GOANVOICE DAILY NEWSLETTER SUN 09 MAY, 2010
Photo Gallery | |||
| Football: Dempo crowned Indian League champions | |||
19 May: Navhind Times. The victorious Dempo Sports Club team members, who were crowned I-League champions after their 1-0 victory over Shillong Lajong FC on Sunday… 272 words. | |||
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| Kenya: Eve De Souza to host Capital breakfast | |||
 7 May: Kenya TV. Eve De Souza and Gaetano Kagwe will be hosting the breakfast
show sometime next month. Eve hosted 'Hits not Homework' before she ventured into
TV where she co-hosts Vibe City … 149 words + photo. Click
here. For the Eve D'Souza ("the shy, pretty seductress") Goan Voice supplement click here | |||
| France: Dr. Edith Melo Furtado: “Palmes Académiques” award | |||
 2 May: Consulate General of France in Bombay. The French Government honours Dr. Edith Melo Furtado, Associate Professor, Dept. of French Studies, University of Goa with the “Palmes Académiques” for her contribution to the promotion of French language and culture in Goa… [Herald photo]. 180 words. | |||
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| London: The Goa History Party | |||
30 Apr. Father Delio Mendonca, Director of St. Xavier’s Institute for Historical Research was briefly in London. Selma Carvalho provides an account of the meeting with him at a party hosted in his honour by Betty Pires, co-founder of Investcorp. The group photograph shows Fr Mendonca with most of those present. | |||
News Summary | |||
| Nuvem priest dies to save 5 parishioners from drowning 10 May: Navhind Times. In a tragic incident, the assistant parish priest of Mae de Pobres Church, Nuvem, Fr Thomas Fernandes died after saving five picnickers. at Galgibaga beach on Sunday… the youths were dragged away by a strong drift current. Fr Fernandes managed to rescue all five but was so exhausted that he collapsed and died … 276 words. Full Text. | |||
| Inside India's international baby farm 9 May: Sunday Times (UK). Childless couples from around the world are travelling to India to have babies by surrogate mothers. They say it’s their last chance and that everyone benefits. Is it a fair trade? Photos + 3285 words + comments. Full Text. | |||
| The Goa Study Group and the ‘Global Goan Knowledge Network’ 9 May: Navhind Times. The Goa Study Group has been formed with the objectives to study the problems faced by the world community … Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Mr Eduardo Faleiro said that he was examining the possibility of creating a ‘Global Goan Knowledge Network’, an electronic platform for transfer of knowledge from Goan expatriates and people of Goan-origin abroad … 673 words. Full Text. | |||
| Yoga and foot baths: the holistic health button in Goa 9 May: The Independent on Sunday (UK). By Harriet Walker. The Total Body Rebalancing Programme at The Beach House in Goa may sound drastic. In some ways, it is. But it is also an ideal combination of high impact, low effort – and it's ultra-effective for people whose idea of "wellness" doesn't involve five hours on a treadmill… 1021 words + photos. Full Text. | |||
| Kuwait: Navelim beat Curtorcares 4-0 to claim NYC Trophy 9 May: Arab Times. Hosts Navelim Youth Centre (NYC) claimed the coveted NYC Trophy for the 7th time beating Curtorcares United 4-0 at the finals played on 30th April 2010 … 841 words + photos. Full Text. | |||
| Savio Monteiro and his Goan Chocolate Factory 30 Apr: Navhind Times. The Goa-born Savio Monteiro, who was based in the Channel Islands off the French coast, opened his first chocolate boutique, Theobroma Cacao in Mapusa and then another called Guanaja at Candolim… “The outlets are not all about just chocolates,” Savio observes, “They are also about a range of breads, pastries, cakes and all kinds of other confectionary... ‘Theobroma Cacao’ is also all set to take the Goan chocolates to US... 545 words. Full Text. | |||
| British group victim of £35m Goa swindle 9 May: Die Welt (Germany). The expected 100 000 visitors to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will have to stay in makeshift tents because of the lack of hotel rooms … This year the British group, Hotel Country India planned to invest more than 40 million euros in a Goa resort. But the deal fell through due to corruption. The sales contracts for the land proved worthless: The title deeds were forged, allegedly with the help of corrupt authorities… 1344 words. Machine translation Full Text. | |||
| WHO THE BLEEP CARES. Weekly column by Selma Carvalho. 80. Who the bleep cares about Goa's St. Xavier's Institute for Historical Research? Betty Pires, co-founder of Investcorp, hosts wonderful dinner parties in London. I like Betty. Despite her success in life as a businesswoman, despite living in several continents and hobnobbing with US presidents, she's never forgotten to champion the cause of Goa. Last week, she threw open the doors of her elegant mansion to host a party in honour of Father Delio Mendonca, Director of St. Xavier's Institute for Historical Research author of the books Conversions and Citizenry and Jesuits in India. Father Mendonca has the sort of forgiving smile one is usually met with at the entrance of Goan baroque churches, with none of the starchiness of a man of cloth. Hearing him speak so passionately about art, archives and the importance of their preservation, I could almost be tempted to return to the fold. He was briefly in London to promote the art collection of Angelo da Fonseca, who, according to a recent article by Professor Teotonio R. de Souza, the former director of the St. Xavier's Institute, perhaps might have not the received the recognition he duly deserves because of questionable links to those close to the Salazar regime, at a time when the relationship between India and Portugal had become hostile because of the Portugal's continued presence in Goa. Angelo da Fonseca was a Christian art painter. Although he shunned the J. J. School of Art, finding it too European for his tastes, his most signature and emblematic painting, The Goan Madonna, to me is strikingly similar to the art of the much celebrated Mexican artist, Diego Rivera. Rivera was a staunch communist and had studied art in Spain as a young man, being strongly influenced by European modernists and the imagery of Spain. Although Angelo da Fonseca might have consciously sought to escape European influences, the Iberian influence of telling stories with stark images and the vivacity of bold colours seems to have been part of his Goan psyche. Vivek Menezes, writer, art patron and closely associated with the St. Xavier's Institute, tells us that Angelo was in fact shunned by the Catholic Church in Goa. The Catholic mouth-piece, the Examiner newspaper, denounced him as "pagan". But, in latter years, the artist found support among the European Jesuits in India and his entire collection is now in the custody of the Jesuit-run St. Xavier's Institute. This reclaiming of Fonseca is also an indication of the evolution of the Catholic Church in Goa. The Fonseca collection, though, needs a formal gallery to house it. It is reassuring that Goans are finally taking themselves seriously. In the midst of all the political pessimism, a grass-root struggle is taking place to save our environment and artistic heritage. The indigenous art and writings of the Goan have remained largely unknown, not just to the world but even to us. We have not had the platform needed to make them visible. This talent is only now coming out of the dusty, airless attics it has been lying for years. The St. Xavier's Institute is also a repository of countless manuscripts and rare books, a trail of our history and in fact that of several other countries has been left for us within the temperature-controlled walls of the St. Xavier's Institute. Geographical historian, Cliff Pereira, who was at the party, explained how the Institute houses historical manuscripts which tell of our trading relationships with the Middle East and as far as Macau. How men from our Goan villages engaged in global trade with foreign countries, when the very word globalisation itself would be coined many centuries later. Colonisation never robbed the Goan of his ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Our self-respect in our historical past is waiting to be discovered in the yellowed-pages of these archives. As the evening came to a grudging end, as light kisses on the check wished each other good-bye, as multiple hands grabbed at the coats from the coat-closet and promises to keep in touch rang loud, I couldn't help feeling proud that I am Goan, that my history and artistic heritage was as rich and varied as that of London itself, which boasts of being one of the most impressive historical cities of the world, that the preservation of the St. Xavier's Institute of Historical Research was an important task entrusted to us and that it behoves us as Goans to offer whatever support we can. Father Mendonca is planning an exhibition of the Agnelo da Fonseca collection, first in Lisbon and then, hopefully if there is enough support, in London. For a video clip (6m. 09s.) of Father Delio Mendonca giving a tour of St. Xavier's Institute, click here. For a photo at the event click here. Do leave your feedback at carvalho_sel@yahoo.com | |||
