“We all have had the past which was so beautiful; the present looks very promising, though a big question mark remains. But the future has now become almost desperately unpredictable. Yes you guessed it right! It’s a reality check for Goans.
We need to admit that till date, we have been mostly living in the past. The past that gave us our many great brave hearts that earned name and fame in different fields and made us feel proud. Most of them even outclassed many of the best talents in the country. They had their glorious past through their illustrious career in their life even with minimum resources at their disposal then.
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Goa’s sports, be it hockey or football, along with its culture, has been the hallmark of our heritage. Together with sports and culture, Goa was second to none. The past has definitely left an indelible mark on Goa’s history. And we should always be feeling proud of their legacy. But have we done enough to look at the future?
Today as we turn the pages of the past triumphal, we still seek the answer as to what prevents today from bringing out the best from the Goans. The erstwhile Goans, if we may recall, were truly hard core Goenkars. Most of them had showcased their talents with humble beginnings; be it in sports, music, theatre, singing, cooks and butlers, writers and directors, novelists, architects to name a few.
I may not be able to recall everyone’s name lest I forget some of them. Those are the ones whom we remember today and hold them in high esteem. And that has become our legacy. The legacy that should have inspired today’s generation and imbibes their values to achieve success into their own respective field.
But sadly, we have been slowly getting decimated in our own backyard today; be it by our own choice or by those forcing deceitful ideology upon us in the name of good governance. Do we have any opportunities left? Opportunism galore, but it’s the self-discipline, hard work and perseverance that one should adhere to produce our next generation heroes. There is a choice to be made for all of those who are aspiring to grow and achieve success in their respective field.
No doubt we lack the magic of strategic planning into this whole game plan. First we are being shown the brighter side and then there is another side of it which is shrouded in darkness without even any silver lining. And that is what we have been unable to recognise.
But sooner or later the stars will start failing to twinkle and might even come crashing down right in front of us. Then there will be hardly any escape once our dreams have been shattered. Neither revenge nor curses will ever make them realise their follies.
Today, the government too has failed to realise the potential of Goans’ talent and instead it is unleashing its own agenda in the name of development, which is destructive in nature. So, what we ought to do is just strengthen our resolve, the will power, and unleash perseverance to achieve our goals and save our Goenkarponn. Too often silence cannot be gauged as weakness, but yet the rhythm of the struggle has to be kept on high decibels.
As of today, there are yet to be born leaders who commands overall respect of the masses, a force in itself like late Dr Jack de Sequeira, late Mathany Saldanha on the political front.
In sports, football in particular those who played their hearts out, the likes of Visitacao Lobo, Maurice Afonso, Brahmanand Sankhwalkar, Bruno Coutinho, Nicholas Pereira, Camilo Gonsalves to name a few who raised the bar and kept Goa on a very high pedestal. Where are the stalwarts in the making today?
If you go into the past of our Tiatrs how Goans can ever forget the likes of J P Souzalin, Master Vaz, Jacinto Vaz, M Boyer, Alfred Rose, Prem Kumar and Junior Rod just to name a few who mesmerised Goans with their sheer natural talent. As of now, Goans are yearning to see the birth of such stalwarts.
The Konkani songs of yesteryears are still making waves across the globe and are being commercially exploited by many of today’s artists instead of bringing out their own new compositions. Do we really lack good lyricists? Do we lack good musicians? No! But we definitely lack the creativity of writing songs that would make an impact in the music world. Goans are looking forward to such a talisman that would create a sensation in his/her own right. I pray that such an icon will soon rise on the horizon sooner or later when we shall hear their songs which will make a sensation.
There is no doubt that today’s youth has been deprived of motivation, though a few have started showing their talent in their own right which is a good sign. But otherwise, it’s the parents who should shoulder this responsibility to bring out the best out of their children.
First and foremost, the parents ought to imbibe some knowledge of our past great Goans instead of children wasting their precious time on their mobiles.
Parents should talk about Goa’s past glory to their children who will definitely show interest. That will give them a reason to think.
In sports, don’t we have talent to compete at the Olympic level? Though every event in the competition has its own glory and importance, the most challenging is the field events that steal the limelight in the Olympics (no insult intended for other events).
But it will not happen because there is neither thrust nor competitive force playing into the hearts of our youth. The schools and colleges are too busy with their academic curriculum and have no time to tap the talent of the potential candidates in whom we could find some great athletes in the making.
The competitive force on the sports field has been lacking at every level and those in charge of respective sports bodies are playing only to the galleries.”
(The author is a Konkani novelist and an ardent
lover of nature photography)
