Nossling, live in peace!
I refer to the letter ‘Nossling’ (Herald, April 15) by Mousinho de Ataide, a much respected former Professor of Rachol Seminary and my good friend. With reference to the Portuguese dialect spoken in Korlai, he mentions “those who wish that some from Korlai should be brought down to Goa and taught the standard Portuguese,” so that they may return to their village and teach the language there. Although he does not say who and how many have that wish, he dismisses their suggestion as impractical and comes up with his own heavy-machinery strategy for the preservation of the dialect, involving “descriptivo-prescriptive grammars” yet to be confected, textbooks yet to be produced, a proper syllabus (?) for the teaching of the dialect in school, etc.
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My simple question is, why this fuss? Dialects, creoles, pidgins add their own colour and beauty to the fascinating array of languages on this planet. Let them be. The Korlai Portuguese dialect has existed for nearly three centuries and is still spoken by the young and old in that village. There is no fear that it may disappear for another century at least. Let us, people living hundreds of miles away, leave it in peace.
Joaquim Loiola Pereira, Panjim
Lockdown is not the solution
Lockdown, vaccination and janta (people’s) curfew are not the solution to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. We should drink hot water three to four times a day, inhale steam at least two to three times a day, wear a mask whenever we step out of the house, keep social distance, avoid huge crowds and follow SOPs (Standard Operation Procedures).
Also, if you are above 45 years of age, please take the Covid-19 vaccines. They are a ‘must’. In my opinion, every citizen of the country should take it.
Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai
‘Dadagiri’ of taxi operators
Our respective governments have pampered the taxi operators/ owners over the years, tolerated their ‘dadagiri’ and due to which today they are seen daringly blackmailing, if not threatening of overthrowing the present ruling government very soon for not scrapping the GoaMiles taxis from Goa.
Well, the whole world knows what good service the striking taxi operators/owners have been practically offering (forget the visiting foreign/domestic tourists) but even for all the locals in Goa. In fact, they have been mischievously refusing to install meters for their taxis, fixing their own rates and officially looting everyone in broad daylight like the extortionists since the last so many years in Goa. Now, is this fair and right on their part?
I therefore personally feel that the government of the day is doing the right thing by not scrapping the GoaMiles taxis despite of the ongoing pressure from these local striking taxi owners/operators as the above mentioned app-based taxis are currently definitely giving a better service for all the visiting tourists and giving value for their hard earned money who come here simply to explore the unique beauty of Goa and not to waste their hard earnings on a bunch of roadside extortionists, if not bullies in the State.
Yes, today if the GoaMiles taxis have become very popular and are mostly preferred by tourists (including locals) then that’s because they provide good service at cheaper rates in Goa and that’s a hard fact whether these local striking taxi operators/owners like it or not….
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Good decision
The Central Government’s decision to cancel the CBSE Class 10th exam and postpone the Class 12th to a later date owing to high surge in Covid cases in the country is truly a welcome decision.
Lakhs of students and parents were undergoing severe tension as the scheduled exam dates were nearing . The tenth class exam has been cancelled and marks will be awarded based upon the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board.
Now regarding admission to Class eleventh the board should adapt a subject based aptitude test for the students and based on that the students must be allowed to opt their choice of course they would like to pursue.
A uniform pattern aptitude test can be followed by the schools affiliated to the board. This can avoid confusion, discrimination and unfairness during the admission process. The test of course can be conducted in the online mode.
M Pradyu, Kannur
Night curfew serves no purpose
States imposing night curfew serves no purpose. It’s is illogical, unscientific and not backed by any empirical evidence that the virus is nocturnal and remains muted during the day. Does the coronavirus strike only during night? It’s only aneyewash, aimed at convincing people into believing that the government is doing something to contain the pandemic.
The government should strictly promote Covid-appropriate behaviour and come down heavily on violations, especially large gatherings. A right vision has been lacking on decisions regarding Covid right from the start, and the virus is having a field day while the government continues to flounder with one capricious directive after another. How many people and politicans wear mask properly? The culture of wearing mask below the nose and mouth is very common and asymptomatic keep spreading and weaker keep falling sick, lucky one recover, some become serious, and few die.
Create awareness of how to prevent is not happening from government, and when it is breaking the law, it starts from politicians. Imposing night curfew or weekend curfew is not the step that can help in controlling transmission of this deadly disease.
Coronavirus neither sleeps nor observes holidays. Better to observe social distancing rules, sanitizing and make masks mandatory.
K.G.Vilop, Chodan
Growing medicinal herbs needs a boost
It is learnt that the forest department has opened its new garden of medicinal herbs at Harvalem to the public. The garden called “Harvalem Gram Upavan” is reportedly spread over an area of 13 acres and has more than 180 different medicinal plants. Herbs are natural remedies that benefit personal health and beauty.
Incidentally one does not need a green thumb or a huge plot to reap the benefits of growing fresh herbs. Medicinal plants can be grown even in the backyard and the garden. Many medicinal herbs are full of cancer-fighting antioxidants, valuable nutrients, are fat-free and have many more health benefits. Some herbs stimulate the immune system and strengthens the human body’s ability to resist infection and disease. This can be very useful in fighting the coronavirus.
Old-fashioned remedies are usually herb-based and have been used for generations to help treat common sickness. Besides having medicinal value herbs also add flavour to cooking. Herbs like basil, oregano, mint among others can be used to season up our cooking. However it must be said that growing medicinal herbs has not caught the imagination of Goans in a big way. The government needs to take necessary steps to give planting of medicinal plants a boost.
Citizens need to be provided with the know-how and saplings of medicinal plants. Each and every park in the state needs to have a special enclosure to grow medicinal plants. Children need to be instructed about the benefits of medicinal herbs.
Adelmo Fernandes,
Vasco
