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BOUNTY FOR INOX It seems that INOX, the agency presently running the multiplex at the old GMC precinct at Panjim is the biggest beneficiary of the largesse of the Goa Government, as it has received a Diwali gift in the shape of commercially running the multiplex. The question being asked by the common man is, why should the Government be in the business of building a multiplex when there are more immediate priorities like water, electricity, roads and strengthening the police force to contain crimes like rapes, etc. At a time when the Centre is thinking of disinvestments in the non-priority sectors does it make sense for the Government to invest crores in a multiplex? People are aware how much money INOX has earned during the construction of the multiplex and also how much they are going to earn in the near future. In fact they have gone commercial even before the necessary infrastructure around the complex has been completed, thereby causing inconvenience to the motorists on D.B. Marg. However, the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar owes an explanation to the Goan people how he hopes to recover the Rs 24 crores he has spent on the multiplex. Besides who is going to monitor the accounts of INOX, is it the Revenue Department or the GSIDC? If we go by the financial track record of the GSIDC, it would not be wrong to presume that while INOX will laugh its way to the Bank, the majority of Goans, which includes the poor Poinguinkar will have to pay through their nose for something they can only hope to look at from outside. It is sad that Panjim is shining only for the filthy rich. Rui Mascarenhas, Panjim. Christian Funeral Rites It is very interesting and impressive to notice how the funeral rites of the Christians in Goa are changing for simpler and more significant ceremonies. In the bygone days, they were for the families of the deceased a time for “display”, sometimes an almost ridiculous show with deluxe coffins and other particulars rather long to mention. The religious ceremonies were also melodramatic, with the Celebrant in black vestments, the whole liturgy in church and cemetery held in Latin, including hymns that “painted” death as a tragedy rather than a smooth awaited passage from this life to the eternal. Hope, a living Hope in the resurrection that awaits us, as Jesus promised, could hardly be fostered in such a context. The new orientation given by Vatican II to the life and religious and civic actions of Catholics was the dawn of long overdue changes. Religious rites are now in the local languages, and so understandable to the respective participants. The Readings from the Scriptures (in the vernacular), chosen according to each occasion, as also the changes introduced in the rites themselves make the respective liturgical ceremonies much more meaningful. So the funeral rites have now become the occasion for gaining a deeper Christian understanding of death itself and of afterlife. More radical changes for the better have begun to take place. As per tradition among us Christians, the dead person had to be buried, perhaps a custom which came from the Jewish background of Christianity. But now the Church allows cremation, and that is being done occasionally even in Goa. Some weeks back, when I attended the funeral of Brigadier Inocencio Monteiro, I noticed that the coffin was not the usual wooden one but rather a modest one made of bamboo and very beautifully adorned with flowers - these being a very significant token of the affection and respect due to the deceased person and a discreet way of dispelling the gloom that usually surrounds the departure of a loved one. According to Brig. Monteiro’s instructions, as I learnt, the body was cremated at the Santa Inez Crematorium, previously meant for the Hindu Community, but now open to all. Having attended the cremation, I personally feel, for various reasons, that an optional electric crematorium should be installed in Panjim, maybe within the very same premises. Perhaps also in other cities. Reverting now to the question of coffins, this time I inquired from where the Monteiro Family had brought the coffin, as they are not seen among our usual suppliers of Coffins. And I learnt that it was prepared at Ishaprema-Niketan (Assagao-Tel: 2268913), a charitable institution also open to all creeds and maintained since its inception through donations. The use of such modest coffins is certainly, in my opinion, an example to be followed and encouraged among all Christians. If the Church has radically changed for the better the religious rites, we must also change our civic customs. Fernando do Rego, Panjim.
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