SALA BANCHOT CULTURE.

After my interaction with different communities and nationalities, my conclusion is that we Goan community is the best culturally, traditionally and historically though due to the swallowing of Goa by Bharat in December 1961 Goa is changed a lot.  This change came because of the influx of non-Goans from Bharat into our Goa with their harsh and dirty cultural, traditional and historical habits.  This foreign culture is called “SALA BANCHOT” culture implanted on Goa on the very first day when uninvited Bharati troops without consulting us ousted Portuguese from Goa.  The first Bharatis who entered Goa came by uttering all the vulgar and rough words and harsh statements, main being “Sala Banchot”. When those Bharatis uttered this statement it created a chilling effect and negative energy all around Goa.

The early Bharati teachers in the post December 1961 period who came to Goa as teachers in English schools from other parts of Bharat brought this Sala Banchot culture in Goa and passed it on to Goan students.  When Fr. Mendonca the then principal of Arpora School noticed this from one Malyali Hindi teacher in 1963, he terminated his service and said Arpora school should not recruit any such teachers because they are spoiling our Goan students who are culturally very rich. Moreover, said Fr. Mendonca the accent of Malyalis being unEnglish our Goan students get confused to follow their teaching. If you carefully observe the discipline and character of the Goans born and brought up after 1961 December, you will see them having lot of vulgar and harsh Bharati habits which are foreign to Goa.

A few days back a small Goan boy who was a student of primary school while discussing something with his colleague when they were going to school, without any shame loudly uttered a  statement saying “You Sala Banchot”. This Goan boy is studying in the same school where “Ghantti” students outnumber Goans because in that locality there reside many Ghanttis and they enrolled their children in the Church run school in that locality.  These Ghantti students by virtue of being Ghanttis are known for their bad habits and rough terminology which our Goan students also learn and acquire from them to use as routine thereby prostituting decent Goan culture.

It is a pity that our children are become victims of the bad habits of Ghanttis.  Culturally compared to Goans, Ghanttis are very backward but unfortunately by acquiring their bad habits our Goan children also become bad and for this reason the Goan generation developed after the exit of Portuguese from Goa are totally different in character from those Goans developed earlier. 

Even many of the priests born and brought up after December 1961 are harsh and corrupt compared to those of earlier period.  Because they are so, they misuse their priestly facilities by indulging themselves in corruption and many times vomiting Serpentine venom from the Altar as if the holy Altar is the kingdom of Satan. They are Satanic priests.

Many of the Goan parents of school going children where Ghantti students are also studying,  are in a rude shock to see their children  acquiring all the bad habits of Ghantti children and a few of the parent  are even thinking to remove their children from the present schools and enroll them elsewhere.  But where else they will find Ghantti – free schools  in Goa?  Almost all the schools in the villages are filled with Ghantti children and their money power is greater than that of Goans. Not only Goan schools are filled with Ghantti students but also Goa is filled with Ghanttis.  Not only this, even the air Goans inhale in Goa is filled with Ghantti smell.  Goa is Ghantti-ised with a SALA BANCHOT CULTURE.

A.     Veronica Fernandes,

                                    Candolim,
                                        Goa.         

WILL OUR CHURCH HELP THE NEEDY FAITHFUL?

According to the observation, once a year Catholic clergy receives bounty in the form of money.  This is the Cash money clergy receive from the huge amount of Church collection done from Maundy Thursday till Easter Sunday. One of the “Sankistao” recently told me that he found the job of counting this money very tiresome because the amount was in lakhs. He was also frank in confessing that he keeps for himself at least 10 thousand rupees every year which he claims as his illegal annual bonus, of course clandestinely but with the silent nod of his equally guilty Pe. Vigar.  

In Kuwait a few of those who count this money are become rich in a similar manner as our Sankistao because such amount collected in Kuwait is too big. All those faithful who contribute their mite and tithes to the Church in the name of God must also know that their hard earned money many times goes into the pockets of Devils and sometime their contribution in such a manner create robbers out of holy  men because money tempts even the disciple of Christ. 

There are some Churches during this season look like minting money and finally where this money goes nobody knows because there is neither accountability nor transparency. This huge collection done in certain Churches indicates the financial affluence of the faithful from those villages and also the generosity of the faithful to contribute their mite. However, if the faithful think that the notes and coins they put in the Collection Box in their Churches go to the good use then they are sadly mistaken because the Church authorities are silent on this.  They neither clearly indicate where this money goes nor disclose after what this money is spent.  In view of this the doubting Thomasses strongly feel that the utility of this money collection is done for wrong purposes and this opinion of the Thomasses will never change until the Church authorities come out with clear answer.

There is a saying in Konkani “Piddeacho uzo ani Padrichi zodd kollona kaim”.

 According to one observation the luxurious purchases of some of the Pe. Vigars including new cars are done immediately following the Easter Sunday or at least planning for such luxuries are done after Easter based on the cash collection.  Also the money spent on conspicuous consumption by some Pe. Vigars starts after the Easter.  Even their foreign tours are decided after Easter.  Not only this, the expenditure done by their concubines after the Easter clearly point finger to this money.

The collection done during the last holy week till Easter Sunday was in lakhs of rupees in some coastal villages.  If this money either fully or partly used for Damao mission the faithful would have escaped from collecting extra money for Damao mission in which case the faithful would remain without taxing their purses further and as such they could utilize this money for their other necessities.  Our Church has got one very bad habit of taxing the faithful in the name of God and religion.  

Our Church and our Pe. Vigars in our localities could use their religious stature by collecting donations and thru separate collection in the Churches to raise funds to be utilized for the  good of the poor faithful when they fall in dire need of money for major operations such as Heart Surgery, Kidney Surgery, Kidney transplantation, Brain Tumor surgery and other such major surgeries where heavy sum of money is required. Also, Church can easily organize Tiatro shows to raise this fund. 

Will our Goa Church and our Pe. Vigars take initiative to come forward for this welfare and humanitarian activity for the cause of downtrodden faithful in a true Christian way?   

During my long years of stay in Kuwait I have helped many visiting priests to raise funds for their activities in Goa but never ever even once they came to me with a humanitarian proposal as indicated above.  They came with the proposals of collecting funds for the Church ventures only to enrich the Church coffers and their personal pockets.  Never ever they touched the humanitarian issues. One of them even tried to prevent me from collecting fund for Konkani Martyrs when we from Kuwait embarked on this mission, saying instead we should collect fund for his Church school in his village. Inspite of doing so much for them, some of them now in Goa don’t even hello me pretending to be strangers. Is ingratitude your hallmark oh Goan priests?  Believers and other such denominations are also taking care of the material needs of their followers for this reason more and more Catholics are leaving Catholicism and joining them. If Catholic Church and its priests do not change their attitude towards grabbing more and more wealth for them then very shortly Catholicism will thin down from our soil.  The mushrooming of non-Catholic denominations and other sects in Goa is the strong challenge to the arrogance and money greed of the Catholic Church.

 

 

 A.     Veronica Fernandes,

Candolim, Goa.

7507394349.

TIATRISTS REMEMBERED IN APRIL 2014.

 As announced,  the scheduled  monthly meeting  of Tiatr Academy of Goa was held in Panaji on 28.04.14 at 4.30 PM at the Conference Hall, Tiatr Academy of Goa, 2^nd Floor,  Campal Trade Centre, Campal – Panaji, Goa,  to remember the late Tiatro artistes and their contribution in the field of Tiatro who were born in April, namely Jacinto Vaz, A.S. Conception, Nelson Afonso, Thomas Coogan, Champion Alvares, William de Curtorim, Fidelis Fernandes, Souza Boy and Luciano.

 

In the absence of Prince Jacob the president of Tiatr Academy of Goa who was busy with his Tiatro, the meeting was chaired by the Vice President Jose Rose who along with his colleague in the Academy spoke on the said late Tiatrists indicating their contribution in the field Tiatro.

  

 

First & Second From Left: Son & Daughter of Champion Alvares.

 

 

Those who initiated this Academy deserved highest compliments because thru these monthly meetings the memories of the dead Tiatrists are kept alive and thus their contribution to the Konkani Stage is kept immortal. 

 

TAG according to my information is a government funded organization and those who speak on the subject are paid by the TAG and also travelling allowance is paid to the concerned persons participating in these meetings.

 

Since I returned to Goa 4 months back I had the opportunity to attend two such meetings and I found they were very interesting being very informative.  But my regret was that these meetings were thinly attended as seen in the picture, may be because of lack of adequate publicity.  Those who should attend these meetings in bigger number are keeping themselves absent either with  good reason or with laziness. In future the organizers of these meetings must make extra efforts to get more people so that the message is spread far and wide. And if any publicity is required thru this forum, it will be done voluntarily, of course free of charge.

 

Since Champion Alvares was one of the artistes remembered, his son and daughter were given an opportunity to render songs of their late father, of course to the delight of the audience dotted with relatives of the  artistes. Jacinto Vaz’s  son also rendered one verse and one chorus of his late father’s song “GOENCHO RADIO” which was very funny and witty making mockery of All India Radio, Goa. Because of this song which was so popular in Goa during those days, All India Radio, Goa slapped a ban on airing Jacinto Vaz’s songs. Luciano Dias’ wife was presented with a memento.

 

 

 

Rear row, 5th from left Mrs. Luciano Dias.

 

 

William de Curtorim and Luciano Dias were close to me since both of them stayed with me in Kuwait at my residence and because of this  I learnt more of them not only as Tiatrists but also as human beings beyond the Stage forum. Champion Alvares was my very good friend during my College days and I found him very informative on Konkani Stage and on Stage artistes of yesteryears. His one Mando “ISTIMOSAUM ROZACHEM” and one Dulpod “CHANFEA –CHANFEA TUJIM OUDUIM PANAM” indicate genius in him.  Conception was the best artiste whom I saw first time in my life in 1958 singing a solo called “DOL TOMOR” calling upon the locals for a meeting.  It was a comedy solo. During Portuguese time as per my knowledge he was banned from entering any Indian territory because of which he could not go to Bombay to participate in DOIA Tiatro. He came into greater limelight when he played excellent roles in Airestedes Dias’ Tiatro “DOIA” and “SOTH BAVARTACHEM” a few years before Goa was grabbed by Nehru’s Bahrat.

 

 

 

Son of Jacinto Vaz.

 

Nelson Afonso was a solid pillar of Young Stars of Goa which was formed in 1962 and where he was the part of the political trio Con-Nel-Ant.  Thru their Trio songs they terrified Bandodcar’s government and as a matter of interest, Bandodcar was not afraid of all the 12 gigantic UG MLA’s in the Goa Legislative Assembly but was afraid only of this Trio. During Portuguese time Nelson was a member of Stars of Goa Stage where he was singing duets with Anthony D’Souza and since he had female facial resemblance he opted to play the role of a female. Being innovative artiste he first time in Tiatro history introduced “Moving Stage” and later on “Sliding Stage”.  That was the history he made. He wrote many Tiatros but the best among all were NATIONALIST, SALAZAR, ALMAS DO OUTRO MUNDO, GHORABO and DOLOROSA.      

  

                                                            Poor attendance seen above.

A.    Veronica Fernandes,

Candolim, Goa.

Tel: 7507394349.