Revive Motets
in all Churches
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The Lent period is almost over but one great ritual in Goa of the Lent Season is missing almost in every village and that is the Motet.
Motet is a Latin song describing the torturous hardships of Jesus Christ till his crucifixion on the Cross. Motet is the most sorrowful song normally rendered by the group of singers in different voices and here its beauty lies even though the faithful and singers did not know the meaning of the wordings since it is in Latin and yet it is enjoyed by all.
When listening to it, it sounds very sorrowful and the accompanied music especially the Violin, Clarinet, Trumpet, Banjo and Double Bass the Motet gives its original real beauty.
In the mid Sixties, Motets where translated in the local languages and in Goa, Konkani but to a certain extent its original beauty was affected.
However, Motet is a Motet that is very much missed by our current generation as they missed many of the best things in different fields of their life because they came into this world a bit late.
Candolim Church had great distinction in the past to dazzle the whole of Goa by recording some of the finest Motets, at the Emissora de Goa in late fifties and in 1959 I, as a very small boy was ā member of our Choir to sing and to record the two most sorrowful Motets in Tune and in words, namely “Filius et Jerusalem and Simon Dormis”.
These Motets are to be revived now in our Churches compulsorily by hiring good “Church Mistiris” knowing the Solfas to read and write.
Veronica Fernandes, Candolim
Life after an accident
The rise of fatal accidents in Goa, which continues to claim multiple lives each day, has created a major road safety crisis in Goa. Frequent fatal accidents reported in the State have turned Goan roads into death traps. What is the reason behind so many accidents? Who is to be blamed? Why are the roads so unsafe?
Here is my story 8 months down. A long time more to go. July 22nd 2022 was a drastic day for me as I meet with a terrible bike accident at Fr Agnel junction while I was on my way to work. The accident took place at 9 am sharp while I was riding my Vespa and a professor from PCCE was driving fast towards me while he was getting late for class. I almost crossed the junction turn while he got the back part of my bike and I was thrown straight up only to fall on the divider and break my thigh bone into nine fractures and both main bones of the ankle fractured too.
While my bike went 20 metres ahead of me with the car that rammed into me, I was lucky to be thrown up or else I wouldn’t be alive. They keep saying to wear ISI helmets, in my case I wore one yet it got pulled out from my head with the force and I got minor injuries on my head where for sure I won’t get hair again. My spectacles broke inside my forehead which left me bleeding out so much blood whilst I lay on road for 30 minutes with no help from anyone not even the cops that were present at the spot and not even a single bystander or even the person who rammed into me with his car. No ambulance ever showed up even after calling 3-4 times. I was lucky enough to have been taken to the hospital by a good Samaritan who stopped seeing me in agony and blood all over. I’m sharing this today more because… Today it’s me, tomorrow it can be you. Life is short. Please help someone in need whenever you can, don’t ignore. Looking at the number of accidents happening around in Goa these days you never know when it will be your turn.
I couldn’t move myself from the bed for almost 3 months. I couldn’t bend or sit straight. I am thankful for having such good friends who have always been there for me just like my family has.
Whilst I move around with my walker having a rod and nails inside my leg until I heal and be back on my feet with all positive vibes around me… Let us all do our bit in being there for whoever we can especially in times like these. Remember… anything can happen to anyone at any given point of time. Today it’s me, tomorrow it can be you. Life is precious, enjoy it while it lasts.
Zubin De Miranda, Margao
Grievous charges
against Trump
Of late, we find political leaders, particularly those in power terming any criminal charges filed against them as insult to their country equating and replicating them as the nation itself which they belong to.
The latest to jump on to the above the bandwagon is Donald Trump against whom serious criminal charges were filed, tried on 34 felony counts in a dramatic hearing in New York, arrested and released on bail. Some of the grievous charges against Trump relate to hush money payments to a porn star to hide the crime just before the elections and for repeatedly and fraudulently falsifying New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that had damaging information, from the voting public during the 2016 election. It should also be noted that Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s chief financial officer is already serving a five-month jail term for the same charge of falsifying business records.
This being the case, it is really amusing that Trump is attributing such criminal charges against him as an affront and insult to his country! We have also witnessed how a mob of his supporters went on a rampage, attacked the US Capitol building in Washington on January 6,2021 and created law and order problem. That it was said to be the culmination of an alleged seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the US election and the hooliganism resulted in the death of five people before and after the siege and left hundreds of people injured, is also a case in point.
It would only be an insult and disgrace to the US and its people, if by any chance, Trump is reelected as their President.
Tharcius S Fernando, Chennai
Brutality against
women must stop
Barely a day after a woman was attacked by three men near the Margao railway station, another woman was reportedly subjected to similar brutality in Anjuna.
The 32-year old victim from Rajasthan was beaten up and even molested when she entered a shop to fetch a parcel on Tuesday. In both the cases, the culprits started harassing the women by passing lewd comments. When they confronted the men, the women were assaulted with kicks and fist blows. It may be recalled that some days back two foreign women tourists, a Dutch and Russian, were brutally assaulted at different resorts allegedly by the hotel staff. The question that arises is how safe are the women in Goa. In December 2021 the Goa government launched the Police’s “Pink Force” to prevent crimes against women, children and tourists.
The all-women force has been trained to handle all kinds of situations and would be working to prevent crime. The force will be operational round the clock catering to women, children and tourists.
Goa thus became the first state to introduce “Pink Force” which was also expected to patrol beach areas and provide medical aid in case a woman complains of abuse or accident. Women should hence be able to move about even after dusk without any fear of being attacked. They should immediately contact the “ Pink Force” when they sense any danger. Police patrolling near railway stations need to be intensified.
Adelmo Fernandes,Vasco
