been
invaluable in his career.

Joe Falcao is a serial CFO, presently serving as Orva's
finance chief.

Falcao was born in Kenya, where his father ran a Safari park,
before briefly moving to Goa, India, where his family
heritage is from.  At eight he moved to Brazil where he
studied economics and computer science at the University of
Sao Paulo, eventually earning an MBA at Fundação Getulio
Vargas.

  He began his career in technology, working for
  Solvay, where he was part of a team that
  transformed the company into a more agile and
  streamlined organization.  Falcao spent more than
  20 years in Brazil.  He dealt with frequent changes
  to the economic and political landscape, allowing
  him to look at the economic fundamentals of the
  business.

After almost seven years at Solvay, Falcao moved to Cabot
Corporation, where he held ex-pat roles in Malaysia and
Belgium.  In 2001, he returned to the US, where he worked as
controller for a global information technology company.

He then worked across several industries including consumer
products (Dunkin Brands), telecommunications (iBasis),
medical devices (Microline Surgical), and e-commerce,
including Thrasio, where he joined as their CFO and was
employee number five.  The team drove to the Unicorn status
in less than two years.

  Falcao has had several mentors who have influenced
  his career, including his father, the Cabot CFO who
  hired him, and the CIO of Solvay, who was an
  inspiring leader ahead of her time.  He enjoys
  being a CFO because it allows him to serve as a
  trusted advisor to the CEO and work across the
  entire C-Suite.  The CFO can build an external
  eco-system of trusted advisors and ensure ethics
  and integrity are instilled as cultural values.

He also is an uber-networker.  He is a founding member of the
CFO Leadership Council, a professional association for CFOs
and other financial leaders, and has volunteered for the MIT
Sloan CFO for 20 years.  He is very engaged mentor and
committed to developing the next generation of finance
chiefs.

Falcao is currently the CFO of Orva, a top seller on Amazon
that sells branded footwear products.  During Joe’s tenure,
the company has enjoyed explosive growth in the sports
apparel and equipment sector.

CxO: C-suite news, analysis, and advice for top decision
makers right to your inbox.

You may opt out any time.  By signing up for this newsletter,
you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

  Falcao believes that the biggest challenge facing
  CFOs today is to be ambidextrous, work on
  short-term needs and look ahead and "around the
  corner" to scale the business.  He approaches
  financial leadership as a team sport, requiring
  agility across the entire enterprise.  Like so many
  CFOs, Falcao finds leading high performance teams
  to be one of his more complex, yet rewarding,
  challenges.

When asked about how he sees the role of the CFO changing,
Falcao predicts that AI and ChatGPT will help streamline data
gathering and aggregation, but decision-making and looking
through the business fundamentals will remain with people.

Falcao likes to track leading indicators when evaluating
business performance.  Assuming lag indicators are easy, he
builds a balanced view of the business from different
perspectives using KPIs such as customer reviews, customer
return rate, underlying cost drivers, employee attrition,
employee engagement (Gallup score), and supplier rating.  It
is noteworthy that none of them are traditional finance or
accounting metrics.

Falcao believes that the three qualities of a 'Rockstar CFO'
are strategic thinking, empathy, and financial expertise.
Strategic thinking is critical to understanding the business
model, and empathy is important for building strong
relationships with stakeholders. Financial expertise is
essential for making sound financial decisions that will
drive growth and create shareholder value.

Joe Falcao's journey from his birthplace in Kenya to his
current position as CFO of Orva is a testament to his
resilience, 

[Goanet] Meet Joe Falcao: A Journey Through Seven Countries To Becoming A Unicorn CFO

[Goanet Reader]

This feature focuses on Joe (José) Falçao, an early Goanetter
who has been on this network since the mid-1990s, when it
first started. Congratulations! Thanks to Eddie Fernandes'
goanvoice.org.uk for sharing the link.

* * *

Meet Joe Falcao: A Journey Through Seven Countries To
Becoming A Unicorn CFO

Jack McCullough
Senior Contributor

A look at the challenges and opportunities facing CFOs.

Apr 17, 2023,05:00am EDT

Joe Falcao, the Chief Financial Officer
at Orva, has had a long and fascinating
journey from his birthplace in Kenya to
his current position as CFO.  Falcao has
worked in various countries, and these
experiences have given him a deep
appreciation for diverse cultures and a
global perspective that has been
invaluable in his career.

Joe Falcao is a serial CFO, presently serving as Orva's
finance chief.

Falcao was born in Kenya, where his father ran a Safari park,
before briefly moving to Goa, India, where his family
heritage is from.  At eight he moved to Brazil where he
studied economics and computer science at the University of
Sao Paulo, eventually earning an MBA at Fundação Getulio
Vargas.

  He began his career in technology, working for
  Solvay, where he was part of a team that
  transformed the company into a more agile and
  streamlined organization.  Falcao spent more than
  20 years in Brazil.  He dealt with frequent changes
  to the economic and political landscape, allowing
  him to look at the economic fundamentals of the
  business.

After almost seven years at Solvay, Falcao moved to Cabot
Corporation, where he held ex-pat roles in Malaysia and
Belgium.  In 2001, he returned to the US, where he worked as
controller for a global information technology company.

He then worked across several industries including consumer
products (Dunkin Brands), telecommunications (iBasis),
medical devices (Microline Surgical), and e-commerce,
including Thrasio, where he joined as their CFO and was
employee number five.  The team drove to the Unicorn status
in less than two years.

  Falcao has had several mentors who have influenced
  his career, including his father, the Cabot CFO who
  hired him, and the CIO of Solvay, who was an
  inspiring leader ahead of her time.  He enjoys
  being a CFO because it allows him to serve as a
  trusted advisor to the CEO and work across the
  entire C-Suite.  The CFO can build an external
  eco-system of trusted advisors and ensure ethics
  and integrity are instilled as cultural values.

He also is an uber-networker.  He is a founding member of the
CFO Leadership Council, a professional association for CFOs
and other financial leaders, and has volunteered for the MIT
Sloan CFO for 20 years.  He is very engaged mentor and
committed to developing the next generation of finance
chiefs.

Falcao is currently the CFO of Orva, a top seller on Amazon
that sells branded footwear products.  During Joe’s tenure,
the company has enjoyed explosive growth in the sports
apparel and equipment sector.

CxO: C-suite news, analysis, and advice for top decision
makers right to your inbox.

You may opt out any time.  By signing up for this newsletter,
you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

  Falcao believes that the biggest challenge facing
  CFOs today is to be ambidextrous, work on
  short-term needs and look ahead and "around the
  corner" to scale the business.  He approaches
  financial leadership as a team sport, requiring
  agility across the entire enterprise.  Like so many
  CFOs, Falcao finds leading high performance teams
  to be one of his more complex, yet rewarding,
  challenges.

When asked about how he sees the role of the CFO changing,
Falcao predicts that AI and ChatGPT will help streamline data
gathering and aggregation, but decision-making and looking
through the business fundamentals will remain with people.

Falcao likes to track leading indicators when evaluating
business performance.  Assuming lag indicators are easy, he
builds a balanced view of the business from different
perspectives using KPIs such as customer reviews, customer
return rate, underlying cost drivers, employee attrition,
employee engagement (Gallup score), and supplier rating.  It
is noteworthy that none of them are traditional finance or
accounting metrics.

Falcao believes that the three qualities of a 'Rockstar CFO'
are strategic thinking, empathy, and financial expertise.
Strategic thinking is critical to understanding the business
model, and empathy is important for building strong
relationships with stakeholders. Financial expertise is
essential for making sound financial decisions that will
drive growth and create shareholder value.

Joe Falcao's journey from his birthplace in Kenya to his
current position as CFO of Orva is a testament to his
resilience, 

[Goanet-News] An initiative, on an island, to take robotics to students (Chorao)

[Goanet Reader]

AN INITIATIVE, ON AN ISLAND, TO TAKE ROBOTICS TO STUDENTS

On an island in Goa, an initiative led by techies, volunteers
and educationists is taking robotics to school students.

  Recently, the St Bartholomew's High School (Chorao)
  in partnership with Uzoorba Technologies LLP (also
  from Chorao), organised a three-day (9am-1pm @
  April 3-4-5, 2023) robotics camp.  It was attended
  by an estimated 170 students of 28 village schools
  mainly from the talukas of Tiswadi, Bicholim and
  Bardez.

Chorao is a scenic island just outside of Panjim and the old
capital of Old Goa.

RoboSplash2023 was aimed at "sparking the minds of Grade 6-8
students on the exciting and productive possibilities through
modern technologies".  It aims at making them creators and
problem-solvers in a country requiring more of our youth to
pursue higher education and careers in STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields.

Interestingly some 21 students of two Chorao schools, trained
in robotics under Uzoorba’s Goa2Mars program during this
academic year, were made to teach and guide their peers from
these 28 schools during this camp.

  With emphasis on fun learning the camp featured a
  number of competitive games between the teams who
  used their respective robocars built at this camp.
  Each team were given the chance to take their Camp
  Kit -- comprising of the robocar, sensors and other
  electronic items -- back to their school to
  continue their journey into the world of robotics.

The event was supported by the Goa Government's IT
Department, and the Persistent Foundation, besides other
technology companies based in Goa like Buoyancy Consultants,
Tangentia, SparkPlus Technologies and Spintly.

This ambitious program was made possible through the generous
support from the Goa Minister of IT, Mr.  Rohan Khaunte and
the Persistent Foundation besides Technology companies of Goa

Vincent Toscano (Managing Partner, Uzoorba Technologies)
conceptualised and architected this camp.  He was also the
Lead Instructor for the entire camp program and was supported
by his Uzoorba team which worked to make this
mega-undertaking possible.

The camp concluded with exciting competitions like Robocar
Race and SumoWar being played between the teams who completed
their Robocars the fastest and accurately.

The video below shares the IT vision of Toscano:
https://youtu.be/5-pHL6FTyCY

###

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] An initiative, on an island, to take robotics to students (Chorao)

[Goanet Reader]

AN INITIATIVE, ON AN ISLAND, TO TAKE ROBOTICS TO STUDENTS

On an island in Goa, an initiative led by techies, volunteers
and educationists is taking robotics to school students.

  Recently, the St Bartholomew's High School (Chorao)
  in partnership with Uzoorba Technologies LLP (also
  from Chorao), organised a three-day (9am-1pm @
  April 3-4-5, 2023) robotics camp.  It was attended
  by an estimated 170 students of 28 village schools
  mainly from the talukas of Tiswadi, Bicholim and
  Bardez.

Chorao is a scenic island just outside of Panjim and the old
capital of Old Goa.

RoboSplash2023 was aimed at "sparking the minds of Grade 6-8
students on the exciting and productive possibilities through
modern technologies".  It aims at making them creators and
problem-solvers in a country requiring more of our youth to
pursue higher education and careers in STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields.

Interestingly some 21 students of two Chorao schools, trained
in robotics under Uzoorba’s Goa2Mars program during this
academic year, were made to teach and guide their peers from
these 28 schools during this camp.

  With emphasis on fun learning the camp featured a
  number of competitive games between the teams who
  used their respective robocars built at this camp.
  Each team were given the chance to take their Camp
  Kit -- comprising of the robocar, sensors and other
  electronic items -- back to their school to
  continue their journey into the world of robotics.

The event was supported by the Goa Government's IT
Department, and the Persistent Foundation, besides other
technology companies based in Goa like Buoyancy Consultants,
Tangentia, SparkPlus Technologies and Spintly.

This ambitious program was made possible through the generous
support from the Goa Minister of IT, Mr.  Rohan Khaunte and
the Persistent Foundation besides Technology companies of Goa

Vincent Toscano (Managing Partner, Uzoorba Technologies)
conceptualised and architected this camp.  He was also the
Lead Instructor for the entire camp program and was supported
by his Uzoorba team which worked to make this
mega-undertaking possible.

The camp concluded with exciting competitions like Robocar
Race and SumoWar being played between the teams who completed
their Robocars the fastest and accurately.

The video below shares the IT vision of Toscano:
https://youtu.be/5-pHL6FTyCY

###

[Goanet-News] Not the usual history of Goa (FN)

[Goanet Reader]

Not the usual history of Goa

Frederick Noronha
fredericknoron...@gmail.com

  Goa's past is a strongly contested one.  Depending
  on whom you are reading, or listening to, you could
  easily believe that you are encountering very
  different regions.  Now, along comes a book which
  offers yet another different take on Goan history
  -- definitely not the one you're likely to learn in
  the text books of our times.

'The Portuguese Presence in India' (Notion Press, 2020) by
Joao A. de Menezes has what appears like a cross-laden
caravela sailing into tropical waters on its cover.  You
could mistake this work as containing the nostalgic
outpourings of a Daizporean Goan.  But, actually, two things
stand out here.

Firstly, the author offers a rather intense understanding of
a narrow band of Goa's history (mainly 1947-1967).

Secondly, the Poona-born, ex-Aden, US-educated Bombay Port
Trust-(1963-1991) Chief Mechanical Engineer cites rather
detailed and lesser-noticed records to bolster his argument.

  In the polarised world of Goan historiography, it
  might be tempting to dismiss these as
  pro-Portuguese perspectives.  But, before doing
  that, what is written here perhaps deserves to be
  given a fair hearing.  Even if only to understand
  the point it is trying to make.  Or, how valid it
  is.

Agree with him or not, Menezes packs in details with
engineering precision.  In between some personal details of
his life (in Aden and Poona early on in the book and
elsewhere later), João António Timotio Ligorio da Piedade
Menezes includes some interesting facts, details and even
official perspectives.

Some of these are known facts of history, but which we often
overlook.  For instance, of all the European powers that held
colonies and trading posts in India, the Portuguese came the
earliest and went the last (1505 to 1916).  Other
influential powers didn't come early.  After the Portuguese
were the Dutch (1605 to 1826), the Danish (1620 to 1869), the
French (1668 to 1954).  Finally, though they were the most
impactful, came the British, from 1757 to 1947.  (From 1612
to 1756, it was the British East India Company that held
not-as-vast stretches of territory.)

The section on Goan life in Poona, though a distraction from
the main topic of the book, is rather detailed.  It gives an
insight that few other books on Goan migration, which one has
come across, tells about that one-time Maratha-ruled city, and
the unusual Maratha-Portuguese-Goa relationships.

Some details focus on Goa too.

  Menezes argues that Portugal's equation with its
  "colony" Goa was different from, say, Britain's
  with India.  In Goa, he says, the locals had "same
  identical laws as Metropolitan Portugal".
  Excepting the Governor General and the Chefe do
  Gabinete, all officials and judiciary were locals,
  even if the army and navy were not, though (p.45).

This is a different way of looking at Goa's history, one
which today many might not agree with.  But, Menezes offers
many original (and translated) documents and records from
those times.

Among these are the 1940 Concordat between the Vatican and
Portugal.  Then there's also the lengthy and interesting
official correspondence between India and Portugal, on
another largely unnoticed issue.  Quite early on, after 1947,
questions had been raised about Portugal's right to decide on
Catholic Prelates in parts of what became Independent India.

Menezes points out that the Diocese of Daman (including
Portuguese-built churches in Bassein, Bombay, Chaul and
elsewhere in the vicinity of former British India) were part
of the Goa archdiocese.  Likewise, places like Cochin,
Mylapore, Quilon, Trinchinipoly, Mangalore and Bombay.  All
these were till 1950 part of the Padroado, and linked to Goa.

This was also the case with Dioceses of Belgaum, Poona.
Amidst the changing post-1947 power equations, India had a
lengthy and -- apparently little studied -- correspondence
with Lisbon over this.

* * *

Menezes inserts his own take on life in yesteryear Goa; this
contrasts strongly against some very fact-based,
document-citing writing on the place.  It's hard to make up
one's mind on whether this slightly hinders the narration, or
helps to actually hold the writer's interest to all these
seldom-narrated facts.

The story of the Exposition of 1952 reminds us that Hotel
Mandovi "became the newest and largest to have show up at the
Exposition, and was built by Purxotoma Quenim, who later was
elected one of the three Deputies representing Portuguese
India to the National Assembly, Lisbon." Unfortunately, that
era has recent come to a close, at least for now, with the
hotel currently not being in operation.

We learn why the Archdiocese is named "Goa and Damao"
(p.117).  Or, what was the history of Goa's airlines TAIP
(whose airhostesses 

[Goanet] Not the usual history of Goa (FN)

[Goanet Reader]

Not the usual history of Goa

Frederick Noronha
fredericknoron...@gmail.com

  Goa's past is a strongly contested one.  Depending
  on whom you are reading, or listening to, you could
  easily believe that you are encountering very
  different regions.  Now, along comes a book which
  offers yet another different take on Goan history
  -- definitely not the one you're likely to learn in
  the text books of our times.

'The Portuguese Presence in India' (Notion Press, 2020) by
Joao A. de Menezes has what appears like a cross-laden
caravela sailing into tropical waters on its cover.  You
could mistake this work as containing the nostalgic
outpourings of a Daizporean Goan.  But, actually, two things
stand out here.

Firstly, the author offers a rather intense understanding of
a narrow band of Goa's history (mainly 1947-1967).

Secondly, the Poona-born, ex-Aden, US-educated Bombay Port
Trust-(1963-1991) Chief Mechanical Engineer cites rather
detailed and lesser-noticed records to bolster his argument.

  In the polarised world of Goan historiography, it
  might be tempting to dismiss these as
  pro-Portuguese perspectives.  But, before doing
  that, what is written here perhaps deserves to be
  given a fair hearing.  Even if only to understand
  the point it is trying to make.  Or, how valid it
  is.

Agree with him or not, Menezes packs in details with
engineering precision.  In between some personal details of
his life (in Aden and Poona early on in the book and
elsewhere later), João António Timotio Ligorio da Piedade
Menezes includes some interesting facts, details and even
official perspectives.

Some of these are known facts of history, but which we often
overlook.  For instance, of all the European powers that held
colonies and trading posts in India, the Portuguese came the
earliest and went the last (1505 to 1916).  Other
influential powers didn't come early.  After the Portuguese
were the Dutch (1605 to 1826), the Danish (1620 to 1869), the
French (1668 to 1954).  Finally, though they were the most
impactful, came the British, from 1757 to 1947.  (From 1612
to 1756, it was the British East India Company that held
not-as-vast stretches of territory.)

The section on Goan life in Poona, though a distraction from
the main topic of the book, is rather detailed.  It gives an
insight that few other books on Goan migration, which one has
come across, tells about that one-time Maratha-ruled city, and
the unusual Maratha-Portuguese-Goa relationships.

Some details focus on Goa too.

  Menezes argues that Portugal's equation with its
  "colony" Goa was different from, say, Britain's
  with India.  In Goa, he says, the locals had "same
  identical laws as Metropolitan Portugal".
  Excepting the Governor General and the Chefe do
  Gabinete, all officials and judiciary were locals,
  even if the army and navy were not, though (p.45).

This is a different way of looking at Goa's history, one
which today many might not agree with.  But, Menezes offers
many original (and translated) documents and records from
those times.

Among these are the 1940 Concordat between the Vatican and
Portugal.  Then there's also the lengthy and interesting
official correspondence between India and Portugal, on
another largely unnoticed issue.  Quite early on, after 1947,
questions had been raised about Portugal's right to decide on
Catholic Prelates in parts of what became Independent India.

Menezes points out that the Diocese of Daman (including
Portuguese-built churches in Bassein, Bombay, Chaul and
elsewhere in the vicinity of former British India) were part
of the Goa archdiocese.  Likewise, places like Cochin,
Mylapore, Quilon, Trinchinipoly, Mangalore and Bombay.  All
these were till 1950 part of the Padroado, and linked to Goa.

This was also the case with Dioceses of Belgaum, Poona.
Amidst the changing post-1947 power equations, India had a
lengthy and -- apparently little studied -- correspondence
with Lisbon over this.

* * *

Menezes inserts his own take on life in yesteryear Goa; this
contrasts strongly against some very fact-based,
document-citing writing on the place.  It's hard to make up
one's mind on whether this slightly hinders the narration, or
helps to actually hold the writer's interest to all these
seldom-narrated facts.

The story of the Exposition of 1952 reminds us that Hotel
Mandovi "became the newest and largest to have show up at the
Exposition, and was built by Purxotoma Quenim, who later was
elected one of the three Deputies representing Portuguese
India to the National Assembly, Lisbon." Unfortunately, that
era has recent come to a close, at least for now, with the
hotel currently not being in operation.

We learn why the Archdiocese is named "Goa and Damao"
(p.117).  Or, what was the history of Goa's airlines TAIP
(whose airhostesses 

[Goanet-News] GOA IN THE EARLY 1900S: The art of making shining, jet-black ink (BaDa Satoskar, translated by Milind Kamat)

[Goanet Reader]

GOA IN THE EARLY 1900S: The art of making shining, jet-black ink

Circa 1915, Marcela, Goa

Nadkarni teacher (respectfully called as Master or Guruji)
started teaching us elementary subjects like Maths and
Marathi.  In those days, such 'resident' teachers were
employed by some well-to-do Hindu families of the village.

In addition to the children of the patronizing family, other
children in the village, irrespective of their social strata,
also used to attend the 'school' which took place either in
the portico of the patron's house or in the मुख-मंडप
'mukh-mandap' (main hall) of the village temple.

Nadkarni master was very particular about grammatical
accuracy of sentences and quality of cursive handwriting.
For Maths, the steps to solve the equation had to be
detailed, no shortcuts to simply arrive at the final answer
were tolerated.

  Master was quite versatile not only in the
  scholastic subjects but also knew some
  tricks-of-the-trade.  He taught us to prepare a
  homemade ointment for minor injuries caused during
  playing sports as well as to produce a shining
  jet-black color ink, though making the ink was
  cumbersome!

So, how was this shining, jet-black ink made?

उकडो 'Ukdo' (parboiled) rice was roasted to the extent that
the rice turned completely dark black.  हिरडा 'Hirda' fruits
(Myrobalan, botanical name: Terminalia chebula) were
collected from the jungle in the vicinity of our village.

The Hirda fruits were crushed to remove the seeds inside,
after which the Hirda fruits were kept to dry them
completely. The treated Ukda rice and the dried Hirda
fruits, as above, were pounded together in a खलबत्ता
'Khalbatta' (mortar pestle) to turn both into a fine powder.

This powder was then sieved through a clean cotton cloth
(markin cloth).  Another important ingredient was the काजळ
'Kaajal' (lampblack/soot) which was collected by holding the
bottom of a metal bowl over a तीळ 'Teel' (Sesame) fueled oil
lamp to disrupt the flame. The above two (i.e., rice mixed
hirda powder and kajal) and a bit of gum was mixed vigorously
by hand, with intermittent addition of some water to finally
produce a shining, jet-black ink!

  I remember Nadkarni Master's words that this type
  of ink was being used in the courts of Indian
  rulers to write official documents.

-- 
[Extract from the book स्मरण “Smaran” (Reminiscence).  Author:
Balkrishna Dattatray "Ba.Da." Satoskar.  Published by Sagar
Sahitya, Panjim 1972.  Translated for Goanet Reader by Milind
Kamat.  kamat_mil...@yahoo.com Goanet Reader is edited and
compiled by Frederick Noronha.  Send your interesting
articles, well thought out comment pieces, analysis and
translations to fredericknoron...@gmail.com ]

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] GOA IN THE EARLY 1900S: The art of making shining, jet-black ink (BaDa Satoskar, translated by Milind Kamat)

[Goanet Reader]

GOA IN THE EARLY 1900S: The art of making shining, jet-black ink

Circa 1915, Marcela, Goa

Nadkarni teacher (respectfully called as Master or Guruji)
started teaching us elementary subjects like Maths and
Marathi.  In those days, such 'resident' teachers were
employed by some well-to-do Hindu families of the village.

In addition to the children of the patronizing family, other
children in the village, irrespective of their social strata,
also used to attend the 'school' which took place either in
the portico of the patron's house or in the मुख-मंडप
'mukh-mandap' (main hall) of the village temple.

Nadkarni master was very particular about grammatical
accuracy of sentences and quality of cursive handwriting.
For Maths, the steps to solve the equation had to be
detailed, no shortcuts to simply arrive at the final answer
were tolerated.

  Master was quite versatile not only in the
  scholastic subjects but also knew some
  tricks-of-the-trade.  He taught us to prepare a
  homemade ointment for minor injuries caused during
  playing sports as well as to produce a shining
  jet-black color ink, though making the ink was
  cumbersome!

So, how was this shining, jet-black ink made?

उकडो 'Ukdo' (parboiled) rice was roasted to the extent that
the rice turned completely dark black.  हिरडा 'Hirda' fruits
(Myrobalan, botanical name: Terminalia chebula) were
collected from the jungle in the vicinity of our village.

The Hirda fruits were crushed to remove the seeds inside,
after which the Hirda fruits were kept to dry them
completely. The treated Ukda rice and the dried Hirda
fruits, as above, were pounded together in a खलबत्ता
'Khalbatta' (mortar pestle) to turn both into a fine powder.

This powder was then sieved through a clean cotton cloth
(markin cloth).  Another important ingredient was the काजळ
'Kaajal' (lampblack/soot) which was collected by holding the
bottom of a metal bowl over a तीळ 'Teel' (Sesame) fueled oil
lamp to disrupt the flame. The above two (i.e., rice mixed
hirda powder and kajal) and a bit of gum was mixed vigorously
by hand, with intermittent addition of some water to finally
produce a shining, jet-black ink!

  I remember Nadkarni Master's words that this type
  of ink was being used in the courts of Indian
  rulers to write official documents.

-- 
[Extract from the book स्मरण “Smaran” (Reminiscence).  Author:
Balkrishna Dattatray "Ba.Da." Satoskar.  Published by Sagar
Sahitya, Panjim 1972.  Translated for Goanet Reader by Milind
Kamat.  kamat_mil...@yahoo.com Goanet Reader is edited and
compiled by Frederick Noronha.  Send your interesting
articles, well thought out comment pieces, analysis and
translations to fredericknoron...@gmail.com ]

[Goanet-News] Teatro in Toronto, Canada, down the ages! (1976-2019) (Silviano Barbosa)

[Goanet Reader]

 Gracias, Russell D'Souza, Agnelo Fernandes (Singer)
Chris Gomes (Lyricist, Character Actor, Singer), Elvis Rodrigues
(Projection),
Fay Da Costa, Owen Da Costa, Olwen Da Costa, Apolonia Da Costa,
Agnelo Gracias (Lyricist), Yolanda Gracias, Rhiza Gracias, Rhio Gracias,
Sylda Gracias & Reiner Gracias,
Sandra Alva, Alison Rozario, Synuae Diniz (Character Actor)
Samson Santimano (Ace Comedian), Gaspar Moraes, Giann Moraes,
Grace Almeida, Nash Lobo, Nifa Alphonso, Santosh D'Souza, Gerry D'Mello,
Joe Rodrigues, Maria Makdani, Kaylin Almeida, Valerie Vaz
Steve Fernandes (Producer, Singer), Anita Pereira, Joaozinho Rodrigues
(Stage),
Character actors  Sheila Puri, Priti Shetigar & Rucha Murkunde
Branca Noronha, Ronald Monteiro, Joe Rodrigues, Louie Pinto, Maria D'Souza,
Jennifer Fernandes, Bonfilio Pereira, Allwyn Gomes,
Charmaine Menezes, Jude Menezes &  Nikita Menezes,
Zachary, Michael  Gomes.


Musical Tiatr Bands:
1. Cootie
2. Illusions
3. Manuel Rodrigues
4. Desert Storm
5. Jazzmen
6. The Goa Amigos

Musicians:
Cootie, Manuel Rodrigues, Louis Pereira, William Fernandes,
Tony Da Costa, Mackvin Dias, Lawry Rodrigues, Logan
Rodrigues, Sylvester Fernandes, Santan D'Mello.  Orlando De
Mello, Vic Lobo, Filipe Menezes, Lennon Barreto, Keith
D'Souza, Caje Fernandes, Donald Colaco, Santan De Mello,
Cajetan Fernandes, Lawrie Fernandes, Rudy Lopes, Lenny Lopes.
 Ashley Pinto, Lawrey D'Souza, Lorenzo D'Souza.

Singers:
Ruth Kumar, Hazel Jacob, Iris Rodrigues, Cynthia & Blanche
Barco, Joe & Auriole Fernandes, Lourdino Rodrigues, Malkan &
Madhu Pinto, Kimberly Sequeira, Whitney D'Cunha, Stephanie
Menezes, Abigail & Austin Pereira, Cheryl Fernandez, Glynis
Vales, Scarlet Vales, Clifford Gomes, Francis Fernandes,
Andrea Fernandes, Austin Pereira, Olympio Fernandes, Jack
Fernandes, Agnelo Fernandes, Lara Rebello & Oscar Nazareth,
Joyson D'Souza, Wilson D'Souza, Steven Fernandes, Rozario
Semedo, Cheryllyn Flower, Socorro Silva, Joaquim, Romualdo,
Anita Prabhu, Sonia Monteiro, Joyson D'Souza, Gerry D'Mello,
Candida Pereira Camelo Vanessa D'Souza, Sandeep Kadbet, Dr.
Lucina Pinto.


Goan Theatrical Group (GTG) 1978-1997 Members & Volunteers:

Frank De Souza, Margaret De Souza, Zulema De Souza, Stan
Nunes, Lina Nunes, Braz D'Cruz, Richard Fernandes, Bernard
Lynch, Francis Fernandes, Martin Rodrigues, Natalie
Rodrigues, Errol Francis, Neves De Souza, Lina Remedios,
Frank Fernandes, Maggie Francis, Carl Mendes, Max Menezes,
Leo Madeira, Sarah Madeira, Hazel Fernandes, Liane Mendes,
Lynn Sousa Marques, William Fernandes, Clara Fernandes,
Sharon De Souza, Lenny Lopes, Sylvester D'Abreu and Roque
Barreto.

Goan Konkani Troupe (GKT) 1989-2006 Members & Volunteers:

Richard Fernandes, Jr.  Menezes, Sandra Menezes, Josie
Carrasco, Terry Carrasco, Rosy  Fernandes,  Joe Moraes,
Francis Moraes, Joe Dantas, Tony D'Silva, Joe Vaz, A.C.
Pereira, Filu Pereira, Louisa de Saligao, Evaristo Fernandes,
Birdie Gomes, Bernard Gomes, Elita Rego, Loni D'Souza, Olavio
Da Costa, Ben Joanes, Gerard Sequeira, Lino D'Souza, Martha
Dias, Raul Collaco, Auggie & Angela Pereira, Everest D'Souza,
Kimberley Sequeira, Sandra Miranda, Godfrey Pinto, Winnie
Crasto, Jean Pinto, Madhu Pinto, Malkan  Pinto, ,Joe &
Auriole Fernandes, Ruth Kumar, Hazel Jacob, Grace Fernandes,
Donald and Sandra Alva,  Hazel Dantas, Martin Rodrigues, Iris
Rodrigues, Marshal Fernandes, Lourdino Rodrigues, Serah and
Silviano Barbosa, Blanche & Cynthia Barco, Veronica Barco,
Gaspar D'Souza, Benny Pereira, Arren Mohit, Protasio
Fernandes, Olga Collaco, Xavier Rodrigues, Ophelia D'Souza

Stage: A.C.  Pereira, Joaozinho Rodrigues,  Jacob Thomas,
Gerard Sequeira, Xavier Rodrigues, Mickey Rodrigues, Enzo
Rego, Elvis Rego,Crasto, Keith Crasto .

Make-up: Olga Collaco, Joyce Moraes, Serah Barbosa

References:

1) John Nazareth, History of The Goan Overseas Association, Toronto, Canada
2) Eugene Correia, Journalist
3) Margaret De Souza, Director, Writer, Goan Theatrical Group
4) Jr. Menezes, Director, Goan Konkani Troupe
5) Marshal Fernandes, Director
6) Joe Vaz, Director
7) Richard Fernandes, Director
8) Lourdino Rodrigues, Goan Konkani Troupe
9) Tiatr Brochures

PHOTOS: Not included in this text

Brochure Covers of some Tiatrs in Toronto (1992-2019)
Above : Tiatr Ensemble 2013 'Jit' directed by Joe Vaz.
Left: Jr.  Menezes & Serah Barbosa from a comedy scene in
2008 Tiatr 'Adeus' Written & Directed by Jr.  Menezes
Tiatr Ensemble: 2014 Gharachem Sukh Director : Marshal
Fernandes
Tiatr Hall Audience!
Ensemble from 2012 Show 'Dotor Hansoupache' Director Marshal
Fernandes
Scene from the Tiatr Gharachem Sukh by Remmie Colaco, with
Olavio, Rhiza, Sandra, Sylda, Grace, Tony Da Silva & Director
Marshal Fernandes.
Jr. Menezes & Serah Barbosa from a comedy scene from 2010 Tiatr 'Dukh'
Tiatr Scene with: Sandra Nenezes, Rhiza Gracias, Sylda
Gracias & Grace Almeida
Tiatr singing Scene with: Marshal Fernandes, Tony Da Silva &
Olavio 

[Goanet] Teatro in Toronto, Canada, down the ages! (1976-2019) (Silviano Barbosa)

[Goanet Reader]

 Gracias, Russell D'Souza, Agnelo Fernandes (Singer)
Chris Gomes (Lyricist, Character Actor, Singer), Elvis Rodrigues
(Projection),
Fay Da Costa, Owen Da Costa, Olwen Da Costa, Apolonia Da Costa,
Agnelo Gracias (Lyricist), Yolanda Gracias, Rhiza Gracias, Rhio Gracias,
Sylda Gracias & Reiner Gracias,
Sandra Alva, Alison Rozario, Synuae Diniz (Character Actor)
Samson Santimano (Ace Comedian), Gaspar Moraes, Giann Moraes,
Grace Almeida, Nash Lobo, Nifa Alphonso, Santosh D'Souza, Gerry D'Mello,
Joe Rodrigues, Maria Makdani, Kaylin Almeida, Valerie Vaz
Steve Fernandes (Producer, Singer), Anita Pereira, Joaozinho Rodrigues
(Stage),
Character actors  Sheila Puri, Priti Shetigar & Rucha Murkunde
Branca Noronha, Ronald Monteiro, Joe Rodrigues, Louie Pinto, Maria D'Souza,
Jennifer Fernandes, Bonfilio Pereira, Allwyn Gomes,
Charmaine Menezes, Jude Menezes &  Nikita Menezes,
Zachary, Michael  Gomes.


Musical Tiatr Bands:
1. Cootie
2. Illusions
3. Manuel Rodrigues
4. Desert Storm
5. Jazzmen
6. The Goa Amigos

Musicians:
Cootie, Manuel Rodrigues, Louis Pereira, William Fernandes,
Tony Da Costa, Mackvin Dias, Lawry Rodrigues, Logan
Rodrigues, Sylvester Fernandes, Santan D'Mello.  Orlando De
Mello, Vic Lobo, Filipe Menezes, Lennon Barreto, Keith
D'Souza, Caje Fernandes, Donald Colaco, Santan De Mello,
Cajetan Fernandes, Lawrie Fernandes, Rudy Lopes, Lenny Lopes.
 Ashley Pinto, Lawrey D'Souza, Lorenzo D'Souza.

Singers:
Ruth Kumar, Hazel Jacob, Iris Rodrigues, Cynthia & Blanche
Barco, Joe & Auriole Fernandes, Lourdino Rodrigues, Malkan &
Madhu Pinto, Kimberly Sequeira, Whitney D'Cunha, Stephanie
Menezes, Abigail & Austin Pereira, Cheryl Fernandez, Glynis
Vales, Scarlet Vales, Clifford Gomes, Francis Fernandes,
Andrea Fernandes, Austin Pereira, Olympio Fernandes, Jack
Fernandes, Agnelo Fernandes, Lara Rebello & Oscar Nazareth,
Joyson D'Souza, Wilson D'Souza, Steven Fernandes, Rozario
Semedo, Cheryllyn Flower, Socorro Silva, Joaquim, Romualdo,
Anita Prabhu, Sonia Monteiro, Joyson D'Souza, Gerry D'Mello,
Candida Pereira Camelo Vanessa D'Souza, Sandeep Kadbet, Dr.
Lucina Pinto.


Goan Theatrical Group (GTG) 1978-1997 Members & Volunteers:

Frank De Souza, Margaret De Souza, Zulema De Souza, Stan
Nunes, Lina Nunes, Braz D'Cruz, Richard Fernandes, Bernard
Lynch, Francis Fernandes, Martin Rodrigues, Natalie
Rodrigues, Errol Francis, Neves De Souza, Lina Remedios,
Frank Fernandes, Maggie Francis, Carl Mendes, Max Menezes,
Leo Madeira, Sarah Madeira, Hazel Fernandes, Liane Mendes,
Lynn Sousa Marques, William Fernandes, Clara Fernandes,
Sharon De Souza, Lenny Lopes, Sylvester D'Abreu and Roque
Barreto.

Goan Konkani Troupe (GKT) 1989-2006 Members & Volunteers:

Richard Fernandes, Jr.  Menezes, Sandra Menezes, Josie
Carrasco, Terry Carrasco, Rosy  Fernandes,  Joe Moraes,
Francis Moraes, Joe Dantas, Tony D'Silva, Joe Vaz, A.C.
Pereira, Filu Pereira, Louisa de Saligao, Evaristo Fernandes,
Birdie Gomes, Bernard Gomes, Elita Rego, Loni D'Souza, Olavio
Da Costa, Ben Joanes, Gerard Sequeira, Lino D'Souza, Martha
Dias, Raul Collaco, Auggie & Angela Pereira, Everest D'Souza,
Kimberley Sequeira, Sandra Miranda, Godfrey Pinto, Winnie
Crasto, Jean Pinto, Madhu Pinto, Malkan  Pinto, ,Joe &
Auriole Fernandes, Ruth Kumar, Hazel Jacob, Grace Fernandes,
Donald and Sandra Alva,  Hazel Dantas, Martin Rodrigues, Iris
Rodrigues, Marshal Fernandes, Lourdino Rodrigues, Serah and
Silviano Barbosa, Blanche & Cynthia Barco, Veronica Barco,
Gaspar D'Souza, Benny Pereira, Arren Mohit, Protasio
Fernandes, Olga Collaco, Xavier Rodrigues, Ophelia D'Souza

Stage: A.C.  Pereira, Joaozinho Rodrigues,  Jacob Thomas,
Gerard Sequeira, Xavier Rodrigues, Mickey Rodrigues, Enzo
Rego, Elvis Rego,Crasto, Keith Crasto .

Make-up: Olga Collaco, Joyce Moraes, Serah Barbosa

References:

1) John Nazareth, History of The Goan Overseas Association, Toronto, Canada
2) Eugene Correia, Journalist
3) Margaret De Souza, Director, Writer, Goan Theatrical Group
4) Jr. Menezes, Director, Goan Konkani Troupe
5) Marshal Fernandes, Director
6) Joe Vaz, Director
7) Richard Fernandes, Director
8) Lourdino Rodrigues, Goan Konkani Troupe
9) Tiatr Brochures

PHOTOS: Not included in this text

Brochure Covers of some Tiatrs in Toronto (1992-2019)
Above : Tiatr Ensemble 2013 'Jit' directed by Joe Vaz.
Left: Jr.  Menezes & Serah Barbosa from a comedy scene in
2008 Tiatr 'Adeus' Written & Directed by Jr.  Menezes
Tiatr Ensemble: 2014 Gharachem Sukh Director : Marshal
Fernandes
Tiatr Hall Audience!
Ensemble from 2012 Show 'Dotor Hansoupache' Director Marshal
Fernandes
Scene from the Tiatr Gharachem Sukh by Remmie Colaco, with
Olavio, Rhiza, Sandra, Sylda, Grace, Tony Da Silva & Director
Marshal Fernandes.
Jr. Menezes & Serah Barbosa from a comedy scene from 2010 Tiatr 'Dukh'
Tiatr Scene with: Sandra Nenezes, Rhiza Gracias, Sylda
Gracias & Grace Almeida
Tiatr singing Scene with: Marshal Fernandes, Tony Da Silva &
Olavio 

[Goanet-News] OPINIONATED: A sad farewell to the values of Goa's 'comunidade' system (Augusto Rodrigues)

[Goanet Reader]

OPINIONATED
A sad farewell to the values of Goa's 'comunidade' system

Avarice has got the better of
comunidade managing committees.
The managing committees of the
'comunidades' have been ripping
the system apart for personal
gain.

GT Digital

Published on: 28 Mar, 2023, 3:48 pm
BY AUGUSTO RODRIGUES

Perusing my Facebook account, I came across a post that said,
'Giving away a brand new coffin.  Bought it for my husband,
but he has lived longer than I had hoped and expected, so no
longer required, and it's cluttering up my house.'

The mindset is neither surprising nor shocking because it
reflects the mindset largely prevailing in Goa.  A
self-serving attitude, where materialism is all that matters,
has taken root.

The managing committees of the 'comunidades' have been
ripping the system apart for personal gain.

This mindset, in time, is slowly becoming part of our ethos.
Any semblance of the community-building attitudes of old has
disappeared into a cesspool of corruption and apathy, with no
sign of any resurgence.

Money when removed from its purpose of serving one's needs
becomes a source of evil.  Like a virulent contagion
spreading from individual to individual, it corrupts society,
leaving little room for change.

Goa of yesterday is almost gone -- at least the old mindset
has disappeared.  This is evinced more concretely in the
state's gradually disappearing natural beauty.

Those returning home for a holiday will find it difficult to
find the past with which they grew up.

  All that was once unique to Goa is being destroyed.
  A classic case in point is the attempt to taint the
  comunidades of Goa -- a system of governance
  started a thousand years ago and which was a
  near-perfect example of community living by equally
  sharing nature's bounty.

The ancient gaunkari system, which predated the Portuguese,
was codified by the conquerors to become the comunidade
system.  In these times, however, the land under the
comunidades has depleted.

That which remains with the comunidades, nevertheless, has
led the custodians of the comunidades to join the bandwagon
of 'make hay while the sun shines'.

The Government of Goa has decided to acquire comunidade land
for public projects by amending some articles of the Goa
Legislative Diploma and the cabinet has granted approval for
a bill.

The government, it appears, through this bill wants to become
the custodian of comunidade land.

The new bill indicates:

(a) That the comunidades will need approval from the
government if they want to develop their own land through
private agencies.

(b) The process of election of members of managing committees
will be improved by amending articles 39, 50, 70, 327 and
334-A of the Goa Legislative Diploma No 2070.

(c) New articles 334-C,339-A and 339-B will be inserted in
the code so as to grant land through long leases for such
period, on such terms and conditions it deems fit to
government departments; government undertakings or any
statutory bodies constituted by the state government.

(d) Properties vested with the administrator of comunidades
will be considered public properties to face eviction.

(e) Government will pay a circle rate for land acquired,
bought or leased from a comunidade.

  The comunidade system is what Goa is all about.
  Unfortunately, we have not been able to get the
  best of the system to pass down through the years,
  with many leaders of the system (members of the
  managing committees) ripping the system apart for
  personal gain.

There are 229 comunidades in Goa, and to get even a handful
to function the way they were envisaged is a herculean task.
Greed having taken over, sharing is caring has turned into an
outdated adage.  Now the comunidade land is eyed greedily by
unscrupulous outsiders.

When a code of the comunidade needs to be amended or changed,
all comunidades are sent a notice to delegate a member for a
convention that is headed by the proxy of the governor.

It is during this meeting that changes, if any, are
discussed, made and then submitted to the legislative council
for approval.

The general body of all comunidades is supreme.  This is
legally accepted and can be seen in judgments passed by the
High Court of Bombay in Goa.  But these decisions are either
ignored or overlooked time and again.

Honestly, the personal greed of quite a few, which is an
understatement, has led to the sorry plight of the
comunidades today.

Comunidades in South Goa, a part of the Novas Conquistas, are
managed differently than those in the north.  The difference
can be seen not only in administration but in the mindset and
the way of living.

Instead of sharing, the emphasis is on looting, and success
is measured by the amount looted and how far it is kept away
from the law.

This is the sorry state of affairs.

Ours is a case where coffins need not be disposed of, but
hoarded, to hide the shame 

[Goanet] OPINIONATED: A sad farewell to the values of Goa's 'comunidade' system (Augusto Rodrigues)

[Goanet Reader]

OPINIONATED
A sad farewell to the values of Goa's 'comunidade' system

Avarice has got the better of
comunidade managing committees.
The managing committees of the
'comunidades' have been ripping
the system apart for personal
gain.

GT Digital

Published on: 28 Mar, 2023, 3:48 pm
BY AUGUSTO RODRIGUES

Perusing my Facebook account, I came across a post that said,
'Giving away a brand new coffin.  Bought it for my husband,
but he has lived longer than I had hoped and expected, so no
longer required, and it's cluttering up my house.'

The mindset is neither surprising nor shocking because it
reflects the mindset largely prevailing in Goa.  A
self-serving attitude, where materialism is all that matters,
has taken root.

The managing committees of the 'comunidades' have been
ripping the system apart for personal gain.

This mindset, in time, is slowly becoming part of our ethos.
Any semblance of the community-building attitudes of old has
disappeared into a cesspool of corruption and apathy, with no
sign of any resurgence.

Money when removed from its purpose of serving one's needs
becomes a source of evil.  Like a virulent contagion
spreading from individual to individual, it corrupts society,
leaving little room for change.

Goa of yesterday is almost gone -- at least the old mindset
has disappeared.  This is evinced more concretely in the
state's gradually disappearing natural beauty.

Those returning home for a holiday will find it difficult to
find the past with which they grew up.

  All that was once unique to Goa is being destroyed.
  A classic case in point is the attempt to taint the
  comunidades of Goa -- a system of governance
  started a thousand years ago and which was a
  near-perfect example of community living by equally
  sharing nature's bounty.

The ancient gaunkari system, which predated the Portuguese,
was codified by the conquerors to become the comunidade
system.  In these times, however, the land under the
comunidades has depleted.

That which remains with the comunidades, nevertheless, has
led the custodians of the comunidades to join the bandwagon
of 'make hay while the sun shines'.

The Government of Goa has decided to acquire comunidade land
for public projects by amending some articles of the Goa
Legislative Diploma and the cabinet has granted approval for
a bill.

The government, it appears, through this bill wants to become
the custodian of comunidade land.

The new bill indicates:

(a) That the comunidades will need approval from the
government if they want to develop their own land through
private agencies.

(b) The process of election of members of managing committees
will be improved by amending articles 39, 50, 70, 327 and
334-A of the Goa Legislative Diploma No 2070.

(c) New articles 334-C,339-A and 339-B will be inserted in
the code so as to grant land through long leases for such
period, on such terms and conditions it deems fit to
government departments; government undertakings or any
statutory bodies constituted by the state government.

(d) Properties vested with the administrator of comunidades
will be considered public properties to face eviction.

(e) Government will pay a circle rate for land acquired,
bought or leased from a comunidade.

  The comunidade system is what Goa is all about.
  Unfortunately, we have not been able to get the
  best of the system to pass down through the years,
  with many leaders of the system (members of the
  managing committees) ripping the system apart for
  personal gain.

There are 229 comunidades in Goa, and to get even a handful
to function the way they were envisaged is a herculean task.
Greed having taken over, sharing is caring has turned into an
outdated adage.  Now the comunidade land is eyed greedily by
unscrupulous outsiders.

When a code of the comunidade needs to be amended or changed,
all comunidades are sent a notice to delegate a member for a
convention that is headed by the proxy of the governor.

It is during this meeting that changes, if any, are
discussed, made and then submitted to the legislative council
for approval.

The general body of all comunidades is supreme.  This is
legally accepted and can be seen in judgments passed by the
High Court of Bombay in Goa.  But these decisions are either
ignored or overlooked time and again.

Honestly, the personal greed of quite a few, which is an
understatement, has led to the sorry plight of the
comunidades today.

Comunidades in South Goa, a part of the Novas Conquistas, are
managed differently than those in the north.  The difference
can be seen not only in administration but in the mindset and
the way of living.

Instead of sharing, the emphasis is on looting, and success
is measured by the amount looted and how far it is kept away
from the law.

This is the sorry state of affairs.

Ours is a case where coffins need not be disposed of, but
hoarded, to hide the shame 

[Goanet-News] On the sad death of a great Goan footballer (A Veronica Fernandes)

[Goanet Reader]

he overwhelming
majority of our tiatrists tend to be shy of reading.

Now coming back to the late Antonio Joao Rebello  during
his few years of stay in Kuwait, spectators would anjoy
seeing him play the very robust and hard tackling soccer as
is played now in the South America.  So much so, that when
they came to know that he had come to Kuwait and was playing
football at Sour Ground, which is the citadel of expatriates
and Indians in particular, a few Kuwaitis including the
national footballers of Kuwait came to see him since they had
seen him playing for India and had taken back a very good
impression of him.

The English English Press was fabulous in giving him due
coverage.  Though he had migrated to Kuwait only after he
passed his prime, yet spectators still enjoyed watching his
game.  I think this is the first time that such a vast press
coverage was given to any sportsperson.

  In his death, Goan soccer will be poorer.  This is
  the man who brought name, fame and honour to his
  village and to Goa by playing wonderful soccer.  He
  helped to motivate more youngsters to follow his
  path, bringing more and more laurels to his village
  of Curtorim (Salcete) and Goa.  All his
  co-villagers must join together and take an
  initiative to start an all-Goa knock-out soccer
  tournament in his name.

Once again, may his soul rest in peace.

###
Edited and circulated via Goanet-Reader.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] On the sad death of a great Goan footballer (A Veronica Fernandes)

[Goanet Reader]

he overwhelming
majority of our tiatrists tend to be shy of reading.

Now coming back to the late Antonio Joao Rebello  during
his few years of stay in Kuwait, spectators would anjoy
seeing him play the very robust and hard tackling soccer as
is played now in the South America.  So much so, that when
they came to know that he had come to Kuwait and was playing
football at Sour Ground, which is the citadel of expatriates
and Indians in particular, a few Kuwaitis including the
national footballers of Kuwait came to see him since they had
seen him playing for India and had taken back a very good
impression of him.

The English English Press was fabulous in giving him due
coverage.  Though he had migrated to Kuwait only after he
passed his prime, yet spectators still enjoyed watching his
game.  I think this is the first time that such a vast press
coverage was given to any sportsperson.

  In his death, Goan soccer will be poorer.  This is
  the man who brought name, fame and honour to his
  village and to Goa by playing wonderful soccer.  He
  helped to motivate more youngsters to follow his
  path, bringing more and more laurels to his village
  of Curtorim (Salcete) and Goa.  All his
  co-villagers must join together and take an
  initiative to start an all-Goa knock-out soccer
  tournament in his name.

Once again, may his soul rest in peace.

###
Edited and circulated via Goanet-Reader.

[Goanet-News] EXTRACT: Dark night (from Yvonne Vaz's new book This is My Song, 2023)

[Goanet Reader]

Dark night

[From Yvonne Vaz's book This is My Song, a memoir set in diverse lands.]

Which yesterday do I write about first?

The answer comes loud and clear from my inner self. Tell about the dark
night.

It is October 1956.

I am living with my dad, Lucio Alexander Vaz, my mum Lucy and three
brothers Patrick, Lloyd and Gordon in Kutkai, a small town in the Northern
Shan States of Burma, just a few miles from the China border. Our home is a
prominent concrete house standing alone on a hill which overlooks the quiet
wooden homes of mostly businessmen and their families. On another nearby
hill which can be seen from our house is the PWD (Public Works Department)
office building where my engineer dad works as the SDO (Sub-Divisional
Officer). He's in charge of administration as well as looking after the
roads and bridges that connect to other nearby towns. He takes us on trips
sometimes.

Kutkai is a peaceful little town. Nothing much happens here. Maybe that's
my impression of what I saw on the surface. Traffic passed in and out going
between towns on the China border on one side and Lashio, the capital of
the Northern Shan State on the other. People could openly buy and sell all
kinds of Chinese goods in Lashio and other cities.

I am nine years old and in deep sleep on a rainy October night when I hear
disturbing sounds, muffled voices, from my mother's bedroom. I am woken up.
Hardly able to keep my eyes open, I get up to check, then what I see
banishes sleep. Fully alert now, I see some men with black masks on their
faces, opening cupboards, pulling out things and throwing them on the
floor, while my mother is standing next to the bed and saying something.

I recognise one of the men. He does odd jobs at our house, and now he is in
the same clothes he wore every day, the same beret on his head. The black
piece of cloth over his mouth does nothing to disguise him. I call his
name, ask him what he wants. Silence! They know their identities are
revealed. They have no way out, except to get rid of us. They must have
already been angry because they could not find any money.

The next few hours are a blur. I vaguely recall being beaten savagely. I
try to protect my face with my arms. Next, I remember being on my bed,
crying because my hands are a bloody mass of flesh, flayed to the bone. The
bones too look strange, broken up. I remember my wrists falling over on the
sides, just the skin keeping the bits together. That was the last time I
saw my left arm. Strangely, I don't remember the pain. I call out for help
when I gain a little consciousness, then drift off again. I don't know how
long this goes on.

My father is away on a work trip inspecting roads.  He told us later that
he had a strong desire to return home and even though it was night, he made
his way home.  As luck would have it, his jeep broke down a few miles out
of town, and he spent the night in his vehicle.

Later, I reconstruct what happened to the rest of my family.  The only one
left unharmed is my youngest brother, Gordon.  He is nearly two years old
and safe in his cot.  My brave six-year-old brother Lloyd picks up his
slipper to hit the robbers and ends up with three fingers being chopped
off.  My 13-year-old brother Patrick gets hit from behind as he is trying
to run out the back door.  The back of his skull opens up but he manages to
run out to the back, where the driver and maid are staying.  They shelter
him, but don't come out as they are petrified.  My mother is the one with
the most injuries to her face and arms.

We don't know when the robbers leave.  The mali (gardener) who lives in the
servant's quarters comes out his door to see what's going on and gets badly
beaten on his face.  (I meet him later and the scars are bad.) He runs out
to the neighbour's house and collapses at their door.  They do not dare to
enter our house, so someone runs to the concert hall where a function is
going on, and reports that dacoits have entered our house and are attacking
us.  A group of people come and surround our house.  I hear a man asking if
the dacoits are still in the house.  We yell out “No”.  They enter, carry
us out to an empty bus, and rush us to the hospital.  My mouth is so dry.
I keep asking for water.  I don't understand why they ignore my request.
Later, I learn that it was because we are bleeding so much.  I remember
opening my mouth to catch a few drops of rain to quench my thirst.

They can't find my elder brother because he's still holed up in the maid's
quarters.  He is found next morning by my dad's friend, the SawbwaChieftan
of a small state within the Shan States and brought to the same hospital
we're already in.  Someone pushed the piece of loose skull onto the back of
his head and tied it there with a piece of cloth.  It is a miracle that he
survived.

At the small local hospital, there's only one doctor.  He is so drunk that
he comes out of his house, and collapses when he sees us.  I recall his
wife and children who are 

[Goanet] EXTRACT: Dark night (from Yvonne Vaz's new book This is My Song, 2023)

[Goanet Reader]

Dark night

[From Yvonne Vaz's book This is My Song, a memoir set in diverse lands.]

Which yesterday do I write about first?

The answer comes loud and clear from my inner self. Tell about the dark
night.

It is October 1956.

I am living with my dad, Lucio Alexander Vaz, my mum Lucy and three
brothers Patrick, Lloyd and Gordon in Kutkai, a small town in the Northern
Shan States of Burma, just a few miles from the China border. Our home is a
prominent concrete house standing alone on a hill which overlooks the quiet
wooden homes of mostly businessmen and their families. On another nearby
hill which can be seen from our house is the PWD (Public Works Department)
office building where my engineer dad works as the SDO (Sub-Divisional
Officer). He's in charge of administration as well as looking after the
roads and bridges that connect to other nearby towns. He takes us on trips
sometimes.

Kutkai is a peaceful little town. Nothing much happens here. Maybe that's
my impression of what I saw on the surface. Traffic passed in and out going
between towns on the China border on one side and Lashio, the capital of
the Northern Shan State on the other. People could openly buy and sell all
kinds of Chinese goods in Lashio and other cities.

I am nine years old and in deep sleep on a rainy October night when I hear
disturbing sounds, muffled voices, from my mother's bedroom. I am woken up.
Hardly able to keep my eyes open, I get up to check, then what I see
banishes sleep. Fully alert now, I see some men with black masks on their
faces, opening cupboards, pulling out things and throwing them on the
floor, while my mother is standing next to the bed and saying something.

I recognise one of the men. He does odd jobs at our house, and now he is in
the same clothes he wore every day, the same beret on his head. The black
piece of cloth over his mouth does nothing to disguise him. I call his
name, ask him what he wants. Silence! They know their identities are
revealed. They have no way out, except to get rid of us. They must have
already been angry because they could not find any money.

The next few hours are a blur. I vaguely recall being beaten savagely. I
try to protect my face with my arms. Next, I remember being on my bed,
crying because my hands are a bloody mass of flesh, flayed to the bone. The
bones too look strange, broken up. I remember my wrists falling over on the
sides, just the skin keeping the bits together. That was the last time I
saw my left arm. Strangely, I don't remember the pain. I call out for help
when I gain a little consciousness, then drift off again. I don't know how
long this goes on.

My father is away on a work trip inspecting roads.  He told us later that
he had a strong desire to return home and even though it was night, he made
his way home.  As luck would have it, his jeep broke down a few miles out
of town, and he spent the night in his vehicle.

Later, I reconstruct what happened to the rest of my family.  The only one
left unharmed is my youngest brother, Gordon.  He is nearly two years old
and safe in his cot.  My brave six-year-old brother Lloyd picks up his
slipper to hit the robbers and ends up with three fingers being chopped
off.  My 13-year-old brother Patrick gets hit from behind as he is trying
to run out the back door.  The back of his skull opens up but he manages to
run out to the back, where the driver and maid are staying.  They shelter
him, but don't come out as they are petrified.  My mother is the one with
the most injuries to her face and arms.

We don't know when the robbers leave.  The mali (gardener) who lives in the
servant's quarters comes out his door to see what's going on and gets badly
beaten on his face.  (I meet him later and the scars are bad.) He runs out
to the neighbour's house and collapses at their door.  They do not dare to
enter our house, so someone runs to the concert hall where a function is
going on, and reports that dacoits have entered our house and are attacking
us.  A group of people come and surround our house.  I hear a man asking if
the dacoits are still in the house.  We yell out “No”.  They enter, carry
us out to an empty bus, and rush us to the hospital.  My mouth is so dry.
I keep asking for water.  I don't understand why they ignore my request.
Later, I learn that it was because we are bleeding so much.  I remember
opening my mouth to catch a few drops of rain to quench my thirst.

They can't find my elder brother because he's still holed up in the maid's
quarters.  He is found next morning by my dad's friend, the SawbwaChieftan
of a small state within the Shan States and brought to the same hospital
we're already in.  Someone pushed the piece of loose skull onto the back of
his head and tied it there with a piece of cloth.  It is a miracle that he
survived.

At the small local hospital, there's only one doctor.  He is so drunk that
he comes out of his house, and collapses when he sees us.  I recall his
wife and children who are 

[Goanet-News] Remembering Agapito de Miranda, researcher of Goan culture and music (Antonio Da Costa, Tempe, Arizona)

[Goanet Reader]

Remembering Agapito de Miranda, researcher of Goan culture and music

By Fr Antonio Costa
Tempe, Arizona

Recently in the news was an item about Fundação Oriente in
Panjim organising an exhibition of works by Senhor Agapito
Miranda, brought together by Prof. Susana Sardo of Aveiro.

I am overjoyed that this event has finally happened. It is a
well-deserved honor and recognition of a man who, without
fanfare or boasting, silently but devotedly contributed so
much for the preservation and advancement of Goan music and
everything that one could say belongs to genuine Goan
tradition.  Kudos to the family, organizers, and the sponsors
of this event.

Having worked with Senhor Agapito (as I used to address him)
very closely for two years and being associated with him and
his work from 1970 until his death, I would be remiss if I do
not share my memories of him and my impressions on the
importance and value of the gigantic work this humble and
unpretentious man has left behind.

  In 1970, I was introduced to Senhor Agapito by his
  daughter Lisette de Miranda, now Lisette de Miranda
  e Cotta, the lead singer of the well-known group in
  Goa, 'The Cotta Family' a true exponent of genuine
  interpretation of Mando.  Lisette, who was also the
  lead singer of my then newly formed Choir at the
  Holy Spirit Church Margão, was at the time very
  involved in her father's work, especially the
  Mandos, and has published a mimeographed fascicle
  called 'Novea Manddeancho Jhelo' poilo ank.

My first encounter with Senhor Agapito was an instant meeting
of the minds on a common subject, the Mando.  I immediately
became aware of his deep knowledge and genuine understanding
of the mando and, as he stated, he could see in me my genuine
love of and experience in Mandos.

We both came from mando-loving families and we hailed from
villages of great composers.  He was born in Loutulim, the
birthplace of the great Torquato de Figueiredo, Paulo
Milagres da Silva and Eduardo de Menezes.  I am from
Curtorim, the land of the greatest mando composers such as
Arnaldo de Menezes, Gizelino Rebelo, Utilcia Rebelo, Ligorio
da Costa and more.

Once this bond was established, Senhor Agapito gave me full
access to his entire repertoire, and I perused it with great
pleasure and awe. What transpired from my review of his Goan
music research first and foremost was is genuine love and
appreciation of his love for Goan classical music (the
Mando), for Goan Folk music (dulpods, deknnis, fugddeos and
many other types from the 34 types of Goan songs thus far
identified by research).

Senhor Agapito also had great love for the religious music in
Konkani, Latin and Portuguese (hymns, motetes, masses).  His
repertoire was a rich collection of these different types of
songs by composers from the past as well as a vast number of
his own compositions in every category mentioned above.  A
great and valuable treasure indeed.

* * *

In the book 'Song of Goa: Crown of Mandos' by Dr. Jose
Pereira, Micael Martins and Antonio Da Costa, the authors
have included three extensive essays: Essay on the Mando (64
pages), The Romantic World of the Mando (16 pages) and the
Political and Social World of Mando (8 pages).  They give the
reader an idea of "all you want to know about Mando".

It was in the Mando that the West and the East merged, and
this fusion gave a beautiful new musical creation that we all
love. The themes of the Mando are love and events in the
socio-political life of Goa. But its favorite theme is love,

This love is oriented toward marriage, where the lover yearns
for union with his beloved, achieves that union, or laments
at his failure to realize it.

The love mandos are thus of three types: (1) Mandos of
Yearning -- Utrikeanche mandde such as Anju Tum Arcanju by
Eduardo de Menezes from Loutulim. This mando is commonly
known/sung by its second verse Doriachea Larari; Zaito Tempu
Zalo by Sebastiao Costa Fernandes from Curtorim.

(2) Mandos of Union -- Ekvottache mandde such as Sontos Bogta
Re Jivako by Gizelino Rebelo from Curtorim and Suryan Uzvadd
fankarolo by Torquato de Figueiredo from Loutulim) and

(z3) Mandos of Lamentation -- Villapanche mandde such as
Chintun Fuddar Deva Muzo by Arnaldo de Menezes from Curtorim
and Soglem Mujem Vido Chintunum by Torquato.

The Mandos of Events (Fobranche mandde) deal frequently with
social satire in which no one is spared, whether poor or
rich, big or powerful or clergy and even the governor.

Common examples will be Amkam Mel'lleai Beatinnim by Arnaldo
de Menezes, Raj Zal'm mhunn Republiko by Pascoal Barbosa
Noronha from Margão. Finally the mandos of political events
are a kind of political chronicle, a historical document that
registers political events for the future such as Setembrache
Ekvisaveri by Carlos Trinidade Dias from Davorlim and
Luizinh' Muje Luizinh’, author unknown.

The mandos composed by Senhor 

[Goanet] Remembering Agapito de Miranda, researcher of Goan culture and music (Antonio Da Costa, Tempe, Arizona)

[Goanet Reader]

Remembering Agapito de Miranda, researcher of Goan culture and music

By Fr Antonio Costa
Tempe, Arizona

Recently in the news was an item about Fundação Oriente in
Panjim organising an exhibition of works by Senhor Agapito
Miranda, brought together by Prof. Susana Sardo of Aveiro.

I am overjoyed that this event has finally happened. It is a
well-deserved honor and recognition of a man who, without
fanfare or boasting, silently but devotedly contributed so
much for the preservation and advancement of Goan music and
everything that one could say belongs to genuine Goan
tradition.  Kudos to the family, organizers, and the sponsors
of this event.

Having worked with Senhor Agapito (as I used to address him)
very closely for two years and being associated with him and
his work from 1970 until his death, I would be remiss if I do
not share my memories of him and my impressions on the
importance and value of the gigantic work this humble and
unpretentious man has left behind.

  In 1970, I was introduced to Senhor Agapito by his
  daughter Lisette de Miranda, now Lisette de Miranda
  e Cotta, the lead singer of the well-known group in
  Goa, 'The Cotta Family' a true exponent of genuine
  interpretation of Mando.  Lisette, who was also the
  lead singer of my then newly formed Choir at the
  Holy Spirit Church Margão, was at the time very
  involved in her father's work, especially the
  Mandos, and has published a mimeographed fascicle
  called 'Novea Manddeancho Jhelo' poilo ank.

My first encounter with Senhor Agapito was an instant meeting
of the minds on a common subject, the Mando.  I immediately
became aware of his deep knowledge and genuine understanding
of the mando and, as he stated, he could see in me my genuine
love of and experience in Mandos.

We both came from mando-loving families and we hailed from
villages of great composers.  He was born in Loutulim, the
birthplace of the great Torquato de Figueiredo, Paulo
Milagres da Silva and Eduardo de Menezes.  I am from
Curtorim, the land of the greatest mando composers such as
Arnaldo de Menezes, Gizelino Rebelo, Utilcia Rebelo, Ligorio
da Costa and more.

Once this bond was established, Senhor Agapito gave me full
access to his entire repertoire, and I perused it with great
pleasure and awe. What transpired from my review of his Goan
music research first and foremost was is genuine love and
appreciation of his love for Goan classical music (the
Mando), for Goan Folk music (dulpods, deknnis, fugddeos and
many other types from the 34 types of Goan songs thus far
identified by research).

Senhor Agapito also had great love for the religious music in
Konkani, Latin and Portuguese (hymns, motetes, masses).  His
repertoire was a rich collection of these different types of
songs by composers from the past as well as a vast number of
his own compositions in every category mentioned above.  A
great and valuable treasure indeed.

* * *

In the book 'Song of Goa: Crown of Mandos' by Dr. Jose
Pereira, Micael Martins and Antonio Da Costa, the authors
have included three extensive essays: Essay on the Mando (64
pages), The Romantic World of the Mando (16 pages) and the
Political and Social World of Mando (8 pages).  They give the
reader an idea of "all you want to know about Mando".

It was in the Mando that the West and the East merged, and
this fusion gave a beautiful new musical creation that we all
love. The themes of the Mando are love and events in the
socio-political life of Goa. But its favorite theme is love,

This love is oriented toward marriage, where the lover yearns
for union with his beloved, achieves that union, or laments
at his failure to realize it.

The love mandos are thus of three types: (1) Mandos of
Yearning -- Utrikeanche mandde such as Anju Tum Arcanju by
Eduardo de Menezes from Loutulim. This mando is commonly
known/sung by its second verse Doriachea Larari; Zaito Tempu
Zalo by Sebastiao Costa Fernandes from Curtorim.

(2) Mandos of Union -- Ekvottache mandde such as Sontos Bogta
Re Jivako by Gizelino Rebelo from Curtorim and Suryan Uzvadd
fankarolo by Torquato de Figueiredo from Loutulim) and

(z3) Mandos of Lamentation -- Villapanche mandde such as
Chintun Fuddar Deva Muzo by Arnaldo de Menezes from Curtorim
and Soglem Mujem Vido Chintunum by Torquato.

The Mandos of Events (Fobranche mandde) deal frequently with
social satire in which no one is spared, whether poor or
rich, big or powerful or clergy and even the governor.

Common examples will be Amkam Mel'lleai Beatinnim by Arnaldo
de Menezes, Raj Zal'm mhunn Republiko by Pascoal Barbosa
Noronha from Margão. Finally the mandos of political events
are a kind of political chronicle, a historical document that
registers political events for the future such as Setembrache
Ekvisaveri by Carlos Trinidade Dias from Davorlim and
Luizinh' Muje Luizinh’, author unknown.

The mandos composed by Senhor 

[Goanet-News] Mhadei dispute: Crisis in Goa scales up challenges for CM Sawant, puts BJP in tight spot (Pamela D'Mello/India Today)

[Goanet Reader]

The controversy between Goa and
Karanataka over the Mhadei river basin
has opened a new front of a challenge for
the Bharatiya Janata Party, which rules
both states.

Pamela D’Mello
UPDATED: Jan 14, 2023 12:31 IST

The Mhadei/Mandovi river basin spans 1580 sq km, nearly half
the Goa's total 3702 sq km area that calculates to 43 per
cent of the state's area.  (Representative Image/Reuters)

By Pamela D’Mello
dmello.pam...@gmail.com

The Central Water Commission (CWC), which approved
Karnataka's Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the contentious
Kalasa-Bandura water diversion project on December 29, has
placed the BJP government in neighbouring Goa in tight spot.

  The project plans to divert Mhadei/Mandovi river
  system waters into the Malaprabha reservoir is a
  huge emotive red flag in Goa.

In the past fortnight, the Goa opposition has vehemently
opposed the BJP government's failure to stand up to its
Central leadership or party colleagues in Karnataka.
Initially, there were calls for all 40 MLAs and the chief
minister to resign to reaffirm Goa's strong sentiments on the
matter.  BJP Union Minister of State and Goa MP, Sripad Naik,
offered to resign before going quiet on the issue.

After the Mhadei Interstate Water Disputes Tribunal's August
2018 award, granting Karnataka 13.42 tmc (thousand million
cubic feet) for its projects, the state has lost no time in
preparing DPRs [including to divert 3.9 tmc (110,435.715
million litres) to the Malaprabha basin].

And as the saffron party in Karnataka seeks to woo the
poll-bound state, the approval to the DPR for water diversion
seems to serve the electoral purpose.

AN ‘APOCALYPSE NOW' MOMENT?

  While it may be viewed as just another knotty
  inter-state water dispute to the rest of India, in
  Goa, the Mhadei/Mandovi is considered a lifeline of
  the state.  Every chief minister, including current
  CM Pramod Sawant, has sworn to protect every last
  drop of the river Mhadei.

What is it about the river that gets Goans riled up?  That
any thought of its freshwater being diverted, is viewed as an
‘Apocalypse Now' moment?  Geography has much to do with it.

  The Mhadei/Mandovi river basin spans 1580 sq km,
  nearly half the Goa's total 3702 sq km area that
  calculates to 43 per cent of the state's area.  It
  runs 76 km in north Goa, 78 per cent of the
  Mhadei's total 111 km.

It passes through 194 (Goa has 334 villages) of its most
populous villages and towns, including the capital, Panjim.

The Mhadei/Mandovi is critical for the region's water supply,
agriculture, fishing, irrigation, navigation and tourism in
six of the state's twelve sub-districts.  Religious, cultural
and daily practices are also woven around the river.

Nirmala Sawant, president of Mhadei Bachao Andolan (MBA) in
Goa, also a multi-term former Congress state President and
former minister, spoke on the public angst and said that Goa
was treated with great injustice.

  "Goa has been treated with great injustice by the
  Centre, simply because we are small and have just
  three parliamentary seats, compared to 28 (Lok
  Sabha seats in Karnataka).  But should it be a
  number game?  Goa has just two major rivers --
  Mandovi and Zuari.  Karnataka has 20 rivers,”
  snapped Nirmala.

Most of Goa's rivers are salty seawater.  In the
Mhadei/Mandovi case, salt water enters from the Arabian Sea,
occupying 69 per cent of its upstream length in Goa.
Therefore, it gets essential to ensure that the remaining
length stores the fresh water.

Within the state, there is an inherent awareness that
diversions of the Mhadei's freshwater flows could adversely
impact the state.  Especially the biodiversity hotspot areas
of the thickly forested Western Ghats sub-districts on the
east.

The Mhadei runs through and sustains three wildlife
sanctuaries and one national park -- the Bhagwan Mahavir
Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, Bondla Wildlife
Sanctuary, Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, and Salim Ali Bird
Sanctuary.

Goa, for this reason, has highlighted the outcome of the
Mhadei river diversion as a matter of concern not just for
Goa but for the world.

BACKGROUND TO THE DISPUTE

Goa has steadfastly opposed any diversion of Mhadei's waters
outside its basin, 78 per cent of which is in Goa, 18 per
cent in Karnataka and 4 per cent in Maharashtra.  But over
the past two decades, it has complained of being bullied.

Proposals to harness the monsoonal flows of the rain-fed
Mhadei first came up around the seventies and eighties, when
the upper riparian state of Karnataka sought to generate
hydropower from the Mhadei waters.  These got pushback from
the Union government when Goa was a union territory and later
by the governments led by the Congress party.

  In the nineties, Karnataka articulated proposals
  for dams on Mhadei's 

[Goanet] Mhadei dispute: Crisis in Goa scales up challenges for CM Sawant, puts BJP in tight spot (Pamela D'Mello/India Today)

[Goanet Reader]

The controversy between Goa and
Karanataka over the Mhadei river basin
has opened a new front of a challenge for
the Bharatiya Janata Party, which rules
both states.

Pamela D’Mello
UPDATED: Jan 14, 2023 12:31 IST

The Mhadei/Mandovi river basin spans 1580 sq km, nearly half
the Goa's total 3702 sq km area that calculates to 43 per
cent of the state's area.  (Representative Image/Reuters)

By Pamela D’Mello
dmello.pam...@gmail.com

The Central Water Commission (CWC), which approved
Karnataka's Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the contentious
Kalasa-Bandura water diversion project on December 29, has
placed the BJP government in neighbouring Goa in tight spot.

  The project plans to divert Mhadei/Mandovi river
  system waters into the Malaprabha reservoir is a
  huge emotive red flag in Goa.

In the past fortnight, the Goa opposition has vehemently
opposed the BJP government's failure to stand up to its
Central leadership or party colleagues in Karnataka.
Initially, there were calls for all 40 MLAs and the chief
minister to resign to reaffirm Goa's strong sentiments on the
matter.  BJP Union Minister of State and Goa MP, Sripad Naik,
offered to resign before going quiet on the issue.

After the Mhadei Interstate Water Disputes Tribunal's August
2018 award, granting Karnataka 13.42 tmc (thousand million
cubic feet) for its projects, the state has lost no time in
preparing DPRs [including to divert 3.9 tmc (110,435.715
million litres) to the Malaprabha basin].

And as the saffron party in Karnataka seeks to woo the
poll-bound state, the approval to the DPR for water diversion
seems to serve the electoral purpose.

AN ‘APOCALYPSE NOW' MOMENT?

  While it may be viewed as just another knotty
  inter-state water dispute to the rest of India, in
  Goa, the Mhadei/Mandovi is considered a lifeline of
  the state.  Every chief minister, including current
  CM Pramod Sawant, has sworn to protect every last
  drop of the river Mhadei.

What is it about the river that gets Goans riled up?  That
any thought of its freshwater being diverted, is viewed as an
‘Apocalypse Now' moment?  Geography has much to do with it.

  The Mhadei/Mandovi river basin spans 1580 sq km,
  nearly half the Goa's total 3702 sq km area that
  calculates to 43 per cent of the state's area.  It
  runs 76 km in north Goa, 78 per cent of the
  Mhadei's total 111 km.

It passes through 194 (Goa has 334 villages) of its most
populous villages and towns, including the capital, Panjim.

The Mhadei/Mandovi is critical for the region's water supply,
agriculture, fishing, irrigation, navigation and tourism in
six of the state's twelve sub-districts.  Religious, cultural
and daily practices are also woven around the river.

Nirmala Sawant, president of Mhadei Bachao Andolan (MBA) in
Goa, also a multi-term former Congress state President and
former minister, spoke on the public angst and said that Goa
was treated with great injustice.

  "Goa has been treated with great injustice by the
  Centre, simply because we are small and have just
  three parliamentary seats, compared to 28 (Lok
  Sabha seats in Karnataka).  But should it be a
  number game?  Goa has just two major rivers --
  Mandovi and Zuari.  Karnataka has 20 rivers,”
  snapped Nirmala.

Most of Goa's rivers are salty seawater.  In the
Mhadei/Mandovi case, salt water enters from the Arabian Sea,
occupying 69 per cent of its upstream length in Goa.
Therefore, it gets essential to ensure that the remaining
length stores the fresh water.

Within the state, there is an inherent awareness that
diversions of the Mhadei's freshwater flows could adversely
impact the state.  Especially the biodiversity hotspot areas
of the thickly forested Western Ghats sub-districts on the
east.

The Mhadei runs through and sustains three wildlife
sanctuaries and one national park -- the Bhagwan Mahavir
Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, Bondla Wildlife
Sanctuary, Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, and Salim Ali Bird
Sanctuary.

Goa, for this reason, has highlighted the outcome of the
Mhadei river diversion as a matter of concern not just for
Goa but for the world.

BACKGROUND TO THE DISPUTE

Goa has steadfastly opposed any diversion of Mhadei's waters
outside its basin, 78 per cent of which is in Goa, 18 per
cent in Karnataka and 4 per cent in Maharashtra.  But over
the past two decades, it has complained of being bullied.

Proposals to harness the monsoonal flows of the rain-fed
Mhadei first came up around the seventies and eighties, when
the upper riparian state of Karnataka sought to generate
hydropower from the Mhadei waters.  These got pushback from
the Union government when Goa was a union territory and later
by the governments led by the Congress party.

  In the nineties, Karnataka articulated proposals
  for dams on Mhadei's 

[Goanet] A Legacy of Lies and Deceit (Devika Sequeira)

[Goanet Reader]

Devika Sequeira

Earlier this month, Pramod Sawant met with the recently
appointed bishop, Fr Sebastião Mascarenhas, at Pilar to
felicitate him.  Goa had been honoured by the Catholic
priest's elevation, the chief minister said.  (Mascarenhas is
the second cleric in his family to become bishop.)

Just a year ago, the Goa BJP had notched victory in the
February 2022 election deploying a polarising campaign for
the majority Hindu vote.

  Sawant had made it plainly clear engaging with
  Salcette (which still has a concentration of
  Catholic voters in some constituencies) wasn't on
  his agenda.

  That tune has changed in the chase for the single
  Lok Sabha seat of South Goa.

The election is still a long way off in 2024.  But for a
party that has honed itself into a ruthless election fighting
machine, as the BJP's media friends love to crow about, every
seat counts.

  A win in South Goa is also important for the
  perception that the saffron party's influence and
  acceptability is growing across a diverse segment
  of voters.  Who knows, the BJP could even decide to
  unleash the currently unattached Churchill Alemao
  as its candidate.  After the Congress turncoat
  Aleixo Sequeira's backstabbing of his party, his
  voters, his God and his sworn affidavit for profit
  (the promised Cabinet seat yet to come), anything's
  possible.

Social media was littered over Christmas with photographs and
posts of BJP ministers engaging in kiss-and-hug bonhomie with
several non-BJP Catholic politicians seen to hold a personal
vote bank. The scripted outreach played out soon after the
party's CT Ravi's pit stop in Goa just before Christmas.

  Sawant, given famously to parroting the BJP line on
  Nehru and occasionally threatening to restore
  temples destroyed by the Portuguese (the implied
  target quite clear: "Christianity was forced upon
  with religious fervour by the Portuguese during the
  period of the Inquisition with wide scale
  destruction of temples...  Most of Goa's churches
  were built on the very site of former temples," the
  Goa government's website says, even as it peddles
  the 'magnificent churches' as a must see tourist
  attraction), was particularly effusive with his
  Christmas cheer.

He stepped in to lunch with Churchill and family, stopped by
for a photo-op with AAP MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva and
had a quick hug with Aleixo under the Christmas tree.

The Rane couple, Vishvajit and Deviya, now full-fledged RSS
devotees, were tasked with personally conveying Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's Christmas greetings to Cardinal
Filipe Neri Ferrão.

Particularly intriguing was Rohan Khaunte's move to liaise
with parish priests of Saligao, Merces, Porvorim and Pilar
churches, bearing the gift of 'Modi@20: Dreams Meet
Delivery', a compilation of essays contributed by union
ministers Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, actor Anupam Kher and
Sudha Murthy, among others.

The book "attempts a definitive and expansive exploration
into the fundamental transformation of Gujarat and India over
the last twenty years due to Modi's unique model of
governance", said its publishers, Rupa.

At its launch in May last year, Shah said 'Modi@20' would
"rise to become the equivalent to Gita for those who believe
in the path of building a complete persona".

  Another neo-convert to the Sangh (or possibly a
  longtime closet one), Khaunte reasoned probably
  that Catholic priests in particular merited an
  education on the "complete persona" of the prime
  minister and his stellar and unique model of
  governance.

It was under Modi's watch that the 84-year-old Jesuit priest
and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy was incarcerated
and charged under the severe Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Act, 1967 with 15 other human rights activists for an
"anti-national conspiracy" in the Bhima Koregao case.

The terminally ill-priest, denied even a sipper by the jail
authorities when his condition deteriorated, died on July 5,
2021.

In a statement after his death, the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the US
government "to hold the Indian government accountable and to
raise religious freedom concerns in the US-India bilateral
relationship".

More recently, The Washington Post reported, "For months,
Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, claimed his
innocence in courts and pleaded for medical care, but Indian
authorities denied him bail. He died at a hospital in July
2021 after spending more than eight months in jail on
terrorism charges.

"Now, an examination of an electronic copy of his computer by
Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics
firm, concludes that a hacker infiltrated his device and

[Goanet-News] A link to Sonia Filinto's insightful video on Goan bread (time-sensitive)

[Goanet Reader]

Watch this film, while it is available online still: BREAD AND BELONGING:
https://doculive.blogspot.com/p/bread-and-belonging.html (Sonia FIlinto)
Open up to Dec 25.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] A link to Sonia Filinto's insightful video on Goan bread (time-sensitive)

[Goanet Reader]

Watch this film, while it is available online still: BREAD AND BELONGING:
https://doculive.blogspot.com/p/bread-and-belonging.html (Sonia FIlinto)
Open up to Dec 25.

[Goanet-News] Goa, just as the backdrop (FN)

[Goanet Reader]

Goa, just as the backdrop

Frederick Noronha

It's that time of the year when the rest of India (and parts
of the globe too) hop down to Goa.  Everyone, and their uncle
and their dog, wants to visit the place.  Long-lost friends
remember those based in Goa.  At sometimes, there can be
frantic requests to help with getting accommodation.  I don't
know what's it with the crowded, overpriced, and this year's
music-less nights in the week between Christmas and New Year.

Just a lot of marketing hype, I guess.

  If friends ask for a recommendation, it's easy:
  avoid.  Goa is at its most overcrowded, sees
  heavily inflated prices, and is best stayed away
  from at this time of the year.  There's no place at
  the inn.  This is like a perverse interpretation of
  an event going back two-thousand something years.

There are many locals who avoid travelling and moving around
their State at this time of the year.  Some even flee for
this crowded week, and move somewhere outside Goa for this
week (like during some other noisy, cracker-filled days).

As if that was not enough, event organisers insist on
dragging their shows here precisely at this time of the year.
They seem to believe that it's their god-given right to elbow
out those residing here.  To squeeze some more space for
themselves at a time when Goa is at its crowded worst.  Our
political class ultimately obliges.

You would have thought that locals would be thrilled by all
this kind of travel to Goa.  Some, no doubt, are.  Business
is business is business.  Crowds brought on by the casino
chemical-high and laundries are anyway welcome business.

  But the folks in Fontainhas are not amused by
  crowds invading their little lanes.  Or their
  scenic home getting museumised.  The impact of mass
  tourism has been debated in Goa at least since the
  mid-1980s.  But, after that, the issue has turned
  stale, got forgotten, and is neglected.  Now, even
  when an updated analysis of the same seems most
  required, few seem to be understanding or analysing
  it.

* * *

Given the more-is-better approach of twenty-first-century
capitalism, one would have thought bigger numbers make better
business sense.  But no.

In another field, that of art-and-culture (including
entertainment and music) we've been having some grand shows
here.  Serendipity ("India's largest art festival") is on us
now.  It comes not many days after the Lusophone cultural
musical fest (and related events) got over.

Bonanza time, right?

  Hardly so.  We hear about such events mainly from
  the one-sided PR blast that comes our way.  So, the
  average reader is not to be faulted to believe
  these are something grand in themselves.  But this
  is far from the case.

There are many issues here.  In such grand and big-ticket
event, more people would be left out as compared to the very
few can be accommodated.  Secondly, because the content is
decided largely outside Goa, the mix results in a lot
lacking.  Even if it is decided locally, there is a strong
tendency to make such events into a "friends and family"
show, and invite the same speakers repeatedly, time after
time.

  Even more seriously, such large, top-heavy, and
  over-funded events can be guilty of destroying,
  rather than building, local culture.  Not only does
  it sideline local performers, but it also gives
  visibility to those from elsewhere who already have
  a lot.

* * *

Artists, at least some of the outspoken local ones, see
things that way, as became clear during a discussion last
weekend at the Museum of Goa.  Serendipity is not exposing
Goan artists as a platform.  It was accused of "ignoring Goan
artists", and there were questions about how Goan artists
could somehow become more widely known.

Subodh Kerkar, the doctor-cartoonist-artist who is behind the
Museum of Goa, supported Serendipity, in as much as he said
he welcomes any art event, and all societies needed art.  But
he went on to call Serendipity "an external art injection to
the bottoms of Goans".  People from "Delhi, here and there"
come, inject art, and leave.

  Kerkar noted that the amount of money spent on
  Serendipity is "so huge", and sometimes involves
  renovating a whole building.  "Every year, the
  amount of money they spend, we could do one
  permanent museum with that money," he commented.
  Expenses, as per the organisers own figures and
  taking their total budget, came to about Rs15,000
  per visitor!  Very little of Goan art is
  represented there, he noted, adding that he was not
  making a case for regionalising art.  "But since
  the festival happens in Goa, and the infrastructure
  of the Goa government is used here, it is very
 

[Goanet] Goa, just as the backdrop (FN)

[Goanet Reader]

Goa, just as the backdrop

Frederick Noronha

It's that time of the year when the rest of India (and parts
of the globe too) hop down to Goa.  Everyone, and their uncle
and their dog, wants to visit the place.  Long-lost friends
remember those based in Goa.  At sometimes, there can be
frantic requests to help with getting accommodation.  I don't
know what's it with the crowded, overpriced, and this year's
music-less nights in the week between Christmas and New Year.

Just a lot of marketing hype, I guess.

  If friends ask for a recommendation, it's easy:
  avoid.  Goa is at its most overcrowded, sees
  heavily inflated prices, and is best stayed away
  from at this time of the year.  There's no place at
  the inn.  This is like a perverse interpretation of
  an event going back two-thousand something years.

There are many locals who avoid travelling and moving around
their State at this time of the year.  Some even flee for
this crowded week, and move somewhere outside Goa for this
week (like during some other noisy, cracker-filled days).

As if that was not enough, event organisers insist on
dragging their shows here precisely at this time of the year.
They seem to believe that it's their god-given right to elbow
out those residing here.  To squeeze some more space for
themselves at a time when Goa is at its crowded worst.  Our
political class ultimately obliges.

You would have thought that locals would be thrilled by all
this kind of travel to Goa.  Some, no doubt, are.  Business
is business is business.  Crowds brought on by the casino
chemical-high and laundries are anyway welcome business.

  But the folks in Fontainhas are not amused by
  crowds invading their little lanes.  Or their
  scenic home getting museumised.  The impact of mass
  tourism has been debated in Goa at least since the
  mid-1980s.  But, after that, the issue has turned
  stale, got forgotten, and is neglected.  Now, even
  when an updated analysis of the same seems most
  required, few seem to be understanding or analysing
  it.

* * *

Given the more-is-better approach of twenty-first-century
capitalism, one would have thought bigger numbers make better
business sense.  But no.

In another field, that of art-and-culture (including
entertainment and music) we've been having some grand shows
here.  Serendipity ("India's largest art festival") is on us
now.  It comes not many days after the Lusophone cultural
musical fest (and related events) got over.

Bonanza time, right?

  Hardly so.  We hear about such events mainly from
  the one-sided PR blast that comes our way.  So, the
  average reader is not to be faulted to believe
  these are something grand in themselves.  But this
  is far from the case.

There are many issues here.  In such grand and big-ticket
event, more people would be left out as compared to the very
few can be accommodated.  Secondly, because the content is
decided largely outside Goa, the mix results in a lot
lacking.  Even if it is decided locally, there is a strong
tendency to make such events into a "friends and family"
show, and invite the same speakers repeatedly, time after
time.

  Even more seriously, such large, top-heavy, and
  over-funded events can be guilty of destroying,
  rather than building, local culture.  Not only does
  it sideline local performers, but it also gives
  visibility to those from elsewhere who already have
  a lot.

* * *

Artists, at least some of the outspoken local ones, see
things that way, as became clear during a discussion last
weekend at the Museum of Goa.  Serendipity is not exposing
Goan artists as a platform.  It was accused of "ignoring Goan
artists", and there were questions about how Goan artists
could somehow become more widely known.

Subodh Kerkar, the doctor-cartoonist-artist who is behind the
Museum of Goa, supported Serendipity, in as much as he said
he welcomes any art event, and all societies needed art.  But
he went on to call Serendipity "an external art injection to
the bottoms of Goans".  People from "Delhi, here and there"
come, inject art, and leave.

  Kerkar noted that the amount of money spent on
  Serendipity is "so huge", and sometimes involves
  renovating a whole building.  "Every year, the
  amount of money they spend, we could do one
  permanent museum with that money," he commented.
  Expenses, as per the organisers own figures and
  taking their total budget, came to about Rs15,000
  per visitor!  Very little of Goan art is
  represented there, he noted, adding that he was not
  making a case for regionalising art.  "But since
  the festival happens in Goa, and the infrastructure
  of the Goa government is used here, it is very
 

[Goanet-News] Telling a story that began over 450 years ago -- Goa's Inquisition (Alan Machado Prabhu)

[Goanet Reader]

TELLING A STORY THAT BEGAN OVER 450 YEARS AGO: GOA'S INQUISITION

Alan Machado (Prabhu)

  Where does one begin to tell a story that began
  over 450 years ago?  Of an institution that
  operated for 250 years?  A story deliberately kept
  secret by that very institution, a fact that
  allowed others to malign and distort that story and
  create a Black Legend, mostly without credible
  evidence, that many of us believe in today?

How much of that story is true, how much false, how much just
motivated propaganda?  The narrative of Goa's Inquisition
that most of us are familiar with comes mainly from secondary
sources, written almost exclusively by Dutch and English
writers.  They had reason to create the Black Legend, and
they created it without access to the rich resource of
primary documentation kept secret through the centuries.

Inquisitors recorded the proceedings of every case and
preserved them in a secret room (secreto) of the Sabayo
Palace. In 1623, Inquisitor Figueira compiled a report
(Reportorio) of all case files preserved in the secreto.  It
is available in Lisbon's Biblioteca Nacional along with a
list of autos-da-fe compiled in 1863 by Antonio Moreira.

In 1774, an inventory of all files and other documents was
made.  It is available in Lisbon's Archivo Nacional de Torre
do Tombo along with many auto-da-fe lists and other
documents.

  These lists give the names, personal details,
  offences, and punishments of some 11,000 odd
  persons who were investigated.  I have compiled
  this list.  My estimate of the total number
  investigated comes to between 20,000 to 25,000.  So
  we have details of about half the number of persons
  judged.  They tell us a different story than what
  the Black Legend would like us to believe.

You may well ask why we should trust these documents.  I
would reply, for the simple reason that these documents were
never meant to be released to the public.  The inquisitors
believed they were doing God's and the king's work.  They had
no reason to falsify records.  Auto-da-fe lists, sometimes
case files, were sent annually to Lisbon.  The secreto was a
closely guarded room with only the two inquisitors and
procurator having keys.

I would like to make a clarification here.  While we have
about 100 auto-da-fe lists, we have hardly any detailed case
files.  This is because many were destroyed during the
Maratha invasion of 1684 when some documents were sent to
Murmugao fort for safe keeping, and others burnt.  After the
closure in 1812, documents not sent to Rio were most likely
burnt.

One may very justifiably ask why this treasure trove has been
largely ignored in the historiography of Goa's Inquisition.
The main reason is the extreme secrecy exercised by the
Inquisition.

This absence of information allowed English and Dutch
Protestant writers to create the Black Legend during a time
when the Netherlands and England were engaged in continual
warfare with Spain, and Britain was convulsed by a violent
confrontation between Catholic and Protestant factions.  The
Spanish Inquisition, a Catholic institution belonging to an
enemy country, was the ideal target for a vicious propaganda
offensive.  That Black Legend engulfed Goa's Inquisition.

  Rev Buchanan, a Protestant Englishman, brought this
  narrative to India at a time when Britain was
  rapidly expanding its territories in India.  It
  gave him an opportunity to undermine Britain's main
  Christian rival in India, Catholic Portugal.  The
  Inquisition and "its fires...lately lighted at Goa"
  became his principal target.  This was blatant
  misinformation.  The fires had died down long since.

Priolkar's book played a pivotal role in forming public
opinion in India. Sadly, just about a third deals with Goa's
Inquisition proper. A major part consists entirely of
Dellon's and Buchanan's narratives.  The rest relies mainly
on selective secondary sources.

Without accessing primary sources, Priolkar asserts "the
story of the Inquisition is a dismal record of callousness
and cruelty, tyranny and injustice, espionage and blackmail,
avarice and corruption, repression of thought and culture and
promotion of obscurantism..." Powerful rhetoric, but untrue.
I'm sure Priolkar would have changed his tone if he had
access to the vast primary archival resource being digitized
and posted online today.  So too, Goan Catholic writers who
substituted motivated rhetoric for facts and analysis in
their propaganda offense against Portuguese rule.

For instance, Tristão de Bragança Cunha quoted the Archbishop
of Evora's reported statement made 1897 that Goa's
Inquisition was the worst and vilest of all branches, with
inquisitors imprisoning and burning women who resisted them.

  The available auto-da-fe lists contain the names of
  just 17 

[Goanet] Telling a story that began over 450 years ago -- Goa's Inquisition (Alan Machado Prabhu)

[Goanet Reader]

TELLING A STORY THAT BEGAN OVER 450 YEARS AGO: GOA'S INQUISITION

Alan Machado (Prabhu)

  Where does one begin to tell a story that began
  over 450 years ago?  Of an institution that
  operated for 250 years?  A story deliberately kept
  secret by that very institution, a fact that
  allowed others to malign and distort that story and
  create a Black Legend, mostly without credible
  evidence, that many of us believe in today?

How much of that story is true, how much false, how much just
motivated propaganda?  The narrative of Goa's Inquisition
that most of us are familiar with comes mainly from secondary
sources, written almost exclusively by Dutch and English
writers.  They had reason to create the Black Legend, and
they created it without access to the rich resource of
primary documentation kept secret through the centuries.

Inquisitors recorded the proceedings of every case and
preserved them in a secret room (secreto) of the Sabayo
Palace. In 1623, Inquisitor Figueira compiled a report
(Reportorio) of all case files preserved in the secreto.  It
is available in Lisbon's Biblioteca Nacional along with a
list of autos-da-fe compiled in 1863 by Antonio Moreira.

In 1774, an inventory of all files and other documents was
made.  It is available in Lisbon's Archivo Nacional de Torre
do Tombo along with many auto-da-fe lists and other
documents.

  These lists give the names, personal details,
  offences, and punishments of some 11,000 odd
  persons who were investigated.  I have compiled
  this list.  My estimate of the total number
  investigated comes to between 20,000 to 25,000.  So
  we have details of about half the number of persons
  judged.  They tell us a different story than what
  the Black Legend would like us to believe.

You may well ask why we should trust these documents.  I
would reply, for the simple reason that these documents were
never meant to be released to the public.  The inquisitors
believed they were doing God's and the king's work.  They had
no reason to falsify records.  Auto-da-fe lists, sometimes
case files, were sent annually to Lisbon.  The secreto was a
closely guarded room with only the two inquisitors and
procurator having keys.

I would like to make a clarification here.  While we have
about 100 auto-da-fe lists, we have hardly any detailed case
files.  This is because many were destroyed during the
Maratha invasion of 1684 when some documents were sent to
Murmugao fort for safe keeping, and others burnt.  After the
closure in 1812, documents not sent to Rio were most likely
burnt.

One may very justifiably ask why this treasure trove has been
largely ignored in the historiography of Goa's Inquisition.
The main reason is the extreme secrecy exercised by the
Inquisition.

This absence of information allowed English and Dutch
Protestant writers to create the Black Legend during a time
when the Netherlands and England were engaged in continual
warfare with Spain, and Britain was convulsed by a violent
confrontation between Catholic and Protestant factions.  The
Spanish Inquisition, a Catholic institution belonging to an
enemy country, was the ideal target for a vicious propaganda
offensive.  That Black Legend engulfed Goa's Inquisition.

  Rev Buchanan, a Protestant Englishman, brought this
  narrative to India at a time when Britain was
  rapidly expanding its territories in India.  It
  gave him an opportunity to undermine Britain's main
  Christian rival in India, Catholic Portugal.  The
  Inquisition and "its fires...lately lighted at Goa"
  became his principal target.  This was blatant
  misinformation.  The fires had died down long since.

Priolkar's book played a pivotal role in forming public
opinion in India. Sadly, just about a third deals with Goa's
Inquisition proper. A major part consists entirely of
Dellon's and Buchanan's narratives.  The rest relies mainly
on selective secondary sources.

Without accessing primary sources, Priolkar asserts "the
story of the Inquisition is a dismal record of callousness
and cruelty, tyranny and injustice, espionage and blackmail,
avarice and corruption, repression of thought and culture and
promotion of obscurantism..." Powerful rhetoric, but untrue.
I'm sure Priolkar would have changed his tone if he had
access to the vast primary archival resource being digitized
and posted online today.  So too, Goan Catholic writers who
substituted motivated rhetoric for facts and analysis in
their propaganda offense against Portuguese rule.

For instance, Tristão de Bragança Cunha quoted the Archbishop
of Evora's reported statement made 1897 that Goa's
Inquisition was the worst and vilest of all branches, with
inquisitors imprisoning and burning women who resisted them.

  The available auto-da-fe lists contain the names of
  just 17 

[Goanet-News] 1 The Opening up of the Inquisition's Archives and Statistics (Alan Machado Prabhu)

[Goanet Reader]

1 The Opening up of the Inquisition's Archives and Statistics

Writing the history of Goa's Inquisition involves a balancing
act and an unbiased evaluation of primary archival data, not
selective repetitions of earlier histories compiled largely
from secondary sources and peppered by personal biases.
Fortunately, the modern historian can easily access a large
volume of recently digitized primary documents in global
archives.

Goa's Inquisition survived for 252 years with a short break
of four years in between.  The first inquisitors arrived in
Goa in December 1560.  The Inquisition operated from the
Sabayo Palace until the king ordered its closure in 1774.  It
was reinstated in April 1778, but permanently closed in June
1812.

The inquisitors recorded the proceedings of every case and
preserved them in a secure room (secreto) in accordance with
the directives of the Regimento, its governing rules.
Inventories of all case files were made in 1623 and 1774.
They are preserved along with many other documents in
Lisbon's Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (ANTT) and the
Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal.

The process of identifying globally available archival
sources began in the 1970s.  Many of them are available
online today.  Written in Portuguese, their fading lines tell
much of the true story of Goa's Inquisition.

The ANTT contains auto-da-fe lists from Goa dating from 1650
to 1801, complete process files, correspondence, and much
else.  The Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (Lisbon) preserves
case details from 1561-1623 compiled by Inquisitor Figueira,
and a number of auto-da-fe lists not available at the ANTT
compiled by Antonio Moreira.  The Biblioteca Nacional do
Brasil (Rio de Janeiro) preserves copies of decrees, royal
permits, regulations, edicts of faith, private edicts, lists
of defendants, and correspondence dating from the sixteenth
to nineteenth century.  Other crates are still being
catalogued and digitized.

Here are some statistics compiled by me from these documents:

• Numbers: 18,986 persons investigated.  This number is
  17% higher than the oft-quoted figure given by Antonio
  Baiao in 1945.

• Socially deprived members of society comprised the
  highest percentage of those sentenced.  Of 6,424
  persons convicted between 1650 and 1773 (for which
  details are available), 66% came from lesser privileged
  castes and professions.  During the time of
  intensifying economic and military reverses between
  1685 and 1736, the Inquisition shifted its focus to the
  Provincia do Norte, and these numbers touched 71%.

• Non-Christians constituted 25%, with 88% of these cases
  conducted between 1685 and 1736, the period of
  intensifying Maratha conflicts.  The North, with 86% of
  cases, was particularly badly affected.  Offences
  related mostly to defying the ban on the public
  practice of gentile rituals which was seen as
  undermining Christianity and the security of the State.
  Whipping was a common punishment.  Other punishments
  included terms in the gun powder factory or galleys,
  exile, and fines.  Some escaped by converting, and 4%
  were absolved.  Except in the case of two Muslims (from
  Bijapur and Belgaum) burnt for sodomy in 1612, there is
  no record of any non-Christian being executed.

• At least 287 priests, about 1.5% of the total number,
  were investigated and punished for various offences,
  like heresy, which were seen as undermining
  Christianity.

• The number physically executed in 136 autos-da-fe for
  which details are known is 177.  The effigies of a
  further 154 were burnt, the convicted being absent or
  dead.

For more you will need to read the book, or even better,
access and research the numerous primary source documents
preserved in global archives.

--
Goa's Inquisition Facts Fiction Factoids.
Alan Machado (Prabhu).
Goa 1556; ATC. 2022.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Join a discussion on Goa-related
issues by posting your comments
on this or other issues via email
to goa...@goanet.org
See archives at
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

[Goanet] 1 The Opening up of the Inquisition's Archives and Statistics (Alan Machado Prabhu)

[Goanet Reader]

1 The Opening up of the Inquisition's Archives and Statistics

Writing the history of Goa's Inquisition involves a balancing
act and an unbiased evaluation of primary archival data, not
selective repetitions of earlier histories compiled largely
from secondary sources and peppered by personal biases.
Fortunately, the modern historian can easily access a large
volume of recently digitized primary documents in global
archives.

Goa's Inquisition survived for 252 years with a short break
of four years in between.  The first inquisitors arrived in
Goa in December 1560.  The Inquisition operated from the
Sabayo Palace until the king ordered its closure in 1774.  It
was reinstated in April 1778, but permanently closed in June
1812.

The inquisitors recorded the proceedings of every case and
preserved them in a secure room (secreto) in accordance with
the directives of the Regimento, its governing rules.
Inventories of all case files were made in 1623 and 1774.
They are preserved along with many other documents in
Lisbon's Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (ANTT) and the
Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal.

The process of identifying globally available archival
sources began in the 1970s.  Many of them are available
online today.  Written in Portuguese, their fading lines tell
much of the true story of Goa's Inquisition.

The ANTT contains auto-da-fe lists from Goa dating from 1650
to 1801, complete process files, correspondence, and much
else.  The Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (Lisbon) preserves
case details from 1561-1623 compiled by Inquisitor Figueira,
and a number of auto-da-fe lists not available at the ANTT
compiled by Antonio Moreira.  The Biblioteca Nacional do
Brasil (Rio de Janeiro) preserves copies of decrees, royal
permits, regulations, edicts of faith, private edicts, lists
of defendants, and correspondence dating from the sixteenth
to nineteenth century.  Other crates are still being
catalogued and digitized.

Here are some statistics compiled by me from these documents:

• Numbers: 18,986 persons investigated.  This number is
  17% higher than the oft-quoted figure given by Antonio
  Baiao in 1945.

• Socially deprived members of society comprised the
  highest percentage of those sentenced.  Of 6,424
  persons convicted between 1650 and 1773 (for which
  details are available), 66% came from lesser privileged
  castes and professions.  During the time of
  intensifying economic and military reverses between
  1685 and 1736, the Inquisition shifted its focus to the
  Provincia do Norte, and these numbers touched 71%.

• Non-Christians constituted 25%, with 88% of these cases
  conducted between 1685 and 1736, the period of
  intensifying Maratha conflicts.  The North, with 86% of
  cases, was particularly badly affected.  Offences
  related mostly to defying the ban on the public
  practice of gentile rituals which was seen as
  undermining Christianity and the security of the State.
  Whipping was a common punishment.  Other punishments
  included terms in the gun powder factory or galleys,
  exile, and fines.  Some escaped by converting, and 4%
  were absolved.  Except in the case of two Muslims (from
  Bijapur and Belgaum) burnt for sodomy in 1612, there is
  no record of any non-Christian being executed.

• At least 287 priests, about 1.5% of the total number,
  were investigated and punished for various offences,
  like heresy, which were seen as undermining
  Christianity.

• The number physically executed in 136 autos-da-fe for
  which details are known is 177.  The effigies of a
  further 154 were burnt, the convicted being absent or
  dead.

For more you will need to read the book, or even better,
access and research the numerous primary source documents
preserved in global archives.

--
Goa's Inquisition Facts Fiction Factoids.
Alan Machado (Prabhu).
Goa 1556; ATC. 2022.

[Goanet-News] No Place For Me: A Memoir of an Indian Doctor in East Africa by Leo J. De Souza (Reviewed by Stephen Luscombe)

[Goanet Reader]

No Place For Me: A Memoir of an Indian Doctor in East Africa by Leo J. De
Souza

Reviewed by Stephen Luscombe (British Empire site)

Leo's book charts the story of his own family spanning almost
the entire period of European colonisation through to the
euphoria of Independence and then into to the hangover of
post-independence realities.  It is very much a book that
spans a century of upheaval and challenges but seen primarily
through the prism of his own family's experiences.

Having said this, Leo does provide context for the period
before European colonisation took place where, through
creative writing, he tries to empathise with the plight of
African slaves brought from the interior to the coast by Arab
slave traders.

Of course, he is attempting to give voice to the voiceless
but sadly we can never know for sure the words and thoughts
of the victims and the perpetrators of these centuries old
practices. Leo tries his hardest to empathise and make a
best guess at what motivated the various actors or how they
would have responded to their situations.

He does take on multiple perspectives from the Arab Slaver to
the African Porter Head through to the slaves themselves.  It
is a compelling narrative that attempts to shed light the
duplicity, unscrupulousness and horror of the trade and yet
he also portrays how it was an accepted part of the culture
and economy of East Africa.

The second chapter takes on a similar 'factional' account of
the arrival of Europeans weaving fact with fiction and taking
on the stories of those introduced in the first chapter.

It is something of an irony that the Germans were able to
muscle in around this part of Africa partly with the promise
of stamping out the excesses of the Arab slave trade and yet
their earliest form of colonial government was barely better
than what it replaced.  And truth be told there was little
difference in the duplicity of Carl Peters [the German
colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author and a major
promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East
Africa] in gaining the signatures of African tribal leaders
to consent to their colonisation than the duplicity of the
Arab slave traders in entrapping their victims as they took
on the appearance of innocent traders.

The early years of German rule were indeed ruthless and
uncaring but it is telling that even the German government
was wary enough of public opinion to dismiss Peters when
accusations of their harshness were made public.

Berlin duly installed new rulers who realised that technology
transfers and infrastructure investment would allow the raw
materials of Tanganyika to serve the growing industrial
German economy far more profitably.  Trains, port facilities,
plantations, schools were constructed in a way that no local
leader could possibly have achieved.

  It is in this German period that the first De Souza
  appears in Colonial Africa.  The Goans had ancient
  connections to Africa via their Portuguese colonial
  experience of their own which had led many to
  working in Mozambique.

When other European nations arrived in East Africa they often
found Goans as knowledgable intermediaries who were familiar
with local customs and languages but also connected to the
older trading patterns across the Indian Ocean and up to the
Gulf region.

The author explains the mechanics of the German Empire
through the Usagara Company Limited importing German
industrial goods and exporting the products of Tanganyikan
plantations.

It also highlights the interactions of the three main racial
groups of Europeans, Indians (including Goans) and Africans
as they worked with one another but within their own specific
spheres of responsibility and their own communities. It was
a complex relationship that entrenched division from an early
stage but it was not entirely devoid of interaction and
learning from the cultures of the other groups did indeed
take place.

Africa, Europe and India all melded to a certain extent
however much each may have tried to insulate themselves from
the influences of the others.  Just the realities of
geography, economic opportunities and the power dynamics
forged these complex new relationships that would echo down
the subsequent decades of history.  Food and language were
perhaps the most obvious byproducts of this new cultural
creation occurring in East Africa, but by no means the only
merging of cultures.

  Of course the German influence was not to last long
  in East Africa due to the arrival of World War One.
  The author explains how the German Commander
  Lettow-Vorbeck was far more in tune with the
  demands of his soldiers than the British were with
  their Indian troops and was able to hold off a far
  larger British and Indian force for the entire
  period of the war.

I have to say that Lettow-Vorbeck may well have been
unusually liberal for a German in 

[Goanet] No Place For Me: A Memoir of an Indian Doctor in East Africa by Leo J. De Souza (Reviewed by Stephen Luscombe)

[Goanet Reader]

No Place For Me: A Memoir of an Indian Doctor in East Africa by Leo J. De
Souza

Reviewed by Stephen Luscombe (British Empire site)

Leo's book charts the story of his own family spanning almost
the entire period of European colonisation through to the
euphoria of Independence and then into to the hangover of
post-independence realities.  It is very much a book that
spans a century of upheaval and challenges but seen primarily
through the prism of his own family's experiences.

Having said this, Leo does provide context for the period
before European colonisation took place where, through
creative writing, he tries to empathise with the plight of
African slaves brought from the interior to the coast by Arab
slave traders.

Of course, he is attempting to give voice to the voiceless
but sadly we can never know for sure the words and thoughts
of the victims and the perpetrators of these centuries old
practices. Leo tries his hardest to empathise and make a
best guess at what motivated the various actors or how they
would have responded to their situations.

He does take on multiple perspectives from the Arab Slaver to
the African Porter Head through to the slaves themselves.  It
is a compelling narrative that attempts to shed light the
duplicity, unscrupulousness and horror of the trade and yet
he also portrays how it was an accepted part of the culture
and economy of East Africa.

The second chapter takes on a similar 'factional' account of
the arrival of Europeans weaving fact with fiction and taking
on the stories of those introduced in the first chapter.

It is something of an irony that the Germans were able to
muscle in around this part of Africa partly with the promise
of stamping out the excesses of the Arab slave trade and yet
their earliest form of colonial government was barely better
than what it replaced.  And truth be told there was little
difference in the duplicity of Carl Peters [the German
colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author and a major
promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East
Africa] in gaining the signatures of African tribal leaders
to consent to their colonisation than the duplicity of the
Arab slave traders in entrapping their victims as they took
on the appearance of innocent traders.

The early years of German rule were indeed ruthless and
uncaring but it is telling that even the German government
was wary enough of public opinion to dismiss Peters when
accusations of their harshness were made public.

Berlin duly installed new rulers who realised that technology
transfers and infrastructure investment would allow the raw
materials of Tanganyika to serve the growing industrial
German economy far more profitably.  Trains, port facilities,
plantations, schools were constructed in a way that no local
leader could possibly have achieved.

  It is in this German period that the first De Souza
  appears in Colonial Africa.  The Goans had ancient
  connections to Africa via their Portuguese colonial
  experience of their own which had led many to
  working in Mozambique.

When other European nations arrived in East Africa they often
found Goans as knowledgable intermediaries who were familiar
with local customs and languages but also connected to the
older trading patterns across the Indian Ocean and up to the
Gulf region.

The author explains the mechanics of the German Empire
through the Usagara Company Limited importing German
industrial goods and exporting the products of Tanganyikan
plantations.

It also highlights the interactions of the three main racial
groups of Europeans, Indians (including Goans) and Africans
as they worked with one another but within their own specific
spheres of responsibility and their own communities. It was
a complex relationship that entrenched division from an early
stage but it was not entirely devoid of interaction and
learning from the cultures of the other groups did indeed
take place.

Africa, Europe and India all melded to a certain extent
however much each may have tried to insulate themselves from
the influences of the others.  Just the realities of
geography, economic opportunities and the power dynamics
forged these complex new relationships that would echo down
the subsequent decades of history.  Food and language were
perhaps the most obvious byproducts of this new cultural
creation occurring in East Africa, but by no means the only
merging of cultures.

  Of course the German influence was not to last long
  in East Africa due to the arrival of World War One.
  The author explains how the German Commander
  Lettow-Vorbeck was far more in tune with the
  demands of his soldiers than the British were with
  their Indian troops and was able to hold off a far
  larger British and Indian force for the entire
  period of the war.

I have to say that Lettow-Vorbeck may well have been
unusually liberal for a German in 

[Goanet-News] 48. The Army Commander and COAS Visit Vassalo e Silva (Valmiki Faleiro)

[Goanet Reader]

48. The Army Commander and COAS Visit Vassalo e Silva

Valmiki Faleiro

Lieutenant General (later General and Chief of Army Staff) JN
Chaudhuri GOC-in-C Southern Command, together with AOC-in-C
Air Vice Mshl EW Pinto and BN Mullik of the IB, took a
helicopter from Belgaum to Goa the following day, 20 December
1961. Lt Gen Chaudhuri visited Major General Vassalo e Silva
at Vasco da Gama at 2 pm.

  Born into an aristocratic Bengali zamindar family
  that produced several great names in law, medicine
  and literature, Lt Gen Chaudhuri was a grandnephew
  of the first non-European Nobel laureate in
  literature, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and was
  trained at the UK's Royal Military College at
  Sandhurst.  He was a batch mate of latter day
  Pakistan President, Gen Ayub Khan.

Gen.  Carlos de Azeredo, then a Captain, was with Maj Gen
Vassalo e Silva and was the official interpreter.  In his
book 'Trabalhos e dias de um soldado do império (Work and
days of a soldier of the empire)' he says, "General Chaudhuri
entered the cell alone and cordially greeted Vassalo.
Vassalo wanted to stand up to compliment [salute] the Indian,
but the latter rested his hand on his shoulder and did not
let him. He [Lt Gen JN Chaudhuri] pulled up a chair and sat
down. He had words of praise for the Portuguese forces."

Colonel CA de Morais says that Lt Gen Chaudhuri congratulated
Maj Gen Vassalo e Silva for the combats in Mapusa, Bicholim,
Diu and Daman. "Despite the scarce means the Portuguese
[forces] had reacted well against the action by the Indian
troops." The GOC-in-C said that he had ordered POWs from Diu
to be evacuated to Goa.  Lt Gen Chaudhuri "ended the meeting
saying that if he [Maj Gen Vassalo e Silva] wanted anything
he could request the Indian camp commander [Major (later
Lieutenant Colonel) Earl William ('Bill') Carvalho, the first
camp commander]" (Morais, A Queda da Índia Portuguesa, 2nd
edition 1995, Page 151).

Lt Gen Chaudhuri told Vassalo e Silva that his wife, Fernanda
Pereira Monteiro e Silva, was well and safe and that
Government of India would soon be sending her to Lisbon.

  Lieutenant General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, OBE,
  then drove to Panjim in an army jeep, accompanied
  by Air Vice Mshl Ehrlich Pinto and BN Mullik.  On
  the way, the trio encountered a duo of White men
  happily motoring along, oblivious of what was
  happening around.  The White duo was stopped and
  quizzed.  They told the Indian military officers
  that they were German and not Portuguese -- and
  felt quite safe at the hands of the Indian jawan.

Hearing that, Air Vice Mshl Pinto pulled out two bullets from
his personal weapon and, showing them to the two Germans,
said, "These bullets are illiterate.  Can they recognise your
nationality?"

Lt Gen Chaudhuri burst into laughter. He then politely told
the Germans that they would be better off home and remain
indoors until the situation settled down. The Germans made
an about turn and vanished [this episode is borrowed from
Major General VK Singh's History of the Corps of Signals,
Volume III, Chapter 3.]

Lt Gen Chaudhuri and his companions then visited hospitals in
Panjim and assured the wounded POWs that no harm would come
to them. He ordered due medical attention and supplies be
given to them. The party then returned to Dabolim and
helicoptered back to Belgaum.

  Later, Chief of Army Staff, General Pran Nath
  Thapar visited Maj Gen Vassalo e Silva at the POW
  camp in Vasco da Gama.  Gen Thapar was younger
  brother of Dr.  Daya Ram Thapar, IMS, Director
  General Armed Forces Medical Services, father of
  famed TV anchor/journalist Karan Thapar who was
  married to a Colaço from Margao, uncle of historian
  Romila Thapar and journo Romesh Thapar, and
  granduncle of tiger conservationist Valmik Thapar.
  The son of a Diwan at Lahore in pre-Partition
  India, Gen Thapar was a product of UK's Royal
  Military College, Sandhurst, and later of the
  Imperial Defence College, London.

The meeting was warm and cordial. Vassalo e Silva was soon
shifted to a better house in the woods at the Alpha POW Camp
at Ponda (he remained at Alpalqueiros, Vasco da Gama, less
than ten days).  Indian Major Cezar PF Lobo, a pilot with the
Air Observation Post of the Artillery Regiment, a Goan from
Aldona fluent in the Portuguese language, was tasked to take
charge and look after the VIP POW.

  Major General KP Candeth was appointed Military
  Governor, with RCVP Noronha, ICS/IAS, as Chief
  Civic Administrator and GK Handoo, IPS, as Special
  Advisor.  Brigadier Donald Viegas of Curtorim, then
  a Colonel at Army HQ, was sent to Goa on 21
  December 1961 to assist the Military Governor.
  Lieutenant 

[Goanet-News] Communal harmony, system of jurisprudence do make a difference

[Goanet Reader]

Communal harmony, system of jurisprudence do make a difference

Visitacao B. Monteiro
vmonteiro0...@gmail.com
WhatsApp +91-9604201168

The thirty-fifth anniversary of Goa Statehood Day was
recently celebrated, on May 30. During a function held to
mark it, Goa Governor. P.S. Sreedharan Pillai appealed to
all present, and to Goans in general, to study, in depth, the
communal harmony and the system of jurisprudence that existed
in Goa till 1961 and even for some while later.

  There has been no comment on this appeal till now.
  As far as one is aware, nobody from the Government
  nor among the politicians has bothered to give a
  serious look to what the Governor has said.
  Possibly, they might not even have understood what
  his suggestion was since, most of them were born
  after 1961 and are unaware about how peaceful the
  Goa of that time was.

Governor Sreedharan Pillai deserves our thanks and praise for
having opened eyes to the reality of Goa before 1961.
Although the role of the Governor is limited, with regard to
the Administration of the State, yet his words are an
eye-opener. I hope Goans will take his words seriously and
try their best to study their past, because from the past we
can draw lessons for the future.

In this article, I will try to delve on these two concepts:
communal harmony and the system of jurisprudence which
prevailed in Goa before 1961.

Communal harmony constitutes the hallmark of Goa. In this
land, people of various religious denominations and even
atheists, have lived in peace and harmony. History tells us
that during the Ashoka Empire, Buddhism prevailed in Goa for
around six centuries.

  The caves at Arvalem and a statue of the Buddha,
  which was found in Colvale and is presently at the
  Heras Institute, Mumbai, is proof enough.  There is
  a huge Jain tank with niches at Naroa.  An Armenian
  Cross was found in the ruins of Velha Goa port
  area, thus signalling the existence of St.  Thomas’
  Christians at Goa Velha and we also find the
  claimed ruins of a Jewish Synagogue at Curca.  All
  this shows that our communal harmony is
  multi-secular and even multi-millennial.

Goa being a trade zone even before the arrival of the
Portuguese, temples, mosques and synagogues were co-existing
in Old-Goa. There is no record that there was any communal
trouble among any religious denominations.

After the arrival of the Portuguese, although they demolished
all the mosques from the city of Old Goa early on, and later
many temples in the Portuguese-ruled areas of Goa of that
time, communal harmony continued to prevail in Goa till date
and constitutes the hallmark of the State.

  It is very unfortunate that, of late, the same is
  being sought to be disturbed by various statements.
  This should not be allowed to happen at any cost,
  but on the contrary, all should be proud of it and
  promote it.  We need to show the other States that
  various linguistic, religious and cultural
  denominations indeed can live in peace and harmony
  with each other in this State.

From where did that communal harmony come to be recognized as
one of the constituent elements of Goan identity? This
question will lead us to the second part of the Governor's
appeal -- the system of jurisprudence which prevailed in Goa
pre-1961 and a little later.

Goans are unique and continue to be known the world over as
among the most peaceful people without exaggeration.  For
millennia, they have lived a community life in their village
communities, Ganvkaris or Comunidades (in Portuguese) and it
is this 'community spirit' that makes them 'different'.

The system of the Village Communities, Ganvkaris/Comunidades
has been based right from its beginning on a concept of
jurisprudence which was similar to the concept of Roman
Jurisprudence, where decisions were arrived at democratically
during the village community meetings.

When the Portuguese arrived in Goa in 1510, the system of
Roman Jurisprudence was formally adopted in Goa and was part
of it till 1961. David Sinclair in 'History of India'
(Madras 1896) and G. Duncan M. Derret in his chapter on Hindu
law in Goa: A contact between Natural, Roman and Hindu laws,
speak of this kind of jurisprudence.

  In the Roman concept of Jurisprudence, the people
  have a say in the governance and laws, while in the
  British concept of Jurisprudence which was followed
  in India during British domination, people have no
  say because the Queen/State is supreme.  In
  Portuguese Goa the opinion of the people mattered.
  The British Jurisprudence has been followed in
  India even after 1947 and in Goa after 1961.  The
  basic difference between the earlier Jurisprudence
  and the present 

[Goanet] 48. The Army Commander and COAS Visit Vassalo e Silva (Valmiki Faleiro)

[Goanet Reader]

48. The Army Commander and COAS Visit Vassalo e Silva

Valmiki Faleiro

Lieutenant General (later General and Chief of Army Staff) JN
Chaudhuri GOC-in-C Southern Command, together with AOC-in-C
Air Vice Mshl EW Pinto and BN Mullik of the IB, took a
helicopter from Belgaum to Goa the following day, 20 December
1961. Lt Gen Chaudhuri visited Major General Vassalo e Silva
at Vasco da Gama at 2 pm.

  Born into an aristocratic Bengali zamindar family
  that produced several great names in law, medicine
  and literature, Lt Gen Chaudhuri was a grandnephew
  of the first non-European Nobel laureate in
  literature, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and was
  trained at the UK's Royal Military College at
  Sandhurst.  He was a batch mate of latter day
  Pakistan President, Gen Ayub Khan.

Gen.  Carlos de Azeredo, then a Captain, was with Maj Gen
Vassalo e Silva and was the official interpreter.  In his
book 'Trabalhos e dias de um soldado do império (Work and
days of a soldier of the empire)' he says, "General Chaudhuri
entered the cell alone and cordially greeted Vassalo.
Vassalo wanted to stand up to compliment [salute] the Indian,
but the latter rested his hand on his shoulder and did not
let him. He [Lt Gen JN Chaudhuri] pulled up a chair and sat
down. He had words of praise for the Portuguese forces."

Colonel CA de Morais says that Lt Gen Chaudhuri congratulated
Maj Gen Vassalo e Silva for the combats in Mapusa, Bicholim,
Diu and Daman. "Despite the scarce means the Portuguese
[forces] had reacted well against the action by the Indian
troops." The GOC-in-C said that he had ordered POWs from Diu
to be evacuated to Goa.  Lt Gen Chaudhuri "ended the meeting
saying that if he [Maj Gen Vassalo e Silva] wanted anything
he could request the Indian camp commander [Major (later
Lieutenant Colonel) Earl William ('Bill') Carvalho, the first
camp commander]" (Morais, A Queda da Índia Portuguesa, 2nd
edition 1995, Page 151).

Lt Gen Chaudhuri told Vassalo e Silva that his wife, Fernanda
Pereira Monteiro e Silva, was well and safe and that
Government of India would soon be sending her to Lisbon.

  Lieutenant General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, OBE,
  then drove to Panjim in an army jeep, accompanied
  by Air Vice Mshl Ehrlich Pinto and BN Mullik.  On
  the way, the trio encountered a duo of White men
  happily motoring along, oblivious of what was
  happening around.  The White duo was stopped and
  quizzed.  They told the Indian military officers
  that they were German and not Portuguese -- and
  felt quite safe at the hands of the Indian jawan.

Hearing that, Air Vice Mshl Pinto pulled out two bullets from
his personal weapon and, showing them to the two Germans,
said, "These bullets are illiterate.  Can they recognise your
nationality?"

Lt Gen Chaudhuri burst into laughter. He then politely told
the Germans that they would be better off home and remain
indoors until the situation settled down. The Germans made
an about turn and vanished [this episode is borrowed from
Major General VK Singh's History of the Corps of Signals,
Volume III, Chapter 3.]

Lt Gen Chaudhuri and his companions then visited hospitals in
Panjim and assured the wounded POWs that no harm would come
to them. He ordered due medical attention and supplies be
given to them. The party then returned to Dabolim and
helicoptered back to Belgaum.

  Later, Chief of Army Staff, General Pran Nath
  Thapar visited Maj Gen Vassalo e Silva at the POW
  camp in Vasco da Gama.  Gen Thapar was younger
  brother of Dr.  Daya Ram Thapar, IMS, Director
  General Armed Forces Medical Services, father of
  famed TV anchor/journalist Karan Thapar who was
  married to a Colaço from Margao, uncle of historian
  Romila Thapar and journo Romesh Thapar, and
  granduncle of tiger conservationist Valmik Thapar.
  The son of a Diwan at Lahore in pre-Partition
  India, Gen Thapar was a product of UK's Royal
  Military College, Sandhurst, and later of the
  Imperial Defence College, London.

The meeting was warm and cordial. Vassalo e Silva was soon
shifted to a better house in the woods at the Alpha POW Camp
at Ponda (he remained at Alpalqueiros, Vasco da Gama, less
than ten days).  Indian Major Cezar PF Lobo, a pilot with the
Air Observation Post of the Artillery Regiment, a Goan from
Aldona fluent in the Portuguese language, was tasked to take
charge and look after the VIP POW.

  Major General KP Candeth was appointed Military
  Governor, with RCVP Noronha, ICS/IAS, as Chief
  Civic Administrator and GK Handoo, IPS, as Special
  Advisor.  Brigadier Donald Viegas of Curtorim, then
  a Colonel at Army HQ, was sent to Goa on 21
  December 1961 to assist the Military Governor.
  Lieutenant 

[Goanet] Communal harmony, system of jurisprudence do make a difference

[Goanet Reader]

Communal harmony, system of jurisprudence do make a difference

Visitacao B. Monteiro
vmonteiro0...@gmail.com
WhatsApp +91-9604201168

The thirty-fifth anniversary of Goa Statehood Day was
recently celebrated, on May 30. During a function held to
mark it, Goa Governor. P.S. Sreedharan Pillai appealed to
all present, and to Goans in general, to study, in depth, the
communal harmony and the system of jurisprudence that existed
in Goa till 1961 and even for some while later.

  There has been no comment on this appeal till now.
  As far as one is aware, nobody from the Government
  nor among the politicians has bothered to give a
  serious look to what the Governor has said.
  Possibly, they might not even have understood what
  his suggestion was since, most of them were born
  after 1961 and are unaware about how peaceful the
  Goa of that time was.

Governor Sreedharan Pillai deserves our thanks and praise for
having opened eyes to the reality of Goa before 1961.
Although the role of the Governor is limited, with regard to
the Administration of the State, yet his words are an
eye-opener. I hope Goans will take his words seriously and
try their best to study their past, because from the past we
can draw lessons for the future.

In this article, I will try to delve on these two concepts:
communal harmony and the system of jurisprudence which
prevailed in Goa before 1961.

Communal harmony constitutes the hallmark of Goa. In this
land, people of various religious denominations and even
atheists, have lived in peace and harmony. History tells us
that during the Ashoka Empire, Buddhism prevailed in Goa for
around six centuries.

  The caves at Arvalem and a statue of the Buddha,
  which was found in Colvale and is presently at the
  Heras Institute, Mumbai, is proof enough.  There is
  a huge Jain tank with niches at Naroa.  An Armenian
  Cross was found in the ruins of Velha Goa port
  area, thus signalling the existence of St.  Thomas’
  Christians at Goa Velha and we also find the
  claimed ruins of a Jewish Synagogue at Curca.  All
  this shows that our communal harmony is
  multi-secular and even multi-millennial.

Goa being a trade zone even before the arrival of the
Portuguese, temples, mosques and synagogues were co-existing
in Old-Goa. There is no record that there was any communal
trouble among any religious denominations.

After the arrival of the Portuguese, although they demolished
all the mosques from the city of Old Goa early on, and later
many temples in the Portuguese-ruled areas of Goa of that
time, communal harmony continued to prevail in Goa till date
and constitutes the hallmark of the State.

  It is very unfortunate that, of late, the same is
  being sought to be disturbed by various statements.
  This should not be allowed to happen at any cost,
  but on the contrary, all should be proud of it and
  promote it.  We need to show the other States that
  various linguistic, religious and cultural
  denominations indeed can live in peace and harmony
  with each other in this State.

>From where did that communal harmony come to be recognized as
one of the constituent elements of Goan identity? This
question will lead us to the second part of the Governor's
appeal -- the system of jurisprudence which prevailed in Goa
pre-1961 and a little later.

Goans are unique and continue to be known the world over as
among the most peaceful people without exaggeration.  For
millennia, they have lived a community life in their village
communities, Ganvkaris or Comunidades (in Portuguese) and it
is this 'community spirit' that makes them 'different'.

The system of the Village Communities, Ganvkaris/Comunidades
has been based right from its beginning on a concept of
jurisprudence which was similar to the concept of Roman
Jurisprudence, where decisions were arrived at democratically
during the village community meetings.

When the Portuguese arrived in Goa in 1510, the system of
Roman Jurisprudence was formally adopted in Goa and was part
of it till 1961. David Sinclair in 'History of India'
(Madras 1896) and G. Duncan M. Derret in his chapter on Hindu
law in Goa: A contact between Natural, Roman and Hindu laws,
speak of this kind of jurisprudence.

  In the Roman concept of Jurisprudence, the people
  have a say in the governance and laws, while in the
  British concept of Jurisprudence which was followed
  in India during British domination, people have no
  say because the Queen/State is supreme.  In
  Portuguese Goa the opinion of the people mattered.
  The British Jurisprudence has been followed in
  India even after 1947 and in Goa after 1961.  The
  basic difference between the earlier Jurisprudence
  and the present 

[Goanet-News] The Shiftars, a rocking great band from the Mombasa of the 1960s

[Goanet Reader]

Monday, September 27, 2021

The Shiftars, a rocking great band from the Mombasa of the 1960s

By Cecilia Mascarenhas
cecili...@hotmail.co.uk

[Written before the
of Benny almost a
year ago...]

Early last year, Cyprian Fernandes (Skip) was in contact as
he was doing true life stories for his blog and book on bands
and musicians from East Africa, and wanted a story on The
Shiftars, the 1960's band from Mombasa. Unfortunately, I
could not do it in time for publication. But here it is for
those interested.

Everyone who remembers The Shiftars ask me if they would
reunite again...  I doubt it though hope they will one day!

Their interests are so diverse now besides living far apart,
it might prove to be a mammoth task!  Besides Benny is a firm
believer that, despite having music in one's genes/ blood, it
is the diligence of practise, that ensures "the fit of all
players in a band should be tight and in sync" --
compatibility, when producing music and sounds, like those
that made them famous in their youth in Mombasa, as without
that, the music will just not sound right.

A personal photo book was gifted to the band boys when they
turned around 65! A kind of "Thank you" for the memories ...
which was also shared with a few close friends! This was to
give some pleasure in rekindling thoughts and memories of
their music as well as the pleasant times of our youth, the
wonderful days of being teenagers dancing to the music of The
Shiftars!

Some of this material is adapted here as well as from an
article I wrote for The Goan/Sacred Heart School's 75th
Anniversary Souvenir Brochure in 2007 since all the boys were
educated there.

  The Shiftars group was formed sometime circa early
  1964 by Benny Mascarenhas (lead guitar), along with
  Dominic Noronha (rhythm guitar), Polly (Pauly) Dias
  (bass guitar) and Rudi Lopes (drums), who were from
  the Class of '65 with their Manager Victor De
  Souza, being from Class of '64 of The Goan/Sacred
  Heart School in Mombasa.  Their interest in music
  started early, influenced with the advent of
  electric guitars and the new sounds/beats of Cliff
  Richard and The Shadows, who had taken the world by
  storm and created a new Kenyan generation when they
  visited Nairobi on their tour to South Africa.

The aptly named film and song "The Young Ones" was just what
the young ones growing up in the early 60’s needed, to infuse
their youth!

Benny at the age of 12, always had an interest in music, and
whilst his father Joaquim played the violin, and his older
brothers Lambert (violin), Leslie (trumpet) and Philip
(trumpet) were musically minded, he preferred the guitar.

So to encourage his interest, his parents bought him a simple
acoustic guitar from a store in Makupa. Later, influenced by
Hank Marvin and The Shadows No.1 hit "Apache", he and his
friend Basil D’souza built themselves a guitar in the shape
of Hank’s "Fender Stratocaster" and for "electrification",
pinched the mouth-peace from a local public telephone booth.

Benny twanged his way practising different technics and
sounds, and by the age of 15, was recruited to play with a
band named Conny Kit & The Pirates. Encouraged by his
dedication, his Mum, Maggie, bought him his first pukka
electric guitar "Elite".  The band consisted of Conny Telles,
Joey Costa Correia, Benny, and Lamartin D'Souza.

  When the band was offered a contract in Italy,
  Benny was not able go with them as he needed to
  complete his schooling education and so gave his
  silver band jacket to Leslie Peters (cousin of Joey
  Peters of The Bandits) who was then additionally
  recruited to the group.  In Italy, the band renamed
  themselves The Bushmen but disbanded a few years
  later

So, as he was not able to go to Italy, Benny then decided to
form his own band with his classmates who were as keen as he
was to emulate the sound of The Shadows and Cliff, especially
after their visit to Kenya, thus the formation of The
Shiftars.

Dominic on rhythm, had the voice and looks of the young Cliff
Richard and Benny, influenced by Hank Marvin, had the similar
twang of the Fender Stratocaster which brought the band's
unique sound to our very own doorstep in Mombasa along with
Rudi on drums and Polly on bass.  hey practised regularly in
the garage at Gupta Villa (Dom and Rudi's abode in Ganjoni),
and as their repertoire progressed, they would occasionally
play at venues including the Rex Hotel.

In time Roger, the manager of Tudor House Hotel got to hear
of them and offered them a booking to play every Saturday
night at Tudor House Hotel. Saturday night in Mombasa was
never the same thereafter, as most teenagers made it their
venue to Shadoogie and Shindig their way through the night!

  How they came about the name is a bit of a story in
  itself.  As the bands at that time took 

[Goanet] The Shiftars, a rocking great band from the Mombasa of the 1960s

[Goanet Reader]

Monday, September 27, 2021

The Shiftars, a rocking great band from the Mombasa of the 1960s

By Cecilia Mascarenhas
cecili...@hotmail.co.uk

[Written before the
of Benny almost a
year ago...]

Early last year, Cyprian Fernandes (Skip) was in contact as
he was doing true life stories for his blog and book on bands
and musicians from East Africa, and wanted a story on The
Shiftars, the 1960's band from Mombasa. Unfortunately, I
could not do it in time for publication. But here it is for
those interested.

Everyone who remembers The Shiftars ask me if they would
reunite again...  I doubt it though hope they will one day!

Their interests are so diverse now besides living far apart,
it might prove to be a mammoth task!  Besides Benny is a firm
believer that, despite having music in one's genes/ blood, it
is the diligence of practise, that ensures "the fit of all
players in a band should be tight and in sync" --
compatibility, when producing music and sounds, like those
that made them famous in their youth in Mombasa, as without
that, the music will just not sound right.

A personal photo book was gifted to the band boys when they
turned around 65! A kind of "Thank you" for the memories ...
which was also shared with a few close friends! This was to
give some pleasure in rekindling thoughts and memories of
their music as well as the pleasant times of our youth, the
wonderful days of being teenagers dancing to the music of The
Shiftars!

Some of this material is adapted here as well as from an
article I wrote for The Goan/Sacred Heart School's 75th
Anniversary Souvenir Brochure in 2007 since all the boys were
educated there.

  The Shiftars group was formed sometime circa early
  1964 by Benny Mascarenhas (lead guitar), along with
  Dominic Noronha (rhythm guitar), Polly (Pauly) Dias
  (bass guitar) and Rudi Lopes (drums), who were from
  the Class of '65 with their Manager Victor De
  Souza, being from Class of '64 of The Goan/Sacred
  Heart School in Mombasa.  Their interest in music
  started early, influenced with the advent of
  electric guitars and the new sounds/beats of Cliff
  Richard and The Shadows, who had taken the world by
  storm and created a new Kenyan generation when they
  visited Nairobi on their tour to South Africa.

The aptly named film and song "The Young Ones" was just what
the young ones growing up in the early 60’s needed, to infuse
their youth!

Benny at the age of 12, always had an interest in music, and
whilst his father Joaquim played the violin, and his older
brothers Lambert (violin), Leslie (trumpet) and Philip
(trumpet) were musically minded, he preferred the guitar.

So to encourage his interest, his parents bought him a simple
acoustic guitar from a store in Makupa. Later, influenced by
Hank Marvin and The Shadows No.1 hit "Apache", he and his
friend Basil D’souza built themselves a guitar in the shape
of Hank’s "Fender Stratocaster" and for "electrification",
pinched the mouth-peace from a local public telephone booth.

Benny twanged his way practising different technics and
sounds, and by the age of 15, was recruited to play with a
band named Conny Kit & The Pirates. Encouraged by his
dedication, his Mum, Maggie, bought him his first pukka
electric guitar "Elite".  The band consisted of Conny Telles,
Joey Costa Correia, Benny, and Lamartin D'Souza.

  When the band was offered a contract in Italy,
  Benny was not able go with them as he needed to
  complete his schooling education and so gave his
  silver band jacket to Leslie Peters (cousin of Joey
  Peters of The Bandits) who was then additionally
  recruited to the group.  In Italy, the band renamed
  themselves The Bushmen but disbanded a few years
  later

So, as he was not able to go to Italy, Benny then decided to
form his own band with his classmates who were as keen as he
was to emulate the sound of The Shadows and Cliff, especially
after their visit to Kenya, thus the formation of The
Shiftars.

Dominic on rhythm, had the voice and looks of the young Cliff
Richard and Benny, influenced by Hank Marvin, had the similar
twang of the Fender Stratocaster which brought the band's
unique sound to our very own doorstep in Mombasa along with
Rudi on drums and Polly on bass.  hey practised regularly in
the garage at Gupta Villa (Dom and Rudi's abode in Ganjoni),
and as their repertoire progressed, they would occasionally
play at venues including the Rex Hotel.

In time Roger, the manager of Tudor House Hotel got to hear
of them and offered them a booking to play every Saturday
night at Tudor House Hotel. Saturday night in Mombasa was
never the same thereafter, as most teenagers made it their
venue to Shadoogie and Shindig their way through the night!

  How they came about the name is a bit of a story in
  itself.  As the bands at that time took 

[Goanet-News] The Chess Master Paradox (Dr Michael Lobo

[Goanet Reader]

The Chess Master Paradox

Dr Michael Lobo
dr.michael.l...@gmail.com

We've just been through the 14th of July -- the National Day
of France.  Also known as Bastille Day, it marks the
anniversary of the date of the Storming of the Bastille in
1789 that sparked off the French Revolution and eventually
led France to adopt a new form of constitutional government.

In an article I wrote on this date three years ago --
entitled 'Focus on France' -- I invited responses in French
from those members of this forum who were acquainted with the
language.  I added that there was a time when almost all
members of a forum such as this would probably have possessed
a working knowledge of French.

  From the reign of Louis XIV in the 17th century,
  French was the world's premier language for the
  next two centuries -- the language of international
  diplomacy.  However, over the course of the 20th
  century, English gradually acquired predominance --
  initially because of the spread of the British
  Empire and, in the post World War II era, because
  of the worldwide influence of the United States.
  As English is now the premier language of computers
  and the Internet, almost all young people around
  the world have some basic knowledge of it -- but
  even if English is now the world's 'Numero Uno',
  the French language still carries great prestige.

During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Paris was in many
ways the cultural capital of the world.  It was also the
centre of the world of chess.  Chess in 18th and 19th century
Paris was centred around the Café de la Regence.  This café
was a major meeting point for European chess enthusiasts in
the 18th and 19th centuries, so much so that the leading
player at this café was to all intents and purposes the
European champion -- and, as chess outside Europe was
virtually non-existent, the champion of the world.

From about 1750 to about 1850, the world's strongest players
-- including Sire de Legal, Francois Philidor, Alexandre
Deschapelles, Charles Mahe de LaBourdonnais, and Pierre de
Saint-Amant -- were all Parisians.

After 1850 Paris gradually lost its position of pre-eminence
in the world of chess, but in the course of the 19th century
at least three strong international tournaments were held
there -- in 1867, 1878, and 1900.  All three were held in
conjunction with world fairs that were taking place in the
city at about the same time.

  Paris also has the distinction of hosting the first
  chess Olympiad -- in 1924, in conjunction with the
  Summer Olympics, which were being held in Paris
  that year.  The chess Olympiad was won by
  Czechoslovakia, with Hungary in second place.  At
  the end of the event, 15 delegates from different
  countries signed an act creating the Federation
  Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) with Dr Alexander
  Rueb of Holland as president.

This year -- 2022 -- almost a century after the first chess
Olympiad was held, the privilege of hosting the World Chess
Olympiad has been accorded to India.  The event is due to be
held in the temple town of Mahabalipuram from July 28 to
August 10.

I have entitled this article 'The Chess Master Paradox' for a
reason that will become clear as we proceed.

The term 'master' in reference to world-class chess players
probably dates back to the 19th century (though it was not in
formal use).  The term 'grandmaster' historically referred to
the head of one of the military orders of knighthood such as
the Hospitallers and Templars, or to the heads of fraternal
organizations such as Freemasons.

It was in the year 1914 that Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
conferred the term 'grandmaster' to five chess masters who
qualified for the final round of a very strong international
tournament that was held at St Petersburg that year.
Emmanuel Lasker (then world champion), Jose Capablanca,
Alexander Alekhine, Siegbert Tarrasch, and Frank Marshall
were the first officially proclaimed grandmasters of chess.

This is indeed in keeping with the aura of the word
'grandmaster'.  It really ought to be an honour almost
commensurate to that of a Nobel Prize in a scientific
discipline.

  Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family were
  executed in the Russian Revolution of 1918.  The
  term 'grandmaster' then went into disuse and it was
  revived only in 1950 by the Federation
  Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), which had now
  taken over the organization of the world
  championship.

When introduced by FIDE in 1950, the title of 'grandmaster'
was awarded to World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik and 14
others, all of whom were deemed as potential candidates for
the world title. It was also bestowed on 12 other living
players who, though past their prime, were recognized as
having been world class at their peak.

[Goanet] The Chess Master Paradox (Dr Michael Lobo

[Goanet Reader]

The Chess Master Paradox

Dr Michael Lobo
dr.michael.l...@gmail.com

We've just been through the 14th of July -- the National Day
of France.  Also known as Bastille Day, it marks the
anniversary of the date of the Storming of the Bastille in
1789 that sparked off the French Revolution and eventually
led France to adopt a new form of constitutional government.

In an article I wrote on this date three years ago --
entitled 'Focus on France' -- I invited responses in French
from those members of this forum who were acquainted with the
language.  I added that there was a time when almost all
members of a forum such as this would probably have possessed
a working knowledge of French.

  From the reign of Louis XIV in the 17th century,
  French was the world's premier language for the
  next two centuries -- the language of international
  diplomacy.  However, over the course of the 20th
  century, English gradually acquired predominance --
  initially because of the spread of the British
  Empire and, in the post World War II era, because
  of the worldwide influence of the United States.
  As English is now the premier language of computers
  and the Internet, almost all young people around
  the world have some basic knowledge of it -- but
  even if English is now the world's 'Numero Uno',
  the French language still carries great prestige.

During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Paris was in many
ways the cultural capital of the world.  It was also the
centre of the world of chess.  Chess in 18th and 19th century
Paris was centred around the Café de la Regence.  This café
was a major meeting point for European chess enthusiasts in
the 18th and 19th centuries, so much so that the leading
player at this café was to all intents and purposes the
European champion -- and, as chess outside Europe was
virtually non-existent, the champion of the world.

>From about 1750 to about 1850, the world's strongest players
-- including Sire de Legal, Francois Philidor, Alexandre
Deschapelles, Charles Mahe de LaBourdonnais, and Pierre de
Saint-Amant -- were all Parisians.

After 1850 Paris gradually lost its position of pre-eminence
in the world of chess, but in the course of the 19th century
at least three strong international tournaments were held
there -- in 1867, 1878, and 1900.  All three were held in
conjunction with world fairs that were taking place in the
city at about the same time.

  Paris also has the distinction of hosting the first
  chess Olympiad -- in 1924, in conjunction with the
  Summer Olympics, which were being held in Paris
  that year.  The chess Olympiad was won by
  Czechoslovakia, with Hungary in second place.  At
  the end of the event, 15 delegates from different
  countries signed an act creating the Federation
  Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) with Dr Alexander
  Rueb of Holland as president.

This year -- 2022 -- almost a century after the first chess
Olympiad was held, the privilege of hosting the World Chess
Olympiad has been accorded to India.  The event is due to be
held in the temple town of Mahabalipuram from July 28 to
August 10.

I have entitled this article 'The Chess Master Paradox' for a
reason that will become clear as we proceed.

The term 'master' in reference to world-class chess players
probably dates back to the 19th century (though it was not in
formal use).  The term 'grandmaster' historically referred to
the head of one of the military orders of knighthood such as
the Hospitallers and Templars, or to the heads of fraternal
organizations such as Freemasons.

It was in the year 1914 that Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
conferred the term 'grandmaster' to five chess masters who
qualified for the final round of a very strong international
tournament that was held at St Petersburg that year.
Emmanuel Lasker (then world champion), Jose Capablanca,
Alexander Alekhine, Siegbert Tarrasch, and Frank Marshall
were the first officially proclaimed grandmasters of chess.

This is indeed in keeping with the aura of the word
'grandmaster'.  It really ought to be an honour almost
commensurate to that of a Nobel Prize in a scientific
discipline.

  Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family were
  executed in the Russian Revolution of 1918.  The
  term 'grandmaster' then went into disuse and it was
  revived only in 1950 by the Federation
  Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), which had now
  taken over the organization of the world
  championship.

When introduced by FIDE in 1950, the title of 'grandmaster'
was awarded to World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik and 14
others, all of whom were deemed as potential candidates for
the world title. It was also bestowed on 12 other living
players who, though past their prime, were recognized as
having been world class at their