Life in the Goan Twilight Zone:
(updated)
By Cyprian Fernandes
(with a lot of help from friends around the world)
TONY REG Dsouza: Memories keep yesterday alive. Hope gives tomorrow meaning and love makes
today worth living for. Twilight should be taken one day at a time. Enjoy.!
Manuel Tavares: We have to stretch the Twilight as long as we can because all our Yesterdays vanish into the annals of our history, we can still make a few memorable events in the twilight of what still remains!'
GRETA DIAS: Our Silver Liner program for seniors is part of the Toronto Goan Association. We are not specific to seniors, we have events and programs for all members regardless of their ages.
Selwyn Collaco changed the face of the Association in more ways than one. We are proud owners of a physical building that we call our own and now have a presence in the community at large.
The electric energy at the Toronto Goan Overseas Association is comparable to days gone by in East Africa…
Yes, our seniors are living it up. We do not use age as a guideline for what we can or cannot do. Our Wednesday exercise, lunch and entertainment afternoons are sold-out events. We have created a family of retired energetic boomers from different parts of the World with Goa as our common homeland. New members have been an eye-opener for us all as it has debunked the theory that we cannot make new friends.
MOST FOLKS thought that our paradise in Eastern and South
West Africa would never end. If we left, who was going to run the country for
the British, who were more interested in shooting for a game, golf,
or serenading in their exclusive clubs and hotels. Goans also excelled in
Tailoring and Carpentry. The Goans kept most of the British Civil Service in
ship-shape form. The Asians kept all types of industry ticking along nicely …
from shops, to garages, building homes and business premises, doctors, nurses, midwives
and all other aspects of life that the British did not want to dirty their
hands.
Once upon a time, the Goan communities peppered around
Eastern Africa celebrated social, sports and other related activities that were
the realm of the British upper class. With their social clubs peppered around
Eastern Africa, they also introduced various aspects of Goan and Portuguese
social traditions and dances. Goa to this day continues to bask in the glory of
centuries-old traditional Konkani music and dance and the same taste for
sports and other leisure activities they enjoyed in their once eternal Goa.
However, having left Africa (after independence) for the UK, USA, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, Germany and various other places on the map.
Everywhere they went, they renewed their thirst and hunger for the social life
they had enjoyed in Goa and Eastern Africa. Their social events in their new
homes around the world were just as successful as those they knew in Goa and
Eastern Africa. However, time, old age, illness and the Twilight Zone are
culling all those social and sports events
For most of us who were forced out of Eastern Africa father
time is taking its toll in more ways than we can remember. News of the passing
of many friends strikes a bitter blow (borne with a prayer and surrender to
God’s will) almost daily to Goan hearts all around the world. Still, those who
can, cling with uncanny bravery to a lifestyle many of us can only dream of.
Even old age continues to tease us, at least in Canada and maybe the UK, we
ageing migrants bravely keep alive as much as we can and celebrate as much as
we can those festivities that were to remain in our hearts and minds. Perhaps
in Canada rather than anywhere else, the lifestyle we knew (maybe an even
better lifestyle for some) survives with a gusto.
A friend told me recently: “The Goan Overseas Association is
certainly doing a fine job in Toronto. They have a great vision of
bringing the youth to be part of the Goan cultural tradition as well as looking
after the welfare of us ageing seniors by running afternoon programs. The
Westend Seniors Club is another well-run, and supported by many. Evening
events have curtailed many Seniors from attending as night driving is an issue
or the loss of a spouse means they have to ask for rides. Also, the saying is
the crowd is not what they are used to seeing, with many new faces gracing the
events. This is a good thing to keep the Club alive, but inhibitions in making
new friends are hard for some resulting in staying home and here is where
mental illness sneaks in.”
The Dr Ribeiro Goan School events in the UK but especially
in Canada were sensational. However, I hope they can hold on for a few years
more.
The GOA of NSW was founded by Goans mainly from Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania and a few from the Gulf States. The response to all their
feast days and sports occasions was tremendous. Victoria and NSW were among the
first to exchange sports visits. NSW was the first to celebrate World Goa
Day except they called it Goencho Bazaar. Today, the GOA survives mainly
because of arrivals from the Gulf, Goa and elsewhere. There are not many East
African Goans at their functions. Once upon a time, it was heaven on earth.
Victoria GOA was a similar case. There are not many East
African Goans at their functions but like NSW they survive and prosper with the
newcomers.
Who can ever forget the glory days of the Kampala Goan
Institute, Dar es Salaam Goan Institute, the Mombasa Goan Institute, the
Nairobi Goan Institute and the Railway Goan Institute? And, of course, the
other little Goan Institutes in places like Kisumu, Nakuru, Tanga, Jinja,
Entebbe, Kitale where Mervyn “Bwana Karani” was the president for many years
etc. There was a Goan Institute in Nyeri, which was very popular in
the 1960s. There were about 13-14 families who were quite social and used to
meet up almost every weekend at the institute. Paloma Fernandes’ father John
Gomes who is now 90 years old was part of this team. When the Goan expatriates
left Nyeri, they sold the club for about Ksh, 300,000 at the time and put it in
a UK bank account. The interest of the money was to be sent to Pillar every
year to pay for a priest to complete his education. To date, this carries on.
It was not always song and dance. When Mervyn Maciel was
Vice-President of the Nakuru GI he and his energetic committee felt that there
was much too much emphasis on the social events. That is why they started a
debating society which was very popular. my energetic Committee and I felt that
there was too much emphasis on the social side of things with little or no
interest in the educational side. This is when we started a debating society
which proved very popular and provided a new initiative for our younger
generation.
Kampala Institute closed down a few years ago and sold the
property, the Dar es Salaam Goan Institute (DI) is still thriving, and Friday
nights are the days to go. They still have many social activities,
and the club is quite well-attended.
The Goan Institute (GI) in Nairobi is thriving, thanks to
the collective efforts of its trustees—Ian Fernandes, Roland Braganza, Brian
D’Souza, Cheryl D’Souza (no longer a trustee, in litigation with the
Association), Charles Lobo (replaced by Geoffrey de Souza), and Karim
Shamshudin. They spearheaded the construction of a unique residential project,
comprising 48 two-bedroom apartments for members. Of these, 14 units are owned
by the Institute, generating rental income that sustains the club and funds
further development, while the remaining 34 were sold to GI members.
In addition to this initiative, the trustees have made
significant improvements to the club's infrastructure. They built a secure
boundary wall around the sports ground, replaced the old beer garden with a
state-of-the-art tavern bar, renovated clubhouse facilities, and constructed a
modern sports pavilion. The club continues to host a variety of social and
sporting events and recently completed a well-contested election for its
management positions, reflecting an engaged community.
The Goan Institute still hosts the best New Parties with
over 200 guests attending this great party. The club continues to host
traditional Christmas festivities including the traditional lighting of the
Christmas tree, parties for children, and a special free Christmas party for
our senior members. All functions are usually well attended.
Recently a team from Kenya brought in the Goan sensation
Tammy & Roy for a musical extravaganza at the Goan Institute which was
quite well attended.
Most recently a lot of our young adults from Nairobi have
gone to study abroad in various parts of the world including but not limited to
South Africa, Malaysia, Cyprus, Canada, USA, UK, Portugal and Europe. Despite
the migration of many of these youngsters, the community still tries its best
to meet up and socialise.
The Goan Welfare Society in Nairobi which will be
celebrating their 30 years of existence with a gala dinner on the 19th of
October will also be bringing Andre D’Souza from Goa to regale them. The Goan
Welfare Society in Nairobi is still quite effective and helps many Goan Welfare
cases.
Under the Goan Welfare Society, is a security team called
‘Sambau’ comprising of Goans who volunteer to assist with any security
matters. They are quick to assist with accident cases, medical cases, elections
and also for funeral arrangements if called upon to do so.
The Goan Gymkhana in Nairobi is doing well and has achieved
sustainability by offering an astro turf facility for hockey and football,
which has gained significant popularity. Recently, they introduced paddle, a
sport that has quickly caught on and added to their success.
The Mombasa Institute is doing reasonably well also and has
quite a few social functions that bring members together. They have a great
management team who volunteer much of their time to the club. The Goan
Community (the welfare section) is also quite active and helps its members
quite a lot, especially in terms of hospital bills and the arrangement of
funerals.
Besides the glorious social events, an even greater
celebration must be the achievements of our “Stars Next Door” in local and
international hockey (men and women), soccer, tennis, squash, golf, billiards,
snooker, Eastern African cricket, table tennis, snooker, billiards, and many
other sports old aged has robbed me of my fading memory. Although we were
crouched somewhat in respect to the “bwana mkubwas”, many Goans were named in
the Annual Queens Birthday Honours Lists.
How could we ever forget the brilliant musicians who
entertained all with such brilliance and panache? And don’t forget the doctors,
nurses, specialists, midwives, dentists, priests, etc, etc.
Many Goans also succeeded in business and people like Felix
Pinto and Tom Fernandes are names that have endured all that come their
way. There are many more super achievers that my failing memory has robbed me
of, I apologise. I am not sure just how the UK migrants from Eastern Africa are
doing socially. I am told quite often that the new migrants from Goa are like a
torrent of celebration sweeping over the UK. The village feasts used to be a
great attraction for a lot of people. I don’t know if all village feasts are
being celebrated. I am sure my friends from the UK will be quick to tell me.
Here in Australia, very few of the original Goan migrants
attend GOA functions. One reason is that when they get there, they don’t know
anyone. There are not many familiar faces. Never mind, the new Goans are doing
a fine job and NSW GOA and the others around Australia are doing just fine.
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Canadian Goans are
probably more successful than any Goan migrant community doing their best in
not only caring for folks who might need a little help but also in ensuring the
traditions of celebrations and church live on.
In lots of countries around the world, migrant Goan
communities are a vanishing tribe.
Old age and illness are grim reapers. One of the biggest
blows Goans have had weather is the departure (retirement) of Eddie
Fernandes in Goan communications. His daily Goan Voice newsletter was manna
from heaven and kept the Goan community connected around the world.
There was a time when 500 or 800 or even a thousand or two
or three people would have read my Facebook and Blogger pages daily. These days
I would be lucky sometimes to get 40 or 50. I am feeling the pinch and am
seriously considering axing my Facebook pages mainly because META seems to be
making FB untenable. I may hang on to Blogger for a while longer. Perhaps the
greatest reason for my being down in the dumps is that I am not getting much
input from the community these days, and I don’t blame them. But such is life.
I FOUND THIS ONLINE:
Proud to be a Goan: Colonial Memories, post-colonial Identities
and Music
Susana Sardo
During 451 years of colonial history, Catholic Goans used
music as a mediator of identity negotiation. In a political context repressing
musical sonority of Indian flavour, in which Portuguese was the official
language, catholic Goans created their own music, sung in Konkani and performed
according to Portuguese models.
Mandó among other hybrid and ambivalent musical genres,
comprehensible for colonial rulers and Goans but with different significance
for both, acquired an emblematic status. After 1961 Goa became an Indian
territory, and the Goan diaspora, into Europe, America and Africa, increased.
With it, the homeland myth created the necessity to isolate some cultural
ingredients to maintain their cultural ties within an alien territory. Musical
genres developed in Goa were recreated not for their colonial memory but because
they allowed Goans to prove their difference. (Introduction to a University
paper).
In June 2007, the First Convention of Goans in the Diaspora was
held in Lisbon. This meeting, in the form of a congress, over three days and
was organised by Casa de Goa, the first association of Goans established in
Lisbon in 1987, the year Goa acquired the status of State of India and Konkani
became the official State language. For this meeting, I was invited to lead a music
panel, in my introfuction I mentioned
that after 46 years of integration of Goa into India and a long history of
struggle for the recognition of Konkani as an official language of India, it is
losing its status as a most important language of Goa, in favour of
English.
In the context of the
new generations of Goans, for which formal education happens in English, the
language of communication now increasingly is the one of India’s colonisers.
With regard to Goan diasporic communities, that show a marked tendency to adopt
the language of the host country as language of communication, Konkani has
virtually ceased to be spoken. The fact that the official languages of the
Lisbon Convention were Portuguese and English further strengthens this
argument. Music is, indeed, the only means by which Goans need to communicate
in Konkani, be it in Goa or in the diaspora, because the music, in order to be
Goan, must be sung in Konkani.
In Australia, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Victoria Goan associations prosper because of injection by Goans from Goa, the Gulf and other places!
The pioneering, first Mombasa Goan Institute is now the
Mombasa Institute (the name change is for political reasons). Mombasa was the
landing point for anyone and everyone headed for East Africa. It was also the
African home for the first Goans from the homeland. Today, their numbers have
dwindled from the driving force they once were but dedicated people Maureen Mbashu
provide dedicated service to their members.
The New Zealand GOA contnues to bob along from success to success. I wish them well ... from small beginnings.
Let me know how your GOA is doing with a little of the start up history! Njoy.
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