A journey into the heart of Goa
Kudos Team O Heraldo. Through your esteemed newspaper it’s really impressive to learn about different people from different arenas of life, as how they have been sustaining their business or their old craft. Time and again, we are bombarded about the lifestyle of the rich and famous, thus feigning ignorance about the common men. The news articles/testimonies presented in the column ‘A journey into the heart of Goa,’ are really enlightening. It is good to know how veteran entrepreneur Soida Haider survived his old craft and had to change it as per the norms of modern times. Furthermore, also how Sunanda Parshekar has sustained traditions by selling the local sal-dati and Moira bananas in the Mapusa market. Then we have Lawrence Rodrigues, the toddy tapper or coconut climber of Siolim and his journey towards sustaining his ancient art which is fast fading. Certainly, reading their testimonies really enhances one’s self esteem.
Keep it up Team O Heraldo and looking forward for many more stories like these.
Joseph Savio Desouza, Rajasthan
Alarming rise in school dropout rate
The State Government must see that every child enrols and completes his/her education. The dropout rates in schools are a matter of concern. However, a section of students end up losing interest in or are forced to drop out of schools. The government must do door-to-door survey across the state. It was also been reported that lakhs of children’s are out of schools and anganwadis in the state. Parents should be counselled so that they also value their child’s education. Education empowers the younger generation with historical knowledge and contemporary tools to shape the future and is the cornerstone for human advancement towards building a wholesome society. The recent survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) states that 33 per cent of girls drop out of school due to domestic work and 25 per cent due to marriage. These issues need to be addressed and must ensure that that all children are enrolled in schools and complete their education. The state must take special steps to reduce the dropout rate. The government must complete the work of bringing dropout children back into the mainstream school education on an expeditious basis. From Ward level and Panchayat mapping of children outside the purview of school education should be done. The government wants to achieve 100 per cent Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) at the school level by 2030 as targeted in the new National Education Policy and considers dropout as a hindrance. Hence these steps are necessary.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Scaling the heights of tradition
This has reference to the report ‘From scaling trees to fermenting vinegar……..’ (O Herald June 19, 2023). In this modern world where we are witnessing modern technology taking over almost all the tasks, we humans have been doing all along, this man, Lawrence Rodrigues truly stands out a one-man army. Lawrence seems truly rooted in the soil. How else would you find him scaling trees for tapping toddy, an art fraught with dangers? He needs to be commended for keeping alive the traditional art. Many of us love toddy but we are not willing to climb the coconut tree. Lawrence rightly laments, the youth of today are unwilling to learn. The outside world beckons and is too strong to get people back to tradition. The tribe of the likes of Lawrence are shrinking in this modern world. The question posed by Lawrence is frightening, ‘how will we preserve our tradition like this?’
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
The spirit of São João
The feast of St John the Baptist, or Sao João, will take place in a few days. It features the exciting episode of grownup males jumping into the village wells. Tradition has it that the feast’s provenance comes from the incident in the Bible where the baby in Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth’s womb, jumped for joy when she is greeted by her. As we all know, the feast of Sao João is a village level event, bringing together the youth and residents and celebrated in a community spirit. So why is it being promoted as part of the state’s tourism narrative? A hand bill that I saw suggests this. It says, ‘Get wet with the hottest band & DJs 12 noon to 6 pm’. The Sao João feast is now party time.
It’s time to keep village traditions, strictly at village level and one that respects the local customs. Why does everything have to submit to the overarching and tourism calendar? We can certainly look for other ways to bring in tourist money — walking trips, museum tours and birding?
. Let’s celebrate the festival not by jumping into a well but trying to clean them up, and use them for what they have been designed for. The spirit of John the Baptist should not be violated by crass commercialism but rather seen as an opportunity to offer thanks for wells that nourish people of all backgrounds.
Brian De Souza, by email
Caring more to prevent diseases
While millions in the world are variously affected by not only the geo-political impact of inflation and high costs of living, it would be appropriate to deliver a quantum of solace to people, who may have been lucky not to contract severe diseases such as various cancers, diabetes, hypertension and serious cases affecting other organs by cautioning that lifestyles as is led by most men and women could be the reason why diseases affect people.
It is normally known that youngsters, especially up to between the ages of 10 to 12 years have a perfect system of bodily functions that mostly are not susceptible to the ravages of diseases, so if these conditions can be extended by 10 to15 years more, it would be prudent to believe that they will not contract diseases for some time It is imperative to believe that the human body also depreciates with time but to a lesser extent in a more vibrant immune conditions.
In the present circumstances it would be a huge solace if people in general and especially the younger ones can extend their period of robust immunity and thus keep diseases at bay. Lethargy should be replaced with activities especially outdoor ones that build up a robust immunity. Avoiding medical bills would be a huge source of savings in these difficult times.
Elvidio Miranda, Panjim
What did HJS do for Goa’s Liberation?
Soon after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said it was “time to wipe out signs of the Portuguese”, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) has come up with an idea of making a film, ‘Goa Files’, on the so called atrocities committed on Hindus during the Portuguese rule in Goa.
Our 50 years old CM was not even born, when Portuguese left Goa so he has a big task to study the legacy of the Portuguese in Goa. The HJS, rather than proposing a film on the atrocities on Hindus during the Portuguese would do better to tell Goans, if they did anything for the Liberation of Goa or are just here since their birth in 2002 to provoke and spread communal and religious hatred.
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear. So perhaps the above statements of our CM and HJS. Goa has a long tradition of peaceful co-existence and boasts of a healthy bond between Hindus, Catholics, Muslims and other religious minorities. Goans should not get carried away with such news of fanaticism and divisiveness. Let us stay with our tradition of building bonds of friendship and harmony.
G R Crasto, Navelim
