Mike and Chrissie: My English neighbours of Goa

Mike and Chrissie Shepherd, a British couple bought a house in Cuncolim in south Goa, decades ago and have made it their second home. Their message to the law makers is that tourists are not a threat to Goa's environment but its the big land sharks..
THE RAINY season is in full flow in the Indian state of Goa. It’s time for many foreigners on long –term visas to retreat back to their native lands to escape the rainy season. Few brave the rainy season and stay back. Mike and Chrissie Shepherd, are one such British tourists who have fallen in love with Goa and have made the tourist-resort state their second home. No wonder they own two homes in Goa. But they too do want to stay in Goa for the rains.
A Google search for Chrissie and Mike leads ones to Sanvorcotto ward in Cuncolim village in south Goa. If there is any chance that you have never heard of the village Cuncolim in Goa tourism related news, you are right; the village has nothing to do with tourism.
The next question that comes to mind is what drew the nature lovers and ornithologists to buy a village house in Cuncolim, inaccessible as it is by car. The Google entry by the couple, who conduct guided tours, answered the query – they like the quiet and relaxed part of Goa.
Every year during the tourism off season from May to October, they remain away from Goa, handing over the keys of the house to 30-year-old Cuncolim-born Lengley Tavares who operates a transport business from Calangute beach in north Goa. Yes, the Tavares and Shepherd families are neighbours in this sleepy village for the last 15 years and have been living in perfect harmony.
Tavares has been entrusted to take care of the house, which remains locked for lack of occupants. Handing over the keys of the house has had been the routine the couple has been flowing for the last 15 years, ever since Tavares has been a child.
The 60 something English couple quietly slipped into the village when no one was unduly concerned about foreigners buying property in Goa. In that way the couple has been lucky that they did not go through the mental agony and sleepless nights that many foreigners are going through for violating Indian property laws.
The house originally belonged to Dr Antonio Tavares, a local resident who had since settled in Nagpur in Maharshatra and when the doctor put out an advertisement, some 20 years back, many Goan families tuned their back in buying the house, as it was inaccessible by car.
Until the Sheperd came in to become ’good shepherds’ of the traditional style tiled-roof Goan house buying it for rupees three lakhs.
The house continues to have no road leading to it, but a pathway allows them to reach their home abode. The couple on their part has made no wholesome changes to the surroundings or to the design of the house.
The pathway continues to be a favourite place for the pigs to their droppings till this date as it has been for the last several decades, but the Shepherd’s Enfield Bullet motorcycle and the three-wheeler rickshaw tuk-tuk sound is enough hint for neighbours that the couple are back at their home.
Beraldine Tavares their neighbour said, "We have no problems with them. Most of the day time they are away, we do not know where. We have not inquired. We see them leaving the house at 10-11 am and then there is the sound of their vehicle coming in late in the night at 11pm. They play no loud music at their home. They contribute funds to the village chapel and are part of the social gathering of the villagers when invited.
They are a model couple, with their dress code confirming to the local culture."
And if the villagers in Sanvorcotto are in the dark where they spend their day, the news is that the couple has another holiday home in Cannagunim, another quieter unspoilt small beach in south Goa close to Betul village. Besides, during the day, the couple conduct their bird seeking expedition for foreign tourists.
And Chrissie and Mike are responsible tourists who care about nature, when, Goa has put a stop to foreigners registering purchase or sale of property, as a result registrars are not registering land deals from foreigners.
Crissie and Mike message to the law makers is that the smaller budget tourists are not the threat to Goa and its environment but the big land sharks who go about destructing the flora and fauna.
But will the government sign to the tune of the smaller budget tourists or the big land sharks. That is a question will be best answered by the pie hungry Goan politicians.

Selling newspapers on Goa beach changed his life

Universally, newspapers serve the role of disseminating news and help in opinion making. But hold on, they serve yet another purpose, if one follows the life story of thirty-nine year old, Shiva Mandre, who has a fluency in twenty-five languages.

 UNIVERSALLY, NEWSPAPERS serve the role of disseminating news and help in opinion making. But hold on, they serve yet another purpose, if one follows the life of thirty-nine year old, Shiva Mandre, changing the course of his life from a homeless construction worker in 1985 to a bird watching guide in 2003.

Shiva’s habit of reading newspapers got him into the business of selling newspapers at Colva Beach in Goa from 1991, a move which has brought about a sea change in the life of Shiva. This Karantaka-born has also attained amazing mastery over twenty-five languages, thanks to his interaction with foreign tourists and his determination to overcome all odds.

 Since 2003, he has stopped selling newspapers and started to sell post cards and books. He also gives bicycles on rent and guides tourists on bird watching trips, while his wife conducts cooking classes for the tourists in Colva.

Antonio Alvares and his family just could not ignore the salutations addressed to them by the tourist guides the moment they alighted from their car at Colva beach in South Goa. Among them was a slim, medium height person who was trying to draw their attention, at one of the Goan beaches, which is frequented by foreigners from different regions, speaking a host of languages.

 The guide started with French, followed with Italian and tried his luck with Portuguese. Alvares hearing his native language from a guide could not hold back for a moment and wanted to know more about the shabbily dressed man. Alvares replied back in Portuguese and what surprised him was the fluency and command that the beach hawker, Shiva had over the language.

 French, Spanish and Portuguese were not the only languages that he could speak and write. But he has also the knowledge of twenty-five different languages.

At first sight, one might dismiss Shiva as a man who has mastered the craft of salesmanship, but you cannot dismiss a beach hawker trying to draw the attention of the foreigners by speaking in their native tongue, in order to promote his sales of post cards.

Wearing short pants and long-sleeve multi-coloured shirt, Shiva carries two jute-made hand bags. One of the bags hang to his cycle hand bar, while the other hangs from his shoulder. He seemed to be out of the place where tourists with bermuda shorts and T-shirts is a common sight.

Unshaven face and brownish tint on his teeth, Shiva carries post cards and books in his bags, which he sells to the foreigners. But this is not the only thing he was associated with. Renting bicycles, cooking classes and guiding tourists on bird-watching trips, were some of the tourism related activities in which he has divided his time.

 “I speak English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Urdu, Swedish, Hindi, Norwegian, Finish, Danish, Polish, Welsh, Gallic, Spanish, Basque, Hungarian, Mouri, Japanese, Slovenian, Russian, Hebrew and a little bit of many other languages. In school, I studied Hindi, Kannada and English. Since 1992, I started coming to the beaches and started learning the languages taking notes and frequently practicing the languages with the foreign tourists”, said Shiva.

Shiva’s story is not only a story of a migrant who made his way to Goa in search of employment in the year 1985, but what follows is a story of struggle against all odds for the next seven years. He slept on the streets and his home was the old Margao Railway Station.

“I came to Goa on 14th May, 1985, and started working on a building construction site in Ponda city. I was paid Rs 12 per day. After a few days I came to Margao City and spent my nights on the streets until I got a room in Colva village in the year 1992”, Shiva revealed.

Shiva says that before he came to Goa he went around to some other cities in search of a good place where he could work and earn a livelihood. He preferred Goa and he has never regretted his choice. “Goa is a nice place to stay and many people have helped me to survive in the past few years. Most interesting thing about Goa is its good people and natural beauty”, added Shiva.

Recollecting his business of selling newspapers at Colva beach he said, “I loved reading newspapers since my childhood and the idea to sell newspapers was evolved due to my interest. In 1992, I started buying the newspapers from Margao city and cycled my way to Colva beach to sell them to the tourists.

In 2003, I stopped selling newspapers. The business was good till it lasted. With the advent of the internet, a few people were interested in newspapers. Hence, I stopped selling newspapers”.

While selling newspapers for a period of eleven years on the Goa coast, Shiva diversified his trade to sell post cards, books and later trained himself to be a guide for bird-watching trips.

Sleeping on the streets of Margao city and all the other hardships that Shiva faced could not stop him from pursuing his education. He enrolled himself for the XII standard in July, 1989 and finally passed out in April, 1992. He has more plans in store. Being a master in twenty-five languages, Shiva’s immediate plan is to learn more German and French. He also wants to complete his graduation in Arts stream and to complete his masters’ degree in French language.

Selling newspapers on Goa beach changed his life

Universally, newspapers serve the role of disseminating news and help in opinion making. But hold on, they serve yet another purpose, if one follows the life story of thirty-nine year old, Shiva Mandre, who has a fluency in twenty-five languages.

 UNIVERSALLY, NEWSPAPERS serve the role of disseminating news and help in opinion making. But hold on, they serve yet another purpose, if one follows the life of thirty-nine year old, Shiva Mandre, changing the course of his life from a homeless construction worker in 1985 to a bird watching guide in 2003.

Shiva’s habit of reading newspapers got him into the business of selling newspapers at Colva Beach in Goa from 1991, a move which has brought about a sea change in the life of Shiva. This Karantaka-born has also attained amazing mastery over twenty-five languages, thanks to his interaction with foreign tourists and his determination to overcome all odds.

 Since 2003, he has stopped selling newspapers and started to sell post cards and books. He also gives bicycles on rent and guides tourists on bird watching trips, while his wife conducts cooking classes for the tourists in Colva.

Antonio Alvares and his family just could not ignore the salutations addressed to them by the tourist guides the moment they alighted from their car at Colva beach in South Goa. Among them was a slim, medium height person who was trying to draw their attention, at one of the Goan beaches, which is frequented by foreigners from different regions, speaking a host of languages.

 The guide started with French, followed with Italian and tried his luck with Portuguese. Alvares hearing his native language from a guide could not hold back for a moment and wanted to know more about the shabbily dressed man. Alvares replied back in Portuguese and what surprised him was the fluency and command that the beach hawker, Shiva had over the language.

 French, Spanish and Portuguese were not the only languages that he could speak and write. But he has also the knowledge of twenty-five different languages.

At first sight, one might dismiss Shiva as a man who has mastered the craft of salesmanship, but you cannot dismiss a beach hawker trying to draw the attention of the foreigners by speaking in their native tongue, in order to promote his sales of post cards.

Wearing short pants and long-sleeve multi-coloured shirt, Shiva carries two jute-made hand bags. One of the bags hang to his cycle hand bar, while the other hangs from his shoulder. He seemed to be out of the place where tourists with bermuda shorts and T-shirts is a common sight.

Unshaven face and brownish tint on his teeth, Shiva carries post cards and books in his bags, which he sells to the foreigners. But this is not the only thing he was associated with. Renting bicycles, cooking classes and guiding tourists on bird-watching trips, were some of the tourism related activities in which he has divided his time.

 “I speak English, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Urdu, Swedish, Hindi, Norwegian, Finish, Danish, Polish, Welsh, Gallic, Spanish, Basque, Hungarian, Mouri, Japanese, Slovenian, Russian, Hebrew and a little bit of many other languages. In school, I studied Hindi, Kannada and English. Since 1992, I started coming to the beaches and started learning the languages taking notes and frequently practicing the languages with the foreign tourists”, said Shiva.

Shiva’s story is not only a story of a migrant who made his way to Goa in search of employment in the year 1985, but what follows is a story of struggle against all odds for the next seven years. He slept on the streets and his home was the old Margao Railway Station.

“I came to Goa on 14th May, 1985, and started working on a building construction site in Ponda city. I was paid Rs 12 per day. After a few days I came to Margao City and spent my nights on the streets until I got a room in Colva village in the year 1992”, Shiva revealed.

Shiva says that before he came to Goa he went around to some other cities in search of a good place where he could work and earn a livelihood. He preferred Goa and he has never regretted his choice. “Goa is a nice place to stay and many people have helped me to survive in the past few years. Most interesting thing about Goa is its good people and natural beauty”, added Shiva.

Recollecting his business of selling newspapers at Colva beach he said, “I loved reading newspapers since my childhood and the idea to sell newspapers was evolved due to my interest. In 1992, I started buying the newspapers from Margao city and cycled my way to Colva beach to sell them to the tourists.

In 2003, I stopped selling newspapers. The business was good till it lasted. With the advent of the internet, a few people were interested in newspapers. Hence, I stopped selling newspapers”.

While selling newspapers for a period of eleven years on the Goa coast, Shiva diversified his trade to sell post cards, books and later trained himself to be a guide for bird-watching trips.

Sleeping on the streets of Margao city and all the other hardships that Shiva faced could not stop him from pursuing his education. He enrolled himself for the XII standard in July, 1989 and finally passed out in April, 1992. He has more plans in store. Being a master in twenty-five languages, Shiva’s immediate plan is to learn more German and French. He also wants to complete his graduation in Arts stream and to complete his masters’ degree in French language.

Climate change is real and solutions to it exist but there is a small window of time: Ana da costa

Climate change is real and solutions to it exist but there is a small window of time. It is a complex problem – no golden bullet that alone can meet all the needs of society and bring down emissions. There are multiple solutions to bring about climate change and that is already happening India, says Ana da Costa Co-Director of the Indian Climate Solutions Road Tour, member of the twenty-member team which under took the record breaking Electric Car Climate Solutions caravan in India covering 3500 kilometers for 30 days travelling through 15 major Indian cities.

The aim of the trip was, to spread the message - a message of opportunity - that climate change is real, but that the solutions to climate change exist, and the greatest solution is our human capacity to act. We travelled through 15 major cities, and numerous smaller towns and villages, documenting climate solutions (www.indiaclimatesolutions.com), conducting climate leadership trainings at schools and universities, and holding concerts with our solar powered band  -- to celebrate the fact that solutions exist, and encourage people to engage positively and creatively in this global effort for change.

Every one of the twenty team members contributed a huge amount to the journey, as well as the multitude of regional IYCN coordinators in each city that we passed through.

The caravan of vehicles included three solar-integrated Reva cars, a biofuel powered truck (using CleanStar technology), a van that ran on spent vegetable oil, and a car with solar panels on the roof to charge the equipment.  http://www.indiaclimatesolutions.com/climate-solutions-caravan

The vegetable oil powered van (eco-auto), driven by Stanislav Miler, runs on spent vegetable oil. A large amount of this for the trip was Pongamia oil from Auroville and Waste oil from the ITC hotel in Chennai.

http://web.mac.com/milers/ecojourneys/Journeys/Journeys.html

The value of having such a beautiful creative and cohesive force, music, on the tour with us, with a message that crossed all language barriers, raising awareness about clean energy and the need to reduce our environmental impact, was priceless. Music, dance and art are all mediums that we need to use more as we seek to address this global sustainability crisis, as they speak to a different part of us all, and in the same way, we understand the messages in a different way.

I saw for myself the impacts of climate change that are already occurring, especially for farmers. Seeing how climate change will impact the poor has been a big lesson. It is completely different moving from the theoretical to the practical. Seeing these issues in front of your eyes - farmers struggling with failed crops, little water and little money.

I also learnt that there are a MULTITUDE of solutions to climate change existent in India, across sectors, green buildings, sustainable agriculture, sustainable transport, clean power generation, sustainable waste management, energy efficiency technologies, environmental education initiatives.... these are all happening, already, now, in India, and there just needs to be a lot more awareness and support for these solutions, in terms of education, and incentivisation of them, by the government, by businesses, by NGOs, universities, investors and individuals.

Across India, unplanned development of urban areas, as well as diminishing water supplies, poor waste management and a buildup of plastic are big issues.

Currently waste is a significant contributor to climate change. I think our principal responsibility is to minimise our waste as much as possible, reducing the amount of materials we use. However, for the waste we do generate, poor disposal is crucial to avoid, as poorly managed landfill sites - aside from being a source of major groundwater pollution and scars to our local environments - are also sources of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. We need to start recycling and reusing our waste (something that is already happening in many parts of India).

 As far as plastic is concerned, we need to minimise our use of it hugely and innovate towards truly recyclable and degradable forms of it.

There are particular solutions suited to particular situations. But there are multiple solutions, of which biofuels, when farmed sustainably, can be one. Biofuels can serve a particularly useful purpose when used as a decentralised source of stationary energy, particularly in rural areas where a reliance on diesel is costly and unreliable as a source of energy. In these situations, locally sourced biofuel can for example be used as a replacement for diesel gen set power. When farmed sustainably, biofuels can also be a means to generate livelihoods, and to reforest very arid un-farmable areas. This is something that CleanStar, and their Trust, has already demonstrated in Maharastra's Beed District. 

There is a need to bring about a transformative change in the way we use energy.

The road tour has been really inspiring and I hope significant in its impact, and is aimed to make a major contribution to this solutions based effort to address climate change. However, what is really exciting is that this is just the beginning, the road tour is the launch of something that will continue on, the Climate Solutions Project. We want to see a climate movement based on solutions and action in India, and across the world, a movement that highlights and catalyses best practice on climate change across sectors, and one that encourages the uptake of solutions at every scale, from the individual, to the household, village, town, city, nation, and globe. Each of these scales of action is crucial, and we need a lot more granularity around how to make these changes. The aim of the Climate Solutions Project is to do just this, to collect and communicate examples of some of the most transformative, catalytic climate change solutions in India, and eventually outside India too I hope, to raise awareness that they exist, to accellerate their uptake, to encourage people to take action, and, in the case of India, to show the international community that India is already acting on climate change. Acting on climate change is not only essential for the future of our existance in any recognisable shape or form, it also makes sense in terms of economics, our local environmental wellbeing and our energy security moving forward.

I've been working on climate change, with particular respect to India, where my father is from, since I graduated almost three years ago. When I left university, I had such a strong feeling that unless we addressed climate change, all of our development and conservation efforts in their broadest sense, would be undermined, and I still feel this very strongly. I also really felt, and still feel, that climate change poses a new challenge to humanity, one for which we all need to search the deepest part of our soul for an answer, a challenge to question the purpose of our existence and the way in which we live as a society. Climate change is in no mean terms an evolutionary challenge for man, one that asks us to act not on behalf of now, but on behalf of a distant future, a future that is coming closer by the day. It is an issue that engages you at every level, and as such is not only incredibly challenging, but incredibly inspiring.

The work I was had been doing in India on political and corporate climate leadership with a game-changing organisation called The Climate Group was very much highlighting for me both the opportunity for India of moving towards a low carbon economy, as well as the need for a forum to share best practice, and this was something I was increasingly keen to focus on in a communicative way. When I heard about the road tour through Alexis, whom I have known for a long time, it was a perfect synergy of ideas and intentions, and was something I absolutely wanted to be involved with and moreso, wanted to work to channel into a long-term project. This is what I have been largely focussing on for the last few months, as well as working on the tour logistics with every member of the team. 

On the road itself, every single team member did a bit of everything, be it logistics, event management, forward planning, presenting, writing and dancing! I tried to blog as much as possible, and encourage blogs from all team members in the glimmers of time between one event and the next. It has been in a sense hard work, but work inspired by optimism and incredible people, so not really hard work - incredibly enjoyable work.

Markus and Anita Rytz the BMW motorcycle couple on world tour

How much money is necessary to be happy? – That was the difficult question which troubled Switzerland-based couple Markus and Anita Rytz all their lives. Their world centered on materialistic things and in their pursuit for the luxuries of life they both suffered burnouts, on account of work-related stress. It is then they decided to change their lifestyles. Frequent road trips from Switzerland to different countries on their BMW motorcycle became quite common.  On August 10 last year they embarked on their ‘around the world trip’ which will take them to different countries and continents. Armstrong Vaz spoke to the couple .

“It is not so important to have all the materialistic things, that’s is what we learnt through our travel in India. Poor people in India may be poor in terms of materialistic possessions but they are rich at heart,” says Marcuz Rytz, who along with his wife Anikta reached Goa as part of their ‘around the world trip’.

The couple set on the road trip on their petrol driven 1200cc, six gear, German made 115 Horse Power, BMW from Luzern Switzerland on August 10 last year and will be on the road for the next four years.

The couple will hip hop from one country to another and from one continent to another in the coming years, and during the course of their travel they have ‘two appointments’ on an otherwise appointment free travel.

“On November 5 next year I will be turning sixty and we will be in Ushuia in Argentina where we will celebrate the birthday. The second appointment is set in Brazil on March 4, 2011, where we taking part in the carnival celebrations in the land of samba in Rio de Janeiro city,” says Markus.

The couple who are armed with the Global positioning  system (GPS), maps and medicines as travel companions sold their house and worked hard and long enough to make the dream trip.

“Travelling to India is every one’s dream and there are many others like us who want to travel to India. But one thing which clearly upset us is the disparity in the entrance fees leveled on foreigners to see place of tourist’s interests.  The foreigners are charged twenty times more than those collected from Indians. Nowhere in the world is such a practice followed.”

But his wife says, the positives from India, where they reached on November last year, have been the great family traditions and the support-system which children can avail of their parents.

“Back home on account of work stress, couples have no time for children and that is reason many marriage end in divorce. In India, you enjoy family support-system when a crisis strikes.”

But driving through the big cities and traffic chaos makes the couple jittery.

On reasons of embarking on the difficult and demanding motorcycle trip the couple said: “We can stop anywhere and everywhere we like. We can stop by the people, talk to the people, smell the nature and feel the pain and sufferings of the people from close quarters. We can get wet when it is raining and also when it is hot, the experiences which we would not be able to get if travel by another mode of transport including a car, which we thing is a cave.”

“On reaching India I felt a free bird, as I discarded my veil which covered my face, which I had wear throughout my travel in Pakistan and Iran. Where we go we try to maintain the local customs and traditions,” Anita said.

Before reaching Iran, the couple who till now had a no breakdown problems with their motorcycle burned rubber on the roads of Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.

 The former production manager at a steel company Markus had been an avid travel fan since the age of eighteen, but the motorcycle travel bug hit the couple strongly in 1977, starting with a trip from Switzerland to Turkey. What followed were several such trips by the couple to different destinations. The couple holds the record for being the first couple to take the trip from Switzerland to Japan through Serbia in 1994.

From Goa, the couple who enjoy the world-wide support system of BMW customer service will drive to Hampi in neighboring Karnataka.

The road map then takes them to Kashmir, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and then they fly to Bangkok from Kathmandu.

The travel plans lined up by the couple who are avid sailing fans takes them to South East Asian countries of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam,  Cambodia and Indonesia. The next phase of their travel takes them to Australia continent, East Africa, South Africa, South America, north America and end up their journey in Alaska.

For the Rytz couple making videos of their travel and photography are two passions, both which they upload on their German language travel website www.bcprod.ch and they were more than perfectly happy to keep away from the madding holiday crowd after a long journey from Kovalam Kerala.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Motorcycle details

Mileage – 21kms per litre

Fuel – petrol

1200cc

Six gears

Made in Germany 2008

Horse power – 115HP

Petrol tank – 38 litres lasting for 700kms

India grabbles with its e-waste – urgent legislation need of the hour

Brand-new computers in offices, modern televisions in middle-class homes and mobile phones everywhere are all signs of India's recent economic growth. But what happens to these mini-luxuries when their owners want to replace them?

Wilson Coutinho from Goa, had one such problem at hand, he wanted to discard his junk laptop. But, how to go about disposing his computer was a complex question troubling this environmentally conscious, former state footballer.

 He is not only the only one to face the dilemma.

The country does not have an all India law to deal with e-waste. Kerala is the only state which has drafted legislation, while elsewhere state and central legislators have not applied their mind in putting legislation in place.

Big cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai have private stakeholders like E-Parisram and Ramky taking care of electronic waste disposal.

“Recently Greenpeace organized a protest at Zenith's factory in Zuarinagar, Vasco, Goa, by installing a big snail asking the company to start clean production. This was part of our ongoing campaign to mobilise and motivate the IT companies to phase out toxics chemicals and metals from their products, take back their discarded products for responsible recycling and lobby for e-waste law in India,” said an official of Greenpeace.

 In Goa, Toxics Links and Greenpeace has been exerting pressure in the past on the stake holders and government to bring about a legislation to take care of the electronic waste in Goa, but nothing has had happened so far.

In the past Toxics and  Greenpeace, has been quite successful in campaigning against polluting industries, and getting big companies in India like Wipro, Samsung, HCL  and Acer to take care of their electronic waste.

Discarded computers, printers, fax machines, phones, TVs and refrigerators today end up at illegal recyclers. They end with people like Abdul Basit. His nimble 13-year-old fingers rip open them  who begins to process the waste using unsafe and crude techniques, over an open fire, to extract valuable
metals.

He uses no protective equipment as he inhales the deadly vapours eating into his body. Eventually the little Bihar-bom Mumbai-based boy could die of the poisoning – but he does not know that.

Greenpeace and other environmentalists say illegal e-waste recycling is dangerous because it emits toxic gases and harms the health of workers involved.

As sales of consumer electronics soar in India, the country faces a twin-boom in electronic waste. Domestic e-waste could reach 1.6m tonnes a year by 2012, up from the current 330,000 tonnes, says New Delhi-based research firm International Resource Group.

Industry groups estimate that the number of mobile phones in India will more than double from 286m today to 559m by 2011; computers will more than quadruple from 16m to 75m by 2010; and TV sets will triple from 78m to 234m by 2015.

Greenpeace is now working with India's Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) to propose a draft e-waste law that would make electronic companies financially accountable for ensuring the take-back and recycling of their products.

”It's high time we take corrective actions to contain the problem,” says Vinnie Mehta,executive director of Mait.

For the law to work, India will have to improve its e-waste recycling infrastructure. The country has only three licensed and ill-equipped recyclers. Engaging consumers will also be a challenge: Indian
households prefer to sell their discarded electronics to scrap dealers for cash, rather than take products back to manufacturers for recycling.

Till then the electronics brands in India face an uphill task to make sure their products are safely recycled.

The dwindling numbers- traditional profession under threat – rendermam (toddy tapper

The 'Goan Treasure' feni, brewed by Madame Rosa Distillery, Goa is participating at the prestigious International Spirits Challenge 2009 (ISC) event in London. The event, dubbed as the "Oscars of the liquor brands", will give `Goan Treasure’ international exposure and recognise its quality. The event will give the Goan Treasure brand the opportunity to be discovered in the UK and elsewhere in the world. But on the ground in Goa, the situation is quite different, in the face of urbanization many toddy tapper families, tapping coconuts are giving up the business for lack of hands to help in the trade, one of them is Jack Silva from the Coastal village of Benaulim. Goa produces two types of feni’s-coconut and Cashew.

Dominic  Alfonso  of Dominic shack at Benaulim village is hard pressed every time Russian Andrei demands a bottle of Coconut Feni – Goa’s favourite liquor. For quality conscious Dominic, giving the guest the best is his motto , but given  the dwindling number of toddy tappers in the coastal village of  Benaulim - just two do business- he is left with no choice but place an order with each of them for Feni.

But the ‘render’ (toddy tapper) doing business in the village frequented by a large number of foreign and Indian tourists will all be a thing of the past in another couple of year’s time.

Fifty-three year-old Jack Silva, one of the two toddy tappers in the village has all but decided that he has two more years left in his business and that’s when he will decide to hang his katti- a very sharp sickle like tool made of metal. He has been carrying out his daily chores for the last forty-three years, starting off as a ten-year-old, come rain or floods.

From the sixty-odd coconut trees which the family tapped a couple of decades back, the number has dwindled down to just fifteen, to the current day. Silva lays the blames the lack of labourers for the fall in numbers of coconut trees tapped by his family for toddy.

“Earlier it was easy to find people who could work for you. We had three of them. But now we cannot find any. It was difficult for one man to climb sixty trees, three times a day. So we decided to cut down on the numbers. In another two years time I will quit as one cannot continue beyond the age of fifty-five in this dangerous and demanding work. No one from family will continue the profession.”

The labourers who were hired locally from the villages or from the neigbouring villages came searching for jobs through the word of mouth messages send through different  relatives and friends and fellow toddy tappers.

In the last few decades, with the local supply drying up the toddy tappers scanned the remote areas of Sanguem and Canacona Talukas in their pursuit for labourers, but without much success. The Sanguem and Canacona local toddy tappers preferring to work closer home.

And if the All Goa toddy Tappers Association of Goa word is being taken into account most of Goa’s official count of Coconut Feni is to be taken into consideration, then Sanguem Taluka tops the bill in production of the much sough but slowly diminishing Coconut feni.

And he does not thing the tourism bubble has affected his trade.  “I continue to tap trees which I had been doing as a child. There has been no much impact in the form of cutting of trees in Benaulim village to make way for hotels till now.”

As and when Silva decides to call time it will bring to close another colorful chapter of a ‘rendermam’, singing and whistling his way up and down the tree to the tunes of the popular old Goan folk songs. Each one with his own pitch whistling to a different tune to create a symphony, besides cheering, jeering and a lot of slang too.

The way they twist their bodies between the lower palm leave and made their way up onto the crown and perched on one of the upper palm leaves.

And it will be a day when the tools of the trade of the render ‘katti’ “duddinem” or “duddkem” made of dried “coconduddi” (gourd, vegetable), which is now replaced by plastic jars, “colso” earthen pot to collect the “sur” or toddy also replaced by plastic pots, the “gop’pe” strips or strands taken from the belly portion of the palm leaf, which are strong and flexible, too are replaced by plastic strands , the “damonem”, a small earthenware similar to the “kunnem” , cooking vessel, the only difference being the opening was much smaller, will all be a thing of the past for Silva and his family.

And the “bhatti” or distillery were the principal of distillation and condensation is followed will face the axe making for a tourist guest house or another home for Silva and his family.

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How he works with his tools

The “kathi” is his prized possession and they would not trust anyone to handle it, they really took utmost care of it. “Duddinem” is used to collect the “sur” from the top of the tree and emptied in the “colso” kept at the bottom of the tree.  “Gop’pe” were used to tightly bind the “poai” or the shoot which yields “sur” and the “damonem” placed on top of the tilted “poai” to collect the dripping “sur”.

Life for a “Render” began very early in the day, they usually started work as early as 5.30 AM, when they use to go to their “Batti” or distillery, strip themselves bare except for their traditional attire the “kashti” a red and white checked loin cloth looked more or less like a string bikini of today. The first duty use to be sharpening their “kathi”.

The “Render” climbed each tree three times a day - morning, afternoon and evening; morning and evening they collected the toddy and in the afternoon to clean the shoot “shov” The first thing that they did once they were comfortably perched on the top of the tree was, embed the tip of the “kathi” in to the belly of the palm leaf for it to remain firm, then pour the “sur” from the “damonem”  into the “duddinem”. Sometimes they would blow into the empty “damonem” which made a peculiar hooting sound, then carefully place the “damonem” in between the palm leaves, clean the “poai” and then hold it with one hand and cut off a very thin slice of the top portion with the “kathi” with the other hand. Most of the trees had average three shoots . Once done, they would climb down with the “kathi” and “duddinem” in one hand and the other hand tightly clasped around the trunk of the tree, slowly but surely dragging down their feet on to the “kampam’s”; this routine was followed religiously twice a day, come sun, wind or rain.

HOW FENI IS DISTILLED

There would be a huge earthen pot (bann), now replaced by copper pots, placed on an circular hollow elevated surface with fire wood underneath, the pot was connected to the condensing pot called “laounnie”  replaced by an alluminium coil in the present day, in a small water tank. The “sur” after fermenting for about three days would be poured in to the “bann” and the mouth sealed with a circular piece of soft wood which was further fastened to the “bann” with strips of cotton cloth mixed in anthill mud paste so that no steam escaped, at the other end of the “laounnie”, the precious drops of “feni would drop in to a special utensil called “buianv”.  This process would last for 4 to 4.5 hours. This first distillation was called “mod’dop” which has strength of 14 on the alco-meter (grav), two “mod’dop’s” redistilled gives the actual coconut feni which has an average strength of 17 to 18 on the alco-meter (grav). This process also takes about 4 to 4.5 hours.

It is a tedious work, the fire has to be monitored and kept under control all the time. The water in the tank too should be kept on changing to maintain a low temperature ideal for condensation. If these two are maintained properly the end produce will be more and better. That’s “coconut feni” !

Goan liquor Feni faces a bleak future as Toddy Tappers face harsh times

The Toddy Tapper and the coconut Plucker are both becoming rarer and rarer to find in Goa. With a high-risk, live threatening job, Pluckers daily-wages are going up, but are hard to find. But then, few from the younger generation are keen to take up the Toddy Tappers job (Render mam - Toddy Tapper uncle as he is called locally by the children) in the tourist-resort state. If the head count of Toddy Tappers  in the state is decreasing, so has been the corresponding decrease in coconut tree cover in the state.

The decrease in numbers does not argue well for the Feni drinkers. Goa’s famous drink called Maddi or Feni which is produced from the coconut palm sap or juice, a local variety of liquor, which is very much in demand among the tourists and locals alike.

Increasing flow of tourist to the sun-kissed silvery beaches has meant that many a coconut plantations are being flattened either to build a small resort or a big five-star hotel in the coastal village of Goa.

And if that was not enough mega housing projects of 100-plus apartments which are increasingly bought by wealthy Indians, Non-resident Indians and foreigners, has further diminished the coconut tree count in the state.

But sixty year-old Cruz Dias has been battling all odd to carrying on the profession which was handed over to him by his forefathers and which will effectively end, when he puts down his tools and says enough is enough. Both his sons have since long moved away from the traditional occupation, to pursue a career at sea, as stewards for a American cruising company.

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Every day I clamber up and down the coconut tree every morning and evening, with the Zamnnem (containers made from gourd skin) and Kati ( a sharp edged instrument used by him to make an incision for the toddy to flow into the container) filled with Sur (toddy) slinging by my waist.

According to stories related by our ancestors we were told the friars who came along with Portuguese conquerors from across the oceans tutored our ancestors the trick of fermenting the Sur into what looked like " Fenno", a forthy substance from which Maddel, the coconut Feni, began to be distilled in home-made stills.

 During the monsoon, coconut  toddy extraction from the palm does not comes to a stand still, it goes on. A Toddy Tapper braves his life and climbs the tree overcoming the windy and slippery moss growing on the tree bark.

Unfermented toddy is very sweet and nourishing drink. As a young boy I used to drink a lot which my father brought home and was caught one day and was given a spanking by my father.

The toddy when strained and boiled to crystallizing point, it produces palm Jaggery, an important brown coarse form of sugar, used in making Goan sweet delicacies, besides Feni liquor.

I started in this profession as a teenager; my father was also a Toddy Tapper so it was but natural that I join him in the trade. Not only my father his three other brothers and his cousin brothers were also involved in tapping the coconuts and then producing coconut Feni.

I have not studied much, I went to a primary Portuguese language school and now to read and write a few basic words of English, besides a few basic words in Portuguese which I studied in the Portuguese language school.

My mother and my aunties use to go the nearest town- Margao to sell the distilled liquor after modern transport came to village after the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese, since selling the liquor commanded a better price in the cities.

But earlier as a teenager; I remember in our old ancestral house in Cuncolim village, many villagers came to place their orders in bulk or some took one or two bottles for daily consumption, or to keep the liquor in the case of emergency, as liquor was used and continues to be used for medicinal uses in Goan houses till this date.

After some time my family had to move out of Cuncolim village leaving the business in the hands of many cousin brothers. The Toddy Tappers business which my relatives inherited in Cuncolim have since abandoned with passage of time by them.

The work of extracting coconut Feni is a risky job, every day thrice; I put my life to risk by climbing the coconut tree.

Recently I had skin infections for my hands, I consulted many doctors and after making visits too many of them, a treatment from one of them served its purpose. But in spite of the painful hands, due to infection, I had no choice but to continue by daily chores.

Earlier in my youthful days, I used to climb thirty-five trees per day but now I have only twenty trees now. So I climb up and down the trees sixty times in a day in recent times.

 I have two assistants who also tend to more trees. Earlier, when my father was running the business, I used to canoe across the river Sal and go to Cavelossim, a beach side village, to collect toddy from the trees. But now, the area has developed into resorts and that has meant the trees are cut and if there are existing trees, they are inside the hotel property, which they are not ready to give us for extracting toddy.

According to the Excise laws in force in the state, every year we have to furnish details of the number of coconut tress from which we are extracting toddy along with the no-objection certificate from the land owner.

In good old days of the past Goan families used to believe that the toddy tapping  from a palm tree was beneficial in a way, that it helps in refining of the tree. Not any more.

In recent years, more and more people are reluctant to enter into a contract with us for use of the trees. Some eye the returns from the coconuts that the tree produces. Some also fear that if someone falls and dies while climbing the coconut tree his spirit will haunt the place. The belief in such stories comes from people relegating stories from the past.

But, I have a painful memory of death occurring before my own eyes. One of my assistant, an orphan, he had no family,  we were his family, he was prone to epileptic fits, one day he suffered a bout and came crushing down from the tree to the road – an instant death. I was on a nearby tree and the image of his death haunted me for months and I call recall it even now, after almost ten years, as if it happened yesterday.

In the event of the death the Toddy Tapper family receives insurance from the government, thanks to the initiative taken by the All-Goa Toddy Tapper Association which has been instrumental in the social security measure for us. The same benefits my father generations were not entitled. All of us are members of the Association; we meet regularly to discuss our grievances ranging from harassment by corrupt Excise officers and guards to challenges faced by us from our own brethren in the form of adulterer liquor which is giving the entire community a bad name.

Spurious Feni is sold by some unscrupulous sellers. They produce Feni containing Navsagar and even Ammonium Chloride and Zinc Chloride from the batteries, in order to boost it’s strength. Spurious Feni is injurious to human health. A good drinker can easily tell the difference between a genuine Feni and an adulterated one by it’s taste and flavour.

If trees for tapping toddy are decreasing, personnel to tap the toddy from the trees is another concern.

The future appears bleak, as I have not been able hire assistants to help me in my job. Hiring new persons to take up the profession is very difficult. Last week I made a trip to Ambaulim in Quepem Taluka, a distance of 20 kilometres from my residence in Betul  village, on the look out for fresh recruits to help me. But I have not been successful. I have kept word with my friends and hopefully they will get back to me. 

If, I am not able to find assistants and if the current lone one deserts me, then, I will be forced to give up on the task. But on the other side, I love to work and not sit idle. It is a form of exercise for me. I also do not want to be burden on my family and depend on my every day needs on my son's family.

But the day is not far, when I will say good bye to this profession as lack of assistants, decrease of coconut trees and my falling health, all but, will probably fast forward the decision, which I have been pushing back for years.  

Cruz Dias was talking to Armstrong Vaz

Running around for one and half year to get my ration card

“Just wanted to say, that we at Goa Civic and Consumer Action Network (GOACAN) are promoting the idea that if you do not take any grains from the ration shop or kerosene from the authorized dealer, then there is no need to have a ration card. This is also not the only document to prove your residency. Perhaps you would like to comment on it,” wrote my neighbor and consumer activist Lorna Fernandes in an email send to me in the month of December last year.

That was the activist view. The ground reality was quite different. This is what I discovered painfully for the last one and half year when the talathi of Cuncolim misplaced our ration card and we had to make endless rounds to the government offices involving a lot of paper work, including  sworn affadavits to get back the ration card.

My first stop was at the doors steps of a nationalized bank in Margao. The bank official insisted from my mother a xerox copy of the ration card, over and above the electoral card and the senior citizen card issued by Directorate of Social Welfare.

Fortunately, I had an old Xerox copy and although he insisted on seeing the original electoral card, he did not harp on the original ration card and the matter rested there. But that was not easily done. It was  only when I created scene and playing the Goenkar card to the bank customers was a master stroke which the bank manager fell for.

The second stop was the National Union of Seafarers of India ( NUSI) on the Benaulim side of the Khareband bridge , here too the official Xavier Rodrigues  asked my mother to furnish along with other documents a  Xerox copy of the ration card for availing of the monthly seamen dole for ex-seamen’s wife’s.

Yes, the ration card continues to be a proof residence and a document which many a government offices and semi-governments offices, banks continue to rely upon, when the electoral card was to serve and replace the same multipurpose. But that has not happened.

Indian administration thrives by creating doubts in the  minds of the people which leads to chaos and insisting on the ration card as proof when it should have discarded long ago is a classic example. With no photographs on the ration cards to proof your identity, impersonation by furnishing  someone else card is a method used by many illiterate people and a ploy employed by politicians to increase the vote banks in Goa.

For the migrant non-Goans who have settled in Goa and who have been pouring into Goa, getting a ration card is easy, backed as they are by politicians.

Lorna’s and that of GOACAN stand on ration cards cannot be brushed aside - if you do not collect any grains from the ration shop or kerosene from the authorized dealer, then there is no need to have a ration card.

But the lower income group (LIG) people continue to pick up the grains while the middle income group living in villages occasionally collect the subsidized kerosene to burn a killed snake or to drive the ants away.

In the past the Goans lined up to collect extra quotas of sugar, rice, ghee and oil from the fair price shop in Goa, preparing sweets for special occasions like Diwali, Christmas and Ganesh festivals, all that is pushed into the past. But one thing has not changes is bribery and harassment which helpless and infirm people are subjected to in Goa by bribe hungry government officials.

For a niz Goenkar like me, getting my lost/displaced ration card like moving a mountain, one of the many harsh lessons which I learnt on my holiday in Goa. But there was hope at the end of the tunnel as young people like footballer-turned government official Rupak Naik, are some people who still have sincerity and integrity, a quality which is becoming rarer and rarer to find in Goa. The end message for me was – Goa is changing, but not for good, but for worse.

Disappearing act – photographs go missing from the electoral rolls

Nineteen-year-old Melvin Fernandes hailing from the Velim constituency part of the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency in the western state of Goa is in upbeat mood. He will cast his vote for the first time. But, the eagerly awaited excitement to press the button of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to cast his vote has not come easy for the catering student. He had to toil for it. He had to travel from Velim to Margao city- the nerve centre of Goan economy and the centre of the South Goa district to get his missing links in his voting card restored in the system which dramatically within a span of one year.

Although Melvin’s name and other details were correctly featured on the electoral roll his photograph was the missing link. With his photograph missing from the electoral roll his old electoral card was rendered useless.  A greater threat of being turned back from the polling booth door on election day of April 23 held in store for Melvin. It was then he decided to take the trip to the Margao’s South Goa collectorate to set things on the right track.

Melvin is not alone; there are many others like him, whose pictures were not featuring on the electoral rolls although they have twice and even thrice attended the photography procedures of the government diligently, every time they were called in to do so. Others had their photo identity cards in their possession but their photographs had done the disappearing act from the electoral rolls. And in their absence of their photographs missing from the electoral rolls  they will not be allowed be to vote in the parliamentary elections, the first phase which  has been set in motion a couple of days back.

The photos did a vanishing act for no fault of the voter but for the negligence of the government officials and the agencies that have been out-sourced the photography work.

And the missing photographs is not a localized Goan-level phenomena but an All-India problem as the Hyderabad based company has goofed on the details of the voters spread against the width and breadth of the country.

In Goa, officials at the  South  Goa collectorate informed that around 20,000 voters  photographs  are missing from the electoral rolls and an equal number from the North Goa Lok Sabha constituency.

For each of the missing photographs the outsourcing company assigned with photographic work charge rupees twenty each. And that involves a huge amount taking into account the all-india figures are taken  into account.

Many voters opined that the disappearance of photographs is a ‘man made’ error is a bid to rob the government funds through artificially created errors.

Every day duty-conscious voters have been queuing up outside the district offices  in Goa to get the mistakes rectified on their electoral cards, starting their day very early.

“People start moving into the complex at 7am and the office opened at 10am, it is at that time when the officials started accepting forms,” said Veena Gracias, who stood in a queue on Friday to get herself photographed.

While people who started early in the queue went home happy with a new look mistake-free electoral card at the end of the day, others like Michael Fernandes were not so lucky, they were turned back as the office shutters were down at 5 pm.

The photography office hours range from 10 to 1pm and 2.30 to 5.00pm.

Chaos reigned from the start to the end in Margao as people got tanned in the hot sun waiting for their turn to get the click of the mouse moving.

The queue system was followed more in the breach. The leakage occurring when the policemen and women having gone for the lunch break and in true Goan leisurely style turning up back for duty at 3.30 pm to keep an eye on the crowds. By that time the damage has been done and many broke into the queue leaving many stranded.

And Milton Fernandes was one of them who after spending nearly six hours in the sun had to go back home without his work being done. He has to start all over it again on Saturday and Sunday. If luck clicks he will get a chance to vote otherwise, it is all over.

“The authorities should have a token system for the people standing in the queue or alternatively should have erected barricades so that no one is allowed to break the queue”, said Milton.

Till then Milton will have to wait for another day to give the electoral photography another shot toiling for hours in the hot summer sun. 

Crumbling village house in India and Cuncolim’s centuries old land issue

Goan houses have been the handiwork of some remarkable artisans. My neighbor late Indunberg Gama, an engineer by profession had a lot of fond memories associated with old ancestral house in Sanvorcotto Cuncolim. He passed away four years back in Mumbai. With his death spelt the death knell for his ancestral house. His children who were born and brought up in Mumbai had no idea how his forefathers had toiled to build the house.

On the death of Gama, the house was not periodically repairer and the house constructed in old traditional style with the aid of lime and sand crumbled under its own weight two years back. And the inevitable happened the debris of the house were cleared and then the children decided to sell the plot to an originally Karwari family settled in Goa for the last twenty years.

Like Edinburg house a number of houses surrounding my house lay unoccupied., with some toying with plans to sell their land and settle elsewhere. Call it migration or work call demands. The bottom line is village houses are being deserted in Goa in villages far away from the beach.

A few prospective owners like Shanti Gama is waiting for buyers. But many a buyers have been turned their back for the lack of motorable road leading to the house.

Shanti’s house is not the only one which lies closed in the vicinity of our house. Former Mumbai corporate  Nolasco Gama is one such house along which till date has not faced the ace. Nolasco and his children having migrated to somewhere in Canada or Australia and it has been ages that the family have visited their old ancestral house.

If some houses remained locked in my vicinity, there are some owners who have still managed to keep their houses a coat of paint and make them dazzling. One such house is that of late Arnuf Fernandes, which has been properly maintained by its owners now based in Portugal. A few metres away the professor Babu Fernandes house has been gifted by his niece to a charitable home. But no one has since moved into the palatial house and call it lack of repairs or any other thing, a portion of the house has crumbled and one is not sure when the entire house will crumble.

If it crumbles then a large part of the history will be lost along with the grandeur and identity the house gave to the small Sanvorcotto ward. The house where many children learnt their first lessons in Portuguese under the professor during the Portuguese rule.

Another palatial house which welcomes you to my ward owned by Rui Fernandes begs for attention. The owners who have settled in Chinchinim occasionally come to collect their revenue from their by now almost sold properties in and around Cuncolim. They have maintained and repairer the house. But will Rui’s sons do it.

One way for the local residents concerned about heritage will be to approach the Tourism Department in a bid to protect the old grandeur of Sanvorcotto.

But if old constructions are crumbling and lie unoccupied, a number of new RCC construction and old ones are being converted into plus one structures. Bang opposite my house local councilor Devendra Dessai has constructed two houses. A few metres away Juliet D”Souza bungalow is getting the  finishing touches, while my class mate and childhood friend teacher Ajay Dessai’s family is converting their roof tile house in a plus one structure.

In all the schemes of things our house and the adjacent house of goldsmith Raikar looks like a dwarf.

To understand Cuncolim’s building spree one has to have a look at the land ownership history of the village. Most of Cuncolim’s land including some parts of Sarzora is shown in the survey books of records as ‘court receiver’. The  ‘court receiver’ came into the pictures owing to the century old dispute between the Sociedade Agricola dos Gauncares de Cuncolim e Veroda and Condado of The Marquis of Fronteira.

In Cuncolim land ownership did not rest in Communiade hands but in Sociedade Agricola dos Gauncares de Cuncolim e Veroda, an association of the original settlers the village.

To look at the land dispute one has to flip through the history books and one comes across interesting facts. This is what I found out.

In 1583, the Cuncolim villagers had to face the fury of the Portuguese for having killed the five priests and five laymen who were forcibly converting the Hindus and also destroying their temples. The Portuguese destroyed orchards in the village and unleashed many atrocities on the local population. More trouble was in store for them.

The village chieftains were invited for talks at a fort in the neighboring village of Assolna, where the church of Assolna stands today. All except one was executed. The one who survived did so by escaping through a toilet to swim across the "River Sal" and fleeing to the neighboring Karwar district, which now forms part of the southern state of Karnataka.

As part of the memory of the murdered village chieftains, Cuncolim as recently as six years ago erected a "chieftains' memorial" thanks to the initiative of Vermissio Coutinho, who took the lead in the building of the memorial. The chieftains' memorial stands close to the martyrs' chapel.

The subsequent execution of the chieftains -- cold-blooded murder -- did not diminish the fighting and valorous qualities of the villagers. If though the Khastriyas of Cuncolim failed to match the superior armed forces of the colonial rulers, who destroyed their orchards and unleashed other atrocities, the villagers continued the struggle through a non-cooperation movement of not paying taxes to the Portuguese.

Centuries later, Mahatma Gandhi would launch a similar movement of not paying taxes to British rulers.

The villages of Cuncolim, Velim, Assolna, Ambleim and Veroda refused to pay taxes on the produce generated from their fields and orchards. As a result, their lands were confiscated and entrusted to the Condado of the Marquis of Fronteira.

The villagers waged a strong struggle but it was through the efforts of the visionary Dr. Rogociano Rebello, a general medical practitioner who studied law, that they got their land back.

He took their case from the Goa law courts established by the Portuguese to the highest court in Portugal. Finally, it bore fruit.

The "martyrdom" and conversion of Cuncolim did not end the exploitation by the vested interests. New ones replaced the older ones and the conversion does not seem to have made a great difference. The later history of Cuncolim-Veroda as Condado of The Marquis of Fronteira since its donation in perpetuity to João da Silva and his descendents in 1585 could be the theme for a long study and it will require access to the records of the House of Fronteira and to many case files in the court (julgado) of Quepem of the comarca of Salcete. There are also records among the Mhamai House Papers at The Xavier Centre of Historical Research pertaining to the administration of the revenues by Narayan Camotim Mhamay as Rendeiro of the Condado frorn 1809 to 1818 or so, writes historian Tetonio De Souza in one of his papers.

 Apparently, the administration of the Condado was more benevolent than that of the Jesuits in the neighbouring Assolna-Velim-Ambelim. But only a more detailed study could establish the truth of the appearances, because even for the short period of the administration of revenues by Narayan Mhamai Kamat one comes across umpteen cases of confiscation of lands and other personal possessions of several village inhabitants who are sued in the court of law as bad debtors to the revenue far-mer. I have come across instances of popular representations against the administration of the Condado, and there are cases of Rendeiros complaining against the abuse of authority and funds by the procurators of the House of Fronteira in Goa. Such complaints seem to be motivated by the rivalry among the candidates for the revenue-farming of the Condado , he adds

The Portuguese chronicler Diogo do Couto describes Cuculi (sic)"The leader of rebellions" and its people as "The worst of all villages of Salcete". The prosperity of this village seems to have been derived from its fertile land that had abundant and fresh waters from rivers descending from the New Conquests and crossing it before they became brackish in the neighbouring villages nearing the coast.  

Surplus agricultural production had enabled this village to develop crafts of a very skilled order. Cuncolim is still known for its skilled metal works. But already in the letters of Afonso de Albuquerque one reads that guns of good quality were manufactured in Cuncolim, and he finds them comparable to those made in Germany.

A century later the viceroy D. Jeronimo d'Azevedo was banning the manufacture of guns in Cuncolim under penalty of four years in the galleys and even gallows! This kind of developed crafts can give us some idea of the economic interests that had developed in Cuncolim when the Jesuits arrived.

The village also had other important economic resources. One of these was its permanent bazar at the end of more than one caravan routes connecting it with the mainland through the Ghats of the Ashthagrahar province. One of these cut through the Donkorpem Ghat and another through the Kundal Ghat, leading to Netarli and Naiquini respectively. Besides these two Ghat passages there was another coming from Dighi Ghat to Veroda via Talvarda. It was frequented by caravans bringing cloths and other provisions.

Cuncolim bazar needs to be considered as an important factor in its socio-economic development. In keeping with the traditional fairs connected with temple and religious festivities, also the bazar economy of Cuncolirn depended upon its temple and religious celebrations. One should analyse against this background the reaction of the dominant class of Cuncolim to the destruction of its temples and to the attempts of  the Jesuits who sought to establish Christianity in Cuncolim and its satellite villages of Assolna, Velim and Ambelim in 1583.

In the present day retired government official Madhukar Dessai  who donned different hats of a freedom fighter, Excise official and also chairperson of Cuncolim Municipal Council is the president of Sociedade Agricola dos Gauncares de Cuncolim e Veroda.  The Sociedade runs an English-medium school, higher secondary school and a college, which is situated opposite the Church run school of Our Lady Of Health.

But is Sociedade Agricola dos Gauncares de Cuncolim e Veroda authorized to execute lease agreements and are prospective buyers who dole lakhs and lakhs of rupees to some agents in respect of property prudent enough. That is a legally debatable issue.  

But then what are the rights and privileges of the apartments and shops owners which have come on the land leased by the Sociadade to the builder. That is another grey area.

Masterly artisans a vanishing tribe in Goa

Heta Pandit’s book Hidden Hands-Masterbuilders of Goa amply illustrated with photographs and gives the reader an insight into the lives of the artisans-carpenters, masons, stonecutters, roofers, basket weavers, potters, painters and gardeners- that have made the houses of Goa look and feel the way they do. The contribution of each of these artisans, their relationship with the house owners, the tools they used, the methods of construction they employed, their remuneration and their lifestyle have all been described vividly and sympathetically. But that was a few decades back. In the current age the masterly artisans which abounded in Goa have become a vanishing tribe in Goa, discovers Charles D’Silva as he set out in pursuit to build his dream house.

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Tour guide Charles and Nicol D’Silva’s dream house is taking shape in Benaulim. Every day and night he monitors its construction, stone by stone. From the mason to the carpenter from the title fitter to the plumber, Charlie is ensuring that each one does a neat and tidy job.

It has been quite a demanding task for him not only to keep an eye on the quality of work but to get different artisans to execute the project.

In keeping with the spirit of the niz Goenkar (true Goan), he seeks to build his home in true traditional style. The Goa of the old which he grew up with in his home village of Kanaguinim. The Goa of the yesterday years which he promotes among the foreign tourists on his walking tours. Tourists from Italy to
Russia from US to UK yearn to see the Goa of the Old, flipping through the tour guide books and scanning for more information. And after having read and hear about Goa’s history they want to see it from close quarters.

The old traditional rood tile houses, the courtyards at the centre of the big palatial mansions, things which are increasingly vanishing from the Goan radar.

Charlie’s hopes to incorporate some of the features of the old traditional house in his small dream nest while at the same time ensuring that it has all the modern amenities.

In his pursuit to build his villa block by block, he preferred not to hire the services of the contractor but look out for the labourers and artisans through his own contacts. He also wanted to Goan artisans and businessman but he has had not so smooth sailing with each of them.

His flight in pursuit of the Goan masons took him from Polem, the border village of Goa in the south to Pernem taluka in the North, and would you believe  it he could not find one local mason. He scanned and searched for local masons in Margao, Cuncolim- a village he completed his school education, in his home village Kanaguinium, in Benualim and after a lot of effort he finely decided to travel to Pernem taluka. A taluka famous for Goan masons, but luck was not on his side, he could get hold of even one of them in Pernem too.

If one goes by Charlie’s experience then it could be safely concluded the masons of Pernem are a vanishing tribe.

Finally he had to settle for a Non-Goan mason.

His trusts with the other Goan artisans has had not been a memorable one. The local carpenter had more eye on the  money then on living up to the professional  standards. Here too he had to drop him for a non-Goan one after paying him his plan fees. But sadly, the plan for which Charlie had paid for was not handed over to him by the carpenter.

The wood contractor whom the local carpenter had recommended was quoting an amount in excess of rupees one lakh. A fact which Charlie discovered after procuring his wood from the neigbouring state of Karnataka.

But wherever possible Charlie has tried to reach the Goan businessman, the stone supply came from Bali, the sand also from Bali village.

It may be not be long when all the traditional Goan artisans will be a thing of the past.

Each country has its own unique past. A past which they are proud off. Ranging from architecture to several other things which they make every effort to preserve for future generations. A past which they identify with.

During his off-season sojourns with Swiss-born wife Charles had had closer interactions with such experiences and its puzzles him why such a thing cannot happen in Goa.

Goa needs more of the Charlie’s and the Nicol’s to save and promote the Goa which we knew and which we grew up with.

Till then, Charlie and Nicol are waiting to move into their house along with their son Nathan, before the tourist season begins in October.

Elsewhere in North Goa Mario and Muriel are building their own house. Here is an email the couple forwarded to me sometime back.

“We are in the process of building our family house on Muriel's family plot in Pilerne, Bardez. We will be building as eco-friendly a house as possible with as many local and alternate, sustainable technologies we can manage, trying of course to keep it primarily, very low cost. “

“An essential feature will be to Reduce-Reuse-Recycle - including rain water which will be harvested and channeled back into the village water table, as well as grey water which will be recycled  for the plants.”

“To this end we are looking out for any old material - tiles, roof timber, doors, windows, wooden columns – anything - that we can reuse and recycle first to cut costs, but also to reduce the creation of more junk and garbage.”

“If you know of anyone who has such material we would be happy to buy it.  If anyone is  ‘unfortunately’ pulling down an old house with a wooden first floor, we would like the floor boards for our first floor.  As far as possible, we want to keep out all steel and concrete (RCC).”

“Write to us at anothergoa @gmail.com if you can help us with anything we need.”

And citizens of the small state must look up to individuals like Mario and Muriel to set the road chart for others to follow in the state when it comes to sustainable technologies.

Distress signals for farming community in Goa

Music is his passion and farming as a hobby give him kicks. He is all but eighty-one years in age, but yet not given up on the things he was most of fond of in life- cultivating his paddy field and rearing his she buffaloes for milk.  A decade back, his paddy fields yielded two crops in a season. But with the adjoining paddy fields converted into a housing project only one crop is possible per season now – a death knell  for farming in the Indian state of Goa.

 For the umpteen time Joao Santan Rebello cast his vote last month, to elect his representative to the 15^th Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament, since Goa got liberated from the Portuguese in 1962. Much has changed over the years with modernization in the tourist-resort state,  the small state of India which welcomes some four millions foreign tourists every year. In the race to build mega housing projects to cater to the tourists many a paddy fields have fallen prey.

People like Rebello who hails from coastal village of Benaulim  are becoming rarer and rarer to find in Goa , one who continue to cultivate their paddy fields in the face of many obstacles. All his life he has lived on the profits from his paddy fields and buffaloes rearing business - to take care of his family needs and to provide education to his five sons. Giving up on what he has been doing all his life is hard thing and that is what Rebello finds difficult.

Non-profitability has forced many farmers in the state to keep their paddy fields barren. Rebello too experienced the stark fact, when thirty-seven fellow agriculturists who were cultivating the fields adjacent to his, one by one forsake the paddy cultivation ten years back, in an area, which is spread over an area of two acres of land, in Benaulim village, in South Goa.

“I was left with the difficult question, whether I should follow suit, “ recalls Rebello.

But, Rebello popularly known as ‘Mastor’ (teacher), by the entire village, farming is a hobby, he gets pleasure in seeing his paddy field grow. He spends most part of the day and night in the paddy field in a small palm leave temporary hut, a ten-minute walk from his home.

“I was determined to fight back and wage a lonely battle, a struggle to continue my farming hobby.  I work the fields for the sheer joy I get in seeing these green rice fields.  The entire area looked like a green carpet when cultivated. Some villagers take pleasure in a local folk play (tiatro), I enjoy watching my fields grow. I love this work with my heart and soul.”

Modernization is taking a toll in the way youths in Goa look up to Agriculture, with no college catering to the a degree in agriculture, the next available option  to complete your studies in agriculture is move to the neigbouring state, which many youth are not interested. Instead the best  available and simpler route they prefer to take, is the journey to the Persian Gulf or work in the shipping industry.

The younger generation is simply not ready to soil their hands. Thus in the race for upward mobility the paddy fields are left barren.

“Rising labour costs is one of the reason, now I pay rupees 300, for men and 250 for women while in 1960 the rates were rupees 2.50 and 1.50 for men and women respectively. Every year I spend rupees 15,000, while I suffer a loss of rupees five thousand on each crop. Goa has been fortunate that there are no farmer suicides like in other states of India, because of loan debt. In Goa, farmers simply abandon farming and leave their paddy fields barren and the new generation look for new forms of employment or are migrating to foreign lands. It is said that an Indian farmer is born in debt and dies in debt, that’s true for small farmers like us.”

If a few decades back the entire family of Rebello was involved in cultivating the paddy fields along with  labourers, the trend of Goan families breaking from the joint family system has affected the Rebello’s as two  of his children have migrated in search of greener pastures to Mumbai and Persian Gulf.

“Earlier, my wife and five sons use to help me in my work, but she isn’t so healthy and my sons have their own jobs and family commitments. I also rear buffaloes and I use the dung to enrich the fields as manure. Earlier I used to plough the field with buffaloes but now I cannot do that and instead I use the tractor which I hire from the agriculture department.”

But age is slowly catching up with him, he says and he plans to say goodbye to cultivating his paddy fields in the two years’ time ‘god willing’.

“I had to make the difficult decision of giving up on paddy cultivation in three other paddy fields which my family used to cultivate a decade back, to concentrate on just one. In another two years time I will give up on farming and my paddy field would also be barren.”

An Indian farmer continues to depend on the vagaries of the climate while some of the government much published water supply schemes remain on paper or are yet  to reach people like Rebello. People like Rebello still depend on their age-old primitive type distribution system of water for their crops.

The Taleband lake is a vital link in the eco-system of the village used to repaired every year by Communidade—but with the age-old  system getting a beating, the control was then handed over the tenant association and subsequently to the panchayat – the self governing body of the village- took over, but they too stopped some years back. The farmers in the area then joined to repair the lake but that too was also stopped. Now he repairs a limited part of the lake for water to reach his paddy fields.

“The water in the lake was used to irrigate the nearby fields which yielded bumper crops and the local residents earlier did not have to go far to search for their stock of rice. The Taleband lake and other smaller lakes supporting farming activity have silted. Water pump has been my farming companion for the last five decades. I am pumping water from a small lake and watering my crop through the channels.” 

Waterweed is another monster which has colonized the lakes and which affects Rebello’s paddy fields.

Bridge culverts which have replaced pile culverts do not drain flood waters fast enough. 

“I discovered painfully in 2006, Karif (rainy season crop), with the nearby low-lying paddy fields been converted into a housing complex, my crop was damaged. I approached the agriculture department for help and I submitted my bills, instead of the rupees five thousand which I incurred, I got only rupees one thousand. Disgusting and discouraging to say the least, when the Indian government makes tall claims of promoting farming. I have got no award in my fight to continue the farming legacy in face of so many odd.

For Rebello his paddy field is a place for him to admire the tiny patch of green in the vastness of the fallows. Pulling out pesky weeds.  Adjusting furrows and waters channels or just caressing the sheaves of corn at other times simply gazing lovingly at the mass of greens gently wavering in the wind.

But for the church-school trained musician from the Portuguese era who had to give on playing the trumpet after losing his teeth, he will abandon paddy cultivation in two years time leaving him to play the double bass for the listening pleasures of his grandchildren. The music which will revive old memories of the then popular group’ Louis and his Melodians’, the music group he played for  many years.