Adlo Temp has flown like pages scattering in the wind. With the help of the songs: Sandlele Goencar; American Green Card and the beautiful sermon of Fr Leonard Moraes, I take a trip down memory lane to compare the past with present Amara raj.
In days gone by some Goans were lost in Bombaimchea xarant (now Mumbai). In brief, the song, Sandlele goencar, sung by Blena Faia relates the story of the lost Goans who went to Mumbai; where their life turned miserable by drinking auntie’s liquor and eating ‘vadda pau’. The care-takers of their house turned owners with false ownership papers as these lost Goans never came back to Goa.
In good old days, many Goans went overseas in search of a lucrative job. Even now, parents spend a chunk of their retirement savings to make it possible to send their children abroad to push them into the orbit of success. But many get married in foreign land and never return to Goa. The ageing parents beg their children to come back at least to say goodbye with their final gift of fistful of dust in their final resting place – the grave. This wish of the parents comes in a touching Konkani song, ‘American Green card’ sung by Marcus Vaz, which can be heard on the Internet.
Our Goa, a peaceful land of pristine, palm fringed beaches, greenish blue hills and hillocks belonged to the generation of our grandparents are being destroyed. Sheppard steering their herds, along dirt track and hill slopes are disappearing. Those days Goa did not have electricity but had honesty; but now Goa has lost its charm. This tropical paradise has been transformed into a blood-drenched battleground with colossal crimes. Our daughters are raped almost every day. There is a rise of robberies, thefts and colossal crimes. The ‘Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill’ has called migrants living in Goa as sons of the soil; and made them owners of Goan land.
We see that our paddy-fields are destroyed, hills are slaughtered, and trees are chopped. The three linear projects – the SWR railway double-tracking, a power project and widening of the national highway which have destroyed the ecological balance and endangered wildlife, our men in power call it development and progress. Besides that some leaders are talking about exporting water and importing petrol; some advice us, “If petrol is expensive, buy electric vehicles”. Some say, “If drunkards are over drunk, the bar owners should reach them home.” Perhaps, if the bar owner is himself drunk, then the toppers, tipplers and bibbers in his bar should contribute some money and take the bar owner to his sweet home. Hearing all such talk many say, Bivpachi goroz asa because we live in troubled times.
I have heard on Goan Channel, the beautiful sermon of Fr Leonard Moraes, that some mundkars have started dabordosti (turned furious) and are now behaving like owners of the property. Fr Moraes wonders as to whom are those ‘battam and bessam’? Does it belong to those who live on the property?
Gone are the good old days. Our young Goans have left and are leaving for Dubai, USA, UK and Canada. What we require is that our sobit, sundor Goem should be made free from rapes, kidnapping, murders and gang-wars. These in brief are the silent pages of past and present history of our State.
