Pictures courtesy: www.goa-world.com
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Rs 4-5 crore paid to MLAs to cross floor, alleges BJP
(The Navhind Times)
PTI New Delhi Feb 5: The Bharatiya Janata Party today alleged the Parrikar government in Goa was dismissed at the behest of the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi and charged that the MLAs, who defected, were paid up to Rs 5 crore.
�We have information that each MLA was given Rs 4 to Rs 5 crore to change sides,� BJP north zonal in-charge, Mr Madan Lal Khurana alleged at a press conference here.
Four BJP MLAs supporting the BJP government shifted allegiance to the Congress in Goa reducing the Parikkar government to minority.
The Delhi BJP chief, Mr Harsh Vardhan alleged that the government had been pulled down on the direction of Ms Gandhi.
Our Staff Reporter adds from Panaji: The Goa BJP president, Mr Rajendra Arlekar today stated the Rane government was in minority and thus did not have any right to take any cabinet decision until it proved its strength on the floor of the House.
Addressing a press conference in the state along with the former chief minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar, Mr Arlekar said, �Only a government which wins the motion of confidence in the assembly has the right to take decisions having direct impact on financial and social aspects of the state.�
The Chief Minister, Mr Pratapsingh Rane must immediately request the Governor, Mr S C Jamir to convene an assembly session for proving the majority of his government, he said, adding that Mr Rane was, however, reluctant to do so as he was unsure of winning the motion of confidence.
Likening Mr Rane to the Mughal emperor, Mohammed Tughlaq who changed his capital from one city to another, Mr Arlekar said that Mr Rane was shifting the offices of the cabinet ministers back to the old Secretariat. �It is a futile exercise and burden on the government exchequer, as administrative offices are located at Porvorim Secretariat, while the ministers would be sitting in Panaji city,� he observed.
The state BJP chief said the present government had put on holdall administrative activities in the state for the past few days as the Chief Minister, until now, held all the portfolios and was presently away from Goa. �The decision about distribution of portfolios should not be taken at Casa Monserrate,� he stated, adding that under no circumstances creation of an extra-constitutional centre at Taleigao be allowed.
Speaking about the nationwide campaign against the dismissal of the Parrikar government to be launched on February 8 in Delhi by the National Democratic Alliance, Mr Arlekar said the agitation in the capital city of Goa will be led the BJP general-secretary, Mr Pramod Mahajan.
A meeting scheduled to be held in the city on February 6 is expected to be attended by 500 party signatories and would decide the future course of action of the campaign against the decision of the Governor.
Mr Parrikar said that he would file a petition against the decision to dismiss his government in the court of law either on February 7 or February 8. �The legal implications of the case are being studied and the draft of the petition prepared by the experts,� he said, adding that, �one of the option points out that the petition could be filed before the Supreme Court due to the federal aspects involved.�
ORIGIN OF GOA CARNIVAL One of the most popular festivals of India, the Goa carnival, a three-day fest, had its birth in Goa during the era of King Momo. He ushered in the Goa carnival just before the Lent season (Lent is the period of fasting and penance in the Christian calendar and corresponding somewhat to the Mohammedan fast before Ramzan Id). This festival of Goa usually starts off on Sabado Gordo (Fat Saturday) and concludes on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday)-the eve of Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of the season of Lent.
Carnival in Goa is much tamer when compared to the carnival in the other countries, but a madness of sorts nevertheless. Until a few years ago it was promoted by the state authorities as a Christian festival and large and small manufacturing and trading corporations,
ever eager to use any means to sell their products literally took over the processions of Carnival floats, balls and street dances. In fact, for those four nights and three days they ruled over Goa. Manufacturers of beer, liquor, cigarette, and other consumer products used and abused the Goan Carnival to sell their wares. The church and social activists then suddenly took energetic initiative to put an end to the reckless exploitation of Carnival and adolescent boys and girls. As a result, carnival in Goa is now what it was meant to be: a people feast. And no more a spectacle to lure tourists and consumers.
Carnival is in essence a spring festival, like holi. The Romans celebrated the Saturnalia spectacularly with floats, tableaux, clowns, vamps, contortionists and pranksters. Before then, the Greeks had a festival in honour of Kronas, one of the Titans and the father of Zeus. With the advent of Christianity, notwithstanding the Church's fierce opposition, Latin Europe began to celebrate three days of ribaldry in anticipation of forty days of sackcloth and abstention-entrudo, as the Portuguese say.
Gorging before fasting has been a custom in Christian communities. A 1000-egg omelette is eaten on Friday before Lent at Ponti in Italy. Eggs and butter were consumed in large quantities on Shrove Tuesday, popularly known as Pancake Day in Britain and Mardi Gras which means Fat Tuesday, in France. The Germans celebrated the Fastnacht or Eve of Fasting. Some of the pre-Lenten gorging festivals last for as much as a fortnight. In Portugal, the pre-carnival
celebrations are known as assaltos, when masked groups "raid" their friends' houses and are treated to the best of food and beverages, amid much singing and dancing. A few aristocratic Goan families still follow the custom.
ORIGIN OF GOA CARNIVAL Carnival in Goa was a great leveler. Early accounts-all of them hearsay-are indeed educative. The white masters masqueraded as black slaves and the latter-generally slaves brought in from Mozambique-plastered their faces with flour and wore high battens, or walked on stilts. For those three ephemeral days, they were happy to be larger than life. And while the whites and the blacks mimicked each other, the brown locals watched this reversal of roles in awe from the sidelines.
In course of time, when the imperial regime mellowed and inhibitions dwindled, Carnival, no more an excuse to be what one was not-and often hoped to be-became a time for bonhomie. The old crude mimicry blossomed into social satire. In the villages, the play writers pieced together in Khel (Konkani for
play) anecdotes, events and criticism. The Portuguese Governor General, his family and retinue used the occasion for a show of diplomacy. They showered the crowds with poudre de riz and confetti, and were happy to be showered back. At the carnival balls, the governor-general danced with whom he pleased-provided, of course the lady agreed to the request. And anyone was free to ask the governor-general's wife for a dance. And if the tango demanded, they danced cheek-to-cheek, hip-to-hip.
In 1922, when Dr. Jaime de Morais was Governor General of Goa, the entire area around the 'Palacio do Hidalcao' was transformed into a 'fairy land'. The Governor General entertained the children of Panjim in a somewhat curious manner. He waged a war with them from the verandah of his palace with 'cocotes' (powder bombs), bags of perfumed powder, flowers and sugar plums. The air was dotted with multicoloured trails attached to bobbing balloons. The streets were a riot of colours as the procession of horse-drawn carriages, decorated bullock carts and gorgeously bedecked floats wound their way up them. For the next three days the carnival traffic jammed the streets alongside Hidalcao Palace, the Municipal Gardens and the fountainheads.
ORIGIN OF GOA CARNIVAL Once, Goa carnival was a mood. It had no spectators and was strictly for participants. From dawn to dusk and back to dawn again, they sang and danced, changed costumes and partners and serenaded their namorados, girlfriends. Those who fell in love during carnival married after Easter.
During the ancient carnival authentic battles were fought between opposing army-like groups wherein the participants were not only young people but also prominent citizens. The Portuguese sailors from the fun ship Sado made the carnival scene even more picturesque. Adding to the charm were groups of singers and musicians with their guitars, mandolins and other musical instruments, singing fados along with other carnival
tunes.
The carnival of those times was sometimes reduced to a 'mini-revolution', wherein masked bands entered the homes of friends and acquaintances-raiding their kitchens and taking the best food they could find there.
A decade later, the carnival took on a mildly violent nature. Instead of flowers and sweets, the ammunition turned out to be potatoes, rotten eggs, tomatoes and brinjals. The powder bombs (cocotes) used earlier were now made of spoilt flour and husk. The charm and elegance that characterized this festival gave way to a rough and crude display of fun.
For those who have never before experienced the Goan way of life, the Carnival comes as a big surprise, especially the capacity of the locals to sing and dance their way practically non-stop, through four nights and three days. They drink almost by the barrel and yet few show signs of drunkenness. Revelers greet each other with a full-throated "Viva Carnaval." At the end of it, one can see that fun in Goa has been-and is, and god willing, shall forever be-a very, very serious business. (www.goacarnival.com)
- Forwarded by www.goa-world.com
Smile and laugh more. Nothing is so important that can rob your cheer.
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