[Goanet] Goan with the Wind (by Rajdeep Sardesai) Mine.
--- 2008 International Goan Convention Toronto, Canada Early Bird Discount Registration closes March 31, 2008 http://www.2008goanconvention.com/regform_print.html --- Dears, Most writers use whatever figures come to their mind ...and impress the ignorami. Rajdeep may well be talking about 10,000K Yen ...now that Lira have made way for the Euro. Scarlett is the colour of the season . that one's clothes turn Red in the open-cast iron ore mining belt amidst the virgin rainforests, is NOT something that Rajdeep Sardesai is about to write or talk about just yet. That topic is still among the murmurs in the NGO circuit. Shall we beard the Lion in his own den? We even have a mine-owner as an MLA in the current Goa Legislative Assembly ...and plenty of them have their proxies, right to the top! If you think the MGP or the BJP or the Congress ruled Goa, think again. Goa is ruled by the mining lobby [which also owns most of the industries and some of the newspapers in Goa] by proxy. Rajdeep has stated in this article that he is proud to be a Goan [may even sing Basilio Magno's song of that name on this WGD] ... and even offered to build a house near KINGFISHER villa [surrogate advertising?] for anyone who shows him a daughter of a fisherman wearing 'shorts' or a bikini like Dimple Kapadia in Bobby [tempting enough for me since I know a few girls of the Kharvi community, certified as such for admission to professional courses, who indeed wear shorts, swim suits and bikinis] and the grapevine has it that Rajdeep has a plot of land closer to Baga-Calangute. May be we could swap that plot for a photo of a Kharvi belle in a bikini ...or mandakini! In the meanwhile, Scarlett teri Mama maili is the refrain of the Goa Police and Home Minister. Shall we now shout mine. minE, miNE, mINE , MINE ! or just read Dr.Claude Alvares' book GOA: this Sweet land of MINE. to familiarise ourselves with the visuals and issues? Mog asundi. Miguel PS It would be nice for those who want to discuss mining in Goa to at least view Rajendra Talak's film ALEESHA [starirng Priyanka and Prashanti Talpankar] being screened at the ESG's auditorium in the Maquinez Palace [old FDA building in the old GMC complex], near INOX, Panaji. the DVD/VCD costs just Rs.250/- thee film is in Konkani but the visuals tell the story well enough. Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:44:21 +0530 From: Philip Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Goanet] Goan with the Wind (by Rajdeep Sardesai) 1. Goa's tourism industry - earning the state approximately 10,000 crores in foreign exchange per annum -- has been at the heartof the modern-day mythification of the state as some form of a sexual paradise. Rs 10K crores for 2.5 million tourists may also be high. Rs3K-4K crores may be OK. 2. the real threat to Goa's cultural identity does not lie inthe lifestyle of the tourist, confined as they are to a small stretchof the state. In fact, in a state with limited employment opportunities, Goa needs to attract more, not less tourists. 3It isn't the influx of tourists whichshould trouble Goans as much as the growing influence of the builders and construction agents who appear determined to destroy the state's environmental treasure in violation of all existing laws. While Goa's politicians go into cataclysms over the Scarlett case, how many of them have bothered to raise their voice against the virtual auction ofthe state to land sharks? Here we need to understand the value chain on which tourism occurs. And btw, how come the mining industry which has been degrading the environment here for decades gone unnoticed? -- -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Miguel Braganza, S1 Gracinda Apts, Rajvaddo, Mhapsa 403507 Goa Ph 9822982676 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -- -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Miguel Braganza, S1 Gracinda Apts, Rajvaddo, Mhapsa 403507 Goa Ph 9822982676 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Re: [Goanet] Goan with the Wind (by Rajdeep Sardesai)
--- 2008 International Goan Convention Toronto, Canada Early Bird Discount Registration closes March 31, 2008 http://www.2008goanconvention.com/regform_print.html --- There is only one Goa, One Goan I know and consider: A beachcomber, a sunday and holy day devout; biased to the catholic religion, but altogether considerate of all religions and peoples;; a feni-drinker, but not a drunk; a coconut water lover; a toddy maker, a baker, a fisherman, loyola high school, don bosco, monte de guirim, mother of perpetual convent, even Holy Spirit; UG leader, Sequiiera, was it?; Nirmon movie and konkannim actors/crooners of long ago; Villages from Cavelossim to Varca to Cansaulim on to Marmagoa, towns from Margao to Panjim; sausages from Miramar restaurant and patties from Longinos; pigs beating me out to the fallen fernandes mangoes; ( actually, i'd like to remove the charging pig and dog packs from the scenery ); always taught rape was a non-existent violence in Goa, matter of fact not a murder story ever came to my ears until recent years; So, my Goa still has men in suits and women in flowers bridal gowns . anthony fernandes
[Goanet] Goan with the Wind (by Rajdeep Sardesai)
--- 2008 International Goan Convention Toronto, Canada Early Bird Discount Registration closes March 31, 2008 http://www.2008goanconvention.com/regform_print.html --- 1. Goa's tourism industry - earning the state approximately10,000 crores in foreign exchange per annum -- has been at the heartof the modern-day mythification of the state as some form of a sexualparadise. It is estimated that around 25 lakh tourists come to Goaeach year, a vast majority of them local tourists, eager to explorethe idea of being in a free state, free from the restrictions ofmiddle class attitudes. Only a fifth of the tourists who visit thestate each year are foreigners, most of them looking for a cheapholiday. Tourism as a 'foreign exchange' spinner to the tune of Rs 10K crores per year. That means it is generated by (not 2.5 million people) but only 500K. May be on the high side. It might bump up against figures for FX from tourism for the country as a whole. Rs 10K crores for 2.5 million tourists may also be high. Rs3K-4K crores may be OK. 2. the real threat to Goa's cultural identity does not lie inthe lifestyle of the tourist, confined as they are to a small stretchof the state. In fact, in a state with limited employmentopportunities, Goa needs to attract more, not less tourists. See discussion under 4 below. 3It isn't the influx of tourists whichshould trouble Goans as much as the growing influence of the buildersand construction agents who appear determined to destroy the state'senvironmental treasure in violation of all existing laws. While Goa'spoliticians go into cataclysms over the Scarlett case, how many ofthem have bothered to raise their voice against the virtual auction ofthe state to land sharks? Here we need to understand the value chain on which tourism occurs. You have the weekenders and charter tourists at one end. Then you have the holiday home wallahs. Above that the retirees and eventually the economic settlers. The land requirements (direct and indirect) increase as one moves up the continuum. And btw, how come the mining industry which has been degrading the environment here for decades gone unnoticed? 4.The real challenge for Goans is whether they can preserve theuniqueness of their land by ensuring that it doesn't become anotherconcrete jungle. Environment may not make sensational headlines like amurder can, but in the long run, preventing environmental degradationcan alone secure Goa's future. This is where governance enters the picture. Governance with a capital G, not pretend governance of driving in red beacon cars and cutting ribbons, making underhand money etc. If Governance is up to the mark then Goa's attraction as a tourist destination will only go up. Hopefully its (more broad based) economic attraction will also increase, leading to more population inflows and placing a premium on more efficient urban planning and environmental (including heritage) conservation etc. The challenge will be for Goa's leaders to think and act global -- not in laughable village-centric ways.
Re: [Goanet] Goan with the Wind (by Rajdeep Sardesai)
--- 2008 International Goan Convention Toronto, Canada Early Bird Discount Registration closes March 31, 2008 http://www.2008goanconvention.com/regform_print.html --- Very well written and thanks Rajdeep. I support very much your opinions. I am a Goan, from Cuncolim, now residing in Michigan, USA from 1980. That Scarlett girl's death and aftermath is bothering me a lot, in USA. Sil Rodrigues --- Read all Goanet messages at: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ ---
[Goanet] Goan with the Wind (by Rajdeep Sardesai)
--- 2008 International Goan Convention Toronto, Canada Early Bird Discount Registration closes March 31, 2008 http://www.2008goanconvention.com/regform_print.html --- http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/50559/goan-in-the-wind.html Goan with the Wind By RAJDEEP SARDESAI In the early 1990s, Air India printed a calendar showcasing people from different states in their traditional costumes. The Goa portrait had a couple at a church wedding in bridal finery: the lady in a flowing gown, her partner in a jacket and tie. The publication sparked off protests within the Goan community, who accused the national carrier of portraying a flawed image of the state. In a state where over sixty per cent is Hindu, the calendar was seen to reinforce the stereotype of Goa as a westernised Portuguese enclave. Ironically, the protests were led, among others, by the redoubtable architect Charles Correa, a Goan Catholic proud of his Saraswat Brahmin heritage, someone who was perfectly comfortable in his kurta pajama and Kolhapuri chappals. The protestors were successful enough to force a change in the calendar. When the Air India Maharajah gets it wrong, what chance does the average Indian have of getting Goa right? For decades now, Goa has been the victim of a rather perverted caricature: the stereotypical image of the state has been of a lazy, fun-loving coastal community with a weak moral core. Bollywood, often the trailblazer in setting cultural trends, did Goa no favours: the majority of Hindi cinema showed the Goan as the drunk Anthony Gonsalves-like character, a woman on one arm, a whisky bottle bottle in his pocket. Even the otherwise well made Dil Chahta Hai created the idea of Goa as the ultimate fantasy of the young Indian: girls were easy, sexual freedom guaranteed with the puritanical streak of the rest of the country absent here. Rewind to the original Goan film, Bobby in the 1970s: find me a Goan fisherman's daughter who dresses in skimpy bikinis and shorts like Dimple Kapadia and I will buy you a villa next to Vijay Mallya's seaside bungalow in Candolim. Unfortunately, it hasn't been easy to shake off the live the good times image of Goa, especially when the mainstream media has lapped it up so easily. If a few years ago, it was fish, feni and football that was considered to be the limit of Goa's vision, its now sex, sin and sand, courtesy the Scarlett Keeling controversy. For an increasingly tabloidish media, the Scarlett controversy is manna from heaven. A teenage white woman drugged, drowned, possibly raped, perhaps murdered, on a beach in Goa by mysterious shack owners: what more can a carnivorous media ask for? Especially when there are enough close up pictures of a semi-nude Scarlett with marks all over her body, suggesting foul play and a possible cover up? That the area where the incident took place is notorious for drug peddling, that Scarlett herself appears to have had an active sex life, that the girl's truant mother has a past history of crime, and is now embellishing her public remarks with unsubstantiated allegations against Goa's top politicians, that Goa's netas and local cops have a terrible record in fighting crime, can the media really then be blamed for seeing this as a sensational crime story which will catch restless eyeballs? But Scarlett's story is not simply another whodunit, nor does it fit in within the fight for justice framework that in the aftermath of the Jessica Lal case seems to have become the new war cry for a section of the media. Instead, the Scarlett saga lies at the heart of a more abiding conflict between diverse cultural strands of Goa: between licentiousness and piety, between new world normlessness and old world certitudes. There is the Goa of the beachcombers, of the hippies who discovered Baga in the early 70s, of the rave parties, of paedophilia, of decadent hedonism. But there is also the Goa of deep social conservatism, of folk religiosity in its village temples and churches, of simplicity of lifestyle within rural communities, of a premium on education and of immense pride in its plural, multi-cultural heritage. The Goa of a tiny strip of beach between Candolim and Anjuna is constantly in the media gaze and makes front page headlines. The vast majority of Goans who live outside this world are rarely documented because their lives seem much too unexciting to be explored. Historians and anthropologists have done much to unravel the real' Goa, but for the national media, it is so much easier to reduce an entire people to a tourist brochure . Indeed, Goa's tourism industry - earning the state approximately 10,000 crores in foreign exchange per annum -- has been at the heart of the modern-day mythification of the state as some form of a
