It’s Christmas time all around the world. It’s a season of love, peace and joy. At this time of the year, in multi-cultured Goa, people are so busy that there is no place for fanatics and no time to listen to the dirty promises made by Goa’s dirty politicians.
I, in the middle of the ocean, looking at the shinning stars high above the sky with a broad smile on my face recollect my old, golden childhood days this season years ago in my village. As a kid, I and all my ganvbhavs were very enthusiastic to participate in the Christmas tree celebrations organised unitedly by the people of my ward, visiting houses singing carols but sadly that enthusiasm has been missing in today’s kids or may be as parents we have failed to inject it into them. Christmas tree celebrations in my ward has been a matter of past and my kids are not lucky enough to celebrate this season the same way as I did as a kid.
We have become so selfish and jealous that we have lost our basic ethics of humanity. We have become money-centered humans and for the sake money we can go to any ugly extent. Those days’ people stood for each other. For them, unity among the villagers was a matter of pride but today divide and rule policy has taken the first place in our wards. We are very few remaining but very well-known for fighting in the name Our Lady, chapel, ancestral property and the list can go on. We could not recognise our own brothers when it comes to property. The grandchildren have sold their ancestral houses. Some without the consent of their own blooded siblings have sold ancestral properties. Is this not selling of our identity? Very sorry to say that some of us as sons of this soil could not save our own houses and we speak about saving Goa? Goa is gone my brothers and we all are equally responsible for the present mess in our State. We dared to take our own siblings to the court against silly issues but could not dare to fight unitedly for the sake of our maim Goa.
Unitedly we can move a rock, so let us stay united. Let us inject our traditional culture in our children. Let us get them together the way we used to be during our childhood days. Let us organise the one act plays back again. Our children are lost in our own wards. Let us make a promise this Christmas season and forget all the differences among us as villagers at least for the sake of our children. This is a good month of December to forget and forgive. Let our village culture should not be ‘once upon a time’ for our children. Let us not kill our own traditions and culture. Let us fight unitedly this battle and save what little is remaining for our generations to come.
