Goan Observer - Weekly News Portal

Death of an Indian

goanobserver — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:34:53 +0000

By Kishori Charan Das

Mr Rangarao had died. How did the Indian community in Washington DC react?

THE weatherman had announced that we were likely to have snowfall towards evening. It was the midday news; one John Douglas had conveyed the news to us along with a recipe for New Frontier nail-polish. It was his usual hour that runs as follows: the tender and long fingers of a lady unfold on the television screen and accept a liquid poured from above. The nails begin to shine, the owner of the hands stretches them languidly towards a packet of cigarettes and smokes away the exquisite moments of leisure. An appropriate music score provides the background to a caress and the culmination. Then enters John Douglas to tell you smilingly that you too can buy these delights if you use such-and-such product of so and so. The story is over, he introduces himself - my name is John Douglas, your weatherman. Today’s weather has taken an interesting turn… etc. Similarly, we got our evening news by the courtesy of a firm devoted to the extermination of white ants, and the late news from a firm dedicated to the care of kitchen sinks.

My children danced with joy when they heard the news. Several questions and comments were flung at me, all at once - How is it going to fall? Like sand or pebbles? How can the people walk in the streets? We have to clear the sidewalk in front of our house or else we will be fined hundred dollars, I am telling you….
There was a spark of eagerness in the eyes of Latika too. But she did not confess to it. The spark smothered, she looked upset. She cannot stand this foreign cold. There are other reasons too I guessed. It was announced in the papers today that a sale is on at Lansburghs downtown - Ladies’ coats going cheap for thirty dollars, and dresses for girls for as little as three dollars. But how do we go out if it snows? I wanted to comfort her, and said, "Well dear, you are thinking, of the sale, aren’t you? Do not lose heart. There will always be a sale in this country, today, tomorrow and ever after. Today it is Lansburghs, tomorrow it is Sears… surely you can’t miss them all."
She was not satisfied. And she started all over again, "Look, it is you who made me leave all my things in India. So when all your Indian ladies have a matching coat for each sari, your wife has a miserable one-and-a-half! You can pooh-pooh these sales now, but I know you will have to buy the same stuff at the regular rate of sixty..,. Go ahead, by all means?"
My first-born joined her mother. Said that her classmate had definite information about the sale of ball-point pens at thirty cents each at the nearest drug store. The middle one remembered that her socks were just no good for the American winter. Then, of course, she needs gloves for her hands and ear-muffs for the ears. How else can she manage the cold blasts on her way to school? Auntie Ray, she said, had assured her that all these things are being offered at cut-rates at a corner store on Fourteenth Street.
Lastly, my little son chimed in: "Get me a sale daddy! Get me one pl-e-a-s-e?"
I did succeed, in due course, in bringing them back to the theme of snowfall. Truly, sales are wonderful. But a snowfall is even bigger, more wonderful. A sight not to be seen in the plains of India, to which we belong. Contemplate the scene, if you please. The pure white little darlings coming to us from the high heavens, free of the smog of civilisation. Free of sound and smell, of colour and conflict. They come to us, for a while, to remind us of the eternal values.
It was thus that I held forth on the subject of snowfall. Latika listened to me for some time and then interrupted, "But you forget, there is another aspect to it. The body alive alive is warm, the body dead is cold. So if you ask me…."
I knew the rest. Snow is the symbol of death and all that perverse prattle. But, I did not let her prolong the conversation knowing that she wanted only to tease me.
We waited for the first snowfall of the season in Washington, DC. We had arrived in the city about two months back, to stay for three years as desired by the Government of India. We had till then made no friends among the foreigners. We had known some fellow Indians in the Embassy, but none too well. Once in a while we came across sari-clad females in supermarkets and on sidewalks. At once, our eyes gleamed with recognition - there goes an Indian. But the recognised party did not seem to have any irrepressible urge to communicate. May be the painted lips had parted a little. But no further. I had to explain to a despairing Latika, "Don’t you understand? We belong to the same family. Need we say hellos and how-do-you-dos in our own family all the time? It feels good just to see them, to have been made aware of the trials and tribulations that bind us together in this foreign city. For all you know, this lady is also, like us, looking for the rare Mexican chickpeas to have her alu-chhole trying to figure out the English name for sujit and is looking for sales that can give her the maximum benefit on her foreign allowance, so she can carry a few things home. Don’t you see? She is an Indian. One of us."
Thus we had no fear of intrusion from any friend or neighbour as one would have back home on a holiday afternoon. We were left to ourselves, cosy in the warmth of the family, to welcome the advent of snow.
But I had reckoned without the telephone. There was a persistent ring, and a feminine voice asked me when I took up the receiver, "Will you kindly call Mrs Das?
It must be one of them, I thought, Mrs Ray or Mrs Kapur. The only two wives who along with their husbands had evinced great interest in our rehabilitation. I could well imagine the course of the conversation - when are you buying a car? My husband was telling me that the new Ford Galaxie is a shade better than Impala…. Have you tried the new blender?… Started giving trouble? I thought so. Didn’t I tell you that you should buy the Osterizer…. So on and so forth. I was not very far wrong. After a ten-minute session on the telephone Latika summarised to me, "It was Mrs Kapur. A nice lady. Was enquiring about the welfare of our children and whether we have decided on the car. Yes, she told me that vacuum cleaners are on sale at Lerners. Quite cheap." After a moment’s pause she said, "It seems we are going to have a heavy snowfall this evening, within an hour or so. Mrs Kapur gets the news on telephone."
"Oh yes Daddy, here they tell you about the weather on the telephone. You just have to lift the receiver and it goes on and on. You know the number, don’t you?"
"No, and I don’t want to," I snapped. Is there no end to this process of scientific education?
…And so the snow came. Within an hour there was a flush of crimson on the grey-white sky. Then I saw grains of silver floating in the air. Could this be the snow? Or is it that the grains of dust have taken the shine of a pale evening? A few were moving towards me. I tried to hold them but could only get the inadequate feeling of dewdrops in my hands. Ah, the sky is bursting with grains and globules! Each one of them is growing bigger and bigger and is showing off like and adolescent. They are playing, running, chasing and falling over each other, weightless with sheer inconsequence. No, I refused to take you as the real ones!
The real ones came in full regalia, not a moment too soon. By then the snowflakes had left the imprint on the grass and the foliage. They were twinkling, revelling as it were in the fun of evanescence, while white strands, the white bunches, the white messes were descending on the earth. This is the snowfall indeed! The pervasive passion of the fall took my breath away. Even the feel of Latika crouching over me to have a better view of the snow failed to revive me. I wished I could be there in the centre. I wished I could take my fill of the bounty, cleansing myself of all the pitiful pigmentation of life. I wished… but I wished in vain. The telephone rang.
"Yes?" I asked severely into the mouthpiece.
"Shahni speaking, Sir, I am sorry to disturb you. Rangarao died this evening in Georgetown Hospital."
"Died? Rangarao…who is Rangarao?"
"Rangarao was an assistant in the Embassy. He was suffering for a long time from some kidney trouble. A young widow and a daughter are the survivors."
Now I remember. On an afternoon, a few days back, we had been to a big department store by the name of Bargain City. There we were being treated to a thrilling display of kisses by a doll named Kissy. You just press her hands and she starts throwing kisses at you. I was discussing the worth of this contraption at a forfeit of ten dollars when our escort, an Indian gentleman, whispered in my ears, "Do you see her, that girl in the white sari? A sad case. The husband has been very sick for the last three months. His days are numbered. She is managing somehow, poor girl, on a typing job…." I had a momentary glimpse of the young woman. She had an angular face with an intense pair of eyes, and was walking fast notwithstanding the giant shopping-bag beating on her sides. She looked like one who was not in the habit of answering casual questions.
Shahni went on to say, "The funeral takes place tonight at eleven. Quite a number of Indians are expected to attend."
Shahni was my personal assistant. Well, what did he mean to suggest? That I should attend the funeral at that unearthly hour in a roaring snowfall? But before I could repeat the question to myself, the answer came with a thud…. He was one among us. It will indeed be a shame, a thousand times….
I did not allow self-reproach to proceed further, and told Shahni, "Yes, I would like to go. Will you take me along?" Shahni obliged me by saying that he would bring round his car at about half-past ten to my place.
I told Latika. She agreed that I should and added, "How unfortunate! I do hope the government will pay for her passage home…. Please do not forget your top coat and hat…. Are ladies supposed to attend funerals over here? I wish I knew …."
The eldest could not contain herself any longer and asked,
"Who died, Daddy?"
"An Indian."
They exchanged glances and assumed a solemn air. That did not surprise me. But the solemnity of the four-year-old, the manner of his pressed lips and fluttering eyelids was rather ominous. He had a penchant for awkward questions and I feared that he may come out now with the-all important question; But what is an Indian?
I had judged him wrong. I was comforted by his continuous silence. In fact, the entire family seemed to appreciate the compulsion of silence on an occasion which was vaguely national and out of their depth.
I went near the window and survived the passing scene. I wanted to absorb the snowfall, the best I could, in spite of the odd relevance of the death of an Indian. I saw the cars, shrouded in white, moving slowly, bravely. I saw the neon lights brushing off the nagging snow and blinking roguishly at the courageous traveller. I could get the message of an exciting evening in the warm haven of cabarets and night clubs. I could imagine the friendly ones ask for another tall glass, another joke, another… still another… in an unerring response to the gift of the heavens. I could imagine the intimate ones ask for each other with a rare urgency. And then it came to me that the snowfall invites the living world to quicken the pace of life - while the company lasts. Whereas here I am, an outsider, a snow - struck fool of an Indian, watching the falling objects with primeval wonder!
I cursed myself, and in the process I had an unholy urge to curse Rangarao. He seemed to have committed the death-act on this particular day in order to spite me. To underscore my sense of deprivation in the new land which I was only beginning to know.
Shahni came after I had had my dinner and smoked three cigarettes in a row. I looked at my watch; it was barely five minutes past the appointed hour. Even so, I mumbled something about his being late and was quick to lead him to his Volkswagen. The children had gone to bed. But Latika was wide-eyed and followed me to the car. She repeated her wish to join me if only she knew ladies were not out of place at a funeral. I dismissed her with a perfunctory smile.
Shahni was driving slowly. Shahni loves to tune the car radio on to a high pitch. But now I found the radio in merciful repose. It was a deliberate concession, I thought, to the purpose of the journey. He had no qualms, however, about filling the vacuum with an unending commentary on the affairs of the world, such as: It seems the snow is not going to be too severe this year, the snowfall last year was seven inches thick …. Mrs Das wanted to have some good nylon. I think it will be better to import it directly from Hong Kong rather than buy it in New York….Houses are going cheap in this area. But… but… it is a Negro neighbourhood …. This road to the right goes past Banerji’s house. A clever fellow - has managed to extend his stay here for another term….
Perhaps he realised that I hoping to hear something more appropriate. So he commenced on the topic of Rangarao. "Rangarao was a very nice man. Used to send fifty dollars every month to his old parents. His wife is equally nice …." He did not have a chance to elaborate as we had by then reached our destination. Shahni pointed at a non-descript flat-roofed structure and said, "That is the building. Lees’ Funeral Home."
On second thoughts, I approved of the Funeral Home. This is how these homes should be, slight and simple in deference to the majesty of death.
There were a number of cars parked in front of the building. ‘They all belong to Indians." Shahni told me with conviction. I was overwhelmed by the massive response of my people and exclaimed, "So many Indians! So many cars! Shahni assured me, "Yes sir, almost all the Indians in Washington possess cars."
He guided me to a room where I put away my hat and overcoat. On my way to the inner hall, I met Mr Saxena of the Supply Mission. I smiled and said "Hello." But I was surprised that he neither smiled nor spoke.
The inner hall was almost filled to capacity by ladies and gentlemen dressed in dark clothes and seated in straight-backed chairs. There was a hush of expectancy in the air.
I saw a covered object stretched out on a raised platform ahead of us. This must be the body, I thought.
The body of Rangarao. The awareness evoked a sigh. Why did he come to America, this young man? To die on foreign soil? To leave a young woman disconsolate? A child bewildered? I felt several such sighs being merged into each other in a mighty effort to commune and condole. I felt the dark cold night closing in around us, the Indians in Washington DC so that we may be pinpointed to our tragedy. I had the sensation, akin to ecstasy, of being engulfed.
I envied Rangarao. What more could he expect?
Presently there was a rustling of dresses and shuffling of feet. The gentleman to my left spoke in an undertone. "The Ambassador himself."
Yes, the Ambassador was coming forward in slow steps, followed by a couple of senior officials. I spotted Mr Shah, the Second Secretary whom I knew well and I smiled at him. But there was no responding smile or nod.
I now got the general idea. The Shahs and Saxenas have a better sense of decorum. They do not encourage smiles or any such levity in the Hall of Death.
I was ashamed and fervently hoped that I sat straight and looked ahead, the same as others, including the Ambassador.
We waited. Suddenly, in the interminable silence, it occurred to me - but where is she? I was not looking for her mere presence in the assembly, but the loud presence of a widow… the streaming tears, the soiled sari and the smeared kajal, the anguished cries and the incoherent indictment of gods.
It did not take me long to banish the thought. Mrs Rangarao is undoubtedly here, possibly in the front row. But she is a civiliaed person and the Lees’ Funeral Home is a far cry from the cremation ghats of the Ganges. She is not one, no sir, to mar the collective image of our sorrow by her snivellings. I admired the restraint of the young woman and made a note of it to tell Latika.

(To be continued)

And now Saturday high tea at the Grand Hyatt Goa…

goanobserver — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:32:14 +0000

By Tara Narayan

DON’T ASK me how I found myself tucking into a scone (redolent of baking soda) dipped in light lashings of mascarpone cheese spiked with orange juice maybe, egg and cress sandwiches, itsy bitsy tea time cakes…homemade bottles of orange, strawberry and fig jams lined up…also samosa-cholay! And lots more. At the Grand Hyatt Goa at Bambolim in the company of its Swedish General Manager Stefan Radstrom, Irish Executive Chef Mark Hagan, New Zealander Executive Assistant Manager-F&B Glenn Peat and German baker Nicole Illa, one Saturday afternoon last week.

Hey, they’re not lacking in imagination and the idea of laying out a high tea spread on Saturday afternoons in the natural sunshine filled Confeitaria lounge is quite revolutionary. Sunday brunches at the Goa Marriott Resort and elsewhere one has heard of and they’re quite popular with Goans wanting to do some R&R en famille over the weekend, but a Saturday tea party? Why not! Some people like to socialise on a Saturday afternoon instead of a Sunday weekend. If you’re asking me it’s a great idea to meet up with family and friends over tea time in a five-star tea lounge! Here will be all kinds of soft and cold lemonades and fruit punches, hot and aromatic teas and coffees…plus, an array of snacks savoury and sweet, Continental and desi.

I returned to have a look at the tea time buffet and helped myself to a wedge of spinach quiche, wondered fleeting why quiches always tend to be of spinach/mushroom/tomato/cheese? Why doesn’t some chef come up with a mulo or daikon radish greens quiche! Everywhere I go in Goa these days I see vendors retailing these piles of tender green Daikon radishes and big purple aubergines…so how about a radish (greens included) or an aubergine quiche for a change?

Well, anyway, at the Grand Hyatt Saturday afternoon grand tea, you may feast as much as you want from 3.30 pm onwards to 6.30 pm and I dare say it’s a steal at Rs 650, judging by five-star luxury hotel standards, of course.

Their Saturday afternoon high tea spread is to tempt both hotel guests and more Goans to come and spend time at the Grand Hyatt. You think it’ll work, asked an anxious GM and I replied, why not, if you can turn it into a pre-marriage attraction for couples. The bridegroom-to-be may find out over savoury and sweet somethings if his bride is a cold fish pie or bubbling warm champagne! I don’t think he was amused but hey, pre-nuptial meetings at five-star luxury hotels are quite the thing in today’s fashionable marriage alliances.
What about Goans? Can’t tell, they may or may not after they’ve gone to see a tiatr in town…Goans love to drink and eat although I’m not sure about lemonade, teas and coffees and fruit punches!

Of course a lot of pretty young things like to fuss over coffee varieties these days (seeing how the American Coffee Day chain has made coffee fashionable to drink in India which incidentally, already has a tradition of Coffee Houses serving the finest filtered coffee South Indian-style). Would I go? Yes, of course, if it’s a more health-conscious high tea buffet…cake, pastries, tarts, cookies, hazelnut chocolate dips to dip wafer thin biscotti in, hefty ham and bacon/Goan choris sandwiches, even samosa-cholay is fine. How about frugarts, granitas, sorbets, slushes, jellies of agar agar? It’s left to be seen how popular the Grand Hyatt high tea buffet on Saturdays in Bambolim will become! The Bambolim sea beach is right in front if anyone wants to go for a sunset walk after the tea time treats.

TASTING the interesting tangy green bits of watercress dotting my egg and cress sandwich, I asked about cress and Mark Hagan treated me to his entire show of fine leafy baby sprouts of sunflower seeds, amaranth seeds, spinach seeds, sesame seeds…actually you call them "sproutamins" because they’re so vitamin rich and on top of the list of health foods today. He gets them all the way from Sproutamins Super Foods in Hyderabad and they have to be kept cool in refrigeration naturally for sproutamins are delicately fine and exquisitely delicious. Well, put more sproutamins in the sandwiches and make them into salad sandwiches, I’d like that!

I’m totally taken up by this watercress sproutamins. What is watercress in Hindi, do we get it in Goa? It’s one of Europe’s perennial culinary herbs and belongs to the same family as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, turnips, mustard horseradish, nasturtium, radish, mustard…that’s the Brassicaceae family. A quick search tells me in herbal history it’s called the spring-cleaning herb for purifying blood! The Greeks called it "brain food". Persian King Xerxes fed it to his soldiers. It’s anti-cancer food for it’s been shown to reduce DNA damage to blood cells; must find out if there’s a Goan or Indian equivalent for this watercress, sounds like an exciting culinary herb.

Mark Hagan tells me in Britain today one may buy fresh herbs, "Choose from their various herb growing trays and they cut the herbs you want in front of you…" Since he’s a Dublin boy I asked him what’s Ireland famous for…potatoes, of course, that’s history; then single malts, beer, beef….scones and clotted cream is more Devonshire and that’s English not Irish, but one of these Saturdays he’ll put out Irish potato scones, come and eat them!

IT’S Valentine’s week for the rest of the world, for me in India it’s the last few days of winter which will be over with Shivratri and Holi’s spring time revelry, between them we have a whole season of love in Hindu tradition….beginning with the saga of Mahadev and Parvati’s love story, and Kamadev and company with their sugarcane bows with a string of humming bees, and five darts ornamented with one of the five classical flowers of springtime personifying a romantic passion! I find all that far more intriguing than any Valentine’s Day commerce…there was this teenager I saw who had a T-shirt with a tragic legend blazing iridescently on it: "I can’t afford love!"

Love just is whether you can afford it or not, nothing you can do about it. I must confess I did go looking for the best heart-shaped chocolate fondants and strawberry cheesecake in town for the hubby on Valentine’s Day. My award for best cheesecake in town goes to Tea Café at Fontainhas, followed by Britto’s at Baga beach and then one of these days check out the cheesecake they have at the confectionary counter of my favourite Chinese eatery in Panaji, namely Down the Street (Fontainhas). Don’t know if I’m imagining it, but is cheesecake becoming popular with more folk choosing cheesecake over any death-by-chocolate cake? Not that I’m recommending you eat calorific cheesecake everyday….only on Valentine’s Day or birthdays!

Medha Patkar… a “politician” to emulate!

goanobserver — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:29:28 +0000

SOMETIMES, my dears, I think the best thing to have happened in Digamber Kamat’s Goa in recent times is the D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas. The Directorate of Art & Culture has been doing a superb job selecting personalities who have it in them to ignite the minds of Goans - the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hall at the Kala Academy from February 7 to 11, 2012, was an overflowing affair this year too and this was not a bought or brought audience, okay.

It’s heartwarming and reassuring to listen to some of our most convincing personalities. This year there was Uma Gupta, Medha Patkar, Shekhar Singh, Saeed Naqvi, Prof Muhammad Yunus…all of whom have taken to changing the face of the country from the bottom up or grassroots level slowly and surely. It can’t be easy because the top levels of governance in India are becoming heavier and heavier with powerful lobbies anxious to dismantle democracy itself!

That’s why I find myself reassured while listening to people like the amazing, marvelous activist Medha Patkar, who I’ve followed in spirit at least for many years. I’ll swear by her any day!

Here’s a real modern-day Gandhian crusader and her down-to-earth, practical, absolutely passionate demeanor itself is enough to realize that this is one woman who will die fasting for her cause of human rights, beginning with the poorest of the poor and not richest of the rich as it’s happening only too often in Bharatdesh nowadays.

I’D LEND my support to Medha Patkar’s National Alliance of People’s Movements any which way I can. The movement came up with her famous Narmada Bachao campaign, it catapulted her to the centre stage of defining what kind of development and progress is just, human, creative, in the best interests of the country in the long run. She’s consistently challenged our mainstream ideas of development and progress based on an obsolete Western-styled unbridled capitalist model…industrialisation, urbanisation, more industrialisation, more urbanisation…all of it hand-in-glove with impoverishment and exploitation of natural resources by the few in ways which impoverish the poor, powerless and voiceless even more. If a lot of them are no longer voiceless it is thanks to Medha Patkar. Everybody has a right to be heard at the very least, no?

Medha Patkar’s NAPM was founded in 1992 and is a growing, vital movement the country over today with more than 165 like-minded organisations from 22 states together questioning the pattern of government policies back firing on a mass of Indians living in the hinterland of villages and tribal forests …while a miniscule percentage of Indians become crorepatis several times over. What kind of democracy is this which impoverishes the many but enriches the few beyond their wildest dreams? This can only happen in a democracy made up increasingly of criminals in collusion with other criminals, just study the scenario in Goa!

After her extremely lucid talk on "Reviewing development paradigm: Contribution of people’s movements", I asked my friend "Baba" Dinesh Vaghela with whom she was putting up in Goa, "Her Alliance is big and strong now and it can easily take on the might of any government in electoral politics….why won’t she stand for elections? I’d vote Medha in as chief minister of Maharashtra or prime minister of India!" Dineshbhai quipped, "Ask her, if she stands from Goa I’ll back her all the way!"

So, while saying hello to Medha Patkar, I asked her and she smiled ironically, "Who says we’re not in politics? We are already in politics, you may say our people’s agitations have succeeded more than 50 percent of the time when we have been able to prove with facts and figures that certain development projects are disastrous for our people….." They have campaigned for years on end, spent time in jails, yet persevered till justice is done to people who have lost their homes and lands in mega dam projects (so obsolete today yet in India we continue to build them because mega projects means mega corruption) and land grab scams. It is a hard-earned sweet victory which fuels Medha Patkar’s movement forward surely and steadily…

From the little I exchanged, with her I gather she’s utterly disillusioned with those whom she thought, coming from the kind of socialistic backgrounds they did, would change the face of politics for the better in the country (e.g. George Fernandes)… "But see what happened!" People go into politics but once in power something happens… she’s seen enough now about how the political system corrupts and corrupts absolutely, and Medha being Medha Patkar prefers to be where she is, with the people she cares about in their woes and joys as they try to make sense of their lives — turned topsy-turvy courtesy government after government preferring to turn its back to them. Hey, we don’t even read about this other India in mainstream media anymore.

Perhaps the media too believes that if you can’t beat a rotten system, it’s better to join it and become rotten along with it! Well, then, there is the marvellous Medha Patkar with her National Alliance of People’s Movements which is doing a job which the government of the day should be doing, but is not for whatever reasons right or wrong. I guess just as there are alternate ways of healing oneself there are alternate ways of practicing democracy. If the government doesn’t have money to educate the people it should be educating….her NAPM in no matter how small a way is funding jeevanshala schools for children in backward and tribal areas. So that the children of a lesser god get some primary education.

Over and over again Medha Patkar reiterated, "We are not the enemies of vikas (development). We question what kind of vikas is this at the expense of the voiceless and poor. The corporate get away with crores of tax evasion and loot of the public exchequer while the government can’t ensure education and decent living infrastructure for everyone in the country?" She’s utterly disillusioned with the money and market-styled electoral politics of today because it’s based on exploitation, appropriation of public resources…her movement seeks to change this picture, "Let us be honest, industrious, strengthen ourselves by strengthening society through self-help, self-reliance, decentralisation….and andolans! We will change our garibi rekha to amiri rekha by changing our development paradigm!"

She’s eloquent beyond describing! Don’t know about you my dears, but I’d like to drop everything and follow Medha Patkar around like a little lamb! She was happy to be in Goa and has studied some of Goa’s problems, she also likes the sound of the village groups movement, it’s time to do some conscience raising in Goa through peaceful agitations….she expressed surprise over the D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas…"I know of no other state which has such a festival!"

Well, maybe some of the good ideas which have emerged during this year’s festival will take root and flower without being crushed in a Goa coming up for Assembly elections next month….?

Outside the auditorium at the Kala Academy someone from the Meher Yusufally Centre was retailing wonderful khadi kurta, soaps, organic coconut/neem/sesame oils….and I was happy to buy some. Someone confided, Medha Patkar no longer travels alone, this time she came to Goa with a entourage of 16 or so of her home-spun crusaders, she likes to travel in the company of those whom she has rescued, supported and put on the path of true democracy….not the fake and hypocritical kind we practice day in and day out in our cities!

On that note it’s avjo, poitem verem, selamat datang, au revoir, arrivederci and vachun yeta for now.

–Mme Butterfly

Art crusaders?!

goanobserver — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:28:11 +0000

By Neeta Omprakash

GALLERY GEETANJALI recently hosted an exhibition of paintings (February 10-17) by seven young familiar Goan talents like Viraj, Vitesh, Shripad, Rajesh, Kedar, Adi Vishal and a new face, Vaishnavi surfacing in the art field.

This exhibition brings a wide range of themes from a pallet of different artists according to their respective preoccupation and concerns at that particular moment of creation.

Kedar Dhondu, who acquired his master’s degree in painting from S N School Hyderabad, allegorically expresses certain aggressive human qualities through animals and birds which dwindle between fantasy and reality. Wit and humour also have a place in Kedar’s psychic plane which gets transformed in bright colours and varied facial expressions on paper. A mundane theme like fishing transforms into a satire where he shows a kingfisher being deceived by the artificial fish at the anchor. He is at ease with bringing together fauvist colours and expressionist approach to a particular theme.

DIFFERENT

TWO more alumni of S N School, Viraj and Shripad’s work are similar in terms of use of composite imagery or the metamorphosis between man and beast, which has become a recurring theme in many young artists’ works. But, this time, they have something different to offer the viewer. The striking feature of Viraj’s black and white Linocut prints shows the use of thick undulating lines to define the volume as well as enhance the expression of a caricatured face. Shripad prefers to portray the barbaric, robust, wounded, underprivileged people and also subtle surrealistic humour like Dali’s fancy of decorating the moustache with a flower. His etching prints have darker areas which, at times, run the risk of over work.

Vitesh’s mixed media works are explicitly erotic. Deliberate contrast is created to enhance the opposites by the black and white drawings of human body, emphasising the anatomy and colourful animal figures. The angularity of his figures gives the feeling of pent up energy or suppressed disgust and anger. Rajesh’s obsession for fish form has resulted in creating surrealistic drawings by juxtaposing small areas of bright hues to that of larger areas of pencil drawings. Cats and pelicans, swans or egrets, starfish or octopus tentacles can all harmoniously co-exist with the human heads in his mixed media works.

There is a definite pattern evolved in terms of imagery and its association in Adi Vishal’s surrealistic works in the past few years. By dislocating the objects from their mundane reality, they are made dysfunctional and, hence, create ambiguity in terms of their co-relationship on the picture plane. Reclining/inclined or flying feminine form is the central character in his paintings. However, it might be difficult to arrive at any rationale for the co-existence of several other motifs that creates a pleasant atmosphere.

ENCOURAGEMENT

GALLERY Geetanjali has wholeheartedly encouraged beginners struggling to make a place for themselves and Vaishnavi is one such artist who is in search of a language to express her real concerns. Vaishnavi’s young romantic mind has found this aquatic creature frog suitable for the expression of her present obsessions of heart and mind.

These seven artists with different ideas and manners of expression circumstantially share the same space to exhibit their talents.

Why does a work of art or for that matter an exhibition need a title? A title for a painting is meant to enhance the concept where as a title of a group show is supposed to convey the common factor in all the works. "Os Cruzados" is a Portuguese title for this exhibition supported by its translation - ‘The Crusaders’. The meaning of the title and the language are both intriguing. In what sense can these artists become crusaders and of what? What significance would the Portuguese language have in context with the present exhibition?
It is left for viewers to find the answer for themselves and also to enjoy the diverse themes and their expression in talented hands.

V-Day, not just for lovers

goanobserver — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:25:00 +0000

Gen-Next told Nida Sayed what they thought of Valentine’s Day and how they spent it.

ASHFORD FERNANDES, likes fishing, cooking pasta: Celebrating Valentine’s Day is an individual choice. I have never been in a relationship. Those who are should celebrate. I’m not for or against it. What did I do on Valentine’s Day? Nothing.

AKITA D’SA likes watching TV, reading newspapers, listening to music: I am in favour of Valentine’s Day. Everybody should celebrate it. In fact, every college should be given a holiday so that people can celebrate it with their fans or partners. For me, it becomes very difficult to go for movies with my friends because of the time schedule in college. We have to attend all the lectures, so that discourages us to celebrate.

WALTER LOBO, likes to sing, play the guitar: I am for it, but it depends on the way you celebrate. Conventionally, it was celebrated in honour of St Valentine, but today it is done in a different way than it was meant to. Now, it’s all about having fun. I spent the day with my closest friends in Canacona.

EUNICIA FERNANDES, likes drawing, painting and watching cartoons: Valentine’s Day is the day when couples can express more love to each other by giving each other company. We have separate days like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day etc, so it is better to have one day for couples as well. I celebrated my Valentine’s Day with friends. We went for a movie and then went to Caculo Mall. We saw couples dancing, singing etc. The events at the mall were especially for couples. We saw their smiles and they were in the mood of ‘love’. Later we went to KFC. I had a great Valentine’s Day with my friends!

PRAKASH PARVATKAR, likes watching TV, listening to music, playing, doing research: Valentine’s Day is not so special for me. It is an ordinary and normal day. It is like any random Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. I am more happy celebrating Friendship Day than Valentine’s Day yet I still wish all my teachers and friends a Happy Valentine’s day.

JOSHUA MACIEL, likes riding, swimming: It is a day for love so you have to express your emotions to your loved ones. I’m all for this day because I like the idea that the whole world celebrates love on one day. However, I couldn’t celebrate it this year as I had an exam.

SHRIKANT NAIK, likes to sing, make friends: I am for Valentine’s Day. I believe in love in its true form. It is not that you happen to be in love one day and out of it another day. For me, it is 365 days of love, but Valentine’s Day is special. Like you have your birthdays, anniversaries etc. This one day is a special day. According to me, it is a day where you can express yourself. I’m very busy, but I wished all my friends and colleagues because if not me then at least they could celebrate this day nicely.

HARI KADAM, likes playing chess, gardening, swimming: I am in favour of Valentine’s Day. I am already engaged so this day is especially for my girlfriend. You need some day to relax and take a break from everything that is going on around like morchas and all. Earlier Valentine’s Day was like a day of flirting. Boys and girls used to flirt with each other for fun on this day. But now many college students have become mature and are in long term relationships. The news and media have also begun to project it maturely.

Exercise in futility?

goanobserver — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:20:48 +0000

By Clara Rodrigues

Some of Goa’s youth feel their vote amounts to nothing while others are determine to vote to make a difference.

They are fresh, young and impressionable, all the ingredients that parties would look for to manipulate with sweet promises. But these youngsters are not buying them. Reason?. They are cynical of the situation ever changing for the better. While many first time voters are not well-informed of the current political scenario, a ray of hope in the form of those who think that their vote still does count certainly exists.

The drive to register and enrol first time voters may have proved fruitful with the state wise elector percentage for those between 18 and 19 years registering a percentage of nearly two percent of the overall eligible voters, a figure of 29,302 voters. A good number of first time voters also figure in the 20-29 years age group, as many had not registered earlier.

ELECTORAL ICON

THE Election Commissioner this year, in their bid to attract youngsters to the booth, signed on the youth icon Remo Fernandes as their electoral icon for ethical voting. Seen on billboards and ads, Remo’s message is a fervent plea to the youth to come out and vote for the betterment of the state. Similar initiatives to disband disbelief from the truth seeking youth is that of the group Youth for Goa, whose members are actively persuading youngsters in educational institutions to come out to vote. For voters like law student from Assagao, Akshay Potekar, these elections are all about choosing between the lesser of the two evils. He says, "I will be voting this year. It is my first time. I believe that my vote can make a difference. I did not vote earlier as I didn’t make my election card. All candidates are in some way or the other tainted, but I will vote for the least corrupt. I haven’t asked my friends whether they will vote this time."

‘Groupism’ and favouritism followed by many parties while allotting tickets to candidates is what has peeved 23-year-old Suraj Chindalkar from Mapusa. "If I am forced to, then only I will go out and vote. Or else, I might just sleep that day. I don’t think my vote can change anything. There is a lack of good candidates and I don’t understand politics."

Tired seeing elected parties breaking promises, 21-year-old Ridhi Bandekar from Dabolim says, "Actually, I don’t feel like voting because I feel it’s useless as all candidates only make promises and later end up breaking them. I hope to vote, but I am still not sure if I will. Youngsters are going abroad to work as the salaries offered in Goa are too less," she says raising the relevant point that parties have done precious little for the youth in Goa in terms of skilled jobs.

EXCITEMENT

PERHAPS the entry of newcomers and youngsters in the election fray has got a lot of the youth excited and filled with expectations. 21-year-old Andrea Fernandes from Moira says, "I will look at the individual’s merit and not at the party before I vote. I hope to see newcomers in the fray. I am excited to vote. My grandparents and parents vote and so I feel I too should vote."

The picture in most constituencies is similar if one notices that all the candidates are usually elderly and with dubious track records. Ramesh Jaggal from Vasco explains, "I will evaluate a party’s performance and vote. Individuals can’t do much on their own. I will also look at the capability of the candidate. There are no newcomers in my area. There is no sort of family pressure on me to toe a certain line. I will look at what development works the person has done in my constituency. Issues impacting the entire state like unemployment, better roads and free schooling to all, will also weigh on my mind when I exercise my franchise."

Till today, most parties have not charted any ideal vision plan for Goa aver many youth. "Look at most manifestos, of earlier years, and you will see that there is not much for youth in there," points out a youth from Margao. Dynastic politics has also not appealed to these youngsters who feel tickets must be given to deserving aspirants.

Tasneem Sayed from Vasco says, "We must have educated persons standing for elections like they have in America, where the candidates know what is good for their state. They are aware of concepts such as GDP etc…here politicians, only store money in Swiss banks. If Anna Hazare came out with a party, I would definitively vote for that party."

In an earlier interview Remo opined "The youth are because the future is theirs - it is therefore solely to their benefit to have a cleaner Goa and India tomorrow." Agreeing that cynicism has set in, he adds "The crooked politicians bank upon this cynicism and pessimism of the educated, intelligent youth, so that they may stay away from the polling booth, therefore allowing the mercenary vote banks to have a field day." He advises, "But the youth today must not fall prey to these games, and must learn to vote in an intelligent, discerning way, bringing in fresh new blood into governance - and by that I don’t mean the children of politicians who have proved to be corrupt and criminal. I am talking about idealists who have got into politics out of love for Goa, not for their bank accounts. These are the candidates that we ought to single out and vote for, whichever party they may belong to."

Wreaked and wrought with grievances, torn and tossed with expectations, this is the picture of the youth, one of perfect confusion as they stand from a distance and watch the politicking unfolding in the state of Goa. 21-year-old Bismilla Shaikh from Panaji sums the mood, "I am not excited about voting. I don’t feel my vote will bring about a change. All parties are the same. But yet I will still vote, even if it’s only for namesake."

How sooner will disinterest and ambivalence be converted into the action of casting one’s franchise will be as interesting as the articulate and pointed statements voiced by Gen X.

Democracy, at a price

goanobserver — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:17:48 +0000

By Chander Suta Dogra

The paid news phenomenon is worsening with newspapers refusing to cover rallies unless they are paid to.

IT’S GETTING bigger by the day. If the sheer number of notices sent by the Election Commission to candidates and media houses is any indication, paid news is big news in the Assembly elections in Punjab. By the time polling came to a close on January 30, the commission’s media monitoring committees (MMCS) in the districts had issued some 300 notices. More than 200 of those served notices have even admitted to paying or accepting payment, the candidates among them agreeing to show this spending in the Rs 16 lakh they are permitted to spend on canvassing.

It seems everyone does it, and most quite freely admit it too. Notices were issued to candidates after MMCS set up in each district tracked election-related coverage of candidates. The broad criteria adopted to identify paid news were: consistent coverage of a candidate in a particular newspaper; similar wording in the coverage of a candidate appearing in different newspapers; or the appearance of more than one news item about a candidate on a page. One committee at the state level scanned election coverage by TV news channels and clamped down on "suspect" programmes.

MEDIA RATTLED

MANY a media house based in Punjab has been rattled by the Election Commission’s first-time effort to curb paid news. Nevertheless, media watchers say what has been exposed is just the tip of the iceberg. "The flip side of the EC’s strictness in accounting for advertisements put out by candidates is that now there are very few candidates’ ads in newspapers or on TV channels," says Kanwar Sandhu, managing editor of Day & Night News, a TV channel. "Instead, candidates either pay local correspondents or get paid news inserted."

In the three constituencies in Mansa district, MMCS sent 57 notices; some 30 recipients accepted wrong-doing. The total amount involved was small-about Rs 7.1 lakh-but then Mansa is one of Punjab’s smaller districts and newspapers here are tiny backroom operations. In other parts, much more money is involved. "Some newspapers approached us with 25-day packages for coverage of our main candidates costing some Rs 2 crore," says Jasvir Singh, spokesman for the People’s Party of Punjab. "We refused because we couldn’t afford it. We are a new party, we have little money."

He alleges that some media groups targeted the party because it did not play along. A rally organised by the party in Maur on December 15 was well attended, he says, but there was no report on it in any Punjabi newspaper the next day. "An ad we had placed in a prominent Punjabi daily appeared, but no Punjabi newspaper reported on the rally," says Jasvir. "When we asked the reporters, they said this is what would happen if we booked ads with newspapers’ head offices, because its local offices and correspondents lose out on commissions then. Give us the ads, you’ll get good coverage"

BLACKMAIL

EVEN big parties are complaining. Says a Congress candidate, "I’ve never seen anything like this before. A regional language paper owned by a major media house would not report one word without being paid. It was open blackmail. Initially, I resisted. But when my rival began planting false news about my workers leaving to join her, I came under pressure to hit back. So we too paid and planted news like everyone."

An ‘ordinary’ package of Rs 10 lakh offered by a popular Punjabi newspaper entitled a candidate to three columns of 25 cm for 25 days. ‘Premium’ packages cost up to Rs 125 lakh. A daily run by a well-known dera wooed by all parties offered coverage packages at Rs 5 lakh per candidate. Many candidates hired retired journalists or stringers at Rs 11,000 per day to draft the items that would appear in newspaper space they had paid for. This actually made it easy for MMCS to detect paid news: the similar wording in reports appearing in two or more newspapers was a giveaway. Among those who have admitted to paying for news are candidates of all major political parties.

It is unclear what action will be taken. Will local officials just add up the money to candidates’ election spending or refer the matter to the EC for disqualification? Daljit Singh Cheema, spokesman of the SAD and a candidate from Anandpur Sahib, says, "Why only candidates? When candidates admit to paying for news, the EC should act against the newspapers too."

NEWSPAPERS

AMONG the newspapers that received notices for allegedly biased coverage was the venerable Tribune, published from Chandigarh. Gurkirat Singh, who heads the state-level MMC, says a notice was issued on the basis of a complaint from SAD, and when the newspaper responded with a reasoned justification, the matter was filed. Says Raj Chengappa, editor-in-chief of the Tribune, "We were quite surprised at the notice, because we are a 130-year-old newspaper, one that upholds the standards of journalism. The ruling party complained against our critiques of its performance, which is a regular exercise during elections. That said, I also feel it is not for the EC to question coverage by the press, unless it gets a specific complaint of paid news. We are open to scrutiny and responded to their notice with documentary support."

Amongst TV channels, the popular PTC News Network, which runs three Punjabi channels, attracted more than a dozen notices. Soon after the first notice, about PTC’s constituency-based programme ‘Tuhade Halke’, the chief electoral officer issued a press release declaring the programme "paid news" and giving the channel 12 hours to respond. "We were branded even before we could explain ourselves," says Rabindra Narayan, CEO of PTC. "We then went to the CEC in Delhi and got permission to continue the programme." PTC had a lot of explaining to do because the Badal family is part-owner of the parent company and much of its coverage was seen as biased in SAD’s favour. But Narayan says, "It’s the Congress that boycotted us and told its candidates not to appear on our programmes. We ended up featuring SAD and other party candidates." National channels-Star News, Zee News, NDTV and Aaj Tak-also drew fire: their "opinion-based" programmes on January 30, polling day, were halted. Quite a bit escaped the EC’s notice though, mainly because it was not fully equipped to watch all that the media did. In a letter to CEC S Y Quraishi, Sandhu says, "Many TV channels took money from parties and individual candidates for live coverage of rallies. This went unchecked." He also points out how the EC itself advertised on a channel (PTC) owned by SAD, and wondered if it was right for Usha Sharma, the special electoral officer, to appear on a channel she was entertaining complaints about. If this is just the tip of what happened in the Punjab elections, perhaps the EC has much more on its hands in Uttar Pradesh.

Courtesy: Outlook

Match-fixing in transfer of cops?

goanobserver — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:32:26 +0000

By Rajan Narayan

AND A few stray thoughts and a few stray observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when politicians contesting the elections were either getting friendly cops posted in their constituencies or unfriendly cops transferred out. For a Sunday following the week when the flying squads did not seem to be having any impact on the misuse of money and muscle power in the elections. For a Sunday following the week when the assets declared by candidates turned out to be a big joke. For a Sunday following the week when it was clear that in the selection of candidates to contest the elections, the Congress High Command had favoured the Rane family. For a Sunday following the week when only three independents seemed to be worthy of support in the forthcoming elections.

COPS TRANSFERRED

AND a few stray thoughts on the mass transfers of not just police officers, but even police constables. It may be recalled that in the most recent round of transfers of police personnel, Inspector General of Police Sanjay Singh is reported to have ordered the transfer of over 2000 policeman, including constables and head constables. The mass transfer of police personnel was not done on the demand of the Election Commission but by the police themselves, as clarified by the joint Chief Electoral Officer Narayan Navti. The ostensible reason for the mass transfer of head constables and constables was that the Election Commission rules mandated that any police official, whether he was an officer or a constable, who had served at the same police station for more than three years had to be transferred.

The underlying logic is that police officials tend to become very close to the local MLA and serve the local MLA and not the people.

POLITICAL PRESSURE

There is of course overwhelming evidence that the Goa Police have become totally politicised and owe allegiance to their political masters and not to the aam aadmi. Police inspectors posted in the Benaulim constituency have always danced to the tune of Mickky Pacheco and the Alemaos. It may be recalled that, on one occasion, the Colva police inspector stopped participants returning from a rally against the Regional Plan held at the Azad Maidan and sought to arrest them near the Zuari Bridge, which was outside his jurisdiction, allegedly at the instance of Churchill Alemao.

Successive police inspectors and deputy superintendents of police attached to the Panaji police station have been puppets of Taleigao MLA Babush Monserrate. In the mining belt, the police inspectors and DySPs in charge of Quepem and Sanguem assaulted agitating villagers of Cavrem who had been protesting against illegal mining. In Bali, police officials failed to protect tribal leaders and, on the contrary, brutally assaulted them. In Curchorem, when the communal riots broke out, the police stood by when homes and commercial establishments belonging to the Muslim minority community were systemically targeted. Forget about the police protecting the aam aadmi, they could not even protect themselves in Curchorem where a police sub inspector was beaten up by a mob of Hindutva activists in the presence of journalists, including the then assistant editor of Goan Observer. When Manohar Parrikar was the chief minister, he recruited large numbers of RSS cadres to the police force who owed personal allegiance to Manohar Parrikar and treated even senior officers with contempt. The bitter truth is that police officials at all levels in the state have become totally corrupt and their loyalties are to the looters and plunderers. In fact, in our perception, the police are the biggest obstacle to the holding of a free and fair poll in the state of Goa.

WIVES PROTEST

When, for whatever reason, Sanjay Singh unilaterally decided to transfer thousands of policemen, including those who had not completed three years in their posting and even those who were on the verge of retirement, there was a strong protest, interestingly from the wives of the cops. Perhaps quite legitimately, the wives pointed out that the transfer of the husbands just on the eve of examinations of their children would cause major disruption in their lives. Subsequent to the fact that the Joint Chief Electoral Officer clarified that the IGP had acted on his own and not at the instance of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Director General of Police Kishan Kumar is reported to have overruled the IG and stayed the transfers.

I can understand the transfer of police inspectors, but the transfer of constables does not make any sense because they have no choice but to obey the orders of the police sub inspectors and the police inspectors. It is unfortunate that the former director general of police Aditya Arya, who had gained the respect of the Goan people for being upright and independent, should have been transferred out of Goa just on the eve of the poll. With corruption being universal and omnipresent in the police force, there is little or no possibility that money and muscle power will not continue to play a major role in the forthcoming elections.

FLYING SQUADS

AND a few stray observations on the flying squads appointed by the election commission. The flying squads are totally demoralised after being targeted by the Church and the political class for doing their duty in conducting an enquiry on allegations that the parish priest of Velim was inducing voters to support a particular candidate. I understand that the parish priest of Velim was campaigning for a non Congress candidate and that the complaint lodged was allegedly by Filipe Neri Rodrigues, the minister for water resources and the present MLA of the Velim constituency. The Chief Electoral Officer has clarified that the flying squad did not seize the Rs 6,000 in the possession of the parish priest. The Income Tax department has also clarified that there was no raid on the parish priest by the Income Tax Department, though an official of the Income Tax Department accompanies the flying squad whenever it receives a complaint.

ROGUE PRIESTS

THE bitter ground reality in Goa is that there are any number of rogue priests who actively campaign for candidates, irrespective of their criminal record. I have known of Fr Avinash Rebello campaigning for Victoria Fernandes when he was parish priest of St Cruz. Similarly, the then parish priest of Navelim was allegedly responsible for campaigning against Luizinho Faleiro at the instance of Churchill Alemao to get him defeated. There are several parish priests extending support to Mickky Pacheco despite the fact that he is living in adultery and has been accused of abetting the suicide of one of his many girlfriends. The Church drew up a set of guidelines which called upon both the minority community and the general public to vote for candidates with principles. The fact that parish priests continue to campaign for some of the worst elements in Goan politics dramatises the extent to which the Church itself has got corrupted and politicised. I do not believe that parish priests who actively campaign for candidates should demand an exception from scrutiny from the flying squads from the Election Commission.

I am inclined to be sceptical about the effectiveness of the flying squads. On Sunday, I got a call that the flying squad had descended on the residence of Vishwajit Rane at Dona Paula. Apparently someone had complained that a long list of job seekers had queued up outside the Yuvraj’s residence in Dona Paula and were being entertained by the Health Minister. It may be recalled that almost 2000 jobs were created in the health department and the agriculture department as well as the animal husbandry department, all of which are controlled by Vishwajit, just before the elections. The Director of Animal Husbandry was in fact suspended on the insistence of the Election Commission, though the Chief Secretary under pressure from Vishwajit Rane pleaded with the Election Commission not to suspend the official. I fail to understand why no action was taken against Vishwajit Rane, on whose orders the Director of Animal Husbandry was continuing to issue appointment letters even after the code of conduct had come into place.

MONEY SEIZED

There was a report that over Rs 10 lakh was seized from a parked car by the flying squad. For some curious reason, the office of the Election Commission has been coy about informing the media about whose name the car was registered in and by whom it was being used. The flying squad is reported to have recovered a lot of music CDs from a car belonging to Joaquim Alemao. But the media was not informed as to what action was taken on the matter. There have been virtually hundreds of complaints filed, ranging from holding public meetings without the required permissions to distribution of cash and other goodies by candidates. While we know that complaints have been made, the Chief Electoral Officer has yet to inform the media on what action has been taken on the complaints. In fact the Chief Electoral Officer has stopped interacting with the media altogether and has passed on the buck to the joint Chief Electoral Officer Navti, who is cooperating but obviously does not seem to have the sanction of the Chief Electoral Officer to either act firmly on violations of the election code or inform media on the outcome of various raids.

ASSETS FARCE

AND a few stray thoughts on the farce of the declaration of assets and liabilities by candidates contesting the forthcoming elections. For instance, Babush Monserrate would have us believe that his net worth has actually declined since the last elections. Though it has come on record that Rs 26 crore was allegedly paid to Babush Monserrate for conversions under the Regional Plan 2011, this is not reflected in his statement on assets and liabilities. Babush Monserrate’s Casa Monserrate, which is worth crores of rupees at current market prices, is shown as worth just a few lakhs. The mega palace that Babush Monserrate has built on the Dona Paula bypass road, the mansion he owns in the La Citadel Colony and the eight storeyed hotel put up by Raj Hospitality, a firm in which both Babush and Jennifer along with son Rohit are partners, are not shown in the list of assets. Nor are the flats he allegedly owns in Bangalore and Mumbai.

This is not true of only Babush and Jennifer Monserrate who have filed affidavits about their assets and liabilities. It is well known that several politicians, including Subhash Shirodkar and Joaquim Alemao, are involved in mining. In fact, Anil Salgoacar had publicly acknowledged that no royalties had been paid for over a million tonnes of iron ore from mines operated by Joaquim Alemao on his behalf. But in the affidavits filed by Subhash Shirodkar and Joaquim Alemao, there is no mention of their profits from their mining operations. Or even the assets they own by way of mining machinery. Similarly, Shyam Satardekar, who has admitted to being a major transporter of ore, has not revealed how many trucks he owns and how much revenue he earns from hiring out his trucks to mine owners. Dinar Tarcar is the only who has been honest and admitted to a net worth of over Rs 200 crore.

Various sale deeds in the possession of Goan Observer reveal that Vishwajit Rane was paid several crores of rupees for brokering mega sales of land to land sharks through many front companies. Neither the front companies that Vishwajit Rane owns or the money he allegedly received for brokering the land deals are part of the affidavits filed by him. Surprisingly, rival candidates who were contesting against politicians who have benefited from conversions in RP 2011 and even RP 2021 and those who have benefited from the boom in mining have not filed any objections against the gross undervaluation of the assets of politicians contesting the elections. The acceptance of the claims of the candidates at face value without investigating their claims serves no purpose. Nobody for instance would believe that former president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee and Shiroda aspirant Subhash Shirodkar, who takes pride in his involvement in mining and owns an engineering college and a homeopathic college, is worth only Rs 3 crore. And may be The Navhind Times will clarify whether the assets of Ravi Naik are Rs 728 crore or Rs 72 crore or Rs 7 crore.

AND a few stray observations on the fact that in distributing tickets for contesting the forthcoming elections, the Congress High Command has marginalised Digamber Kamat and favoured the Rane Parivar. Digamber Kamat did not get his way either in respect of the Fatorda seat where he was canvassing for Vijai Sardesai or in Canacona where he was demanding a ticket for the BJP MLA Vijay Pai Khot. Digamber Kamat, in fact, has been humiliated because just before the Congress High Command — presumably under pressure from Luizinho Faleiro — gave the ticket to M K Shaikh, the Chief Minister had stated at a election rally that nobody would dare deny a ticket to Vijai Sardesai.

In sharp contrast, the Congress High Command has been extremely generous with the Rane Parivar. Not only have both Papa Rane and son Vishwajit got tickets to contest from Poriem and Valpoi, their candidates for Bicholim and Mandrem, the defectors from the BJP Rajesh Patnekar and Dayanand Sopte have also been given tickets. There are at least three other candidates, including the NCP candidate from Siolim, who are nominees of the Ranes, particularly young Vishwajit Rane. If you include the tickets given to Pratapsingh Raoji Rane and Vishwajit Rane, the Rane parivar has been given as many as six tickets if not seven by the Congress High Command. Moreover, on the eve of the beginning of the filing of nominations, the Congress High Command summarily removed Mauvin Godinho and appointed Pratapsingh Raoji Rane as the chairman of the campaign committee. Not surprisingly, Pratapsingh Raoji Rane is strongly defending the large scale grant of Congress tickets to dynasties. Between the five dynasties - the Alemao dynasty, the Babush dynasty, the Rane dynasty, the Ravi Naik dynasty and the Madkaikar dynasty - they account for almost 18 of the 40 tickets in the Legislative Assembly of Goa.

WE ENDORSE

AND a last stray thought for yet another Sunday. Of all the candidates that are in the fray I have the highest regard for three independent candidates - Rohan Khaunte who is contesting the new Porvorim constituency, Nirmala Sawant who is contesting the Cumbarjua seat as an independent and Dr Hubert Gomes. It is rare that businessmen and particularly young businessmen choose to enter the dirty arena of politics. Most of them prefer to grumble about how bad things are and in fact virtually hundred percent of the generation next of Goa’s industrialists have preferred to invest outside Goa. Similarly, professionals and successful professionals have very seldom sought to fight elections. Which is why I am very happy that Rohan Khaunte and Dr Hubert Gomes are contesting the elections and I believe that they deserve the support of all Goans. And certainly the voters in their constituencies. The only other independent candidate whom I have no hesitation in endorsing is Nirmala Sawant, who is one of the most honest politicians I have ever come across. I hope the voters of Cumbarjua constituency will not be swayed by the money power of Pandurang Madkaikar and will elect Nirmala Sawant back to the Legislative Assembly, which she served with great distinction as power minister in one of the earlier cabinets.

“People of all communities are with me…”

goanobserver — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:30:06 +0000

Contesting as an independent from new constituency, Porvorim, Rohan Khaunte fancies his chances as people from various communities asked him to contest the elections.

Would you have been better off if you had contested on the ticket of some political party instead of contesting as an independent?
Rohan Khaunte: People of Porvorim requested me to contest as their choice to represent them specifically with regards to the issues and causes that we (under the banner of Porvorim Yuva Welfare Trust) have taken up in the last three years towards the better development of Porvorim.
Can you elaborate on these issues and causes?
Well, Porvorim, as you know is a new constituency and there are a lot of issues. If you look at the basic issues that concern the aam aadmi like the inadequate supply of water and electricity still continues. If you visit the lower part of the Porvorim periphery, you will find that they face power shortages specifically in the evenings. There has also been no improvement in the power infrastructure in the last 8-10 years in Porvorim. Besides electricity, the water supply, too, is a problem. Although there is a dedicated water supply line to Porvorim, this is insufficient to meet the needs of the people. Either the water gets diverted or there is no adequate water coming to the reservoirs. Further, in the last three years, Porvorim is facing the major issue of the garbage menace that has not been properly tackled. This problem of garbage in Porvorim can be solved through a proper garbage management plan that will include the segregation of garbage, door-to-door collection of garbage, the promotion of vermi-composting pits in open areas, etc as well as having a garbage treatment plant where housing projects are coming up. Basically, there is no road map as of today as far as where garbage is concerned for Porvorim. In the last three years, on a trial basis, the Porvorim Yuva Welfare Trust (PYWT) have deployed about two people in the village panchayat of Socorro whose job is to only collect plastic as plastic constitutes nearly 30 % of the garbage and this waste is recycled. This will avoid people’s tendency to burn plastic that is toxic. Surprisingly, we are collecting about 14-16 bags of different types of plastic daily. We need to create a master plan for Porvorim with the involvement of all the panchayats which I have already done. We have to start with door-to-door collection of garbage, segregation of this waste and I think I should be able to resolve this vexed garbage issue within one to one-and-a-half years.
Even though Porvorim, which was part of Aldona constituency was represented by a senior Congressman like Dayanand Narvekar, the problem of irregular water and power supply remained unsolved. Do you think that as an independent you can get your work done?
I would not say it was unsolved but there was no focus on Porvorim because these issues could have been and can be resolved.
The BJP has considered Porvorim as its stronghold because of Vidya Prabhodini and the RSS network. How do you intend neutralising this saffron network?
As an independent candidate today, people of all religions, communities, etc have asked me to contest. The time has come when the work done will speak for how we need Porvorim for the next generation or for ourselves. So I do not think there are any party-related issues. All the parties have to come together along with me with one vision for a better Porvorim.
Porvorim has witnessed excessive development far beyond the infrastructure available. Would you demand a freeze on further development?
When you speak of development, we need to look at what is this development. As Porvorim is more of a residential area, a lot of government people stay here. It has become an extension of Panaji and has developed into a commercial town. We need to look at planned infrastructure development after keeping in mind the basic amenities like electricity, water, sewerage, garbage, etc which are the major issues today. A proper road map to take care of all these issues is needed.
If elected, which party will you offer your support to?
I am looking at the pro-development of Porvorim, so whichever party will support my manifesto.
When Porvorim has so many candidates in the fray, why should the Porvorim voters vote for you?
The Porvorim Yuva Welfare Trust (PYWT), to which I have been elected as chairman, is a trust formed by a group of like-minded individuals from Porvorim, both young and old, with a vision for the development of the newly formed Porvorim constituency, has taken up the task of women empowerment and farming. The PYWT has formed over 160 self-help groups to impart training in the skills of cookery, flower-making, candle-making, agarbatis, masalas, etc. This free training is given to them at their place through the jagruti shibirs that were conducted. These also serve to create awareness on banking, social welfare schemes, health, etc. We are looking at a sort of cottage industry to support them where they can be financially independent.
As regards farming, there are vast farming lands. The PYWT has gone ahead and formed a farmer’s clubs in Porvorim. The PYWT have provided modern farming equipments like tractors, weeding and harvesting machines that will give them profitable yield this year. The PYWT have also held meeting with experts so as to resolve their concerns of shortage of manpower, cattle entering the fields and eating the crops, flooding, etc. which was severely affecting them. Hopefully, this will revive farming for the next generation as in the last two years, the PYWT has been able to increase farming by 30 %.
But what is your manifesto for this newly formed Porvorim constituency?
As far as Porvorim is concerned, I also have other plans such as the construction of a sewerage line as the septic tanks in the old colonies are frequently getting chocked. The tremendous increase in infrastructure has led to all these issues. Also, on my agenda is a full-fledged market for Porvorim as well as a well-equipped primary health centre with a 24-hour pharmacy, ambulance and hearse van for the people of Porvorim. I am also focusing on the representation of minorities to provide them equal opportunities. There are also a lot of gardens and parks existing in this constituency, but they are in a bad state. I hope to revive these gardens wherein the senior citizens, children and their families can spend some quality time with a provision for a jogger’s track, kids’ play area, benches, lawns, proper illumination, etc. Also, I propose to develop the open grounds in each panchayat providing a multi-purpose gymnasium for the youth as this facility is lacking in the Porvorim constituency. There is also a need to upgrade the transport system and construct a fire sub-station and a community cum town hall as Porvorim is now an urban area.

Dynasty politics may backfire on Congress

goanobserver — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:27:48 +0000

The Alemaos may prove to be a huge liability rather than an asset to the Congress. The anti-dynasty sentiment may cost them three seats. And if the Alemaos win, they will become even more greedy.

HISTORICALLY, Catholic-dominated Salcete has been the stronghold of the Congress party. But dissentions within the Congress party on who should get tickets and the emergence of Mickky Pacheco as a major player in Salcete politics has adversely affected the fortunes of the Congress. It was the decision of Churchill Alemao to break away from the Congress and form the Save Goa Front which led to the defeat of the two stalwarts of Salcete, Luizinho Faleiro - who had never lost a election till then from the Navelim constituency - and Francisco Sardinha, who was repeatedly elected on the Congress ticket from the Curtorim constituency.

PLAYING SAFE

Which is probably the reason why, this time around, the Congress High Command has played safe and accommodated not only Churchill Alemao from the Navelim constituency and Joaquim Alemao from the Cuncolim constituency, but has also granted a ticket to Valanka for the Benaulim constituency. The decision, at the last moment, to deny a ticket to Vijai Sardesai who was considered almost certain to win from Fatorda might affect the party’s chances of winning the Fatorda seat. While M K Shaikh has been a loyalist for decades and meets the long felt need to give the Muslim minority community representation, even the fact that there are 4000-odd Muslim votes in Fatorda might not take him past the victory post.

While Churchill has been effectively neutralised by the Congress High Command by conceding his demand for a ticket for daughter Valanka, Mickky might give the Congress some anxious moments not only in Benaulim, but in the new Nuvem constituency as well. Mickky, who has historically represented the Benaulim constituency, was forced to shift to Nuvem after his strongholds of Majorda and Betalbatim were incorporated into the new Nuvem constituency following the elimination of the Loutolim constituency. Not only has Mickky consolidated his position in his historical strongholds, but made inroads in Nagoa and other segments of the constituency which has been represented by Congress veteran Aleixo Sequeira. It is still advantage Aleixo Sequiera who has managed to persuade his rival Remy Fernandes, who contested against him in the last Assembly elections, to support him in the current elections.

NO GUARANTEES

WHILE Shalom Sardinha has not filed his nomination as an independent, as he was threatening to do, there is no guarantee that Reginald Lourenco, who defeated Francisco Sardinha in the last general elections and won the Curtorim seat on the Save Goa Front ticket, will get elected. There are a large number of scheduled tribe votes in the Curtorim constituency which will probably go to Dominic Gaunkar, who is seen as the biggest rival to Reginald Lourenco in the Curtorim constituency. The traditional Congress voters of Francisco Sardinha may also rebel against Reginald Lourenco and support the independent candidate.

In Navelim, there is going to be a proxy fight between Churchill Alemao and Luizinho Faleiro who is determined to avenge his defeat though he is not contesting the elections himself this time around. The independent, Avertano Furtado, is the nominee of Luizinho Faleiro. The veteran former MLA of Navelim, who is now general secretary of the AICC in charge of the North East, will leave no stone unturned to get Churchill Alemao defeated in the Navelim constituency. So the going is not going to be smooth for Churchill. Similarly, it is not going to be a cake walk either for his daughter Valanka in Benaulim. John Fernandes, despite the charge of raping a Russian woman against him, is again contesting the Benaulim seat. He came very close to defeating Mickky Pacheco in the last general elections. There is a general sense of disgust with the Alemao parivar and Dr Hubert Gomes may well be right in claiming that the silent majority will support him and elect him as their representative.

The silent rebellion against the Alemao family is also likely to affect the chances of Joaquim Alemao getting re-elected from the Cuncolim constituency. The strongest rival he faces is captain Branny Fernandes fielded by the UGDP and Mario Moares, who has been given the Trinamool Congress ticket. In fact, Mario Moares has been the right hand man of Joaquim Alemao till they fell out over the refusal of Joaquim Alemao to support Mario in the elections to the Cuncolim Municipal Council. It is widely expected that Mario Moares would prove to be the dark horse in Cuncolim.

Which leaves us only with the Margao seat and the Fatorda seat. Digamber Kamat is almost certain to get reelected from Margao as, in a match-fixing deal with Manohar Parrikar, the BJP has fielded a very weak candidate, Rupesh Mahatme, against him. The last time around, Digamber Kamat’s rival was the high profile poster boy of the BJP, Sharmad Raiturkar. In fact at one stage there was even talk of Ramakant Angle contesting against Digamber Kamat on the BJP ticket. The entry of Savio Coutinho, former chairperson of the Margao Municipal Council and husband of the Youth Congress president, is not likely to seriously affect the chances of Digamber Kamat in the Margao constituency.

The Fatorda constituency, of course, is another matter with the outcome of the elections being quite unpredictable. While the official Congress candidate may not prove to be a major threat to Vijai Sardesai, who was the front runner for the Congress ticket, a split in the vote might favour Piedade Noronha, the former chairperson of the Margao Municipal Council who is contesting on the Trinamool Congress. The Fatorda constituency has a large number of ST voters who are likely to support Peidade Noronha. So much so, neither the BJP nor the Congress may get the seat.

The fortunes of the Congress are not particularly bright in the Salcete taluka this time around. Despite obliging the Alemao family, or because it has gone out of the way to appease the Alemao family, loyal Congress workers and the minority community may vote against the Congress. Joaquim Alemao is having a tough time in Cuncolim and there is no guarantee that either Valanka or Churchill will necessarily win their seats. Only Felipe Neri Rodrigues and Digamber Kamat appear certain to win their seat for the Congress party.