Seen above is the late Dr. Tiotonio D'Souza
It is with deep regret
and chagrin I write these lines to express my grief and that of all the like
minded Goans, over the sad and unexpected death of our friend and Goa lover Dr.
Tiotonio D’Souza in Portugal, on 18th of this month. He was in
Goa a few months back along with his wife Elvira and during his stay at Hotel
Goan Heritage, Calangute, for a few days where he was treated so well by the
staff of the Hotel as per his own statement. He was extremely happy to know
that Hotel Goan Heritage is the very good venture of the combined efforts of the few patriotic Kuwait Goans
under the skippership of the late Vincente D’Souza for whom and for all the
Goans who came forward to start this venture, Dr. D’Souza lauded vociferously.
In this context, he asked, “why cannot the Goans from other parts of the
Gulf and elsewhere initiate such ventures when they organize big cultural events
and football tournaments collecting hundreds of Goans per event?”
Let me be frank, to
start a business venture you have to require courage because in business you
must be ready to take risk. Besides, you
must possess some finance to start with your venture, the remaining you can
borrow as loans from the financial institutions, just as the management of Hotel
Goan Heritage did. Any Ladru – Pedru
type of a person who is surviving on bare minimum income and whose condition is
like that of “haddli podd ani khalli podd”, cannot go ahead with starting of
this type of ventures.
Veronica seen wearing the Hat of Dr. Tiotonio
Secondly, the best of
qualitative and dynamic Goans burning with love for Goa and Goan causes, among
the Gulf Goans, were located in Kuwait, Mr. Vincente D’Souza was one of
them. Thirdly, organizing of foot-ball
tournaments and Goan socials is not an extra ordinary deed, any Ladru-Pedru can
venture into the activities they do.
Besides, from what activities they do, you can know they are nothing and
precisely they are nothing they are become unknown entities in Goa after they
are come back to Goa for good.
During Dr. Tiotonio
D’Souza’s last visit to Goa somewhere in September we both of us exchanged
views on Goa, Konkani and other aspects of now corroding Goan life. He was highly appreciative of my writings in Digital
Blogs even requesting me to compile all my important writings on Tiatros in the
book form. He was happy to read my book,
”from coconut threes to oil wells” where he said he got lot of information on
Goans’ life in Kuwait. He was well
conversant with Kuwait since his father was working in Kuwait from early
fifties.
He was eagerly waiting
to return to Goa in a few months’ time as an adviser to the script of the new Konkani movie to be
produced by one Goan business house. He loved Tiatros and when Tausif de
Navelim staged his Tiatro some years back “Akantwadi Amkam Naka” in Panjim, he
and me too saw this Tiatro at Kala Academy Hall. Recently, during his last visit to Goa, we
saw together along with our wives the Tiatro “Pedro Portuguez” staged at Kala
Academy, Panjim.
When he came to Goa last time and
before leaving for Portugal he said to keep his memory alive in me, he removed
his Hat from his head and put it on my head which I wear very often now, as it
is shown in the second photo here.
In him Goa lost a great
literary figure whose expertise concentrated on Historical research.
My his soul rest in
peace.
A.Veronica Fernandes.
