SURROGATE POLITICAL PARTIES.

We heard many times the words Surrogate Mother which means a woman rents her womb for delivering a child. On the same basis I am coining my own words as Surrogate Political Party. What is Surrogate Political Party? A Political Party that allows its symbol for a particular candidate to contest the election and after winning the election the candidate defects to any other political party that forms the government and gets himself the maximum benefits. These benefits may be in the form of Ministerial berth or Chairmanship of any Corporation or Financial doles in crores of rupees.

In the recent past we have noticed mainly in Salcette how some corrupt politicians after getting elected from the votes of the corrupt voters in their respective corrupt constituencies by bribing the bribe able voters defect to any party of their choice. This attitude and behaviour of the defectors is very bad. It must get a full stop now onwards.

In Goa there are two known political parties acting like Surrogate Mothers letting their corrupt wombs to the known defectors who for the greed of money and power are destroying Goa. These two political parties are United Goans Democratic Party and Save Goa, both these parties are cheap parties having no control over its candidates. May be a part of the loot acquired by their elected representatives after their defections is shared by these parties. The leaders of these parties in the beginning talk big as if they are having full control even over the souls of their candidates but once elected their candidates say to "hell with your party.

It is a time now for the Goa lover voters to get open assurance from their candidates that they will not defect to any other party once they are elected. Goa is destroyed by these corrupt defectors from Salcette. The whole corruption started in Goa with bigger magnitude only with the formation of PDF Government of "Chor" and corrupt Goykar politicians who began looting Goa and Goans without any hindrance. Some of those who are still in the ruling party have not stopped an inch of what loot they have been doing. There was a time Salcette politicians protected Goa more than anyone but now Salcette politicians are destroying Goa more than any other Goan politician and in this destruction sadly our priests and other Church leaders are helping the corrupt politicians to loot and destroy Goa ad Goans.

Before going to the Polls and before casting their votes, voters from Salcette mainly from Navelim, Benaulim, Cortalim, Curtorim, Nuvem and such other constitueuncies where elected representatives defected to other parties, must get a full and publicly declared assurace from their representaitves that they will not act as Judases once they are elected. On the contrary they should remain faithful to theit parties that got them elected. Voters must get a firm assurance that "No Aya Ram - Gaya Ram" will be tolorated.

And finally, voters in Salcette must ask UGDP, Save Goa and Goa Vikas Party what legal precaution they will take to prevent defection of their candidates. If no proper satisfactory answer is coming then voters should boycott these parties and their defection oriented nominees. The NGOs, Youth, Social Workers and Religious Gurus must take active role in awakening the voters to act sensible. Otherwise defectors will totally destroy Goa and Goans. The defectors are not genuine Goans, they are not the real sons of their real Goan fathers and precisely because of this they act against Goa and Goan interest.

A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.

"CHORS" AS DIRECTORS IN GULF GOANS HOTELS COMPANY.

In early 1979 when the first meeting of Share Holders of Gulf Goans Hotels Co. was held at Shuwaikh Modern Restaurant in Kuwait, A. Veronica Fernandes proposed openly to induct one director in the Board from the village of Calangute to gain the good will of the locals since the Hotel Goan Heritage falls in Calangute. When the Managing Director of the company asked A. Veronica if he can propose somebody, A.Veronica proposed the name of Gabriel Soares who was one of the major Shareholders then. But Mr. Soares politely turned down the offer.

According to the latest information, the younger brother of the late Gabriel Soares, Mr. Pascoal Soares has just been inducted thru selection by the Shareholders into the Board as one of the directors of Gulf Goans Hotels Co. With this induction Calangute village got representation in this company board of two directors. A few days earlier another son of Calangute Mr. Jerry Call (Chef) was inducted into the board with unanimous approval of the Share Holders and Directors. Jerry Call is a renowned Chef of 5 Star Hotels in the Gulf and was highly decorated one. He is the only of his type in the board and one of the rare in Goan community. Gulf Goans Hotels Co. must be lucky to have Chef Jerry Call in its midst.

Gulf Goans Hotels Co. is the unique such company initiated by the expatriate Goans and as such it should be the darling of all genuine Goans. In view of this, this project must run well and profitably so that other expatriate Goans will also think of starting such ventures in such a manner.

There were about 75 Shareholders in the initial stage and they invested their hard earned money in this project more out of patriotism towards Goa and less for the income they will derive from their investment. They were the true great Goa lover Goans having great love for Goa. Now, many of them are settled permanently in the West, they are not in Goa nor in Kuwait but still they are stake holders in this project, some of them unfortunately not knowing how the project is running. This project is like gold but the management of it under the current board is showing lot of flaws thereby depriving the Shareholders of the maximum benefits of their investment, according to the majority of Shareholders who continuously stalled the proceedings of the Annual General Body Meeting last year to show their disgust over the malfunctioning of the Hotet management.

One of the reasons for the malfunctioning was due to the corrupt members in the board. One of them as known in Kuwait was sacked from Air India Kuwait office for doing financial irregularities; two of them were responsible for duping Kuwait Goan evacuees following the liberation of Kuwait to the tune of huge undisclosed amount of money collected from the poor Kuwait Goan evacuees by being under the umbrella of Kuwait Goan Evacuees Society, the Society formed to help Kuwait Goan Evacuees to return them back to Kuwait after Kuwait's liberation, one of them is responsible for withholding the huge fund of Goan Welfare Society - Kuwait and transferring the same into his personal account. This same "Bamtto" was known in Kuwait for demanding Sex from young girls by offering Jobs. He was openly disgraced by a mother of one of the girls whom he requested to sleep with him in exchange of a job (It is a sin called NARVENKARISM). He was the most scandalous Goan in Kuwait. It is a shame to have such a disgraceful member in the board. And those who accept him in their midst are also disgraceful including the Kuwait based ones who lost their marbles to stand upright when injustice was done against one of their own colleagues.

As long as these three members are in the board there will never be smooth functioning of this project. They want to create their own lobby in the Board by inducting in the board their own relatives and family members possibly to loot the company's coffers as it was done for Goan Welfare Society Kuwait Fund. Professional and known thieves should be thrown out of this board and for this drive there should be concerted efforts on the part of all the Shareholders. They are expert in duping and robbing the community in Kuwait and for this reason people don’t trust them. They are experts in chickanery, they have no shame to move about in society because they are shameless. And those who associate and support them in the Board are equally guilty including those shameless based in Kuwait. Kuwait based directors are cowards of first grade, they have no marbles in their pants to fight for justice, one leg of each of them is in Kuwait and the other in the West. Those who cannot afford to be present in Goa they should be kicked out. This company does not require dormant directors anymore.

The two new directors have a strong responsibility to bring order in the board by cutting to size the directors having questionable character. According to one source all directors are not interested in the well being of this project but only to loot and to eat free of charge "Rechiad" Pomprets and Tiger Prawns from the Hotel. While some others are there to see if they can get an opportunity of suitable jobs for them or for their relatives there because their mind set is framed only to work. Both the two new directors have got to be very vigilant against those board members who are not fit to be in the board. Both the two new board members are the aspirations of majority of the Shareholders who supported their induction into the board to deliver good results.

And finally, is there any need for the outstation directors? What they can contribute by being abroad? They are like parasites in the board, their places can be better utilised by resident directors. The earlier the outstation directors resign before forced out disgracefully the better it is for their image. As it is they are useless for the community cause where they are residing and what benefit they will give of theirs by being in the board? They have not done anything for others in Kuwait except for their own family members.

The Share Holders of Gulf Goans Hotels Co. must be aware of what type of persons are holding the reins of their project.

FIRST DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF ROSARY FERNS.

A year ago, 12th of January 2011, at 6.00 in the morning while I was preparing to dress up to go to work, I received a phone call from a lovely voiced lady asking me first whether I got the news of Rosary Ferns. I thought because of her lovely voice she got some lovely news to give it to me at this early hour and when I said No, she told me with sorrow in her tone ‘Rosary is expired’.When I exclaimed saying What? There was total silence on our voices further. At this moment I felt the roof above has collapsed and fell on my head as my brain became numbed for few moments.

Immediately then I called Rosary’s eldest brother Fidelis Fernandes and when I said to him Fidelis, recognising my voice he immediately started crying. It was now fully confirmed that the news given to me early in the morning at 6.00 by Elvira D’Souza was cent percent correct. Then and there I decided to go to Goa for the funeral.

Then I came to my company, applied for emergency leave, collected my Passport, came back, booked the Indian Airlines ticket that night to fly home. Meantime everyone started calling me, some asking confirmation of the news while others offering condolences. It was really unbearable time.

IC flight from Kuwait landed at Dabolim at 7.00 AM and since I was heavy Luggageless passenger, immediately came out from the Airpot and went straight by Car not to my home Candolim but to Colva at Rosary’s place. While entering his house I tought seeing his dead body I would collapse but instead my legs became stronger seeing his body in the coffin because when I cast my first glance at his dead body I noticed freshness on his facial appearance. This gave me a false impression that he was not dead but just sleeping.

When I entered the parlour where his body was kept, everybody started looking at me, some not knowing who I was while Rosary's mother, one sister, wife and two sons knowing who I was but giving me an impression that they did not recognise me. I looked at them all and they looked at me, they recognised me but found it impossible to admit that I have reached Goa so soon from Kuwait. It looked from their facial appearances that their eyes were deceiving them to admit the reality of my presence there. Then while standing in front of Rosary's coffin I felt all around there athmosphere very wetty, wet due to the enermous amount of tears shed there by everyone crying over the dead body of Rosary. Then I said to myself within me only "Rosary, Oh my dearest friend Rosary!! I deny my tears to you because your Coffin is fully wet due to the wet athmosphere created by the tearful cries of your mother, three sisters, your wife, two sons and all around you there needing no more tears from my eyes. Hence, Rosary my dearest friend Rosary, I deny my tears to you because you are already wet".

Though my eyes listened to the command of my brain not to cry yet my heart refused because after all heart is heart where love is concentrated and stored there in the form of liquid. Within a few seconds my heart ruled over my brain and it burst out within splashing its liquid inside my body and pouring out thru the holes of both my eyes in the form of Tears like a sping thereby making me cry like a baby. Seeing me crying thus, Rosary's mother screamed saying "Puta mojea, poi re Veronic eila mellpak tukam, then Antonette Rosary's younger sister screamed loudly, I leaned on the wall from where Antonette caught me. Everybody there then came to know who I was.

The sudden and untimely death of Rosary Ferns a year ago at this young age was a great blow for the development and promotion of Tiatro Art as a whole. In him he had a lot to impart for the cause of Tiatro, Mando – Dulpod, Operettas, Songs and Konkani Albuns. But God’s wish to take him away from us denied him the previllege of enriching further the Konkani Tiatro Art. Very few in the Konkani Tiatro World has done what he has done. His greatness lies more in his development of Tiatro Art not by being in Goa and Bombay where you have lot of facilities but by being in Kuwait a foreign country where there are so many difficulties and restrictions. Here lies Rosary’s greatness more because within the minimum of facilities he acquired maximum of benefits for Konkani and Tiatro Art.

He was a very humble man by nature without any pride and external show. Harshness was foreign to his nature. Even those who tried to finish him from Konkani Stage he showed no revenge against them. He was a great fighter not using his physical might or deadly weapons against his opponents but thru his peaceful intellectual capacity. By using his excellent brain work he produced better Tiatros and Songs which totally eclipsed his opponents, they are all gone into Limbo now. Eye for an Eye and Tooth for Tooth was not his doctrine, this was the doctrine of King Hamurabi the ancient King of ancient Mesopotamia. On the contrary he showed affection for his opponents by giving them opportunities to promote their Tiatro talents in his own Dramas. He was helpful for the new comers to promote them on Konkani Stage, this was his unique contribution for the development of Konkani Stage.

From Goa and Bombay he brought almost all the top Tiatrists and Directors to participate in his Dramas in Kuwait and they all worked under his direction, some of them rendered songs composed by him not only in Kuwait but also in Goa.

He had great wish to compose one song on my life and my contribution in society and community in particular but when I declined my permission for this he was deeply hurt saying ‘Nobody will know you as I know and as such I alone can describe you better than any songster’. Still to keep my one work immortal, he rendered one song in his last VCD Thank You Kuwait where he showed me thru our movement in Goa for the cause of Kuwait’s liberation, this movement was done in 1990/91 thru my initiative. When I saw this VCD released after his death I was astonished but to say thank you Rosary, I had no chance because meantime death has taken him away from this planet.

In his family circle he was loved the most by almost every member of his family and he brought all the family members closer to one another. During his lifetime he led a very decent and upright life.In his death Konkani Stage lost a great Stage Artiste, a great Playwright, a great Director, a great Composer, a great Songster, a great Manddekar and a great Konkani Sho Organiser.

May his soul Rest In Peace.

A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.