Further to my review of the meeting last week held in Panjim
at Tiatr Academy Auditorium, at 4.00 PM, organised by DKA to mark the 103rd
birthday of the late Reginaldo Fernandes, the well – known Romansi writer from
Siolim, I must appreciate the main speaker Daniel D’Souza who gave a very good researched
account of Reginald Fernandes highlighting every aspect of his life.
However, I like to add something more too which was not
mentioned by any of the speakers.
Reginaldo Fernandes was an employee of Emmisora de Goa – Panjim during
the Portuguese rule along with Jacinto Vaz, Young Menezes, M. Dod de Verna,
Baldinho Araujo, Allen D’Costa, Jony
Sylvester, Diogonho D’Mello, Ismenia D’Mello, Ansu Rodrigues, Georgina Jacques,
Maestro Antoninho D’Souza and others.
His job was to write Tiatros to be aired thrice a week, Sundays –
Tuesdays – Thursdays, the duration of each Tiatro was 30 minutes and the
Sunday’s Tiatro at 7.00 PM used to be very popular.
Besides, REginaldo Fernandes was preparing on every Saturday
at 7.00 pm one especial programme called “Antu Babachi Gozal” where all the
participating artistes used to act and release venom and fire on Bharat Serkar
for trying to rob our golden Goa. In
this programme, while vomiting venom against Bharat serkar for preparing to
invade Goa, the greatness of Goa was highlighted very loudly and how this
greatness will disappear from Goan soil if Goa is invaded by the invaders
Bharat Serkar. And after so many years of invasion of Goa what we see now in
Goa? What Reginaldo Fernandes prophesied
60 years back is now came into reality.
Goa is losing everything what belonged to it because of
degoanisation process of Goa that began on 19th December 1961. And
now it is in full swing because the bastardisation of Goan politics is going on
with sprinting pace. Good that he and many like him are dead and gone otherwise
they would not be able to see with their own eyes that Goa is reaching to such
a low ebb. In a few years time Goa will remain as Goa geographically but the
core and original ingredients of Goa will disappear from Goa. Non Goans will
make the destiny of Goa with the introduction of their harsh culture and
tradition, languages, folksongs and folk tales etc. The greatness of Goa will
remain only in the history books for the few historians to harp on. Thinking of
this period I feel like crying. God
alone can save us from that likely calamity.
Immediately after the invasion of Goa, Reginaldo Fernandes along
with Young Menezes in Candolim and others too in their respective villages
lived in fear of being attacked not by the Indian military in retaliation for
their criticism of Bharat Serkar but more by the local Goans who were calling
themselves as pseudo nationalists. These people thought that they were more
Bharatis in Goa than others. It is these barberians in the garb of Freedom
Fighters came with Guns to kill Dr. Gustavo Monteiro in Candolim and Fr.
Mendonca at Arpora School immediately a few hours after Goa was forcibly
invaded by Nehru’s Bharat without taking Goans into confidence as if Goa was
Nehru’s “Paichem Bens”.
All the above Tiatrist artistes of Emmisora de Goa were not paid
their 3 months salaries prior to the invasion of Goa by the Portuguese Serkar.
This responsibility should have been on the shoulders of invaders who in the
beginning assured that all the obligations of the previous government will be
fulfilled by the new government. But
because the Emmisora de Goa’s artistes were heavily criticizing the Bharat serkar
during the Portuguese rule, they were denied their 3 months salary.
Then when Jacinto Vaz started a heavy campaign from the Stage
against Bharat Serkar for its failure to
pay their 3 months salary, thru his songs especially composed to highlight this
topic, the All India Radio Panjim put a ban on
airing of Jacinto Vaz songs from All India Radio Panjim. One of the artiste employees of Emmissora de
Goa whose salary Bharat serkar had to pay was that of Reginaldo Fernandes.
Writers like Reginaldo
Fernandes were not only writers but they were like schools from whom
innumerable people learnt Konkani in Roman script. It is these writers who kept the flame of
Konkani lighted. The Nagriwadis who
downgrade the contribution of writers like Reginaldo Fernandes are “CHORS” who
are robbing the importance of the work they did in Konkani thru Roman script.
Today and yesterday all the awards meant for Konkani literature should have
gone to Reginaldo Fernandes and Damaciano Caridade only but, no, they are side
stepped by the Nagriwadis because they own the monopoly of these Awards which
they distribute among themselves as Bokxis.
Many people are calling Reginaldo Fernades as the Patxai and
also as Pai of Romansi boroinarancho. I
disagree with this view of calling Reginaldo Fernandes as Patxai and Pai of
Romanxi boroinarancho. This title should
rightly go to that genius Romansi writer Damaciano Caridade from Aldona whose
writings were based on hard concrete evidence and not on abstract episodes. But
that does mean Reginald Fernandes is a small writer of Roman Script Konkani
Romansi, he was the great writer and being so, I bow my head down to him. May his soul rest in peace and may Goa
produce more and more such Reginaldo Fernandes.
A.Veronica Fernandes.
