Alexyz 2009 Daily Cartoons

FOOTLOOSE: The wrong idea

The wrong idea
By Derek Almeida


Why is it that when a man gets caught with three naked women in his room most people get the silly idea that he wants to have sex? Perhaps this has much to do with stereotyping – men want sex, women want children.

The other day the 86-year-old Governor of Andhra Pradesh N D Tiwari was literally caught with his pants down along with three women who were quite naked. My question is why did no one look at it as installation art? Why did we all jump to the conclusion that Tiwari wanted sex? Did we get his side of the story?

While most reporters took the holier-than-thou attitude, I opted to probe the matter deeper to get to the truth. To my good luck I happened to get in touch with a bureaucrat at the Raj Bhavan and he agreed to do an interview.

Sir, how did Tiwari manage to get three women to take off their clothes?
That is something that all the men in the Raj Bhavan are eager to know, because Tiwariji succeeded were everyone else failed. (laughs)

Was Tiwari on Viagra, because most Goans are surprised at what he was attempting to do at his age?
No he was not on Viagra. You must remember if a man is fit enough to be Governor, he can do anything and everything. Secondly, the media has misconstrued the scene capture on camera by a television channel to be that of Tiwari having an orgy. I wish to state that just because you seen three women in the company of a man does not mean he wants to have sex with them. I wish to clarify that Tiwariji was merely going through a stress test and the whole episode was purely medical in nature. We will be releasing a pressnote shortly clarifying Tiwariji’s position.

Any photos?
I am afraid we cannot release any photos because of the sensitive nature of the medical tests undertaken.

Why were three women needed for the stress test when one would do?
You must not forget that Tiwari is the Governor and as Governor he is entitled to the best medical treatment money can buy. There is no question of compromising on the health of the Governor. We are aware that one woman would have been sufficient for the test but had to include another two on the recommendation of a local numerologist who said, “Two is company, three is fun.”

There is an allegation that the Governor was exploiting women members of his staff ….
This is totally untrue. The three women you are referring to were from Uttarkhand. They had volunteered for the job and were amply compensated for services rendered.

Are you saying the Raj Bhavan has been turned into a den for prostitution?
This is entirely untrue. As I already mentioned the women in question were from poorer regions of Uttarkhand and Tiwariji was doing all he could to pull them out of poverty by offering them the opportunity to help him undergo a stress test.

Isn’t there an alternate way of conducting a stress test?
You are right, there are alternate ways, but most of them are pretty boring. Tiwariji is 86 years old and we thought the best way of kick starting the test was by getting three maidens to strip. Believe me, this old trick still works.

Yes, it also kick started an agitation.
I know…we though people would understand…

Are you saying what Tiwari did was right?
I am not saying that his actions were either right or wrong. Though, in hindsight we should have switched off the lights.

Have the women made a statement to the police?
I don’t think you are aware of the immunity enjoyed by a Governor against prosecution. He cannot be tried for any action undertaken in the line of duty. So we conducted an internal enquiry.

What did the women have to say?
They bared all. They told us the truth and nothing but the naked truth. Not once did they accuse Tiwariji of any wrongdoing although, they did mention that he dropped off to sleep in the middle of the stress test.

Do you believe their story?
Let me put it this way: Their hips don’t lie.

(ENDS)

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First published in the Gomantak Times (Weekender), Goa - December 27, 2009

Goanet Highlights (Dec 22, 2009)

Goanet Highlights (Dec 22, 2009)
By Selma Carvalho


Does the name Delagoa Bay, an inlet off the coast of Mozambique have any connection to Goa? Frederick Noronha provides a link with possible explanations. Read more...

The issue of migrants into Goa is gathering momentum. Soter asks a number of pertinent questions relating to migratory workers into Goa. Read more...

In a related post, Jorge Dsouza writes about rural migration straining the infrastructural capacity of Mumbai. Read more...

Is there a sense of betrayal in Goa following liberation? That the dream never materialized but infact diminished with each passing year. Arwin Mesquita has compiled some letters to the editor which appeared in Goa papers on the anniversary of Goa’s Liberation. Read more...

Enjoy the poster drawings of young children participating in a competition, the theme being “Dialogue with nature” held on Liberation Day. Sent in by Shrikant Brave. Read more...

An excellent link to Tarun Tejpal’s article, The Naked Years, was sent in by Venantius Pinto. Has India wasted away possibility and potential in the last sixty odd years after its independence? Did the hope and aspirations that lay in Nehru’s heart for India die at the stroke of midnight? As we close on the first decade of the millennium, it is time to introspect. Read more...

Lino Dourado gives us his Aitaracheo Katkutleo: Yeo-yeo Nari, Jev Goychi Fish-Curry. Read more...

JoeGoaUK provides us with a typical Goan cantar on video. Read more...

Domnic Fernandes tells us JIVEXIM MARUM NAIE. Read more...

Much ado has been made about tax payers’ money being wasted on sponsoring young Goans from the Diaspora to come and experience Goa. In an incisive article by Jason Keith Fernandes, he re-examines this relationship and points out that it might not be just a wasted effort after all. Read more...

One of the first things a girl is taught is that she shouldn’t make too much noise, says Accidental Activist Venita Coelho. In her column, she meets up with a number of women doing just that, making a lot of noise about the state of affairs. Read more...

Vidyadhar Gadgil, journalist and activist against communalism, warns us that the Goa CM’s soft stance on right-wing groups is an ominous sign. Read more...

Are the Goa police like envelops without addresses on them? Freddy Fernandes wonders why? Read more...

Frederick Noronha’s dwells on the implications of India’s wealthiest 100 having some connection or the other to Goa. Read more...

Selma Carvalho takes a look at Goans who build churches around the world. Read more...

Hartman D’Souza says “Goa has been raped not just once and not just by one man.” A whole younger generation of Goans is growing up disillusioned and disenfranchised. Read more...

And finally in this festive season do enjoy this delightful video sent in by JoeGoaUK of the senior citizens of Porvorim and Velim singing mandos. Read more...


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Rosary School, Miramar & Mother of God Choir, Majorda Tops at All-Goa Carol Contest, Betalbatim

By  Xavier Cota

From Xmas

 Joyful exuberance and musical prowess of a high order propelled Rosary School from Miramar, Panjim to the top spot in the Schools Category, while the harmonious blending of Mother of God Choir, Majorda, won them the 1st Place in the Open Category at the grand All-Goa Carol Singing Contest organised by Betalbatim Cricket Club on Goa Liberation Day. Besides the beautiful trophies, the winners in each category walked away with Rs. 7000/- and Rs. 5000/- respectively.

Competition was tough and it was a difficult job for the experienced judges - eminent musicians and connoisseurs of good music Fr. Alexandre Pereira, Winston Collaco, Delphine Alvares, and Siddharth Cota to come to a decision as most of the 15 groups from North and South Goa that participated, were of a very high calibre. Eventually, Kings School, S. Jose de Areal in second place pipped Presentation Convent, Margao on the winners podium in the Schools category, while Divine Voices, Quepem and Carmel College, Nuvem bagged the 2nd and 3rd places respectively in the Open Category.

The event being held after several years by Betalbatim Cricket Club and principally sponsored by Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco and Ms. Martin's Corner & Martin's Comfort, was witnessed by an enthusiastic audience of over 700 people who thronged the beautifully laid out Betalbatim Parish Park, with the tastefully illuminated facade of Our Lady of Remedios Church, Betalbatim as the backdrop. Chief Guest, Mr. Mickky Pacheco & Mrs. Viola Pacheco gave away the prizes to the winners while Guest of Honour Mrs. Carafina Pereira, owner of Martin's Corner and Rev. Fr. Ubaldo D'Cunha. Parish Priest, who presided, gave away the prizes to the First and Second Runners-up.

Besides Schools, Senior and Junior Colleges, Choirs from Parishes also took part in the event which was a fitting opening to Christmas festivities.

BETALBATIM CRICKET CLUB
207, Pockvaddo, Betalbatim, Salcete,
Goa  403 713
Tel. (832) 28-801

The Dreaming House by Tanya Mendonsa
Reviewed by V M

There are many reasons to celebrate this week’s release of Tanya Mendonsa’s debut book of poems, ‘The Dreaming House’ at Literati Bookshop in Calangute (7pm on Thursday, December 17, 2277740).

It is a personal triumph for the poet, who calls herself a “late bloomer,” and says that her life changed forever when she moved to the ancient riverside village of Moira three years ago, after a lifetime on the move from Calcutta to Paris and back to Bangalore. Mendonsa has ancestral roots in Moira, and writes movingly that “I felt for the first time in my life that I had come home.” And there was an unexpected bonus – “from the first night in my old-new house, like a water source being unblocked, the words flowed onto paper as effortlessly as the sweet air that I breathed.”

The poems produced in that “unlocked” torrent have lasted,  and have earned Tanya Mendonsa a book deal with Harper Collins,  one of the leading publishing houses in India. And they have already begun to earn a buzz of appreciation from the critical establishment. The award-winning writer, Amitav Ghosh, who now spends part of the year living quite close to Mendonsa in the picturesque village of Aldona, is quoted on this well-produced book’s cover saying “Tanya Mendonsa’s work is cosmopolitan in reference, yet deeply rooted in the red earth of Goa: her Moira poems are a fitting elegy to a magical corner of a storied land.”

In a note about her work that accompanied the announcement of the release, the poet is quick to add that she hopes her poems will be a “renascence – and not an elegy as Mr. Ghosh fears.” And this is another reason to celebrate. Because Mendonsa has not simply returned to her ancestral heartland to write poetry, she has joined others to become a ferocious and determined defender of Goa’s natural and cultural heritage, and has helped to spearhead a splendid campaign that advocated carefully planned development in Moira which would ensure a sustainable future for the village’s future generations.

Mendonsa is clear that she wants “any publicity I might get for my book to make as many people as possible aware of our battle to preserve the village.” To her mind, her poetry is inextricably linked to her activism on behalf of her village’s natural and cultural heritage. She feels “a burning need to preserve the beauty around me” as it is the wellspring of her creativity, “the source of my wellbeing.” And it is true that ‘The Dreaming House’ is run through with a theme Mendonsa describes as “the poignancy of intense pleasure on the edge of loss” as in the first lines of the elegiac ‘Divorced From Green’.


One has no forewarning.

In the days of the fish and the dragonfly,

That this will not be forever.


In returning to her homeland to find serenity, meaning, and then this rush of marvellous artistry,  Mendonsa confirms all of our most cherished beliefs about the singularly bewitching character of the Goan landscape. Many years ago, our great laureate Bakibab Borkar wrote a knowing essay on this very topic. “If I were to be born again, and am allowed to choose my future birth place, I shall undoubtedly opt for Goa,” declared Bakibab, “I say this not because of any blind love, but because its scenic beauty has a supernatural quality of refining the human mind, and of turning it inward into the depths of creativity and spirituality.”

Like Mendonsa, the great Bakibab was certain about the significance and impact of the sinuous beauty of our terrain on the poet’s imagination and creativity. Of  “the eternal moulder of our spirit and builder of our dreams”, he warned prophetically that we must  “ensure that the scenic beauty of Goa – the very foundation of our culture – is duly respected and not allowed to be marred or maimed, whatever the cost.” It is deeply moving to read and experience Tanya Mendonsa’s revival and updating of this poetic sentiment. ‘The Dreaming House’ is a significant book, and its release is an important event in Goa’s cultural history.

(ENDS)



First published in Herald, Goa (Dec 13, 2009)