Revival of ‘Golden–Era’ celluloid scenes!
In an incident of one of its kind, the dead person from Agacaim returned back home after 2 months. What a wonder! In the past, the unknown body was identified, and it was even laid to rest with due respect. No doubt, it becomes very difficult to identify a deteriorating body, especially with some sort of common marks upon it. Yes, none are perfect and human errors do occur. Moreover, it could have been an immense deal for the lost person, aged 59, from Agacaim, to face the challenges of life, and ultimately make his way back home, after a long gap of 2 months.
Coincidentally, the ‘Golden-Era’ celluloid world witnessed such type of scenes on the silver-screen, wherein the ‘mother role’ played by ‘Nirupa Roy’, in which she happen to encounter such type of surprises, wherein her ‘reel husband/children’ were being found alive and vice-versa; after they had faced separation during their initial phase of life. However, the current scenario is in no way a ‘reel life’, but a ‘real life’ encounter, and seems to be like a revival of the ‘Golden-Era’ celluloid scenes. Subsequently, it’s also a time of celebration for the said family on a happy note, and also an eye opener to everyone.
Joseph Savio Desouza, Candolim
Braille displays will assist visually impaired
January 4, 2024 was observed as ‘World Braille Day’. Recognizing the paramount role of Braille in education, communication, and social inclusion, the United Nations designated 4 January each year as ‘World Braille Day’. This day holds special importance as it marks the birthday of Louis Braille, the visionary inventor of the Braille script. Louis Braille once said “Braille literacy is equal to print literacy, and literacy is what makes people equal.” The theme of the World Braille Day this year is “Empowering through Inclusion and Diversity”. Braille is a system of touch reading and writing for blind persons in which raised dots represent the letters of the alphabet. Those with visual impairments deserve the same standard of human rights as everyone else. Braille should also be used on signage in public spaces, door signs and for labelling everyday items like medications. It is also used as an accessible format for various documents, such as bank statements. Braille literacy has transformed the lives of those who are blind for nearly two centuries. Braille allows people who have vision loss to make notes, to select the right floor while using elevators, to use the computer keyboard, and to read room numbers, among other uses. It eliminates the need to seek assistance to accomplish basic tasks. Braille has been instrumental in making possible the integration of blind people into society. Government needs to help the visually impaired by putting up Braille displays.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Caste-elitism surfaces in divine Carnatic music?
The world renowned December Music Festival which is well underway in all the sabhas in Chennai now, has been part of the city’s great culture of arts for years. No wonder every year, the season attracts huge crowds, including from the Indian diaspora.
But, one cannot deny the compelling fact that caste-elitism has its strong presence in the divine Carnatic music for some years now. Perception at large is that Carnatic music is generally ruled by musicians, connoisseurs, and the organizers from the elitists of a certain community that sits atop the caste hierarchy.
Over the last few years, the music festival seems to have lost its sanctity and orthodoxy, as canteens have mushroomed outside the auditoriums like in movie halls, and silk sarees and dhotis are no longer seen as the traditional concert attire, but they represent a swanky fashion statement. It requires a massive effort therefore from the triad of musicians, organizers and sponsors to ensure that the spiritual Carnatic music is strongly pushed for its inclusivity in the socio-cultural fabric of the Chennai city. However, thanks to the celebrated vocalist T M Krishna, the Ramon Magsaysay award winner, who leads by example by taking Carnatic music outside the hallowed portals of the city’s prestigious sabhas and creating more inclusive egalitarian spaces where people of all communities, irrespective of caste and creed, come together and listen to his music.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Display GSTIN numbers on business signboards
On a recent visit to Margao, I noticed something odd. Some of the sellers had GSTIN numbers showing on sign boards outside their respective shops while the others did not. This is a blatant violation of the law which requires all taxable traders and businesses to display the GST registration number on their business sign boards (as well as the registration certificate in their premises) so that a citizen can easily find out whether a person is registered or not.
The Government through a trade circular mentions the penalty for not displaying GST registration certificate or GSTIN. If I am not mistaken, the penalty for not displaying GST registration certificate has been fixed at upto Rs 25,000. The penalty for issuing improper GST invoice or false invoice has been fixed at Rs 10,000.
I wish to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to this serious matter. Ignoring this matter will allow a laissez-faire attitude to set in. This will also cause unnecessary trouble for customers as well as for the Government. Why invite trouble when one can avoid it completely? Let’s hope that this problem is seriously addressed and eventually nipped in the bud.
Mona P Martins, Velsao / Surrey
Book fair organisers should be lauded
It was good to see two interesting write-ups ‘Bringing readers closer to books in Goa…..& The story is still not positive as yet’ (O Heraldo January 4, 2024) with regard to the world of books.
The organisers of Book Fairs must be complimented for their efforts in bringing people back to reading books physically. It is a challenging task though. The joy and feeling of holding a book in hand is something which must be experienced. The Digital world of course presents a stiff challenge.
On the other hand, there is this challenging task of making the language of Braille more easily accessible to the visually impaired bringing them closer to the world of books. Ajit John rightly states, its usage has to increase to ensure this section of society is not left behind. We all know what it means to see, the visually impaired unfortunately are not in a position to experience the joy of seeing the world in all its colours.
We need to see the reality of the times and be more sensitive to others in society. At this moment, the words of a hymn come to mind, “there are those who have eyes but refuse to see the inhumanity to men, there are those who have ears but refuse to hear the cries of men in agony.” Does anybody care?
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
