COVID ALERT AGAIN!
WITH China witnessing an epidemic of Covid-19 with unofficially over 10,000 deaths recorded everyday — there is panic in Delhi. It is not only the military tension on the line of control between China and India but also the spread of Covid-19 that is causing concern. The main source of any Covid-19 infection will be the large number Chinese products consumed in India including the I-phones which till recently were made in China.
The largest I-phone manufacturing unit in China has been closed due to covid. The advice on wearing masks in crowded places and senior citizens taking a precaution dose is back. Rahul Gandhi of course feels that the government alert is to sabotage his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
`BIKINI KILLER’ FREE
THE notorious Charles Sobhraj, who was serving a lifetime sentence in Nepal for multiple murders, was released on completion of his 20-year term. Sobhraj, who was in Tihar jail in Delhi, escaped and spent 52 days in Goa without the knowledge of the Goa police. It took the Maharashtra police to catch Charles Sobhraj at the O’Coqueiro hotel where he came to make a call. Those were the days of trunk calls where tourists in Goa had to book their calls and wait for hours to get connected.
TOP SCORER IN CAT 2022
IT IS a son of an AC mechanic, Razim Mansuri of Ahmadabad, who scored 99.78% in the Common Admission Test. This test qualifies the candidate for admission to any of the Indian Institute of Management. Mansuri will prefer to join the IAM in Bangalore. Earlier Mansuri completed his engineering in Information Technology from Ahmadabad University, Mansuri has been fortunate to get scholarship to finance his studies.
CHRISTMAS, A FAMILY AFFAIR
LIKE most festivals in Goa, be they Ganesh Chaturthi or Tulsi Vivah, or Christmas, these are primarily family festivals. Traditionally, it is lunch with the parents of the son and dinner with the daughter-in-law’s family. There are may be advertisements for turkeys which few Goans may be able to afford. The standard Goan menu for Christmas will feature pork as the main attraction, perhaps a pigling with an apple or orange stuffed in the mouth.
The traditional Goan sweets are bebinca and kulkuls and not plum pudding which has more liquor then cake. We have attended dozens of cake mixing ceremonies where gallons of rum and brandy have been poured into five-star cake mixes for maturing before baking as the year comes to a close. We also receive a hamper or two of goodwill. Alas, the invitations for Christmas lunch or dinner have dried up.
IT is going to be a Christmas alone after years of living it up for many. Hopefully some German bread cake called stollen or a plum pudding or cake comes along courtesy friends in Goa! Our admin manager is more interested in the pretty boxes in which goodies are packed and why not when these useful boxes, bags or baskets come in very useful for storage or shopping in someone’s home.
JINGLE BELLS ARE RINGING
UNFORTUNATELY, only at outlets selling Christmas goodies. Magsons is among the few supermarkets which offers you cooked stuff turkeys and everything that the world loves to feast on come Christmas season. Another large promoter of Christmas goodies in Cremeux with its offer of Christmas cake and plum puddings and more. Cremeux founder Vincent Dias expanded at a very rapid pace after it was taken over by a branch of the CMM group of companies. Cremeux is now managed by the enterprising Dean Menezes and his brothers who are children of David and Cecelia Menezes.
JOBS AT MOPA
IT IS not just GMR, the company which is putting up Mopa, but several airlines which are looking for ground staff and security guards for Mopa airport operations, or rather the new Manohar Parrikar International Airport. While Dabolim may continue in a skeletal fashion the majority of the flights, particularly the morning flight between 6am and 12pm will shift to Mopa from January 2023, as this time slot is occupied by the Navy at Dabolim. The volume of tourism has grown so huge that on Saturday, December 17 there were 1,000 flight landings at Dabolim airport. Watch out in Facebook for the recruitment ads of private airlines like Vistara, who recruited ground staff at their office in Panaji last week.
INTERNET IS A BRAIN BANK!
MINISTER for Water Resources Subhash Shirodkar has said that with the right use of the internet at primary school level itself, the whole world will open up for students. With the use of the internet they get much better knowledge and exposure and they get empowered with wisdom, “Internet as a brain bank!” At the same time there is no substitute for hard work and discipline of time.
The minister was speaking at the Mathgramasth Hindu Sabha’s Shree Damodar Higher Secondary School of Science, Margao, at the annual cultural program and prize distribution ceremony held at Gomant Vidya Niketan Hall in Margao on December 22, 2022. The minister also noted that Goa has 450 institutes at secondary level, 1,000 primary schools, 110 higher secondary and almost 50 colleges. With adequate educational infrastructure Goa will surely emerge as one of the best states in the country!
Minister Shirodkar further observed that the National Education Policy does not speak about multi-storied educational buildings or starred infrastructure but it speaks about the change in teaching and learning process and multi-dimensional personality for the students. He urged students to study a lot and become knowledgeable and praised the Shree Damodar Higher Secondary school of science which gives maximum exposure to students and it is one of the best institutions in Goa.
Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar added that only education is important in life. President of Mathgramasth Hindu Sabha and Manager of the school Bhai Naik added that such annual cultural day and prize distribution ceremony always refresh the mind. Educationist Anil Pai also spoke on the occasion. Management Executive Reema Kunde, PTA Chairman Parag Raikar, principal Rajiv Dessai and others also graced the occasion. Rajeev Dessai and Ramprasad Naik presented the annual academic report of the school and Chandrakant Shinde introduced the minister who felicitated meritorious students and presented prizes to winners of various year-long activities.