Comedian SELVY IN "KUWAIT SODDUN VETANA"

Seen in the picture is none other than the ace comedian Selvy.

Comedian Selvy is currently one of the top comedians of Konkani Stage. He is well sought after by all segments of audience especially the youth. Being youthful in looks, he satisfies the tastes of the youth in the modern way of comedy performance. While performing comedy roles, he is very flexible in his movement and very serious too in his action. During the last decade he is ruling Konakni stage in comedy roles. His real name is Mathias Correia hailing from Salcette Velim.

Besides acting in Tiatro, he is also taking part in many of the latest Konkani VCD's.

Very shortly in the next month, 16th January 2009, at 3.30 pm, at Hawally A/c Hall, he will be seen in action with best of his comedy roles in Rosary Fern's Tiatro "KUWAIT SODDUN VETANA" along with his partner and equally talented comedian John D'Silva. Both these ace comedians will be especially coming to Kuwait to participate in "Kuwait Soddun Vetana" along with other 5 visiting artistes namely, Lawry Travasso, Francis de Tuem, Marcus Vaz, Fr. Nevel and Miss Bhuska.

The local artistes who will act in this Tiatro are Cajetan de Sanvordem, Sylvester Vaz, Irene Vaz, Xavier Furtado, Lawrente Pereira, Clifford Pereira, Joseph Rodrigues, Raina Azavedo, Clara Rodrigues, Katty de Majorda, Salu Faleiro, Bab Agnelo and Rosary Ferns.

Musicical score will be provided by Shahu and his Jolly Boys.

GOAN NAMES - By Valmiki Faleiro.

GOAN NAMES – VALMIKI.

By Valmiki Faleiro.

Goa, as we saw last Sunday, has only six ‘Valmikis’ … per the local phone directory, that is. Five of them are Catholics. Of these, one is the well-known diocesan priest, Fr. Valmiki Dias Gonsalves, the other is the irreverent chap you’re presently reading.Yet, the two – friends personally – are often mixed.

Around 1977. Pop star Remo performs in Margao. Fr. Valmiki has painstakingly organized the show. In his acknowledgements, Remo thunders, “… and, in a very special way, I thank Rev. Fr. Valmiki Faleiro.”

I had just subscribed to Goanet. Responding to one of my first posts on the forum, an old chum of Fr. Valmiki responds, from the Americas, “Hi reverend”!

This time, it was Fr. Valmiki all right, talking to a mutual friend from Chinchinim, now in the US, at a wedding reception at Benaulim’s Taj Exotica. Her hubby, a medical specialist I never met, greets, “Glad to meet you, Valmiki Faleiro!”

Talking of the Taj, a former Taj-Aguada boss, over the public address at the Loutulim church, thanks “Fr. Valmiki Faleiro” … even as the Rev. Valmiki Gonsalves is at the altar.

Tongue slips on just six Valmikis in Goa! Why, when Fr. Valmiki served at the next-door Holy Spirit church, even the postman mixed identities, and our letters. Of the sixValmikis, only one is Hindu. (An internet search yields Valmikis with surnames likeBankay, Biswas, Mukherjee, Raghunathan, Ramsewak, Rao, Raj, Rengadhar...)Which brings up the question: why don’t Goan Hindus name their sons after the great Indian sage?

For a plausible answer, let us pan back in time … to about the year 1000 BC. Storygoes that a Brahmin, Prachetas, be got his tenth child, a son. For reasons unknown, he entrusted the child for upbringing to a man who lived in the forests – and waylaid and killed travelers for a livelihood. The man raised the child in his ‘profession’. The boybecame the merciless bandit ‘Valya Koli’.

One day, as Valya was about to strike his next victim, the aged wayfarer turned and asked Valya, “Why do you do this?” Valya replied, “To provide for my family.” The old man asked Valya that while his family shared his earnings, would they share his guilt of sin? Would they partake of the punishment? The traveler told Valya to ask his family, promising to wait at that spot until Valya returned. He was Naradamuni.

Back at his forest hideout, Valya’s wife and children shot back, “why should we share the guilt of your sins? It’s your duty to provide for us, how you do it is your concern.”Valya, as if thunderstruck, returned to Narada.

Valya was contrite. Narada told him, “All your life you’ve known only killing (“mar”).Your lips are not pure to utter god’s name. Sit here and utter just that word, ‘Mar, mar,mar…’ in atonement, until I return.”

Valya sat under a tree and began reciting “Mar, mar…” Hours turned to days, months,and years. Gradually, the chant of “Mar, mar…” reversed in alphabetical order and turned to “Ram, Ram…,” god’s name! Eleven years had passed. An anthill (“valmik”)had grown over him. Narada finally returned, to find “Valmiki Prabhavo Vasya” (onewho emerged from an anthill.)

Killer Valya, now Valmiki, led an ascetic’s life. One day that too changed. Returning from bath in the river, he noticed, on a nearby tree, two birds making love.Just then, a hunter’s arrow hit the male bird, throwing it to the ground. The female cried bitterly by the side of her dead mate. An anguished Valmiki uttered a curse, the‘Ma Nishad.’ Its verse was so creative that Brahma, the Creator, ordained Valmiki tocompose an epic. The “world’s greatest story” – as veteran theatre director, AamirRaza Husain, producer of ‘The Legend of Ram’, described the timeless ‘Ramayana.’24,000 lucid verses, four times the length of the Iliad.

No controversy brewed by politicians, like over the ‘Ram Setu’ navigation channel orover Prof. AK Ramanujan’s essay, “300 Ramayanas,” can steal from the Ramayana.Its richness lies in its hundreds of versions and interpretations – even by Buddhistsand Jains. Why, Valmiki himself is seen in ancient scriptures from three differentfacets: in the ‘Mahabharat’ he is Rishi, in ‘Taittiriya Pratishakya’ he is the philologist,while ‘Kalidasa’ and ‘Bhavbhuti’ refer to him as the poet/writer.

Why, then, don’t Goan Hindus name their sons after this sage? The obvious answer:what if he turns out to be ‘Valya’ and not Valmiki?

PS. From an e-mail: “An Olympic shooter wins gold, Govt. gives him Rs. three crore.A commando shooter dies, fighting terrorists, Govt. gives his family Rs. five lakhs.”(ENDS.)

INDIA'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST TERRORISM

INDIA’S CAMPAIGN AGAINST TERRORISM

Public opinion is the greatest weapon one can use to change society’s thinking and this public opinion according to Prof. Laski who was a great political scientist, “need not necessarily be the opinion of entire public, it can even be the opinion of one particular person provided it serves the cause of entire public”. Muslim terrorists of small theocratic country Pakistan have done great damage to the pride of big secular country India by terrorizing Mumbai of course as reported with the silent nod of Pakistani authorities and with the full consent of Pakistani militant organizations. India’s stand on accusing Pakistan is not wrong but to punish Pakistan for this wrong India need not go for a military war against Pakistan. While writing these lines we already got the news that Pakistani Government has already arrested few major elements involved in sending the 10 terrorists to Mumbai. This action Pakistan could have easily taken earlier itself instead of waiting for America and India and other European countries to press for it. The war India must wage against Pakistan should be the war of “public opinion” by campaigning all around the globe against Pakistani inaction and also its silence on the promotion of terrorism against India. This campaign should be internationalized with the main focus on Islamic countries some of which are blindly supporting Pakistan by virtue of being a colleague in OIC. Those Islamic countries blindly supporting Pakistan just because Pakistan is a Muslim country should be told in strong words that supporting terrorism is going against the teachings of Islam. This should be known to all the Muslim terrorists and their godfathers in a very louder voice and with regular intervals

In this respect, the top Muslim Hindi Film actors and directors must produce Hindi Films where the message should go clearly and loudly that killing of innocent people is against their religion of Islam. These Muslim terrorists should be educated on their own religion and its real teachings. Muslim Terrorists and Pakistani Muslim terrorists in particular are misguided in the name of their religion by their false religious leaders. Hindi Film industry is having a mass following not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Muslim countries. Hindi Film industry Muslim giants like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and others must try to educate their fellow Muslims of the folly of their terrorist Muslims are committing in the name of their religion and thereby bringing bad name for their religion. It is now proved beyond doubt that all terrorists in our areas are Muslims. I pity these Muslim terrorists because they are misguided by their cunning Muslim leaders in their respective areas.

Indira Gandhi may be wrong in many aspects but she was a very clever political tactician. When General Yaha Khan of Pakistan let lose terror in East Pakistan, flood of refugees from East Pakistani entered India and created chaos in India. Before going for war which India wanted to avoid, as a preventive measure for war, Indira Gandhi sent as her emissary the then Foreign Minister of India, Sardar Swaran Singh to all the Islamic countries and many other European, American and Asian countries as well to explain the view point of India and the folly of Pakistan against East Pakistan because of which India was the victim. Muslim countries and major world powers were forced to tell Pakistan to behave well but yet Pakistan failed and when it failed to control itself, India went for all out war and then the history as we all know, with the birth of a new nation called Bangladesh.

Now it is time again for India to send its intelligent emissary to all around the globe especially to all the Islamic countries asking them to put pressure on Pakistan in silencing Islamic terrorists and their activities from Pakistani soil. Let all the brothers of Pakistan in religion know the consequences of encouraging terrorists in Pakistan. It is these terrorists and their violent form of terrorism that create a bad image of the otherwise great and peaceful religion of Islam. We must also understand one thing that some of the Muslim countries and societies by encouraging and supporting Muslim fundamentalists and Muslim terrorists finally themselves became victims of their own deeds. Pakistan is no exception. By encouraging Muslim militants Pakistan itself became the victim of its own deeds. It lost its own great leader and Prime Minister in making Benazir Bhutto thru the deadly weapons used by Pakistani Muslim militants only. The bombing of Marriot Hotel in Pakistan was an act of Pakistani Muslim Militancy. Besides, almost every other day we see so many Pakistani Muslims are killed by the bullets and bombs of Pakistani Muslim militants only. According to information, almost every segment of Pakistani society is infiltrated by local terrorists and militants. Nobody can say for sure where Pakistan is heading for. Will Pakistan survive as a civilized nation of Muslims for which it came into being or will it disintegrate into smaller pieces under terrorist leaders? Mohammed Ali Jinnah must be crying in his grave over the events taking place in his own Pakistan for which he did so much. His ambition was not to see Pakistan a breeding ground for terrorists. All those Muslims extremists and terrorists who are killing people in the name of their religion are going against the wishes of Jinnah who was a real secular minded man and not a Muslim fanatic though he supported Islam.

While putting pressure on Pakistan to follow our dictates we must also see the capability of Pakistan to do what exactly we want it to do. In some remote areas in Pakistan there are parallel Governments running. Islamabad Government has got very little or no power over these tribal areas. That in response to our and US demands Pakistan has acted swiftly is a great relief. It all happened because Pakistan currently is ruled by the decent, civilian and democratically elected Government. This government surely understands the language of decency thru public opinion created internationally. And in this respect, US has to put heavy pressure not only on current Government of Gilani and Zardari but more on the Pakistani Military which is on record to kill the democratically elected Governments in Pakistan because Pakistani Military has its own ulterior motive. Prominent Indians in US who got great clout over American administration must try to influence US Government in supporting the viewpoint of India. By using their clout, only 10% of American Jews succeeded in getting what they want in support of Israel otherwise Israel would have been wiped out of the Middle East by the Arabs and Muslims. Hence, the need of creation of public opinion in support of India’s requirement is imperative and thru it campaign against sheltering of terrorists in Pakistan.

A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.