--- Radhakrishnan Nair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > But what's unique about some Goan bhatkars of vintage variety > is their seemingly disproportionate and illogical loyalty to > the Portuguese. The moment the letter 'P' is uttered, they put > the blinkers on and begin to brag about the three bridges and > a radio station the Portuguese had managed to build in 450 > years. I always restrained myself (for fear of losing a few > good friends) from saying that the bridges survived because > nothing heavier than bullock carts passed over them! > Mario adds: > Hey, Radha, don't forget the Mercedes Benzes and Citroens that also used the 3 bridges! However, to be fair, I have met a few who have since given up the ghost on ever being "Portuguese" again. > As we have seen in some of the posts on this very thread, the Portuguese were somehow extremely successful in convincing a small section of Goans into thinking that they too were really "Portuguese". That "overseas province" concept was a brilliant piece of sophistry that enabled them to buy over a decade of additional colonial economic bliss of cheap sources of raw materials and a captive market. > The attitude was similar to many Anglo-Indians, with the caveat that the Anglo-Indians at least had some British blood in them, and while they considered themselves "different" for obvious reasons, most did not necessarily consider themselves "elite" in the same way as the "bhatkars" and "fidalgos" did. The real die-hards in both communities moved to the "motherland". >
