PURPLE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES INCLUSIVITY OF DISABLED PEOPLE!
GOA hosted and celebrated its first International Purple Festival for an entire week till January 13, 2024. This is actually the second edition of the festival for the disabled community and organised by the State Commissioner’s Office for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and the Directorate of Social Welfare (Goa government) in collaboration with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (government of India). The festival took place at the DB Grounds of the Campal promenade in capital city Panaji.
The inaugural event had Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant doing the honours along with chief guest Ramdas Athawale (Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment), Vishwajit Rane (Minister of Health), Shripad Naik (Union Minister of State for Tourism, Ports & Waterways); also there were Subhash PhalDessai (Minister of Social Welfare), Sadanand Tanavade (Member of Rajya Sabha) and Dr PuneetKumar Goyal (IAS, Chief Secretary, Goa government), Guruprasad Pawaskar ( State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities), Taha Haaziq (State Secretary of the State Commission for Persons with Disabilities) and other dignitaries who contributed to the festive spirit of the festival.
Amongst the programs presented by persons with disabilities (PwDs) which included children were singing and dancing performances, competitive field and non-field games, film screenings, exhibition of useful equipment to make the life of the disabled easier and much more empowered.
Highlights of the inaugural event included a “purple anthem” titled Dhumal about which music director Mannan Shaah had this to say: “The best thing about this anthem is that it is sung and performed by persons with disabilities across Goa, alongside living legends of the Indian music industry. That, in itself, is a pure example of the inclusiveness that the anthem sets.” The festival saw the launch Purple TV Bharat, a dedicated channel for PwDs. This channel aims to showcase their ideas, success stories, interviews and achievements globally, creating an inclusive media platform to empower them.
Needless to say an estimated 8,000 delegates from home and abroad participated and revelled in the International Purple Festival 2024, cutting across all differences in a spirit of inclusivity.
NORTH GOA ELECTION ROLL 2024
ADDITIONAL Collector-II Rohit Kadam with Deputy Collector (Elections) North Goa Ishwar Madkaikar have distributed the Final Election Roll 2024 to various political parties at a distribution ceremony at the Collectorate in North Goa District. The compiled Election Roll encompasses a total of 544,548 eligible voters spread across 19 constituencies in North Goa. The demographic breakdown includes 264,103 male voters, 280,442 female voters, and 3 transgender individuals exercising their right to vote.
Statistics from the Election Roll reveal a youth demographic of 18 to 19-year-olds, totalling 10,130 eligible voters. New voters can enrol and avail of their right, said Rohit Kadam, while emphasizing the significance of an inclusive electoral system.
BHAGVAD GEETA RECITAL
GOVERNOR of Goa PS Sreedharan Pillai and First Lady K Rita Sreedharan Pillai attended the Bhagvad Geeta Recitation Function organized by Samskrita Bharati, Canacona at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan on January 9, 2024. The program was organised by Samskrita Bharati, Canacona, wherein the students of various educational institutions recited shlokas from the Bhagavad Geeta.
Also present on the occasion were Valsaraj (Principal Private Secretary to Governor), Anand Desai (President, Samskrita Bharati Shri Chinmay Amshekar, Co. Ordinator of Samskrita Bharati. Speaking on the occasion Smt Pillai said Geeta provides peace to our mind just the way food provides activeness to our body. She appealed for the creation of a healthy atmosphere in the minds of people. Prasad Umarye proposed the vote of thanks.
THE 3L CHILDREN OF PANAJI!
BETWEEN the old Education Department building and the Pharmacy College, along the 18th June Road, Panaji, the Government Primary School Ramdas is situated. It is a Kannada medium primary school from standard one to four. There are 58 students and two KG students. Four teachers are the staff members. Three teachers teach all the subjects in Kannada. One teacher teaches English.
All the students are children of migrants from Karnataka, born and brought up in Goa. The students are very lively and interested in learning. They come to school every day from Porvorim, Bambolim, Chimbel, Betim, Taleigao and other neighbouring villages on their own by bus. Their parents are illiterate and daily wage workers. Some of them come from the broken families.
Hence, the learning for these students has to take place in the school only. Once they go home there is nobody to teach or supervise their studies. In Goa the children of the poorest of poor, attend the government schools. These are the real 3L (least, last, lost) students. In the beginning of the year, we strongly felt that we should do something for these students.
On January 11, 2024 on behalf of the Friends of 3L, two of us reached out to these students and distributed stationary with a carry bag. Each student was given Rs76 worth of stationery consisting of a long single line book of 200 pages, one pencil, one eraser and a sharpener. Sixty students benefited. We have promised them medals for the Best Boy and Best Girl of the year. Similarly, the student with the highest attendance in the school will get a medal. If we get sufficient financial assistance or stationary, we will distribute it to them in the month of June 2024.
From next week twice a month, I will teach these students English through story narration to students of 1V standard. We need young or middle age volunteers those who live in the vicinity of Panaji, to teach English, singing through action sings, dancing, drawing, painting, craft and artworks, etc, to these 3L students.
If anybody is interested please contact Pratap Naik, SJ in Goa on No: 9850658565.
(Box with picture and use)
“YOU CANNOT REVIVE HINDUISM BY USING SHRI RAM AS A POLITICAL TOOL!”
— Pavan Varma, former diplomat and scholar
PAVAN Varma, former Indian diplomat, politician and noted scholar lambasted the ruling political party in the country by saying, “You cannot revive Hinduism by using Shri Ram as a political tool!” He was delivering a lecture on “Hinduism” at the International Centre Goa (ICG) on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
He was scathing in his criticism of the ruling political disposition; says Varma, “The new thekadar (contractors) of Hinduism are trying to dictate what we must eat, what we must drink and how we must dress. These are people, who have not fully understood Hinduism.”
According to Varma, it is worrisome to see the present political heavyweights trying to homogenize Hinduism for their own selfish, political gains. “Sanatan Dharma, which is the foundation of Hinduism, has always advocated the policy of live and let live. True Hinduism has always believed in respecting all religions and faiths. Today’s political leaders are doing a disservice to Hinduism.”
Varma thinks the best way to counter half-baked knowledge of Hinduism is to learn and educate ourselves about Hinduism. In a spirited Q/A session that followed the 45 minute talk, Pavan Varma expressed his optimism for the political future of the country because, “Nothing is permanent. I firmly believe that Hinduism will go back to the age old tradition of `live and let live.’”
Earlier in his talk he credited the 8th century Hindu sage Adi Shankaracharya for reviving Hinduism in medieval times. He said, “In the face of opposition, Adi Shankaracharya always advocated a fair and intelligent dialogue with his opponents and believed in the philosophy of “live and let live” which is the absolute core of Hinduism.
NEW IMA COMMITTEE
WE must confess we like attending some of the more interesting Indian Medical Association (IMA) programs to say hello to various familiar doctors of Goa! The latest installation ceremony of the IMA Goa State Executive Committee 2024 took place at Z Square’s Grand Hall above the Samrat Ashoka Theatre Complex in capital city Panaji on Sunday, January 7, 2024.
The new IMA is headed by Dr Sandesh Chodankar, Dr Rajashree Marathe as secretary and Dr Gauresh Palav as treasurer, Dr Medha Salkar as news editor and Dr Pradip Padwal as representative to central IMA among other members. Dr Chandrakant Shetye (MLA) Bicholim and chairperson of Infotech Corporation of Goa was the chief guest who told everybody present that he felt more like a doctor than a politician, so please treat him as a doctor first! Amusing that.
The interesting part was Dr Vikram Patel’s CME talk on “Making Goa A Model State in Mental Health” and Dr Naveen Salins talk “End of Life Care.” This year is going to all about everyone’s mental health to put it in a nutshell. There was also a panel discussion on the two topics of mental health and end-life care and will making (in other words what kind of euthanasia is permissible in law, the law is so confused on the subject of putting patients suffering from terminal illness to sleep on demand or request).
Dr Vikram Patel noted the seriousness of mental illness in the Indian population going largely unattended to, this is an area of concern and should be included in national health programs. But how, that is the question. Dr Naveen Salins spoke of end-of-life care and medical futility, presenting legal and technical aspects of palliative care.
Really, we don’t know why we even consider such absurdities as legal euthanasia, when healthcare in India doesn’t even have the infrastructure for treating senior citizens in place (geriatrics care is still in its infancy). Who decides when it is time for a patient on ventilator indefinitely to say goodbye, cruel world? In a still underdeveloped country like India life is cheap and cursorily disposable.
Anyway, this is to say one of the outcomes of this IMA event was to admit that doctors too suffer the emotional burden of healthcare related to “work-related risk factors”…they too are human and find themselves overworked and they do suffer from heartburn, or so to speak. That’s when we imagine errors of judgement do take place.
In a structured survey online questionnaire 300 doctors responded in Goa and this survey reveals that one in ten doctors experience stress-related conditions in their life…clearly this calls for urgent attention to the wellbeing of doctors — for on their wellbeing depends patients’ wellbeing too!
The survey was led by Professor Abhijit Nadkarni from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Sangath, in collaboration with students and faculty of the Goa Institute of Management. It was supported by IMA seniors, namely Dr Shekhar Salkar, Dr Amol Mahaldar, Dr Ravindra Agarwal. With the survey’s results now the IMA is sufficiently motivated to initiate activities to support the wellbeing of its doctors, in the coming 12 months in Goa. Naturally we wish them all the best in this venture. For in the long run friendship between the medical fraternity and patients is desirable.
BRAND NEW `POLO’ STORE IN PANAJI!
THIS may be interesting for brand “Polo” attire lovers. The brand is doing so well with upwardly mobile Indians that now there’s a brand new store in capital city Panjim. It was inaugurated with much fanfare on January 8, 2023. The new store at MG Road extends across 2237 sq ft over two floors and showcases the brand’s latest Autumn-Winter Collection of casual attire currently.
Polo has become a globally renowned brand and really needs no introduction for just about anyone who has arrived to the good life, owns a Polo t-shirt at the very least. The sports fraternity is particularly fond of the Polo brand of casualwear, footwear, accessories, innerwear, etc.
Curiously, the label comes from the royal game of polo played during the erstwhile British Raj years – when the royals played the equestrian-based sport and the British picked it up to take back to good old England! CEO Amitabh Suri of US Polo Assn-Arvind Fashions Ltd in a brief exchange shared that the game historically hails from Manipur…oh yes, it is still being played and there are even women’s polo clubs. The leisurely classes keep in touch with the game in polo tournaments around the world.
Go take a look at the new Polo store, we found the footwear very lightweight and yes, it’s mostly cotton wear and nothing is imported except the label! All material is sourced in India and Polo is an entirely India-based operation. Something to be proud about!