To keep the culture strong, the language has to have the right foundation and understanding this concept well, the Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society has worked for 25 years to continue with Portuguese classes for young Goans. Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society Goa was formed in Panjim in 1998 to promote understanding of Portuguese Culture, Language between Goa, Portugal and other Portuguese speaking countries. Since then, they have conducted Portuguese classes at Panjim and Margao with special classes are also conducted for school students in Panjim.
Just a few days back, the new committee of the Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society, were elected unopposed for the Governing Body for 2023-2025. The members include Orty Soares as president, Atul Naik as senior vice president, Christopher Menezes as honorary secretary, Ethelvina Bruto Da Costa as joint honorary secretary and Ameet Savio Pinto as honorary treasurer. The vice presidents include Elmano Dias, Francisco Martins and Dr Carmo Gracias and the members are Marlene Meneses, Alexinho Monserrate, Adv Adbrona Vaz e Valladares and Ana Rita Chico, immediate past president. Rene Mendes was elected chairman and Dr Luis Anand Colaco as the secretary of the General Assembly. Ana Rita Chico was the first Lady President associated with Indo Portuguese Friendship Society since 1998.
President Orty Soares has been a member of the society for over 15 years and has grown up with the association in Panjim. “We promote Indo-Portuguese programmes especially the language course that is held from June to December at our premises in Altinho, Panjim and at the Rotary Hall in Margao. We offer Level A1, A2 and B1 courses that is currently being taught by Mariana Nedio, who has come from Lisbon. She has been teaching at the centre for two years now. We are also a part of ‘Momentos Indo-Portugueses 2023,’ and the next event will be an Indo-Portuguese Art exhibition in November and for the finale of ‘Momentos Indo-Portugueses 2023’ we will be having a chef who will be especially flown in from Portugal for the gala dinner in February. We also plan to have a book release by author Mrinalini Harichandran, who was brought up in Portugal and will be releasing her book in Goa in January. Another important event that our members look forward to is the day-long trip to a new place in Goa. The last trip, we took a bus to Palácio do Deão – Quepem. As many members are elderly, they hardly drive to these places on their own and in the company of other members, it makes for an interesting day,” says Orty.
How close are the members of the society? “This is a section of the society who look forward and are committed to us. It is a close knit group of 100-150 members and we don’t go commercial with our events. There is a lot more that can be done and since we have just taken over the committee from October 5, we still have to have our meetings to plan new ideas. I have been a member in different positions in the society and with the two year break during Covid-19, it broke our momentum and now we have to plan more events,” explains Orty.
Dr Carmo Gracias, a noted doctor from Margao was one of the founding members of Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society and reminisces the early days. “Right from the beginning, almost 30 years back, Dr Jorge and I brought up this idea together. We used to meet in hotel lobbies for our meetings and write down the minutes of the meetings on paper and distribute the copies to the other members. I am glad to be the vice president of the current committee,” says Dr Carmo.
He further adds, “The society is still strong because we have Portuguese classes for children above the age of 13 years. These children are keeping the language alive in the state and secondly, it keeps us, Portuguese speaking community together. There are many Hindu children who are attending the classes and the number of Goan Catholics are dwindling. These children are not only learning the language but also learning to sing Fados and performing for an audience. The best example are the Prabhudesai sisters, Shrusti and Swara from Vasco. Fundacao Oriente is also doing a lot of Portuguese programmes and the Consulate-General of Portugal in Goa also supports us but not finanacially.”
Marlene Meneses is a member of the Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society and is excited to start working with the newly elected committee. “One of the first big events will be the Annual X’mas Dine & Dance in December followed by the annual traditional ‘Noite Indo-Portuguesa’ Dine & Dance in April. Besides, these nights that bring the association members together, there are other events that are planned through the year. Our Portuguese classes are also doing well as the Consulate-General of Portugal in Goa helps us in getting the teachers to Goa,” says Marlene.
Francisco Martins from Ribandar is one of the vice presidents of Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society and has been associated with the tight knit committee for almost two decades. He was also the cchairman of the Executive Committee of the tenth edition of Semana da Cultura Indo Portuguesa (Goa). Francisco represented Goa at the Expo 98 in Portugal, Lusofonia Festival in Macau and even at Lusofonia Festival in Goa at the Fatorda stadium. “I have been a member of the association for many years and though the members might be in their 40s, it is youngsters who are showing interest in the language that is motivating us to keep the association strong. We have teachers who come down from Portugal to train children at the centre in Altinho and they are learning the language beautifully. However, this bond between Portugal and Goa is maintained because of other associations in Goa that work well together like Consulate-General of Portugal in Goa, Fundação Oriente and Semana da Cultura Indo-Portuguesa (Goa),” concludes Francisco Martins.
