ATAL SETU TO GO GREEN!
THIS is to inform your readers that Atal Setu bridge in Goa will turn green from August 2 to 4, 2024. It will be illuminated in bright green to celebrate India’s National Organ Donation Day celebrated on August 3, 2024 to raise awareness about organ donation. The green light symbolizes hope for those awaiting a second chance at life through transplantation. It serves as poignant reminder of the men, women and children who died waiting for a life-saving organ and expresses gratitude to organ donors and their families for giving the supreme gift of life.
This initiative is courtesy the Mohan Foundation and the Indian Medical Association, Goa. Gabriel Pereira, Mohan Foundation representative states, “the idea of illuminating the Atal Setu Bridge is not only to raise awareness about organ donation but also spark conversations about organ donation within families and communities. The bridge, a symbol of vital connection, now symbolizes life-saving connections made possible through organ donation.”
Presently, more than a million Indians suffer from end-stage organ failure, with less than 105 receiving timely help. A primary reason for the lengthy waiting lists for organ transplants is the lack of awareness about the possibility of organ donation after brain death, despite improving public awareness over the years. According to nephrologist Dr Amol Mahaldar, given India’s low organ donation rate of 0.64 per million population, one of the lowest in the world, there is a crucial need to sensitize the public and encourage them to discuss their organ donation with their loved ones.
— Dr Shekhar Salkar, president, IMA Bicholim
THE MAKING OF A CONSCIOUSNESS!
It’s the centennial year of Modern Indian Artist Francisco Victor Newton de Souza.
By Joanne Pinto Pereira
IT’S over two decades since the intrepid Goan, Saligao-born Francisco Victor Newton de Souza Souza passed on, but the impact of the life and work of India’s prodigy artist stirs up intense perspectives.
His works are expressionism at its best. Souza’s legacy to the world of visual arts is indelibly as co-founder of the Progressive Artists Group at the turn of India’s independence in 1947. His radical views both personal and political are what made him a trail blazer in the creative world. Souza followed the philosophy of Sankhya (Collective) Conciousness.
On August 1, 2024 the Xavier’s Centre for Historical Research, Alto Porvorim, Goa, hosted author, researcher and critic Janeita Singh who shared readings from her book: “F. N. Souza The Archetypal Artist” launched this year. Her comprehensive selection provided insights into the conflicting duality in the life of the man, and the artist. The early works which reflect the landscapes of Goa bring an element of beauty and that is the lens through which you want to see the artist.
There are strong references to the artist’s persona as acerbic and irresponsible. Remember he was regarded as the enfant terrible of the art world. Researchers who have spent decades gleaning the mind of the man point out to his enormous intellect and truths that are visible in his distinctive style and subjects. His portraits, the human form and unusual depictions of women, dwell on freedom from societal taboos. They bring to the fore the woman as a complete being in her own right. His work represents the entire Alchemical Opus. Negredo which has strong black borders outlining the heads and eyes jutting out prominently. The form is incisive and defiant to the world that sits in moralistic judgment. The technique ticks on all elemental counts of albedo, citrinitas and rubedo that accrue on his canvas.
Souza’s personal life was disrupted by his undiluted expression but he persevered at bringing his fearless beliefs to the canvas. Overt, primeval, audacious, everything that would make you squirm perhaps except when you look at the context of the artist as a thinking human. You then see the holistic view which evolves to awakening the collective consciousness.
Throwback to the time when student Souza was expelled from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai for drawing obscene graffiti in the restrooms to the maturity of a fellow institution to encourage dialogue on the contribution of this genius, the era has come full circle. That’s a century of impact by the genius FN Souza.
