*PATRICIA ROSARIO WOWS VISITORS AT THE EXHIBITION OF BRITISH GOANS IN LONDON *
It turned out to be a wonderful summers’ day with hundreds of happy faces filling the halls of the Nehru Centre in London on Tuesday 4th June for the opening of the first ever exhibition of British Goans from East Africa. The exhibition itself was the culmination of months of hard work by the Project Team (consisting of Selma Carvalho, Eddie Fernandes and Cliff Pereira) who had earlier carried out several Oral history interviews with a cross section of East African Goans. Flavio Gracias, the Past President of the Goan Association (UK) formally launched the exhibition praising the selfless efforts of the Project Team and stressing the importance of preserving our history. Sangeeta Bahadur, Minister of Culture at the India High Commission and Director of the Nehru Centre welcomed the guests and hoped this would not be the last time they visited the centre. In her welcoming speech, Selma Carvalho, Project Manager, echoed the sentiments of many Goans when she said, “*It is despairingly lonely to look into the mirrors of history and never find reflections of yourself”* She also expressed the hope that such visual narratives of the migratory journeys of Goans would find a permanent home in a museum in Goa. The exhibition aims to provide historical references for the younger generation while at the same time acknowledging the contribution of an older generation. Before the assembled guests broke off for a sumptuous dinner (and drinks), Dr. Vince Cable, Business Secretary in the Coalition government made time to put in a brief appearance. In a short speech he said how impressed he was with the many displays he’d seen and said he felt a trifle emotional to be among familiar Goan faces once more. The icing on the cake was surely the appearance on stage of that world-renowned soprano, Patricia Rosario and another rising star, Oscar Castellino, who both entertained us with several pieces from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and some others, concluding with that well known Goan Dekhni, “Aum Saiba Polthodi Vetam”. A fitting finale to a wonderful evening! The exhibition which closes on June 14th is proving very popular and attracting many Goans and others as well. Mervyn Maciel