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Save Goa Campaign / Goa Bachao Abhiyan
Report all violations of Hill-cutting, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
and other Land Use violations to:
Nodal Officer & District Collector (Goa) Mr. Nikhil Kumar
Office: 2223612; Residence (after 8PM): 2420710; mobile 9822123071
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PRESIDENT OF PORTUGAL TAKES THE LAST BUS TO VASCO
Unmindful of a shoelace which had come undone, Goan poet Brian Mendonça
presented his credentials to His Excellency, the President of the Portuguese
Republic, Prof. Anibal Cavaco Silva in New Delhi a few hours ago.
He almost didn't.
Trying to get past the beefy rings of Indian security - which suddenly
materialized out of nowhere, blocking his way, when Brian tried to edge up
close - he had all but despaired. Special forces had sealed all exits.
In the vast gallery of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
(IGNCA), New Delhi Brian had watched while eminent art historian Ms Kapila
Vatsayan had led the President and Mrs Maria Cavaco Silva to light the
traditional lamp to inaugurate the exhibition entitled 'Desenho e uma
Escultura' [Drawings and a Sculpture] - Portuguese art works housed in the
Modern Art Centre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.
As the entourage swept past Brian outside the gallery and into the courtyard
in the open air, and the security formations melted, he spied a Portuguese
security officer in a beige suit wired to a walkie talkie near his mouth -
part of the President's own security squad.
'I'd like to give this to the President' said Brian, thrusting his book of
poems in the melee so that the officer could see it. 'I am a poet from Goa,'
Brian added, trying to be helpful. 'The President leaves for Goa tomorrow,'
said the officer crisply.
And then, assessing the situation, he hissed as he surged forward, 'Follow
me, before he gets into the car.'
The huge gleaming black Mercedes of the Government of India - with the
Ashoka Chakra on the registration number plate behind -- lay at the foot of
the steps of the IGNCA with the pilot cars in readiness to whisk away the
President.
As the President began to descend the steps, the hangers-on pressed back to
let him pass. In that space, the security officer called the attention of
the President. He briefly turned back in mid-stride and Brian said 'I'd like
to present this to you.'
The President looked at the book and appreciatively read the title out loud
'Last Bus to Vasco: Poems from Goa.' His finger touched the name on the
cover. 'I have used a lot of Portuguese in my poems,' said Brian. Looking at
Brian, and gesturing to others around him he remarked, '"Mendonça," that's a
Portuguese name.' And after a while he said, 'You are Mendonça?!' perhaps
confusing Brian with Fr Delio Mendonça, Director, Xavier Centre of
Historical Research, Porvorim, Goa. 'But you work in Delhi,' he said, trying
to clear the air. 'Yes' said Brian.
There on the steps of the IGNCA, New Delhi, as the winter sun dipped over
Rashtrapati Bhavan - the official residence of the President of India --
two continents met.
Europe and Asia. Portugal and Goa.
A poet and a President.
With a recognition of a shared culture and history to animate life.
The President beamed and bowed out towards the car. As he sat himself
comfortably in the car he was turning the pages of 'Last Bus to Vasco' with
great interest savouring each line. Perhaps the spirit of the 15th century
navigator was with us this day.
It was destiny's intervention that the last copy of 'Last Bus to Vasco:
Poems from Goa' had to begin its journey in the hands of the President of
Portugal.
The first print of 'Last Bus to Vasco' (2006) has been wiped out by the
tremendous response. The book goes into its first reprint today.
As Brian walked back alone on Mansingh road that Friday, January 12, 2007,
he paused to make friends with, and chat with the impish Rajkumar, the 10-yr
old shoeshine boy from Bihar.
It was time to polish his shoes. And tie those shoelaces.
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Goanet A&E adds............Congrats Brian on the success of the first print
of 'Last Bus to Vasco: Poems from Goa'
http://www.goanet.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=293
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**** WWW.GOANET.ORG ** C O M M U N I T Y ** A N N O U N C E M E N T ****
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Save Goa Campaign / Goa Bachao Abhiyan
Report all violations of Hill-cutting, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
and other Land Use violations to 24-hour Helpline +91 9822684372
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