This refers to Dr Subramanian Swamy wanting to change the traditions in Goa. I would like to point out to Swamy that he does not have to worry much about changing the traditions in Goa. He, and the likes of him, have already done so to a great extent and not very long from now most of Goa’s traditions will be in the archives and museums for all to see. What Goa had developed over 450 years or more, right from pre-Portuguese days, has been undone within the span of the last few decades.
I take the liberty to quote a few of the things that will make Swamy very happy and see that his dream is coming true. We had an age old Comunidade System which was almost sacrosanct and treated with great respect. Within the last few decades our politicians and others have managed to sell our lands at throw-away prices leaving almost no land for your younger and forthcoming generations. Goa was a land of not only peace but also free of crime. Today we have murders by the dozens each day, burglaries, rapes, looting, cheating and drugs are all an order of the day since that last few decades. We respected each other’s religions, today even our churches and temples are not spared. We hear of desecrations and robberies even at such places. Our celebrations were peaceful and enjoyable. Today we are pestered with noise, traffic jams, fairs on public roads, with scant respect to the elderly, sick and the surroundings. Our houses were normally unlocked, with no grills or paid guards. This sounds like fiction today. We had an Owner-Tenant relationship where word of mouth was the only agreement. People honoured this. Today we have reached a level where even written agreements are thrown to the winds. Where the small land holdings were given to the tiller as per the new law, not only has the tiller stopped tilling, but also the lands have passed on to the builders and agriculture has become history in Goa. Our Carnivals and Shigmo festivals were spontaneous and tradition oriented and fun-filled. Today they are noisy, commercially oriented and smack of little or no originality or spontaneity. Defecating on the roadsides or spitting in the corners of buildings was something that Goans despised. Today we treat these as projects where even the Prime Minister has to intervene. Our Coconut trees were trees to us. They are now known as grass. Our wells were clean enough for the water to be consumed directly. Today they are polluted and we have to buy our drinking water or buy expensive filters to filter the water for consumption. Our seas, rivers, lakes and ponds gave us enough and more fish for our staple diet. Today our ponds have dried. Lakes and rivers are polluted and our seas are depleted of fish. Our Coconut and Cashew Feni was of the purest type and people enjoyed it. Today the toddy and the toddy tappers have disappeared but the market is flooded with plenty of Feni. Our pao and sannas were baked or cooked with natural toddy today we have to make do with yeast or sliced bread. When anyone entered our houses we treated him with love and even if he asked for water to drink, we had the courtesy to offer him food. Today people are scared of strangers. Real Change indeed.
Don’t worry Swamy you are well on the way to change the Goan traditions. The thought looks rather sadistic in nature but hope this makes you happy. Looks like the present trend in our country is not to make people happy but rather to ban everything that makes people happy. One wonders what is the difference between TaliBAN and all the other BANS that are being introduced in the various parts of the country.
