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Visit http://www.goa-world.com/goa/aldonahouse for details ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stop that whining near my ear Skeeter diseases, trivia and origins By Cecil Pinto "It's that time of the year again." "You mean the time when the beach shack owners complain about the new fees and the Government rolls back the increase?" "No! No! That time has passed. It was a technique perfected by Parrikar and followed ever since. Make an unpopular rule with no actual intention of implementing it. Wait for the protests. Draw back the rule. You end up smelling good. The shack fees have already been brought down. It's when the lots are drawn for the limited shack allotments that the fireworks will start again. This time we have the Traditional Shack Owners opposed to the New Kids on The Beach. Anyone running a shack for more than five years is claiming it is a traditional family occupation and hence he need not go through the lottery system and should be allotted a permanent shack license for perpetuity. It's nice to know that old traditions like farming and fishing are being replaced by the nouveau tradition of shacking. The new tenants-for-life are here already." "Imagine the scenario twenty years down the line. You ask a young Goan beach bum, 'Hello son, what is your traditional family occupation?'. 'We are shackers'. 'Surely you mean your family runs a shack?'. 'No we own a shack license for life'. 'So then why aren't you at your shack?'. 'We sublet it to Mumbai yuppies or foreigners every year. They just want a place to chill out and invite their friends. They're so rich they don't need to make a profit. Everyone's happy!' But that's not what I was talking about anyway " "Are you talking about the South Goa Tourist Taxi Drivers coming out on the streets, blocking traffic, harassing tourists, threatening hotels and basically giving the whole tourism industry a bad name?" "No! No! That will happen much later, somewhere in end-November." "Then are you talking about Indian tourists drowning all over Goa's coast line?" "No! No! That was in the monsoons. They should be classified as suicide deaths as only a suicidal person would venture into the seas when it's raining. But yes I am talking about death and disease, but regarding locals. It's that time of the year for mosquito borne diseases to make the headlines. In fact instead of the Flame Throated Bulbul it would be better if the mosquito was appointed as Goa's state bird. Do you know that worldwide mosquitoes have caused more death than all despots and diseases put together? I'm not quite sure though in Goa whether our bloodsucking politicians have not caused as much suffering as the deadly mosquito." As though malaria, encephalitis, yellow fever, filarisis. etc were not enough we now have dengue and chickungunya to deal with. Last week my young son was running a slight fever and like any responsible parent I surfed the Net to find out the correct pronunciation of dengue. It gave me immense joy, after the doctor gave his grandiose diagnosis of safety, to politely tell him that he pronounced the word 'dengue' wrongly. The doctor may have impressive framed degrees, a sexy receptionist, an air conditioned consulting room, and can keep me waiting, but I know how to pronounce dengue properly - and he doesn't. So there! Outbreaks resembling dengue fever have been reported throughout history. Although the first case report of the disease dates back from 1989, the term 'dengue' is a Spanish attempt at the Swahili phrase 'ki denga pepo', meaning 'cramp- like seizure caused by an evil spirit'. It emerged during a Caribbean outbreak in 1827-1828. If you find that explanation for the word origin weird check this out regarding 'chikungunya', for which there is neither vaccine nor cure. It was in Tanzania, in 1953, that chikungunya was first officially identified by the world medical community. That is how its name, published in English in 1954, happened to come from the Makonde language of southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique on the east coast of Africa. In Makonde, chikungunde is said to mean 'that which folds up' and refers to the crippling of the joints. No other word of Makonde has entered English. The disease is often referred to as 'chicken guinea' but this is a mnemonic device rather than connected to any etymology. But why go that far. Check the origin of the word mosquito itself. Both 'mosquito' and 'musket' can be traced back to 'musca', the Latin (and Konkani) word for fly.. This became mosca in Spanish and Portuguese, Romance languages that developed from Vulgar Latin. Mosquito, the diminutive of mosca, was borrowed into English (first recorded around 1583) with the same sense 'mosquito' that it had in Spanish and Portuguese. Of course given time I could also prove that the Portuguese muscatel - a type of grape wine, Muscat in Oman and the Three Musketeers are all connected to the Konkani 'muscacheo sango' - drumsticks and the American word for mosquito, 'skeeter'! Let's not go there. Suffice it to say that both a mosquito and a musket have a long dangerous barrel, take time to reload, and can not just sting but kill too. 'Mosquito bites' is a slang term for small Naaah! Let's not go there either. But it does remind me that, like among human beings, it is the female mosquito that is dangerous - and sucks blood to produce eggs. Male mosquitoes on the other hand feed on plant juices and nectar and are mostly into copulation - followed by death. Funny isn't it, we humans eat eggs to get protein into our blood while a female mosquito sucks blood to produce eggs. A human being's sexual orgasm is referred to as 'le petit mort' and it is temporary. A male mosquito actually dies after sex - at least in many mosquito species. What a way to go! Next week we interview Leena from Baga. Excerpt: "I don't know any Hollywood celebrities. I named by vegetable shop Brinja-Leena because I like brinjals!" --------- The hunour column above appeared in Gomantak Times dated 19th October 2006 ==== _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org