Heart to Heart
By Ethel Da Costa
Freedom of the mind is true power
A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present
"Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the
following received the most votes:
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not
finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with
her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World'
are: .........
1. To see
2. To hear
3. To touch
4. To taste
5. To feel
6. To laugh and.....
7. To love
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we
overlook as simple and ordinary and we often take for granted in our rush to
`get there' are truly wondrous! It's a gentle reminder, that the most
precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man..
There's a chilly nip in the air as I write this column. I've just returned
home from a wonderful, positive community bonding session at Campal,
planting trees and sharing a cup of tea with fellow Campalites. The last
shreds of twilight seem a deeper hue of indigo. There's a flutter of fruit
bats seeking prey, there's a sliver of moon hanging on to its fate, as the
evening spreads its blanket of dew like a soft curtain of raindrops
shimmering on naked skin. I'm burning the midnight oil, catching up with
words that still spew from my spirited pen. Fingers and brain ache from
overworked bone and mind put to the grind. I have ceased to touch-base with
the mundane things of life. There is no time for idle talk or distractions;
instead there is a desperate need to put ideas into motion like a spirit
possessed. A soul seeking a new dawn to these troubled times.
They say there's no stopping a dreamer. And right now, we are nursing a
dream. It has no grandiose roots, no `Money Bags Godfather' to push it to
the forefront, no speech making montri to ensure headline publicity or
cutting tired old red ribbons. The dream stems from a heartfelt spark, the
drive fuelled by the enthusiasm of getting an entire community - living,
breathing, talented mass of people - together to celebrate the continuity of
community spirit. I'm often told Goa is not ready for ideas. That it is
ambitious thinking, but I dare to try it. And believe in it. That it is the
people who make a city, who make a vibrant State, who must ideate to bring
about changes. Whose voices must be heard. Goa needs a thriving civilization
of thinking, contributing, caring, conscientious people. Politicians can
come and go along with sundry manipulative ego maniacs.
That's why `Celebrate Campal,' we did, a community activity spearheaded by
the Campal Residents Association (CRA) chaired by Deric Rebelo and Armando
Gonsalves, on Oct 2 initiating a noble and heartfelt tree planting activity
to herald the birth of community building on a day dedicated to peace. As
Campal's most enthusiastic and spirited senior citizen, 79-year-old Aduzinda
Gonsalves planted the first tree on her neighbouring sidewalk, followed by
Wendell and Jerome, Patricia and Agnelo, CCP Corporator Sandhu, Jolene,
Fiona, Kabir, Sujoy Gupta and others, I couldn't help but be consumed by a
zeal to reinstate faith that every little drop rolls an ocean. A spirit that
desperately needs to be awakened to fire the passion of a State and country
consumed by ambers of hate, communal violence and rabid mind politics.
Gathering my thoughts end of the night, I couldn't help but realize that
there is a disturbing, scary wave in the air in our country today. It is
wave that follows every bomb blast and precedes every festival. It is more
sinister than a wave of communal violence or aggression or hatred. It is a
wave called communal identity. Suddenly each one of us is retreating back
into our communal identities, instead of opening ourselves up to a wider
sense of self. Are we shrinking into narrow definitions of who we are? If
things continue in this light, soon India will once again fall prey to the
worst communal violence ever, maybe not seen since the days of Partition.
From isolated bomb blasts and area specific rioting, we will rapidly flame
into the worst nationwide conflagrations ever. With global intolerance
peaking against every community possible except one's own, this Us vs Them
fight is poised at a nasty, sinister place. A shudder prickled my spine,
because it is really so simple to take that first step towards peace, if we
only stopped being "Us" and the rest of the world stopped being "Them." Just
a simple first step...
Many times, I have discovered to my grief that the most intellectual man is
not necessarily the most humane or compassionate. They will vehemently deny
the existence of a higher power, go to great length of denials and back it
with scientific jargon, while completely missing the point that discovering
God is a state of self awareness, found living inside you that defines you,
the person, and all action and deeds that come forth from you. Peace does
not care if you're an atheist or an agnostic. If you're an activist, or a
social worker. If every Indian can take this pledge and truly believe that
peace can come about only with freedom of the mind and spirit, will the
flames stop consuming the souls of the innocent.
While Goa gets set to play host to the tourist season, Goa's movers and
shakers of corporate, media and community will have to work doubly hard to
bring together social and cultural elements defining the living, breathing
spaces of a hardcore Goenkar to send out a clear and strong message -- that
a sense of belonging can bring people together for a cause. This cause is
community. Each one, everyone. Despite the diversity in thought. It is not
about politics. It is not about arm-chair critics. It is not about
detractors. It is about positive solutions and wanting to give something
back to where you belong.
While it's a 16 hour-a-day routine schedule of work for me, my daughters
think I should slow down, smell the flowers, catch a sunset or catch some
sleep. Maybe I should, but there's no stopping when you're consumed by an
idea completely. Conviction sets in the face of repeated trial and error, an
evolution of thinking processes that dictate that if you believe you can,
YOU CAN. The people of Goa and this country repeatedly prove to me that THEY
CAN. This gesture gives the adage a `people's movement' more teeth than
ever.
Sure we know that Goa's scars are showing up frequently and not everything
is hunky dory underneath. There are questions that need a re-think and we
could do with more teeth to our claims of transparency. But no government
can be motivated towards accountability unless backed by a firm and aware
population of dreamers and planners. It is this need to dream, and dream big
we must, that is the urgent need of the hour. A dream to commit our talents
and energies to the growth of our city, the prosperity of its people, the
issues that plague civic functioning, and the future preservation of our
culture and ecology. If we have these priorities right, we have much to
celebrate. (ENDS)
The Ethel Da Costa weekly column at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=492
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The above article appeared in the October 5, 2008 edition of the Herald, Goa
