--- Radhakrishnan Nair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> But what's unique about some Goan bhatkars of
vintage variety
> is their seemingly disproportionate and illogical
loyalty to
> the Portuguese. The moment the letter 'P' is
uttered, they put
> the blinkers on and begin to brag about the three
bridges and
> a radio station the Portuguese had managed to build
in 450
> years. I always restrained myself (for fear of
losing a few
> good friends) from saying that the bridges survived
because
> nothing heavier than bullock carts passed over them!
>
Mario adds:
>
Hey, Radha, don't forget the Mercedes Benzes and
Citroens that also used the 3 bridges! However, to be
fair, I have met a few who have since given up the
ghost on ever being "Portuguese" again.
>
As we have seen in some of the posts on this very
thread, the Portuguese were somehow extremely
successful in convincing a small section of Goans into
thinking that they too were really "Portuguese". That
"overseas province" concept was a brilliant piece of
sophistry that enabled them to buy over a decade of
additional colonial economic bliss of cheap sources of
raw materials and a captive market.
>
The attitude was similar to many Anglo-Indians, with
the caveat that the Anglo-Indians at least had some
British blood in them, and while they considered
themselves "different" for obvious reasons, most did
not necessarily consider themselves "elite" in the
same way as the "bhatkars" and "fidalgos" did. The
real die-hards in both communities moved to the
"motherland".
>
