WHAT WAS CARNAVAL?
WHAT was Carnaval? Always Carnaval was celebrated from Saturday, what we used to call in Portuguese Sabado Gordo or Fat Saturday. Actually, proper Carnaval was from Sunday till Tuesday for three days. People modified the word Carnaval to the English Carnival.
I remember from my childhood that the Carnaval originated in Brazil with great enthusiasm and pomp. The same Carnaval started in Goa by Timoteo Fernandes and the Chief Officer of Municipality of Panjim, Vasco Alvares, was selected as first King Momo and the decree of King Momo was read by him and celebration started in full animation and glory.
Next year in 1965 Timoteo became next King Momo which he modified to suit the locals, where many young youth boys and girls participated in the float parade starting from Rio Bar close to Corina near Old PWD office. The feasting and enjoyment then started. The floats were decent and not commercialised.
Ironically, the request of the people of Fontainhas and St Tome, wherein families indulged in rivalry, dances and participation into their houses celebration was well accepted by all residents in Panjim.
–Stephen Dias, Dona Paula, Panaji
DECENT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FIRST, PLEASE!
GOA Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant should first talk of providing Goans a decent infrastructure in public and in homes first before constructing or re-constructing temples in Goa! He was speaking at a function at Narve, Bicholim where he reportedly promised rebuilding the magnificent temple on Divar island called Shri Dev Saptkoteshwar, as a memorial for the 1,000 temples destroyed during Portuguese colonial rule. Perhaps all this temple talk is to distract from more important issues like the diversion of the Mhadei river headwaters in Karnataka!
Why is the CM promoting enmity between Goans along religious lines by selectively talking of repairing and building temples in Goa, he wants to turn Goa into another Uttar Pradesh? Don’t we have enough temples in Goa? Instead of sucking up to the RSS bosses in Nagpur the CM would be better off if he spoke of improving the living conditions of Goans vis-à-vis free education, uninterrupted electricity/water supply at a cheaper rates, improved public transport system and a decent network of roads and streets not falling apart all over throughout the state of Goa.
Sawant should be talking of constructing model hospitals in all the villages of Goa on a top priority basis so that Goans (irrespective of caste, creed and religion) would get first class healthcare at home and in nearest village or town hospital. Surely this is a better idea instead of all this demolishing of churches talk to win the guaranteed Hindu votes during at election time for his own long-term political survival in Goa?
— Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
RSS REMOTE CONTROL!
GOA is now run by a proxy government with major decision making and slogan crafting like Atmanirbhar and Swayampurna entrusted to dozens of RSS advisors. They are experts in education, culture, science, technology, cooperative sector, etc. The divisive mission is now total. Three RSS-appointed persons minutely screen all the nominations and appointments to all statutory government committees and corporations.
All major departments are now packed with officers owing loyalty to the RSS. Publicly-funded Shiksha Bharti, an RSS offshoot, is controlling school education in Goa. Bal Shikshan Parishad is another RSS offshoot group controlling children, nursery pre- primary education from KG to primary standard . The RSS handpicked person is a BJP leader appointed as chairperson of Goa Education Development Corporation. The Statutory Goa Public Service Commission also has as a member who is an RSS activist.
Sahakar Bharati, an RSS organization, controls Goa’s cooperative sector. Kisan Bharti runs the entire agriculture sector although they claim autonomy. Vidynan Bharti has completely monopolized the Hindutva- supporting agenda and receives huge funds from Goa government. It’s packed with RSS leaning and loyal local College and Goa University academicians, college science teachers and Hindutva supporting scientists from NIO, IIT, NIT, BITS Pilani and Goa University taking all the decisions on science and technology in Goa — leaving no room for the concerned minister of education to say anything contrary.
In the office of every cabinet minister the RSS has been successful in placing an officer as a watchdog! An RSS member and office bearer of the radical RSS offshoot Konkan Itihas Parishad, which aims to re-write history from the Hindutva perspective of the RSS, is virtually running the Directorate of Archives, Archaeology & Museum — bypassing the minister concerned. He is employed in that department and was earlier put as an RSS watchdog in the office of then Deputy CM Babu Kavlekar. The RSS is now running Goa to ruins.
–Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar