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Hi Selma,
Your post has asked more questions than provided answers. As no one has
responded to your post, let this supurlo Goenkar try to provide some specific
replies which follow your specific comments and questions.
By your brilliance, you have done away with the minutiae and fluff that we read
in posts on Goan culture. So I will be equally direct in advancing this
dialogue.
Kind Regards, GL
Selma (SC): Thank you for taking the discussion on the road where it must go
and not on unnecessary tangents. You have addressed some very serious issues
which we must ask ourselves about culture or more specifically Goan culture.
GL: Thanks for the compliment on my post. I am not in a popularity contest. So
some, who feel uncomfortable with any specific point in my post can
(conveniently) dismiss that aspect as "unnecessary tangents".
SC: You mentioned taking care of elders, not engaging in pre-marital or
extra-marital sex and not seeking divorces. Are these Goan traits? I'm afraid
not.
GL: Why should these be Goan-specific traits? Do you not think these issues are
important to other societies too? Since culture is what provides security to
the individual and family, these important traits would be in every enduring
societies' practices and customs.
SC: The divorce rate in Goa is spiraling. Extra-marital and pre-marital sex is
as frequent and prevalent as anywhere in the West. And unfortunately elders
either languish in ill-kept old-age homes or are burdened onto
economically-deprived relatives who might be willing to look after them for the
right price.
GL: So you are claiming that in Goa the residents are losing their (cultural)
TRADITIONS. Are you saying that modern Goans are loosing their "rock solid
moral codes"?
SC: So who is the real Goan? What does he stand for. Let's profile him.
GL: The issue is not who is the real Goan, but why are the real Goan traditions
and values changing? Is it because many perceive themselves as self-thinking
and self-centered individuals? Are many saying, "I am clever, don’t tell me
what to practice - social and religious"? You have to admit the real Goan
profiles himself / herself as smart and clever - hands down!
Regards: GL
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--- Gilbert Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> As the saying goes, "Or one needs to walk the talk
> and not just talk the talk." This includes taking
> care of one's aged parents and first degree
> relatives; or not settling into a pre-marital
> live-in arrangements; or not seeking a divorce; and
> yes practicing the beliefs and practices transmitted
> down to us. So while I smile and read posts about
> Goan culture that talk of fluff, I keep saying,
> "Where is the beef?"
>
> My post was not meant as a reprimand to any one. But
> I am glad it touched on the basic tenets of "What is
> culture?" Those in the Diaspora, (far away from the
> main society) that claim to have Goan culture, need
> to make sure we truly nurture it, beyond song,
> dance, food and drinks. "As we move away from this
> point and spend lifetimes away from it," there are
> always excuses to discard the layers especially when
> there is no moral pressure to enforce the cultural
> ethos. There are NO ideologies in culture. The only
> goal is survival of the individual, family and
> society 'when the going gets rough'. But then to
> evoke culture (duties and responsibilities) just
> when 'the going gets rough' may be a bit too late.
> I see this often in my place of work.
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