Marius Fernandes had one thing on his mind for a few years now and as he was wrapping up
with the festivals before leaving Goa, he was relieved to finally fulfil this
wish, organising a festival for Joel D’Souza. A noted photojournalist, writer
and cultural researcher, Joel D’Souza from Siolim was the must-go-to-person for
information on Goa. “I first met Joel in 1984, when he came to my home in Divar
and I showed him the work I was doing in England for Goa. I met him again in
2000 when I told him that I am interested in working on theatre, tiatr and
football. He always replied saying ‘let’s do it’. He always asked me to do a
fest in Assagao, which didn’t happen when he was alive. I was happy when Edwin
and Ida Fonscea and their daughter, Alcina, suggested that we have a festival
at their Hotel Astoria, Assagao. It was like fulfilling Joel’s wish,” says
Marius, the man behind the festival.
JOELachem Fest was held at Hotel Astoria, where students of
Assagao Union School, Government Primary School and El Shadai, all from Assagao,
performed together with students of Nirmala Institute of Education. Goan
personalities like Carlos Gonsalves, Oluv Rodrigues, Cliszma da Costa and
others joined in the celebration with music and dance. SFX School, Orijit
Sengupta, Alexyz, Daniel D’Souza, Clarice Vaz brought to light what Joel held
dear to his heart.
Alcina Fonseca is proud of her fellow villager. “Joel was the
one who brought the news of Assagao to light. He was our dear friend and our
neighbour. He was special as he was a silent worker and his work spoke for him.
His hard work is still underrated. He was a villager of Assagao and we are
happy that we could host the festival in Assagao in his memory,” she says.
Noted cartoonist Alexyz has very fond memories of his village
companion, who he used to accompany for every cultural event across Goa. “We
initiated the Festival of Plants and Flowers at SFX School, Siolim in 1992,
which will be successfully completing 26 years this year. He approached Miguel
Braganza of the Botanical Society of Goa and decided to organise a similar
festival under the Green Heritage banner. We were also the founders of Eco
Treks along with Durgadas Parab and when we completed 100 treks, I broke down
remembering Joel, who was no longer with us. Joel was my “Discovery Channel” of
Goa as he knew almost every village; I learnt a lot from him. I used to travel
with him to enhance my knowledge of the traditions and cultures of Goa and we
had a lot of things in common. Since we lost him, I think I have a deficiency
of vitamin D, as I am hardly moving out of the house without my friend and
village companion,” says Alexyz, who especially designed a poster in memory of
Joel.
Balcao-cheo
Gozzali was hosted by Daniel F D’Souza and Alister Miranda, who spoke to
Tomazinho Cardozo, Miguel Braganza and Bonaventure D’Pietro, among a few who
knew and worked closely with Joel. “Joel was the nicest person I knew as he
never knew the word ‘no’. I learnt to research under his guidance. He was the
village voice and I tagged along with him on his village trips. Being helpful
was second nature to him and this fest was a tribute to a great friend of ours.
It included everything he loved about village life – pottery, plants, music,
etc. He was a Goan encyclopaedia as he knew the inner most areas of Goa. He was
a treasure trove of Goan wealth and he was the first photojournalist with equal
flair in English and Konkani writing,” states Alister, a noted journalist.
