Bringing the International Film Festival of India to Goa was a visionary move, as the late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar knew only too well how Goa was different from the other India. As a loyal RSS man it was not exactly a comfortable position to be in, and of course, required a great skill in politicking.
The film festival was his baby, as Greenfield Mopa International Airport is multi-times-over Chief Minister Pratap Singh Rane's baby. How sad, indeed, it was to see Manohar Parrikar and his failing health. His last days will rank as a classic film noir; no need to make a movie of his last days, and anyway he is not the Prime Minister of India but Chief Minister of a small state which national leaders more often than not gleefully commented is no bigger than a district of Maharashtra. What set Manohar Parrikar apart from others was his vision went beyond power and money. That he was an ideologue sometimes clouded his mind and made him make not the best decision even though he was a graduate of IIT and had a scientific outlook. Sadly, at times it took a backseat. He was an honest man and a master of political maneuvers who could make his opponents feel as if they were a cat on a red-hot tiled roof. He knew how to make them jump much to the delight of his supporters. He dangled the carrot skillfully on his stick, and it made no difference if they were pure vegetarian or non-vegetarian they went for the carrot with a greater appetite than Adam and Eve ate the apple. He then had them under his power and could use them as a pawn in his games of power politics. He was a master at the game. While he was starring in the film noir version of his life as a seriously ill Chief Minister in the public eye, and could hardly walk or talk, the imbeciles in his Cabinet would inform the public regularly how the Chief Minister was doing his job well, and governance was safe and in good hands even though he was in a hospital bed in Delhi and not so far away New York. The magic of modern technology? He had to manage a dozen and more portfolios from his hospital bed which is different from a hotel bed, so what was the motivation for their blind loyalty? Future historians will have to work on this problem as it is too complex and requires a high level of education and is beyond the average Joao's understanding which is indeed limited, and so please bring in the historians. The greed of our representatives is legendary, and I don't need to make a case for it. That has been the downfall of Goa and it has not stopped nor will it stop. Add to it the complete contempt for the law, legal procedures, and our constitution and our country is going the way of anything but a democracy. Can we seriously ask our young people and future generations to model their lives on the role of a Goan politician without a deja vu feeling of watching a film noir during the IFFC festival?