Indian expat group to hold cultural event in Qatar

Indian expat group to hold cultural event

A cultural programme will be staged by members of the Goan community on September 30 to mark World Goa Day celebrations.
Goans worldwide observes August 20 as World Goa Day to commemorate the inclusion of Konkani in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution.
The local organisers, Goans Welfare Association (GWA) decided to postpone the event to September 30 owing to Ramadan. “Moreover, a large number of our community members were on vacation in India on August 20,” said GWA president Simon D’Silva.
At the September 30 event, two books on Konkani language and its people: Konkani Cholchitram and Into the Diaspora Wilderness will be formally launched.
Konkani Cholchitram is a book by Isidoro Dantas on Konkani films from 1950 to 2009. Selma Carvalho is the author of Into the Diaspora Wilderness.
On World Goa Day, Goans remind themselves of the need to work to preserve their culture, music, history, language, cuisine, and art for their children, the non-Goan community and for posterity, said D’Silva..
At the World Goa Day celebrations last year in Doha, an easy-to-learn Konkani language familiarisation book by Mathew Almeida was unveiled by Brazilian Ambassador to Qatar Anuar Nahes, recalled D’Silva.
Members of the community received copies from the ambassador, he said.
While urging the members of the country’s Goan community to teach Konkani to their children, GWA president said the forum has enough study material for those intending to learn the language and also to improve language skills.

Goan language and culture to depict World Goa Day 2010 celebration in Qatar

Goan language and culture to depict World Goa Day 2010
celebration in Qatar


The Goan Welfare Association (GWA), Qatar is in full swing in their preparation for the World Goa Day 2010 celebration to be held on 30th September 2010 from 9 pm onwards at the Rayyan Gardens.


A colourful cultural programme will be staged to mark the celebration followed by launching of two Konkani books named “Konknni Cholchitram”, a book on Konkani films history starting from 1950 (Mogacho Anvddo) to 2009 (Mogachi Zor) by Isidoro Dantas and a Book by Selma Carvalho “Into The Diaspora Wilderness”. These two books are recently launched in Goa. Goans in Qatar can obtain a copy of it through GWA members after it’s launch.



Goans based in different countries celebrate World Goa Day in Solidarity on 20th August to commemorate inclusion of Konkani in the eighty schedule of the Indian constitution. But some will schedule their observance of the international event on a date best suited to their communities. On GOA DAY, Goans will remind themselves of the need to work to preserve their culture, music, history, language, cuisine, and art for their children, the non-Goan community and for posterity.



It is a wonderful movement that have started and the Goans who are working at various levels and in various fields connected with the nurturing of the Goan identity and development of the Konkani language are overjoyed about the success of this movement. On GOA DAY, Goans remember 1992, when the two Houses of the Indian Parliament unanimously voted and approved an amendment to include our mother tongue Konkani in the eight schedule of the Constitution of India, thus according it national status. It is also a day where Goans world-wide join in SOLIDARITY to celebrate being a GOAN, said Simon D’Silva, president of the association.



Last year on World Goa Day occasion, an easy-to-learn Konkani language familiarization book written by Fr. Mathew Almeida and published by Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr was unveiled at the hands of Brazilian Ambassador to Qatar HE Anuar Nahes and around twenty five copies were obtained by the community members through Goan Welfare Association. GWA has enough study material for those trying to learn Konkani or improve upon their language skills. Goan Welfare Association urge community members to teach their children Konkani language. Teaching and imparting training in Konkani language may not help our children to get jobs, but it will not make us poor, but will enrich our future generations with a treasure trove of our language," added D’Silva.

Having achieved unprecedented success in previous years, GWA invites it’s members and Goan community to an evening filled with fun, music, cultural programme, games and attractive prizes. More details can be had by phoning 55550491 / 66828980.

GWA continues Goan Overseas Association’s (GOA’s) concept of organizing World Goa Day since 2003 even after it’s merger with GWA and also Annual May Queen Ball from 2001. The Eleventh Annual May Queen Ball 2011 will be held on 5th May 2011. More upcoming events and community welfare activities will be announced shortly.



http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/127238-goans-in-qatar-to-celebrate-goa-day.html


26/09/2010

Gulf Goans Cup 2010 in Dubai

(Source: Organizers)

- As forwarded to gaspar almeida, www.goa-world.com

Revival of “DOHA GOANS SPORTS CLUB“ in Qatar

Revival of “DOHA GOANS SPORTS CLUB“ in Qatar


DOHA GOANS SPORTS CLUB, a prestigious Goan Club in Qatar which had ceased to function was revived during an Open Forum held on Friday, 9th July 2010 at the Conference Hall of the Doha Municipality Building, Doha, Qatar.

The Convener, Antonio Vaz, in his opening address thanked the Qatar Government authorities, the ex-Presidents and the Committee Members of the various other clubs which existed then and over 200 members who attended the Open Forum. Vaz emphasized the need to revive the club for the welfare of the Goan Community in Qatar including the youth who excel in various social, cultural and sports arenas.



The President, Ambrosio Dias, in his introductory speech said:
“Today, let us all be honest and ask ourselves; do we Goans truly have One Goan Club for the welfare of our Goan Community in the State of Qatar”? Having recalled the great and glorious good times of the past, the result of sincere and dedicated hard work of many of the Goans in Qatar, he pointed out that the involvement and activities of the Goan Community in Qatar had slowly come to a halt and had to be
revived."

Ambrosio further mentioned the names of over twenty Goans who had agreed to become the DOHA GOANS SPORTS CLUB Revival Team Members by contributing additional funds for the creation of an Operating Cash Flow for the Club. Having met for several weeks they also unanimously selected the following persons for key positions namely: Chairman Avito Carvalho, Vice President Lubino Soares, Gen. Secretary George Fernandes, P.R.O & Director of Social & Cultural Affairs Maurico Pereira,
Director of sports Collin Fernandes, Financial Controller Gill Cardozo, General
Coordinator Kevin D'Souza, Advisors: Melwin Barreto, Antonio J. Vaz, Mathew Estrocio
and Cultural Secretary Paul Fernandes. These are the core committee to run the affairs of the club for a period of six months. A comprehensive committee shall be formed eventually and will be announced shortly.

The President, Ambrosio Dias, assured that a General Body Meeting would be held during January 2011 to elect a New Committee. “Until then, we ask each one of you to extend your support and cooperation for the love, unity and welfare of our Goan Community in Qatar by supporting the revival of good old DOHA GOANS SPORTS CLUB “, he said. The President thanked everyone and concluded by admiring the courage, hard work and dedication of Mr. Antonio Vaz, Convener for the movement of Revival of DOHA GOANS SPORTS CLUB in Qatar.

During the open Questions & Answers session that followed, all queries were satisfactorily and adequately responded living no room for delay in stepping up the efforts for revival of the club. The Open Forum concluded with a game of Bingo. Prizes were donated by Pheonix Co. Ltd., Mathew Estrocio, Reggie Vaz, Caitan Fernandes, Vincy D’Costa, and Henry Fernandes. Refreshments for all were
sponsored by Kevin D’Souza and Anthony Carvalho.

The day’s program was compared by Paul Fernandes and Mauricio Pereira, PRO and Director for Social and Cultural Affairs, proposed the vote of thanks. Membership of the club stands opened to all Goans living in Qatar.

Doha Goans Sports Club [dohagoanssportsclub@gmail.com]

[Report and pictures as forwarded to goa-world.com]

14/07/2010

One-day workshop on Kitchen Gardening at Goa Chitra

One-day workshop on Kitchen Gardening at Goa Chitra
On 4th July, 2010, Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM

With the number of increasing revelations about the type of chemicals that are laden on our food and the overall effect this has on the environment, Goa Chitra in association with Vardaan Eco-shop, Margao is pleased to announce A one-day workshop on Kitchen Gardening, the organic way on 4th July, 2010, Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm at Goa Chitra, the Museum, St. John the Baptist Road, Pulvado, Benaulim. The workshop will be conducted by Miguel Braganza, Addl. Director, OFAI Secretariat, Mapusa.
The emphasis will be on how to grow vegetables and herbs in your backyard or even in pots using local seed and organic inputs, safe pest control, maintaining soil fertility, water management and composting.
Goa Chitra is an ethnographic museum showcasing the rich traditional, agrarian and cultural past with its main objective of highlighting the wizen ways of our ancestors for posterity. It’s about Stepping back into the past to search for answers that will help the future. At the workshop we shall revive practice that were time tested, convenient, and cheap and environment friendly.
Vardaan, the Eco-shop is an attempt to provide the local community an access to environmentally-safe and ecologically-sensitive products and practices that seem to have almost vanished from the marketplace and our lives in recent years.
Recognising the demand as well as the need for a revival of environmentally sound practices Goa Chitra and Vardaan Eco-Shop are planning a series of workshops for those interested in exploring and sharing a more sustainable and healthy way of life, one that will improve the quality of our lives as well as sustain the environment.
Through these workshops in addition to providing information about environment friendly practices emphasis will be laid on hands-on training.
The workshop fees will include lunch, tour of the organic farm, museum tour by the curator of Goa Chitra, Victor Hugo Gomes and a composting demonstration on contemporary composting methods by Eulalia of Vardaan. For registrations and details contact Eulalia/Vardaan at 9527463684 or Victor Hugo/Goa Chitra at 9850466165/6570877or email at gaochitra@gmail.com.
Future workshops planned are soil management, water management and harvesting, biodiversity, sewage and garbage management for builders and engineers, plant use as pesticides, medicinal plants, environment-friendly small scale industry, etc.

Regards,

Victor Hugo Gomes
House No. 498
Pulwaddo, Benaulim
Salcete, Goa - 403716
mobile:09850466165
landline:0832-6570877
www.goachitra.com

San Joao Festival at Salvador do Mundo (Bardez)

San Joao Festival at Salvador do Mundo

I have just returned home from the fun and frolic of the San Joao Festival at Salvador do Mundo organized by Mario Fernandes and his friends.

The occasion was a great success. There must have been over 200 people present, including foreign tourists. Among the folks I met were Tim DeMello (Toronto), Joel DeSouza, Cecil Pinto, Pamela DeMello -wife of Frederick Noronha, and John Eric Gomes. The crowd was entertained by songs by various artistes and local talent. This was a Green "Eco" event, with no prizes, no alcohol, no competition and no plastic plates or cups.

"Pez" with "Miskut" was served in coconut shells - it was excellent. This was followed by the main course of "Xitt-codi" on banana leaves.

Kudos to the organizers for a well planned and executed event, and my best wishes for continued success in future events.

From: Vivian A. DSouza < socorrokar at yahoo.com >

Sun, June 20, 2010

GOVERNOR OF WEST BENGAL, MR. M.K. NARAYANAN, VISITS GOA CHITRA MUSEUM

GOVERNOR OF WEST BENGAL, MR. M.K. NARAYANAN, VISITS GOA CHITRA, MUSEUM OF THE PEOPLE OF GOA.


Goa Chitra, Goa’s first Ethnographic museum at Benaulim, Goa was graced by the Governor of West Bengal, His Excellency Mr. M.K. Narayanan, on the 30th of May, 2010. The distinguished Governor arrived in the state yesterday as a special guest at the Gomanta Vibhushan award ceremony that was held to honor Dr. Kakodkar at a ceremony held in Panjim. Amidst his tight schedule he made time to visit the Goa Chitra museum, Benaulim. Mr. Narayanan was accompanied by his wife and Ms. Pamela Mascarenhas from the tourism department. On arrival he was welcomed by Mrs. Aldina Gomes, Director of the museum and Ms. Maria Gomes Rebello, Chairperson, South Goa Z.P.

He was taken on a comprehensive tour around the museum by curator Victor Hugo Gomes, taking keen interest in the artifacts and the science behind every agrarian implement as well as other objects in the collection that showcase Goa’s rich cultural past.
His Excellency was very impressed with the sustainable organic farm and how it tied to the museum’s objectives to collect, preserve and pay tribute to Goa's unique heritage for future generations. A former national security advisor, Mr. M.K. Narayanan was fascinated by Victor’s dedication and effort to singlehandedly collect, preserve, and document and display the collection through self funding. In his message the Governor noted the following: “It is amazing what we can achieve with dedication, drive and the support of your family. Goa Chitra is history, philosophy, religion and ecology all worked into one. It is a journey into our ancient past indicating how modern our forefathers were in knowing how environment and nature works. Keep it up”.
Victor explained that the genesis of the museum began many years ago when he started collecting old, discarded implements and tools from attics and storerooms because he was saddened to see reminders of a way of life disappear. But as the collection grew, he was awed by the richness of the culture and heritage that these objects represented, and the knowledge and skills of our forefathers. His quest to collect objects and artifacts led him to travel the length and breadth of Goa, to the remotest of villages, speaking to the village elders, documenting the ethnicity and rituals associated with every item.
The governor expressed his surprise that no local body had taken interest in coming forward to provide funding to the museum." It is an amazing collection that reflects the history, culture, science and technology that prevailed in Goa. This gentleman needs our support and I shall do what I can in my power to support this museum and its ideas.”


Since the opening of the museum on 2nd November 2009, Goa Chitra has been graced by many distinguished guests that include the Union Minister of Tourism, Ms. Kumari Selja , the Governor of Goa, His Excellency Dr. S.S. Sidhu, the Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk, winner of the Man Booker Prize Kiran Desai, astronomer and Padmabhushan Awardee, Dr. Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, Padma Bhushan and renowned Indian poet, lyricist and director Sampooran Singh Kalra Gulzar, eminent Indian poets Dr. Surjit Patar, Prof. Naseem Shafai, Ms. Sukhvinder Amrit, Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Executive Director, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, Union Tourism secretary Mr. Sujit Banerjee etc. To preview the collection Goa Chitra has had over 25,000 people visit the museum and has gained local as well as national media attention. This project is recognised as an international product and has been the recipient of two International awards. The Fundacao Orient scholarship 2009 (Portugal) and the V.X. Verodiano Award 2009 (USA) for persons who preserve the well being of mankind through individual advancement in the field of art, music, literature, science, medicine or humanities.

The museum is open to public on all days except Mondays between 9.00 am to 6.00 pm. For further details call 08326579877, 08322772910, and 09850466165 or email goachitra@gmail.com

Victor Hugo Gomes can be contacted at House No. 498, Pulwaddo, Benaulim, Salcete, Goa - 403716, India
mobile:09850466165 landline:0832-6570877
Email: victor.h.gomes at hotmail.com

Photos by: Pantaleao Fernandes
Info source: goachitra


[As forwarded to gaspar almeida, www.goa-world.com
moderator, gulf-goans e-newsletter (since 1994)]

30/05/2010