Wounds of April 6, 2001 yet to heal for Goan cricket lovers

On Sunday October 25 2010, India and Australia play each other at Nehru stadium in the last match of the three-match rain-affected One Day International series, which India leads 1-0. The India-Australia match at Margao stadium will be opening old wounds for many die-hard spectators of April 6, 2001.

The wounds have healed but the insult and injuries are still fresh, says Mohammed owner of Janta Hotel of Station road Margao. On April 6, 2001, India not only lost the ODI cricket match, but also the series to Australia at Nehru stadium. But that was the not the only thing that happened that day in the tourist haven. The former Portuguese colony lost its face on account of the fake ticket scam, which rocked the match.

Mohammed was one of the spectators who was cane charged by the police on that fateful date. He had a valid ticket for the match, but he along with 15,000 other spectators was denied entry inside the oversold stadium.

Almost ten years down the line the spectators who were battered by the police are still awaiting justice. The deliverance of justice is a slow and painful process in India. The judicial system in Goa too is bogged down by the pilling up of both of civil and criminal cases.

The charge sheet filed in the court says that the then three officials of Goa Cricket Association (GCA) conspired with the ticket contractor for sale of tickets beyond its capacity of 27,000.

Police investigated the fake ticket case and the charge sheet by Margao police was filed on July 5, 2001. The police in support of its case have cited around 220 witnesses and the charge sheet runs into around 550 pages.

Among the persons pulled for wrongdoing and charge sheet in the case was until recently the former Law Minister of the provincial government. Dayanand Narvekar vice-president of Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) who is now the president of GCA was the head of GCA when the ticket-gate scandal happened.

The police on its part had chargesheeted the GCA office bearers and others involved with two different cases in the Margao courts. One of the cases ended in acquittal of all the accused while the other case is still pending.

In the first case, only four office bearers of GCA President Narvekar, treasurer Rama Shankar Das, secretary Vinod alias Babu Phadke and joint secretary Vivek Pednekar, all were charged with sections 143, 147, 148, 149 and 336. The charges on the GCA office bearers were related to negligence and endangering the life of the spectators by printing tickets exceeding the capacity of the stadium

All the charges fell flat in the JMFC court and the court acquitted all the four office bearers.

In the second case all together nine persons have been charge sheeted and the case has seen more than five judges hearing of the case.

Narvekar, Das, Pednekar, Chinimay Falari, Devdutt Falari, Joaquim Pires, Gangaram Bhise, Venkat Raut Dessai and Eknath Naik are the nine accused in the second case. The sections applied were 468, 465, 471 and 420 read with 120 (B) Indian Penal Code, which deal with cheating and criminal conspiracy.

Amongst a host of charges, the police has alleged that Narvekar, Shankardas and Phadke, being members of the GCA tender committee allegedly conspired with ticket contractor, Chinmay Fallari in printing fake tickets.

While the spectators of the April 6, 2001 went home carrying injuries from police lathi charge, they are in with hope that persons who forced upon them the injuries and cheated them are quickly punished.

They have waited for long. Hopefully the wait will come to an end with everyone getting justice.

Konkani theatre set to get a boost in Qatar, thanks to Roman Catholic priest Anand Castelino

The tiatr (folk play), Khell tiatr, One-Act Konkani play, the Khells, form part and parcel of the Goan lifestyle, but all things Goans are losing its essence in the Gulf and Qatar is no exception.

Theatre has been the cheapest and most effective system of art to get across the message to the masses.

But it is losing its ground among the Goans in the internet age. Why, the ground beneath is loose will be debated in another post.

Theatrics and budding Konkani artists may well get a shot in the arm, which they were looking for if Rev Father Anand Castelino plans to stage a skit competition for the Konkani speaking community of Qatar owing allegiance to the Our Lady of Rosary Qatar materialize.

Castelino, who is the spiritual head to the nearly 20,000 Konkani-speaking community plans to hold a five to seven minute skit competition revolving around the life of Saint Francis Xavier, patron saint of Goa and the Indies, whose incorruptible body which is the source of inspiration for many a pilgrimage to Goa.

The feast of Spain-born saint is held every on 3^rd December in Goa and Goans in Qatar will join hands with Mangalorean community in jointly celebrating the feast.

Coming back to Anand’s planed skit competition, the dynamic priest who is a fountain head of music knowledge needs to be complimented and needs our support to carry the plan to its logical conclusion.

The only loose end according to him will be making space at the fully-booked Seraphic hall to hold the skit competition.

Anand hails from Mangalore and the Mangalorean community has been picture of unity in sharp contrast to the Goans, who are a divided lot.

Skits, play and theatre hold centre stage for the Mangalorean community and they are exporting the rich traditions from Mangalore to Qatar.

Eddie Sequeira is one such play writer from the Mangalorean community, writing in the Ekvottt magazine, the Rosary church of Qatar newsletter, he has promised to highlight the life of the single worker in Qatar. Local rules demand that single workers accommodations are far away from family accommodation. That means they away from the city, in an area called Industrial area while the city units are reserved for family accommodation.

Konkani needs a giant push among the Goan community and Anand’s approach to it may well seem to be a small solution on the surafece of it, but a start has been made to the big problem for Goans in Qatar, and it is no looking back.

"Kitle aile, kitle gele, paus azun

Ambea mullant koddkoddttat

Goencho put azun!

Bhangarachem Goem amchem

Kitlem assa pois azun”, to quote Goa’s famous poet Manohar Sardessai.

NB: If the Konkani speaking community parishioners of Our Rosary Church of Qatar are fortunate to have rev father Anand, who know the in and outs of the music- reading and writing music. At the other end is a gloomy picture. A person who does know to read and write music has been successfully holds on to the reigns of the Konkani church choir. More on that in my next post, how the bird from Vasco is manipulating things, even to the extent of writing to bishops and firing poison-laden arrows at Konkani priest based in Qatar—the last one, now based in Kuwait will have a tale to tell.

When i became a speech writer

We are the world wanderers, coming home to rebuild, the promised dream in the heart of peace, under the coconut tree, wrote Goa’s renowned poet Dr. Manohar Rai SarDessai.
We observe today a celebration of liberation. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that liberation. A new generation - disciplined by hard work, proud of our ancient heritage and committed today at home and around the world.
That takes me down the memory lane. Golden Goa abounds in diamonds and minerals that was a song which we regularly used to hear during our childhood days on All India Radio. Yes, Goa is full of minerals but surprisingly we did not come across any mining companies striking it rich with Diamonds. After a closer introspection what I discovered was stunning. The diamonds had long being found in Goa and had been exported to different parts of the world for many generations.
The diamonds are you and me, exported as human resources to different parts of the world. Some have become permanent residents of different countries contributing to the economic growth for their adopted countries and continue to maintain their links with their homeland.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
The topic of the current convention is the Gulf Goan and I wish to dwell, on Goans in the Gulf, yet another diamond exported to GCC countries. He or she cannot become a permanent resident of any of the GCC countries on account of the laws of the land. Like in Goa, where mining resources will diminish one day, the same fate has in store for GCC countries, whose economical boom is centered on the Oil Industry.
The economic doom that the world is witnessing now has affected many a Gulf Goan in this part of the world. The worst hit accordingly are the Goans in Dubai.
United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do. And to quote John F. Kennedy - ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
Here, my fellow Goans are saying to the government, I contributed to your growth by contributing my share to the foreign resources by toiling hard in this region and now it is time for the country to help me.
We read that on August 4 Labour Minister Joaquim Alemao while replying to a discussion on demands for grants to the Labour & Employment Department and Employee State Insurance (ESI), in the Goa assembly, had proposed to set up a cell for monitoring workers of Goan origin who have returned to the State from overseas countries due to global economic meltdown, in coordination with the Commissioner of NRI Affairs.
We welcome the measure, and wish to know more about the path setting proposal, with Goa being the only state to take the issue of retrenchment of workers with all its seriousness.
If any welfare schemes are introduced by the Goa government for retrenched NRI workers then it is just a short-term solution to keep the Goans tied up to their homeland. We need long term solutions, to provide employment to our educated unemployed of the state.
We also welcome the government’s move to establish model overseas workers resource centres in Panjim and Margao to facilitate employment opportunities for Goans in Gulf countries and rest of the world, going by the statement made by our Honorable minister Joaquim Alemao in the assembly.
So let us begin a new. Let’s explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring those problems which divide us. It has been noticed that the state is struggling to raise its resources during the current financial year, with a fall in revenue from Tourism and mining.
Migration is always a difficult task for the first generation migrants, say many of my Europe-based Goa born friends. The question that immediately springs up is why successive governments in Goa have not been able to keep the large number of young migrating population tied up to the land.
Goa’s strength lies in its human resources and government should formulate a policy to tap the talent.
Let all know every other power that Goa intends to remain the master of its own house to begin a new quest for a new vibrant Goa, before the dark powers of destruction engulf us all in planned or accidental self-destruction.
Coming to the educational field in Goa we owe our gratitude to our teachers and the educational system for what we are. But, we were not ready to take up the challenges of the corporate world with the education we got back home in Goa. Some links were missing and we are proud to say we found them here.
So, please remodel our education system to the tune of the times. Urgency demands that the new generation get a perfect balance in education too.
It is a fact that many Gulf Goans have migrated to UK, US and Canada. What are the reasons for the migration to the Western countries and why not return back to Goa needs to be investigated. I am not sure if the recent migration study conducted by the NRI Cell did take this group into account when they came up with their findings.
After many generations having made a dash to the Gulf region, we ought to send a message especially to the youngsters not to cherish high hopes in the region, as just like mining, the petrol wells are soon to run dry, well, not so soon but in the near future.
Now the trumpet summons us again - a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation” - a struggle against the common enemies of Goa and its land.
So we should press upon the bureaucrats and our elected representatives to make policy decision taking into account the return of thousands of Gulf Goans who one day or the other will be forced to return back to Goa, just like African Ruler Idi Amin turned away many Goans from the land.
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessings and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.
So it is time to join hands in creating a new endeavour, to prepare for any eventuality. Goans have expertise in various fields working in different industries in multicultural environments and this expertise should be used for the continuous development and economic growth of Goa.
A slew of measures which I suggest should be done to use the vast pool of talent for the sustained and environmental friendly growth of Goa. We the NRI Goans should have different core groups under the auspices of the NRI Cell for Culture, Tourism, Information Technology, Planning & Development, Education, Sports and Health. Each of the core groups can formulate its own master plan for the implementation in the best interest of Goa. With networking not a problem, we need to act fast.
Then, we would be able to say, yes we have diamonds in abundant numbers, but they are not been exported, they are to adore our land adding to its glamour and glitter.
Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.
We have plodded through the forests of Angola
And dipped our hands in the oil of Arabian Gulf
We have sung mandos in Oxford
And dekhnis in Picadilly

“Kitle aile, kitle gele, paus azun
Ambea mullant koddkoddttat
Goencho put azun!
Bhangarachem Goem amchem
Kitlem assa pois azun”.

Goans fight in Qatar and Kuwait for a share of a pie

Sanchia Fernandes, http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/126484-sanchia-bags-honours-at-konkani-singing-contest.html, http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=430113878219&ref=mf a promising singer hailing from Goa is a much sought after artist among the Goan community in Qatar for the last couple of months. Thanks to her singing talent, the Grade eight student has shot into the limelight. From obscurity to fame, it was a matter of hours, thanks to the Konkani Hymn singing competition organized by the Konkani speaking community , owing allegiance to the Our lady of Rosary Church of Qatar.

The winner takes it, and that rings true for the Ideal Indian English School student.

If, earlier her talent went unnoticed, here she was flooded with request to lend her voice to Goan community functions. She has been not only been courted to sing but also to be honoured and felicitated by different individuals owing allegiance to different organizations.

Coming to honours and gifts, what use are the gifts and vouchers if they don’t serve its purpose.

Student winners in 99 percent cases are awarded tools of knowledge by social organization to further harnessed his or hers knowledge. Implements, which come heady to further improve upon his or her skills and talent.

But, some Goan leaders continue to live in the Stone Age.

Sanchia, needs musical implements to take her career to the next level. The wooden trophies will gather dust and white ants will feast on it, but knowledge learnt and gained will remain with her.

But Goan community leaders have hardly any time to apply their mind for these matters. Having her own Guitar is top most on Sanchia’s mind and she is looking for godfather to bail her out. Never mind, Goa community leaders have been robbing guitar’s meant for budding talents like Sanchia and keeping them back home for their sons and daughters.

These days Goan community leaders in Qatar are busy, just like Sanchia. They are trying to reach out to the 9000-odd Goan community.

Unity has never been Goa’s USP; disunity which prevails among Goans in Goa is exported in ample measure through the Persian Gulf from Qatar to Kuwait.

Goans fight over everything - even over issues of terminally sick patients.

The case of Canacona youth Jackson Coutinho is a sad story. The 20-something youth is unaware that appeal for funds for his treatment has created a controversy in cyber space. http://nizgoenkar.blogspot.com/2010/10/financial-aid-for-jackson-rejected-from.html

The issue revolved around bank account or accounts – the legal, moral and local United Arab Emirates issues involved.

Transparency over issues of handling of funds is an issue for Goan organizations in all GCC countries and not a UAE based issue. The recent cases of Qatar and Kuwait come to mind.

Kuwait Goans have washed all their dirty linen in public, involving Carmo Santos, Gasper Almeida on one side and Wilson Coelho on the other side. The Qatar factions have maintained a dignified silence.

Majority of the Goans in Qatar are not concerned about the affairs of the community organizations. If, last year they had only one organization to look up to organize Goa Day and May Ball dance in Goa, they now have chance to attend two Goa Day’s in Goa—Rene Baretto, the creator of Goa Day concept are you listening.

How far the rat race to outdo and do a bigger, better show will end, will tell in the coming years.

And I find these so-called GCC Goan community leaders tactics funny, their ploy of – scratch by back and I will scratch yours policy. Of keeping our news related to rival organizations which go against the interests of their friends.

More of it in another post another time……. Till time trickles.

NB: Supari has become very expensive what’s the price—one lakh, two lakh, one crore? Who, when, whom you must be left wondering, the Goan leader has the answer to your questions. That a million dollar question only to be answered in private, the pimps from Candolim and Calangute belts who are not producers of Supari themselves have upped the ante…….. till then I am waiting for my pan masala. Phew Phew…………………….