On September 14, 2014, the roof of Clube Nacional collapsed, ringing in a sad
period for the cultural scene in Panjim. “It was a Sunday. A full part of the
bar and a part of the office collapsed. Thankfully, there were no casualties.
There was leakage on the wall and the structure is more than 100 years old so
the roof gave way. The last function held at the club was the St Anthony dance
in June that year,” says Tony Dias, President of the Clube Nacional Committee.
He further adds, “We immediately had a meeting with all the
members and we decided to repair the club as soon as possible. After we cleared
the NOC from CCP, we started the work. We repaired the premises with the help
of Edcon Builders, patron members and well wishers. We got good sponsors like
Nana Bandekar from Vasco, Dempo, Salgaoacars, Peter Vaz and Albuquerque of
Alcon. We feel very proud and happy to complete the renovation work of the
collapsed area. You can easily see how the place has been changed. We had a
meeting and everyone is happy to have contributed to make it come to life
again. The patterns have changed and we have a little ‘balcao’; this was a
chance to make it look different. The bar side will be functional and we plan
to have one function a week, with Karaoke evenings. The other side will be
renovated by October this year.”
The committee consists of 50 patron members and every occasion
is a need to celebrate at the Clube. Some of the functions that are held at
this venue include World Elders’ Day, Christmas Party for Children, the annual
Litany on August 14 and, most importantly, the annual ballroom dances: New Year
Dance and the Old is Gold dance. While the renovation work was underway, these
functions were held with the same zeal but at a different venue, the Taleigao
Community Hall. The iconic Red and Black dance, a must for the Carnival, was
held at the Samba Square. “Our main dance is the Red and Black dance. Despite
the damage to the premises, we didn’t stop our activities,” says Tony.
On the opening night, the 104-year-old building will be
resonating with new music and enthusiasm. The reopening of the premises will be
held on July 14, 2017 at 7pm with a live band performance by Braz Gonsalves,
one of the best saxophonists in India, his daughter, Sharon, and her husband,
Darryl Rodrigues, and son, Jarryd. Carlos Menezes and Group will entertain the
crowd with Portuguese and Goan songs.
The restaurant on the first floor of Clube Nacional has got a
completely new look with musical instruments mounted on the walls and huge life
size figures of a Goan band above the counter. The restaurant looks more
spacious.
Napoleon
D’Souza has been running his restaurant and bar for the past 38 years. His Goan
snacks, such as sausage breads, rissoles, croquets, pork and beef dishes, are
really famous and he lovingly reminds us that the person behind these bite size
wonders is his wife, Santana. “The restaurant is completely changed with new
designs and more space compared to earlier. The restaurant will continue
serving all Goan dishes in pork, beef and chicken and we still have our
faithful clientele waiting for the place to reopen. I took over this restaurant
in 1979 and my wife is the main person behind this restaurant,” says Napoleon
enthusiastically, looking forward to the formal reopening of the pride of
Panjim, Clube Nacional.
