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I am reproducing below the unedited article of Rupesh Samant that was published in the June issue [ Vol.1 No.5]of the NORTH GOA PLUS tabloid[monthly,10,000 copies,16 pages,FREE]. Rupesh has extensively quoted history lecturer and Vice-President of GHAG on the reasons why "The Fontainhas Heritage Festival" was to be discontinued. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fontainhas Festival! > > The Fontainhas Festival SCRAPPED! > By Rupesh Samant > > Controversy of different sorts has taken toll of Goa's unique event of > international repute - the Fontainhas festival. After successfully holding the > festival for last two years, the organizers -- Goa Heritage Action Group (GHAG) > -- have decided to scrap it forever. > The GHAG's decision was the fallout of protests by Goan freedom fighters, who > termed the festival as an attempt to promote Portuguese culture in the state. > This coastal state was an erstwhile Portuguese colony. > Fontainhas, tucked into a corner of Panaji city, with a row of houses depicting > Indo-Portuguese architecture - was the focus of this art festival, organized by > GHAG, a local NGO, in collaboration with the state Tourism Department and > Corporation of City of Panaji. > While Corporation of City of Panaji beautified roads and painted the façade of > all the houses, the GHAG invited artists from across the country to exhibit > their paintings. The concept was simple. The residents of Fontainhas let their > houses be used by artists to display their creations. > "The house owner used to get share of the profits made by the artists during the > festival," explained GHAG vice president Prajal Sakhardande. It was not only > about art, though. "We wanted that people saw the unique Indo-Portuguese > architectural styled houses," says Sakhardande. > Fontainhas was not just a hot favourite amongst artists. Television commercial > producers too have extracted the best mileage out of the Indo-Portuguese > architecture styled corner. Fontainhas features in several TV commercials, > including those of Hutch, Maruti Zen, Mirinda and others. > All went on well till last year, when freedom fighters from this state objected > to the festival. "Their main opposition was to the name of the festival itself. > They accused us of supporting Portuguese culture,'' says Sakhardande. > The Portuguese named this corner of capital city of Panaji as Fountainhas due to > presence of a spring there. The spring, which existed right from the existence > of Panaji, was properly developed during Portuguese rule. > According to Sakhardande, a historian himself, during 1851-1855 then Portuguese > Governor of Goa Jose Januario La Paz Viscont of Villa Nove de Ouvrem built a > structure around the spring. The spring used to provide potable water to the > city. > The GHAG feels that the freedom fighters misunderstood their event. "We wanted > to preserve our heritage," says Sakhardande. The event, which began in 2002, > attracted many international and domestic tourists. The state tourism > department had also chipped in to provide global publicity for this event. "We > have decided not to hold the event any more as it may disturb freedom fighters' > and others' sentiments," confirmed Sakhardande. Rupesh While Rupesh quotes the Vice-President of GHAG laying the blame on the so-called 'Freedom Fighters' [ordinary criminals of the bye-gone era also have fraudulently obtained the 'tamra patra' and call themselves freedom fighters just as the "tainted MPs" of today call themselves social or political activists]-- and the action of Nagesh Karmali last Friday at Fontainhas seems to justify his claim-- a letter issued by Heta Pandit in her capacity as the "Honorary Secretary" of GHAG states otherwise. "This decision [to 'withhold' the Fontainhas Festival of Arts] has been taken after due deliberations and consideration of the inadequacy of logistical support from within the organization as well as outside the organization for this particular event next year." On plain reading,one would assume it means that htere are 1. dissentions within the GHAG regarding this festival and 2. there is not enough sponsorship [from Tourism Dept] and infrastructural support [from CCP]. The Freedom Fighters Association is not known to have deliberated on this issue nor issued any public statement. One swallow does not a summer make---neither does a Karmali! It is in the public domain that last January the GHAG drew flak for the way it conducted the festival. Goa Today, Gomantak Times and other publications have been full of misgivings on the subject. The PR and Accountability of GHAG has been bad although its publications [Parmal] and,perhaps, even its books of accounts , may be shing examples in their field. Its continued silence on the heritage value of the old GMC building is still deafening. Is the GMC of less heritage value than the Tonca Pillar? or Fontainhas? or Campal? or Boca da Vaca? or does the GHAGneed to be remided that GMC is not like PMC...that it was indeed the Palacio da Malcagnaca or Escola Medico Cirigao.... History shows that GHAG[ read Heta Pandit] values the Portuguese nomenclature..even if it is ,intentionally, Bonca da vaca ....the eternal font of bullshit. Dom Martin and Fredrick Noronha are right. That does not mean that the critics of GHAG [ and they are a legion!] are wrong. > From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > There was a time when, in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man was a king (or queen, gender depending). But when everyone goes about examining reality one-eyed, we end up with more kings and queens than necessity can possibly coronate. Or to rephrase the above, at any given time, there is a surplus supply of nonentities versus those whose faces have the face-value of accomplishment(s) or fame. > Dom Martin , "Frederick Noronha (FN)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I've been following the criticism targeted at Heta Pandit and the Goa Heritage Action Group, and see it as part of the general diatribe against NGOs in Goa we have seen in recent years. For all their shortcomings, one has to accept that institutions and individuals like these have also a good side, which tends to get ignored when a spiral of criticism and a tornado of allegations comes their way . . FN. Let us hope that better sense will prevail. That heritage will be preserved by the owners, the Archeological Survey of India, the Goa Government, GHAG, Freedom Fighters[ otherwise we can begin the destruction from the Aguada Jail, the Raj Bhavan, Hotel Mandovi, CM's official residence, Police HQ,Printing Press,House of Dempo, G.E.s office-- all of the colonial vintage--, and Secretariat, Fazenda, Mhamai Kamat and Sankhwalkar houses of the Bijapur era]. Perhaps we can destroy anything that we may find of the Maratha era and the Vijaynagar era and go back to what we can find of the Kasdamba and pre-Kadamba period. We could also destroy the RCC structures and bridges and cars and boats and travel by bullock carts and canoes...just to be rid of everything that is non-Goan in origin. We could also learn to plaough our fields and grow our own vegetables...if we have that much pride in our exclusiveness. or go jump in our own rivers...or take Vanvas Viva Goa. Miguel
