Dear fellow goanet readers This year will be the 22nd year since World Goa Day was proposed and seconded. It is now officially celebrated on 19 August, a day to take a pause and reflect on our culture and heritage. Our people are noted for family feuding, without any family we have no community, with no community we have no vaddo/parish, hence no identity. Basically, we become nothing as all our culinary dishes, customs and family life are destroyed for the benefit of others in Goa and around the world.
You can make a difference in making this World Goa Day 2012 special, in the age of instant communication make an effort contact your Goan folk on 19 August, especially those you are not talking to, be it family or friends and wish them well for World Goa Day, it will make you /them feel better, if not at least you have tried in rebuilding our worldwide family to our beautiful music and langauge, saving our Goan uniqueness from oblivion . The Portuguese peasantry introduced sorpotel to Goa, we in turn made it our National Dish, specially to be served at all our major ceremonies and during the Christmas festive season. This is also an opportunity to rejunivate your taste buds and introduce others to know the diferrence between dodol and pinac, between rechard masala and ambot tik it will be difficult for our younger peaple at first for those weaned on burgers and chips or pizzas, do give it a try. Resturants offering Goan Cuisine in England I am aware of are: Anjuna - Leicester Copper Pot - Sheffield Goan Bites - Swindon Carvalhos Pickle - Sudbury/York see website Carvalhos Pickles Palms of Goa - London off Oxford Street Sonnys - London Barnes Ma Goa - London Putney Songar Goan Tandoori - Coventry Olde Goa - London Norbury see web site www.currytree.co.uk I am sure Goanet with its Global Position will oblige should you have any ideas in your local area . Do not be alone on World Goa Day check out various web sites for events near you. The NRI office in Goa has a fund for distressed Goans overseas perhaps a facility can be created for surplus funds from Goan events overseas to be channeled into this potlo or even create one for the benefit of our people in Goa. Melvyn Fernandes Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom 14 August 2012 melvynfernan...@virginmedia.com