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See essay submitted below for the GOA SUDHAROP GOAN SENIORS E-BOOK. Please send
your submission to
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Goa Sudharop, www.goasudharop.org
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Village Life Then and Now
By Antonio Correia-Afonso
Whereas those of our generation did have a more leisurely existence and we
enjoyed the simple
things in life which evoke nostalgic memories even to this day, we cannot
pretend that everything
was better in the past and that all is bad at present. For one thing, there was
little, if any,
economic and social development and whereas a small section of the population
may have been better
of, the vast majority still remained illiterate and with little scope for
social and economic
advancement.
There is no doubt that the massive migration to the Gulf during the past decade
and the consequent
inflow of remittances has effected a sea-change in the fortunes of a vast
majority of the
population, which in turn has transformed the village from a sleepy sea-side
hamlet to a bustling
suburb displaying all the positive as well as negative aspects of development.
There has also been
a significant increase in population and some immigration from outside the
village, with
consequent pressure on the land and other resources as well as services.
When we were young, there was no electricity, running water, telephones or
tarred roads and no
T.V.! Motor Cars were a rarity and very few people had motor-cycles. Today we
enjoy all these
facilities and more right here in our own village and if our grandparents had
been told that this
would be the state of affairs, they would never have believed it.
Have we therefore achieved Nirvana and converted our village into a little
paradise? Unfortunate
though it may seem, this has not been the case because, along with all the
social and economic
progress achieved, we have also acquired many of the evil features of modern
industrialization
whilst discarding some of the good traits which characterized our society in
the past.
In the space of a short essay such as this one, we cannot be expected to
discuss this problem in
any detail or suggest any instant solutions. We can only highlight some of the
less desirable
features of our present-day society as observed by the author, in the hope that
those in authority
and those in a position to influence developments would make the required
effort to correct the
situation before it is too late.
The first undesirable characteristic which hits you in the eye is the appalling
indiscipline
observed right across the board from people in every walk of life, every age
and every field of
activity whether at home, at work or in public places. A typical example is the
utter chaos which
prevails on our roads, where nobody observes even the basic rules of traffic
control. Is it any
wonder that hundreds are slaughtered every year on our roads and that we have
one of the worst
records in this respect in the entire country?
What is most worrying about this situation is not the immediate problem of
traffic management but
that it is a reflection of the prevailing attitude of complete disdain for all
rules and norms and
lack 'of respect for the law. In the bargain, we have lost one of the .most
precious features
which characterized our society and our community in the past and that is the
common courtesy
extended to the elderly, to neighbours and to visitors. As a corollary, we have
also lost our
reputation for being a peaceful and law-abiding community and the crime rate
has been rising even
leading to murder! Increase in tourism has also brought in its wake some of the
undesirable
aspects such as drug abuse and there is a great danger that prostitution could
follow soon.
What of our future and that of our village tomorrow? Whilst we can hope and
pray for a bright
future for our children and the generations to come, it will require a
concentrated and united
effort by all of us to see that development is planned and executed with the
interest of all the
people at present and with the future in mind, without unnecessary damage to
the environment or
ecology. Along with economic progress, we have also to ensure that the social,
educational and
cultural needs of the people are met and that efforts are made to control some
of the less
desirable features at present observed in our policy.
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