30 Oct 2021 | 04:49am IST
A Tribute to Adv. Mario de Loyola Furtado
On the occasion of his 75th death anniversary, he is remembered
The greatness of a man lies not in
what he takes but what he gives to the
society, on this Platinum jubilee year, the citizens of Chinchinim, fondly
remember the cherished memory of their much loved prominent citizen Adv. Mario
de Loyola Furtado. Reminiscing with nostalgia the grand era gone by,as related
to us by our elders. Born on 26 April 1913 in the aristocratic family of Loyola
Furtado’s to a famous father, politician and popular physician Dr. Miguel de
Loyola Furtado who sacrificed his own life to save the people from the bubonic
plague hailing from Chinchinim and Maria Julieta de Loyola, the niece of the
famous intellectual and politician Jose Inacio de Loyola from Orlim who fought
for the civil rights and freedom of Goa.Adv.Mario was born at thesea-side
summer villa of the family at Fatrade, Varca,Adv.Mario was educated at the
seminary of Rachol as it was customary at that time, the best education and
morals were imparted at the seminary, it is said that one could not make an
impressive statementor win a logical argument without the knowledge of
Latin,Adv. Mario continued his further studies at the Liceu National Afonso de
Albuquerque. Later Mario studied law and practiced law and as I was told, was a
brilliant audacious lawyer and practiced in the QuepemCourt for several years,
earned name and fame for himself, however his passion was journalism,the Loyola
Furtado family had a long history of journalism,the family published a
newspaper titled ‘ A India Portuguesa’ where Adv. Mario used to writeregularly
giving awareness to the Goan citizens about their civil rights, the blue ink
that flowed from the pen to paper was like the extension of his blue blooded
journalistic DNA that runs in the veins of the Loyola-Furtado family.The
newspaper ‘ A India Portuguesa’was considered the ‘Vox populi’ of the time and
the mouth piece of the revolutionary party ‘Partido Indiano’founded by the late
Dr Jose Inacio de Loyola of Orlim,the man who led the protest against rigging
of elections in Margao where 23 people were killed in firing by the Portuguese
at the church square. He was also a prolific writer and a close friend of late
Mr.Egdo Dessai the editor of the newspaper ‘O Bharat’,even as a student
Adv.Mario wrote on the daily ‘Diario da Noite’, he wrote in general under the
pseudonym “Manuel da rua “.Adv. Mario was a patriot, advocate for civil
liberties and a crusader for the freedom of speech and expression, a liberal
thinker who would hire and exhibit dramas called ‘Khell Tiatr’ from the balcão
(elevated entrance/balcony) of his palatial home during carnival and other
festive occasions, even today the large patio in front of the house is used for
public and political meeting; the ‘Khel Tiatr’ sometimes used to be obliquely
critical of Portuguese colonial policies. Much feared and yet admired by the
Portuguese the Furtado family was granted the distinguished title of ‘Morgados’
a noble status. Adv. Mario created name and fame for himself specially in the
Court of Quepem which caught the attention of the Portuguese authorities and he
was invited and nominated for the post of ‘Vogal da Comissão Administrativa do
Conçelho de Quepem.,much respected and admired by his colleagues.When beloved
Adv. Mario passed away on 30-10-1946 at an early age of 33 ,the president of
the comissão and its’ vogais ‘(councilors) held a condolence meet and passed a
resolution soon on 20 November 1946, lamenting the premature loss of their most
promising colleague. Focusing on his early life (as narrated by our elders) he
was a handsome elegant lad more than six feet tall, bon vivant, would attend
parties and dances and be the center of attraction at all times, he was a very
good entertainer full of humor, with his imposing personality he could swagger
into any gathering with an aura of exuberance and become the fulcrum of the
conversation, he was the apple of everyone’s eye specially the ‘Senhoritas’, he
eventually landed in the land of the Kadambas Chandor, originally known as
‘Chandrapur’ the old capital city of Goa and married Dona Aninhas Fernandes a
very beautiful lady ,very charming and attractive who I would describe as a
natural beauty with silken skin, chubby cheeks and dimple chin,coming from an
aristocratic family of Chandor, from a palatial house known as ‘Voddlem Ghor’ ,
that has secret underground chambers leading to the Kushavati river, and
ancestry to the Kadambas. TheLoyola-Furtado family hadthree boys who all grew
very tall and handsome Mick, Rajendra and Guido, could be called the three
musketeers, at present only the youngest Guido is surviving. Adv. Mario’s
childreninherited the genes of social service, serve before self andassociated
with foundation called ‘THE CHINCHINIM SOCIAL SERVICE’ consisting of prominent
citizens of Chichininim and constructed an imposing hall in a prime centrally
located place in front of their palatial house which includes a well-stocked
library and ample space for social gatherings, the hall was inaugurated on his
birthdate25th April 1988 at the handsthe then Governor Dr. Gopal Singh, blessed
by bishop Dom José Colaço and the bust unveiled by Hon. Law minister late Adv.
Sheik H.Hassan. Well attended by prominent people.The hall is called “ADV.MARIO
DE LOYOLA FURTADO MEMORIAL. The library is well frequented by readers of daily
newspapers and has a large collection of books,recently it has been refurbished
with Konkani books and sizable collection of books for the children. Adv. Mario’s
life was short but his grand legacy will live forever.The legendary words
inscribed on the foundation stone”Em teus filhos frutifique a lição,/que
deixaste da bondade,/Vivam eles o teu coração,/Vivam eles a tua caridade.
A
tribute of love and admiration from Adv.Agnelo Furtado, Chichinim.
