---------------------------------------------------------- Archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goa-net/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Goanet2003/ ----------------------------------------------------------
What to Expect from the Goa Chat line! The Goa chat line is a great forum for the flow of information on issues related to Goa. Kudos to many! Foremost are the news guys and gals who provide clippings of Goan news and issues of interest to Goans. That indeed must be a lot of work. The moderators do tremendous jobs - technical and editorial - in posting messages on the chat line. The archivists and authors of the documents have to be congratulated for some fine writings (both substance and style) on Goa. Reading these documents has been enlightening. Then there are the activists who are involved in some great projects in and on Goa, its language and culture. All cyber Goans should applaud the technical staff of the Goa chat line, all those mentioned above and to the Yahoo network for keeping this line so flawless. I personally have connected with a few classmates, friends and others with whom I share similar interests. I am amazed how information goes halfway around the world and the answer returns almost instantaneously. Having left Goa close to 30 years ago, the whole experience on the Goa chat line has been very instructive. As expected, most issues are domestic. Like everywhere, all politics and economics are local. The Goa chat line is even more interesting because of the international nature and flavor of the participants. One person's normal dialogue may sound "posh" and even "snobbish" to another Goan from a different continent. Ironically, different styles also call for "sensitivity." Goans in Goa tend to say and write the word "idiot" a lot more freely than others. The Brits casually use the word "Bugger" in every fourth sentence. The Americans use "son of a gun" in a relaxed manner, which some confuse with "son of a b____." "Interesting eh?" of course, comes from the ever-so-polite Canadians. I get the impression that the guys and gals "down under" are just having a good time this summer. This is especially when Goans in the northern hemispheres are freezing their butts. This brutal winter has been breaking many records! Goans in the Middle East are probably too apprehensive to relax and fully participate in the Goa chat line. They appear to be the only expat group with an authentic sense of Goan humor and culture which they have made it a point to actively cultivate in their new environs. I have taken a turn at writing some articles on the chat line. I thank you cyber Goans for reading them and to those that made some thoughtful responses. However, unless the writer is cynical, (Goan humor!) I felt honored that one respondent appointed me "to set the agenda for future discussions on this forum." But I have to decline that mantle; neither is one needed. The lead discussant who took the time and effort to write the "Position Paper" and the "Title of the Topic" lays the parameters. It is not uncommon to see the correspondence, after the articles, cover a whole range of side-issues, which then "take a life of their own." And then "the tail wags the dog!" An example of this is how the meaningful dialogue of the war in Iraq and its impact on Goans (worldwide) brought references to Hitler, Salazar, and Nehru, to name just a few. Unfortunately, these comments do not do justice to the original topic or the lead discussant who painstakingly laid the issues for conversation. Off-the-cuff irrelevant or detracting annotations and sidebars do not expand the discussion but lower the standard of the chat and turn off potential participants. This is self-defeating to the GoaNetters and a disservice to all cyberGoans. In any article, some humor (which is always good for body and spirit) is of benefit to the writer and readers. But comedy alone is a poor substitute for deliberation and constructive ideas both in the article and in the responses. Goans fluent in Konkani should use the Konkani idioms and expressions more frequently especially when an English rendering fails to do justice! As a learner of Goa and Goans, I have asked questions. With the present situation in Iraq, it would be of interest to hear the experience of Goa and Goans during the Kuwait situation 12 years ago, and the lessons learnt from that event. Did any NGO or social science department from one of Goa's colleges study the short-term and long-term impact on Goans of Saddam's march into Kuwait and then after Desert Storm? The beauty of a chat line is that it does not hinder basic questions. I practice what I tell students, "People get Nobel prizes for asking basic questions!" Hopefully these basic questions on the chat line challenge Goans to think about the issues they take for granted and are confident of the answer. I have seen statements such as "I have heard all that once too often!!" Most people (especially those over fifty) know everything. But the above statement fits and continues to make the typecast that Indians "know that they know everything." I hope individuals do not retain the letters on the chat line and go back to figure who said what to whom. If one tends to do that, I would use the American expression for that obsession and call it "anal retentive". (Please give me a Goan translation!). As regards to the interesting comments of some letters, (especially the ones that start with "I thought you said .") the following is my rejoinder. "If you think I said what I said, then I said what you are thinking. But that is not what I said, unless you actually quote the statement, and the context in which it was made." Beyond that: It is interesting to learn from someone else what one is really thinking and saying. I would like to see a "Just for Laughs" byline. This would be a site to express Goan humor, jokes, idioms, old stories and food-for-thought. This may be the first steps that some cyber Goans may take to re-link with their grandmother's language and recount the stories they heard. Broad-minded moderators can weekly review incoming e-mails for this weekend byline. This will assure the stories, comedy and absurdities are in good taste and definitely not sexist. This could be a great feature that may have a therapeutic effect on many readers. Placing these jokes into one weekly byline (with the sender's name optional) may encourage more contributors with "vegetarian" and/or "non-vegetarian" jokes. The experience so far of the Goa chat line has been very stimulating. If one enjoys the Goa chat line, one has to contribute to that bliss. If you do not enjoy the Goa chat line, you have the opportunity to improve it. The chat line will only be as productive, informative and enjoyable as its members make it. Hence, I would like to add to the many requests made. We need more members to chip in and make novel contributions of their work, thoughts and ideas. These efforts at writing would certainly maintain or upgrade those essay writing skills we learnt in high school and college. With today's spell-check and thesaurus, the writing especially for Goans, should be a breeze. Anyone needing editorial assistance for short essays/stories could receive professional editorial assistance for free if needed. Networking is the operative word. Since the Christmas, New Year holidays are over, the football season is behind us and many cyber Goans are grounded at home by Mother Nature, this is a good time to start actively participating. With good wishes to all cyber Goans. Regards, Food for Thought: Excellence is doing little things in an extraordinary way.
