DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF GOA.

DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF GOA

Oh, my Goa My heart cries and bleeds for you.
You have lost your past charm, glory and pride which will be difficult to restore.
Now you are sinking and stinking in every field of life!
Our politicians care for themselves.
They have accumulated wealth for generations.
Yet they are ready to sell themselves provided they get a mega price.
Every Panch wants to be a Sarpanch.
Every Sarpanch desires to become a MLA.
Every MLA desires to be a CM or at least a Cabinet Minister!
Throughout the year in Goa we are entertained through their political circus.

Mine owners raped our hills and forests for years.
Now they are further molested and destroyed with the blessings of our politicians,‘Developers’, SEZ and IT Park promoters.
We abandoned our ancestral bungalows in villages and preferred to live in flats in crowded towns without realizing that in flats our mentality has become flat and static.
Visionless and haphazard development desecrated the natural greenery and aesthetic beauty.
We have become blind and immune to the plastic and garbage menace.
Our beaches and roads have become death traps.
Accidents, drowning in the sea, suicides,thefts, burglaries, dacoity kidnapping, rapes, molestation, sex abuse and murders have become norm of the day.
We have become accustomed to these things.
Without them our newspapers are tasteless and lifeless.
When we read these things in our news papers or see them on TV channels we are hardly touched by their horror.

Bars, Beauty parlours (massage parlours?),paedophilia, prostitution, sex tourism bloom with pride.
Alcoholism, drug addiction, Ghutka and Matka flourish with the support of many.
For all seasons and reasons Goa has become a permanent holiday resort to everyone. Uncontrolled tourism destroyed our land and people.
God alone knows how many of us are affected by AIDS!
It is said “Three W’s (wealth, wine and women) ruin a man.
”Here in Goa we are reduced to wreckage from A to Z.
We have drowned our age old morality and values in the depths of the Arabian sea.

Religious leaders are busy with religiosity they have not cared to understand the spirit of spirituality.
They use religion as an income generating activity.
Religion has become mere rituals and festivals.
Road side crosses, temples and shrines are built not to give glory to the Mighty Lord but for our own pride and hidden motives.
Though Goa is part of the mainland Our mentality continues to be that of islanders.
We take pride that we are Goans but none of us are capable to define the meaning of ‘Goan’.
We have lost our cultural and linguistic identity.
Majority community speaks Konknni but takes pride in Marathi.
Minority community is even ashamed to speak Konknni.
Konknni is considered the ‘spoken dialect’ of Dalits and Konknne Butlers’ English (Tambddi Inglez) has become pride of their personality.
Written Konknni in Devanagari survives with the government patronage.
It has become a gold mine for some to survive and dominate.
Since it lacks the support of the masses it will exist till the mine lasts.
The future of Konknni in Roman script is not so bright.
We are heading towards to become an Anglo-Indian community.
We hide our inferiority complex under different masks.
One of those masks which we are afraid to shed is our pride in the territorial identity ‘Goans’!
In the rest of the India the identity of a person is defined by his/her language affiliation.

Kashmiri speakers become Kashmiris, Sindhi speakers become Sindhis.
Konknni speakers should have become Konknnis. But alas!
We islanders take pride as Goans! without knowing what it means And address others as ‘Ghattis’.
Yet we proclaim as most peace loving, cultured, susegad people.
Truly speaking we are the most lethargic, selfish, self centred people.
We lack unity and vision.We faithfully believe and practice crab mentality.
Therefore we lack dynamic solidarity.
The success of Konknni Nirontori has shifted the centre of Konknni from Goa to Karnataka.
Truly speaking Goa was never the centre of Konknni.
Goans are ready to speak and associate with any language except their own mother tongue Konknni – lingua criados.
Probably, if written Konknni survives in the future it will survive in Kannada script in Karnataka.
Goa will become linguistically and culturally a barren wilderness.
Politically Goa is ruined. Culturally it is uprooted. Socially it is caste rooted. Psychologically it is shattered. Morally it is degraded.Ecologically it is polluted. Spiritually it is deprived. Aesthetically it is destroyed. Educationally it is disoriented. Economically it is lop-sided. Linguistically it is divided.
My Goa seems to have reached a point of non-returna state of beyond redemption.
Mother Goa is filled with wounds, injuries, bruises and scars.
Yet who cares for her pain and agony?Her cross becomes heavier everyday.She is crushed with shame.
She has lost her face and fame.Everyday has become for her “Good Friday”.
She waits for her resurrection. Who will be able to redeem her from her lost glory except her own children who know her true story?

Pratap Naik, sj
Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr,
B.B.Borkar Road,
Alto Porvorim Goa – 403 521.

Hot line-up on the cards: CRCC Semis & Finals on Friday

-by gasper crasto

Kuwait's four of the topmost teams will fight for a place in the finals of the 16th Edition of 9-aside soccer tournament being organized by CRC Chinchinim at Salmiya Grounds. The semifinals will be played on Friday 28th March 2008 followed by a grand finale.

Navelim Youth Centre will cross swords with arch rivals GOA Maroons in the first semifinal while Kuwait Goan Association will take on DHL in the second. The games will begin at 7:30am sharp.

President of CRCC Mr. Bosco Leitao has extended an invitation to all football lovers to attend the final day games.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD

CRCC instituted Athlete of the Year Award will also be given at the finals. The prestigious award is given by the club to the most deserving sports personality with years of dedication to the sport of football.

Following is the list of 'Athlete of the Year' award winners over the years:

1. Alcantra Barretto (Navelim Youth Centre) – 1994-1995
2. Francis Machado (CRC Chinchinim) - 1996
3. V.K.Vohra (ex-President of KIFF) - 1997
4. Inacio Faleiro (ex-President of KIFF) - 1998
5. Tony Coutinho (GOA Maroons) - 1999
6. Judas Fernandes (CRC Chinchinim) - 2000
7. Cajetan Godinho (Veterans XI) – 2001
8. Joseph Salema (United Goans Centre) - 2002
9. Sarto Baptista (United Friends Club) - 2003
10. Gasper Crasto (Navelim Youth Centre) - 2004
11. Gajendra Pillay (GOA Maroons) - 2005
12. Tony Dias (ex-President KIFF & Santos FC) - 2006
13. Julio Cardoso ( GOA Maroons) – 2007

About:Cultural & Recreational Club of Chinchinim - Kuwait

CRCC – Kuwait (Cultural and Recreational club of Chinchinim) as the name indicates is an organization for chinchonkars who are based in Kuwait.

Founded in 1992, by only a handful of chinchonkars, the CRCC Kuwait started initially as a soccer club. At the same time they also founded the CRC tournament which was also known as the BBK trophy because of the financial backing by the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait.

The club also organizes annual picnics for its members and their families in addition to other get-togethers held during the year.

In 1994, the club members decided to organize a Christmas dance party. And so December 12th of 1994 marked the beginning of what was to become a very successful annual event in the Goan calendar in Kuwait. Every year since then the annual 'Fiesta' has been held during the Christmas season.

Remarkably, CRCC Kuwait has only had two presidents since its birth. Mr. Anselmo Furtado and Mr. Bosco Leitao. They along with the backing of other committed members have helped make the CRCC name one of class and prestige.

From the very beginning, CRCC had established a scholarship fund for the bright and upcoming students of the Chinchinim village. This scholarship was awarded to chinchonkar student toppers in all the various schools in the village back home.

In addition to helping the village, the club has also aided other organizations when in need. This has not been limited to Goan organizations or needs only. The club also looks after its members in Kuwait and uses its collective influence to assist everyone.

The CRCC is still a young club, but it has earned a lot of recognition for its achievements in Kuwait. And surely the best is yet to come!