Very often, lost in the current
mood of things, people forget there is much to history that we forget. Culture
is a large chunk of who we are and what we define. At times, the merging of two cultures forms a
third, which, in the case of Portugal and
Goa, has been labelled,
for all practical purposes, ‘Indo-Portuguese’. In a time when almost anything
can be misconstrued as non-conformist or anti-national, it seems like the right
time to highlight some of the work being undertaken by certain groups that
promote the links between Goa and Portugal. Some of these include the likes of
Fundação Oriente, Instituto
Camões, Indo-Portuguese
Friendship Society, Communicare Trust and Semana da Cultura Indo-Portuguesa.
Inês Figueira, the Director of Fundação Oriente in India, shares her views on the various activities conducted by the
organisation in Goa, which is paramount to the fostering of linkage between Goa
and Portugal. “One area of great importance that we tackle is aiding teachers
of the Portuguese language, financially, at certain levels. This helps ensure
the teaching of the language, which is important. The language is something we
have also promoted through a short story competition that we have organised. The competition invited
entries in English, Konkani, Marathi and Portuguese, to promote the various
languages spoken in Goa, encouraging the use of Portuguese as one,” she says.
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But there is far more to Fundação Oriente than just the direct
linguistic support it offers;
education is also promoted in alternative forms. For instance, the
organisation offers scholarships for those looking at working on their research
in Portugal, subject to certain terms and conditions. Fundação Oriente also conducts a series
of workshops, with the most recent example being one on cultural preservation
conducted at Sao Miguel in Taleigao. However, there is a large cultural side to
the work that the organisation undertakes.
“We have a series of cultural
programmes that we promote. Art exhibitions are a large part of this, where, very often, we showcase the
work of a Portuguese artist at our premises in Panjim, or we showcase the work
of a local artist that may have an Indo-European theme to it,” Inês goes on to add.
However, what Fundação Oriente has gone on to truly
captivate people with is their iconic competition, Vem Cantar. It has seen the
resurgence of Portuguese music in Goa, with new age music now pushing the
boundaries of old favourites that seemed to be the be-all-and-end-all of
Portuguese music in the state. In recent times, the competition even saw a girl
from Orissa, based in Goa,
take to the stage to perform a Portuguese song. That in itself is a testament
to the validity of the event. The Monte Music Festival is another event of
paramount importance that is brought together by Fundação Oriente. Taking place in both the space before the Capela de Nossa Senhora de Monte in Old
Goa and the chapel itself, the 2-3 day festival is one that has truly impressed
spectators that flock to it.
By and large, a massive chunk of
this cultural preservation comes at the hands of one of Goa’s largest movements
on the Portuguese front, the Semana da Cultura Indo-Portuguesa. The event that started off as a weekly
bonanza has now spawned into something much larger, encompassing a series of
areas, including film, song, dance, cuisine and inter-cultural relations,
amongst others. Every year, the event strives to explore uncharted territory
along these fronts, in the hope that these links and bonds are strengthened.
Pointing out the main area of
focus is Orty Soares, the Chairperson of the committee that organises the
event. “Semana da Cultura Indo-Portuguesa brings together a number of cultural
events in various fields. Among other events, the ‘Fado Competition’ involves workshops and contests for the Goan
youth,” she says.
And when it comes to promoting Portuguese culture on a
musical front, there is but one household name that springs to mind: that of Sonia Shirsat.
Having represented Goa as an exponent of Portuguese music in virtually every
continent, Sonia is no stranger to the promotion of such culture.
“Promoting the fado,
for me, is like promoting any other genre of music. In today’s age, there is a
bit of a linguistic hurdle, with not too many people speaking or, for that matter,
understanding the language. I find that despite Goa’s wealth of talent, there
is also a dearth of specialised musicians who can play the music suited to the
genre. Also, very often, promoting this musically cultural aspect gets deemed
non-patriotic, which is wrong, in my opinion. People need to listen to the
music, for the sake of the music, and then take a call,” Sonia points out.
These various links are, without a doubt, a testament to the bonds that are shared by
both places, and there are similarities between both regions that are uncannily
alike. With the passage of time, there has been a fair amount of loss in terms
of what the bond between the two places signified, and how a third independent
culture was forged by the coming together of Goa and Portugal. The question
that remains is how long these institutions will be able to sustain this
support, and more importantly, whether the individuals that they aim to help through
their initiatives will fully avail of all that they offer.
