[Goanet-News] GoaConneXions: Guirim alumni, skill registry, new books, planned obsolescence, report from Karachi, Goans in music... BG D'Souza, grassroot reporting, Konkani film music CD

[Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا]

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_/  GoaConneXions009: an occasional letter compiled by FN
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MEETING UP AT GUIRIM: [Via Aaron Paul] The Past Pupil's
Association of St. Anthony's High School, Monte De Guirim
will have its Annual Reunion on December 19, 2015 from 7 pm
onwards. The theme: Back to School. Band: Ventures. Compere:
Elias Patel. Venue: School Ground. This note adds: "Hope to
see you in large numbers. We will also conduct a three a side
tie breaker in the morning after the flag hoisting for the
ex-students. Cheers. Viva Monte."

THE GOA SKILLS REGISTRY: is an attempt to bring together all
Goan skillset available. Whether in Goa or elsewhere,
Professionals in any field or function or industry is welcome
to register on GSR. GSR is open for all professionals with
Goan connections/roots, whether you are currently in Goa or
elsewhere, from any field or function or industry. You are
welcome to be counted on GSR. Created for GOA IT Professionals.
http://www.goaitpro.org/2014/08/register-with-us.html
http://goaitpro.org

  NEW BOOKS FROM GOA,1556: Shorty Gomes: Vintage
  Indian Crime Stories (Ahmed Bunglowala). Release on
  Nov 2 at Assagao.
  http://goa1556.in/book/shorty-gomes/

  Waiting for the Sunrise: Goan Jazz Musicians of Dar
  es Saalam (Judy Luis-Watson)
  http://goa1556.in/book/goanjazzdar/

  Village Anjuna: Vignettes from Goa (Goanetter
  Domnic Fernandes)
  http://goa1556.in/book/anjuna-story-ages-village/

  Elvis: Rewriting the World through Multicultural
  Movies (Peter Nazareth) Ebook

http://goa1556.in/book/elvis-rewriting-the-world-thru-multicultural-movies/

  Slaves of Sultans (Alan Machado)
  http://goa1556.in/book/the-history-of-the-mangalore-christians/

  Re-membering Singapore (Peter Nazareth) Ebook
  http://goa1556.in/book/re-membering-singapore-ebook/

  Earlier titles: http://goa1556.in
  Mail-order: http://goa1556.in/mailorder/

GIFT KNOWLEDGE to a friend in Goa: five specially selected
Goa history books for Rs 2000; US$31 or Euro28. Post free.
Giftwrapped for the festive season.
IN CANADA: Goa books available via Albert Peres 

THE LIGHT BULB CONSPIRACY -- The untold story of planned
obsolescence. A film by Cosima Dannoritzer. Did you know that
the lifetime of light bulbs once used to last for more than
2500 hours and was reduced on purpose to just 1000 hours? Did
you know that nylon stockings once used to be that stable
that you could even use them as tow rope for cars and its
quality was reduced just to make sure that you will soon need
a new one? Did you know that you might have a tiny little
chip inside your printer that was just placed there so that
your device will break after a predefined number of printed
pages thereby assuring that you buy a new one? Did you know
that Apple originally did not intend to offer any battery
exchange service for their iPods/iPhones/iPads just to enable
you to continuously contribute to the growth of this
corporation? This documentary originally aired on Norwegian
channel NRK2, and is titled "The Pyramid of Waste -- The
lightbulb conspiracy".
TO BE SCREENED ON: Thursday, October 29, 2015. 6:30 PM.
Design Centre, 1 Design Valley, Alto-Porvorim, Bardez, Goa
http://www.meetup.com/Design-Centre-Goa/events/226253036/?a=me1_grp=me1

OVER TO PAKISTAN [By Goretti Ali. From The Christian Voice,
Karachi] On Pakistan's Anniversary of its Independence, the
Goans of Karachi celebrated World Goa Day in St. Anthony's
Church grounds. The Theme for 2015 was 'Goa -- A land united
by beautiful villages'. The Goinkar's Own Academy (GOA)
marked the event with a Food Festival hosting a variety of
Goan dishes. The festivities began with a short visit from
His Excellency, Joseph Coutts, Archbishop of Karachi. The
Festival was declared open by St. Anthony's Assistant Parish
Priest Fr. Arthur Charles along with Fr. Edward Joseph, the
Parish Priest The proceeds from this event will be used
towards the uplift of Mariam School in Shireen Jinnah
Colony... The stalls and stall holders were:

* Maria D’Souza manning BRITONA with a variety of delicacies.
  Chequered cake, balchao, para, sorpotel, channa doce, etc.
* Lovita and Marshall Fernandes from VAGATOR serving sorpotel
  and sannas, coconut prawn and okra curry, coconut water etc.
* Elizabeth Pinto manned the ANJUNA Flea Market.
* Rose and Sabby Fernandes with delicacies from CALANGUTE
  including godshe, vonn, doce, lateri etc.
* Tony Almeida with assorted foods from ANJUNA.
* BAGA had sannas, macaroni with mince, channa chat, chutney,
  pan rolls, kebabs etc.
* Deborah Santamaria with choris pav, balchao, pickles, prawn
  patties, fish tarts etc. from 

[Goanet-News] The Remarkable Syncretism in Goa's Early Modern Architecture (Amita Kanekar)

[Goanet Reader]

The Remarkable Syncretism in Goa's Early Modern Architecture

By Amita Kanekar
amitakane...@gmail.com

There is a tendency in South Asia to privilege the early in
architecture, as George Michell mentions in his recent book,
Late Temple Architecture of India (2015), as if beginnings
are more important than later developments. And even when
later works are examined it is usually in comparison with the
earlier, as a linear progression, or -- more often than not
-- a regression.

  This attitude of course fits in very well with the
  nationalist approach to Goa's history, i.e. with
  the concerted effort to show that Goa has always
  been a part of India despite 450 years of
  Portuguese rule, and despite the non-existence of,
  both, Goa and today's India before the Portuguese
  arrived. Thanks to this tendency, and the
  concurrent emphasis on the 'Indian' in Goa's
  'ancient' heritage, many people might be unaware
  that Goa is the home of a unique tradition of
  architecture of the early modern period.

Old Goa is well known, of course, as a UNESCO world heritage
site, but Goa;s remarkable heritage goes beyond Old Goa, to
its own unique church tradition, its own mosque tradition,
and its own temple tradition, all of which developed in
connection to one another.

This latter point, i.e. the influence of different building
types on one another, counters the neat compartmentalisation
that even architects tend to do, seeing temples as related to
only temples, mosques to mosques, and so on. And here we come
to another shibboleth of architectural history in South Asia
-- the religious style.

  Designating of style, in which aesthetic or formal
  elements are grouped together as a tradition, is a
  long-popular way of evaluating buildings. But while
  European stylistic identification is roughly based
  on era and elements, in India it is common to
  connect style with religion -- thus 'Hindu
  architecture' and 'Muslim architecture' are terms
  heard not just among laypeople but even among
  teachers of architecture.

This of course ignores the fact that there are multiple
traditions of both mosque- and temple-building, also that the
latter was fundamentally influenced by Buddhist monuments.
And it also ignores the still-vibrant heritage of the early
modern period, not just in Goa but all over South Asia, which
directly challenges such narrow-mindedness.

Even before the sixteenth century, Vijayanagara, true to its
Islamicate culture, was adopting Deccan Sultanate forms and
systems in secular building, while the Sulltanates themselves
looked towards Persia and China for inspiration. Things
became more heterogenous later, with the Ikkeri Nayakas
probably the first to use Sultanate forms in temples.

By this point, European influences had also arrived in South
Asia, as can be seen in the later works of the Mughals, which
included Persian, Central Asian, Gujarati, Bangla, Deccani,
and also European elements of design. This became the norm,
with even socially conservative and casteist regimes, like
the Peshvas of Pune and the Jaipur rajas, founding temples
that closely resemble Sultanate mosques and Mughal baradaris.

  For, syncretic architecture does not imply a
  liberal society, just a connected one. Architecture
  has always been about power; architectural
  syncretism was usually about connecting elites to
  other elites. But it does negate the huge
  importance that we ascribe today to religious
  difference.

An even more intense syncretism can be seen in Goa, perhaps
because of its history as a centre of global trade. This
begins with the Goan mosque, also called the Adilshahi
mosque. As Mehrdad Shokoohy points out in his study of the
Safa Masjid of Ponda (1997), the architecture here blends
Malabar Islamicate traditions of intricate timberwork (and
details influenced by South-East Asia), with Bijapuri arches
and tank.

Bijapur is in fact the common element that links Goan
mosques, churches and temples, with the tiered corner towers
of the Gol Gumbaz reflected in the tiered forms of church
facades as well as the lamp-towers of the big temples. The
latter, being the latest of the trio, were strongly
influenced by the churches as well, displaying their
classical orders and nave-and-aisle layouts alongside
Bijapuri domes, arches, tanks and lamp-towers, even as they
roughly follow spatial arrangements for brahmanical shrines
in the larger region.

Given such a rich heritage, it would be good to see a
concerted effort for its protection. The churches and mosques
do appear somewhat protected, though one might cavil at the
errors in reconstruction efforts, as at the Safa Masjid.

The temples however are another story, with many temple
trusts as well as architects trying to replace them with
grander