It has been said that ancient sage Parashurama stood on the top of a peak in Western Ghats and shot an arrow in the Arabian Sea. The sea retreated backwards to a point where his arrow fell i.e. on the modern coastline of Banavali ( Benaulim) and the land came to be known as Gomantak or Goa. To be geographically more accurate, the sage claimed Salcete from the sea and hence Salcete could be the mother of all Goa.
When Cornel Sahib , who is a son of Benaulim says that in Konkani language there is no equivalent of 'thank you' ( and I add the expression of 'I am sorry' as well ) he too like Parashurama shot an arrow that hits the bull's eye of the Indian culture. After all, our cultural elites Brahmins and Kshatriyas ( Maharajas ) of pre Mughal and British era , never owed anything to others. It was always the duty of others to feed the brahmins and to pay taxes and provide the cannon fodder for maharajahs , in short there was never a quid pro quo. Hence, there was no need for expression like 'thank you' and 'sorry'. antonio Please correct me if I am in the wrong. in which case my apologies in advance. Why Cornel Sahib? simple, it was a British military officer of the rank of Colonel who was in charge of a military cantonment in India. Hence Colonel Sahib was a popular expression in the colonial years. This could be late indeed. Soon after the WW2 when Goans landed in East Africa , the first white official to meet in the harbour was the Immigration Officer. When they started migrating to London. Toronto etc. the last thing on their minds was to obtain the Emigration Treatment , i.e. the approval of Central Bank to take away with them their hard earned savings. antonio
