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Panjim I February 6, 2011 I Postal Reg. No. Goa 101 I Price Rs. 3.00 I Air Surcharge Rs 2 I Pages 16+10

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Mubarak’s son, top aides quit

Sachin Ambadoskar

BJP duo, Churchill clash Team HeRaLD

Cairo, Feb 5: Embattled President Hosni Mubarak’s powerful son Gamal and top leaders of ruling party today quit their posts, but their conciliatory gesture drew a blank amid mounting pressure from protestors demanding the immediate ouster of the Egyptian leader.

The six-member steering committee of the National Democratic Party, including secretary-general Safwat elSharif, stepped down in a move to calm down protests against Mubarak.

Hossam Badrawi, who is reputed to have good relations with opposition figures, has been appointed as the NDP secretary general.

Earlier reports had said the President had also quit the National Democratic Party, but the state TV did not name the president and announced that members of the top decision-making

committee had resigned from their posts.

The top executive of the ruling National Democratic Party, which includes the president’s son Gamal Mubarak who is head of the powerful policies committee, resigned from ruling party, state television said.

“The members of the executive committee resigned from their posts,” it said.

Gamal, a member of the Steering Committee, has been seen as being groomed by his father to succeed him as president.

Omar Suleiman, the Vice President promised last week that Gamal would not run for president in elections due in September.

Uncertainty and tension gripped Egypt with international clamour growing on beleaguered President to hand over power immediately. PTI

Top Navy man sacked in sex scandal

Tainted Pak trio stumped

New Delhi, Feb 5: A senior Navy officer has been sacked for having sexual relations with a Russian woman in Moscow as head of the Indian team overseeing the refit of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov there.

Commodore Sukhjinder Singh was posted in Moscow between 2005 to 2007 as the Indian warship production superintendent to oversee Gorshkov’s refit when he developed illicit relationship with the woman. PTI

STANDING TALL: Eminent scientist Dr R A Mashelkar delivering the inaugural lecture of the D D Kosmabi Festival of Ideas at Kala Academy, on Saturday.

Finance Dept lists irregularities in awarding contract for power plant in Chattisgarh to supply power to Goa SURaJ NaNDReKaR

Aamer, Asif and Salman.

2.1.1 of the Code that (respectively) Asif agreed to bowl and did bowl a deliberate no ball in the Lord’s Test match played between Pakistan and England from 26 to 29 August 2010, Aamer agreed to bowl and did bowl two deliberate no balls in the >Continued on pg 11

Panjim, Feb 5: The Goa Government has flouted all rules, including observations made by the Finance Department, to award a contract to a power developer for setting up power project in Chattisgarh, where the State has been allotted a coal block by the central Government.

The ostensible objective was to access power produced by the developer to augment the State’s power reserves.

The Centre in 2001 had communicated to all States informing that State Government Undertakings are allowed to do mining of coking and non-coking coal or lignite reserves, anywhere in country subject to certain conditions.

While till 2001 to 2007 no Government acted on the communication, in 2008 the Digambar Kamat Government appointed Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) as the nodal agency for implementing the scheme.

Goa can be the happiest State in the world: Mashelkar aSHWIN TOmBaT

G

oa should be the “happiest State in the world” by 2035; where every Goan will do well, there is harmony, pristine nature, and development without destruction, eminent scientist Dr R A Mashelkar said in the inaugural lecture of the D D Kosmabi Festival of Ideas at Kala Academy, Panjim, on Saturday.

Pointing out that innovation and knowledge will drive the present century, he said Goa – owing to its small size, high human development indices, education and widespread knowledge of English – is best suited to be a knowledge economy.

Describing himself as a “dangerous optimist”, Dr Mashelkar cited his own background — of a boy coming from a poor family that struggled to make ends meet, and was unable to afford

Margao, Feb 5: Three days after they clashed in the Assembly in the just concluded Session over the alleged water tank distribution scam in the PWD, the tremors of the fierce battle between the BJP led by Manohar Parrikar-Damu Naik duo and PWD Minister, Churchill Alemao-Vijay Sardessai combine were strongly felt in Fatorda on Saturday.

While the PWD Minister dared Parrikar to hold an Opinion Poll to seek the pulse of Goans on the functioning of the PWD during his tenure, the Leader of the Opposition said a Commission of Inquiry to probe into works executed by the PWD bill wise pertaining to just one year would nail the PWD Minister.

Both the PWD Minister and the Opposition leader were in Borda-Fatorda on Saturday attending different functions in and around the Multipurpose school com-

plex.

Alemao took the platform at a sports meet held for the deaf and dumb at the Multipurpose grounds challenging the BJP to prove the charges of corruption.

Alemao thundered: “I swear by my family that I have not pocketed even one rupee from the distribution of water tanks to the common man and the downtrodden”.

“The people of Goa are aware of my achievements during my tenure as PWD Minister. I am confident that an Opinion Poll would give me a clean chit and expose the BJP’s baseless propaganda”, Alemao asserted.

That’s not all. The PWD Minister publicly declared that he would soon descend in Fatorda to drum up support for his close aide and GPCC General Secretary Vijay Sardessai in the run up to the coming Assembly polls.

Saturday afternoon saw >Continued on pg 11

Govt signs power project MoU bypassing financial norms

ICC imposes lengthy sanctions after finding them guilty of spot-fixing Doha, Feb 5: Ending months of uncertainty, the ICC today banned former Pakistan captain Salman Butt for 10 years and sanctioned seven and five years of ineligibility for pace duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer after finding the three cricketers guilty of spot-fixing.

In its verdict, the ICC imposed 10 years ban on Butt with five years of suspended sentence, Asif a seven-year sanction with two years suspended, while Aamer was banned for five years.

“The Tribunal found that the charges under Article

FATORDA ERUPTS IN WAR OF WORDS

RAM-ayana: Quotes of R A Mashelkar

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It is not the size of the budget but the size of the idea that matters”.

cause that is where I am going to spend the rest of my life”.

When ‘Satyam’ (truth) loses its meaning, when ‘Adarsh’ (ideal) loses its meaning; we need to do something about it”.

The ‘I’ in India should stand for innovation, not for inhibition or imitation”.

Making the impossible possible is a thing of the mind”.

I only think of the future, beeven school fees, studying under a street lamp, and then going on to become a prestigious Fellow of the Royal Society in Britain — as an example of “Making the Impossible, Possible”; the subject of his talk.

He said India had gained three free-

“When 1.2 billion Indians get up each morning and say: ‘My India,’ what an India that will be!”. doms over the past 60-odd years. The first was political freedom in 1947, followed by economic freedom (the freedom to compete) in 1991, when then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh opened up the economy. The third, >Continued on pg 11

HERALD EXCLUSIVE

POWERFUL OMISSIONS

Finance Department’s observations n n n n

MoU signed without Cabinet approval Contract signed even before coal block was awarded to the State Benchmark for financial parameters not known Fixed only 10% of production by the power developer as the requirement with no guarantee of getting balance reserves

The Corporation thereafter invited Expression of Interest seeking proposals to shortlist a power developer for setting up power projects.

However, at this point of

time the Corporation had no mandate to undertake mining activity and it sought an amendment to the object clause of the Corporation to >Continued on pg 11

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goa SNAPSHOT Batim teen dies in cortalim mishap A teenager from Gavekarwada-Batim in Tiswadi died in a road mishap along the NH-17A road near the Cortalim junction on Friday night.

According to Verna police, Sunny D'Sa (19) was found dead along the roadside by a police patrol jeep. A Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle (GA-07-D-9702) was found in the bushes by the roadside.

It is learnt that the deceased had gone to meet some friends near the Shantadurga temple at Sancaole and was retuning home when he met with an accident.

Verna police has registered a case of unnatural death and is investigating the case.

K’taka woman found dead at Headland sada

A 45-year-old woman hailing from Bagalkot-Karnataka was found dead at the Japanese Garden at Headland Sada, Mormugao on Saturday morning.

According to Mormugao police, the body of Kamla Nagappa Kadlimatti, who was presently residing at Jetty- Mormugao, was found hanging from a tree with saree. The reason behind the death is unclear and police has sent the body for an autopsy.

Human skeletal remains dumped at colva

In a shocking incident, the skeletal remains of an unknown person were found dumped in a gunny bag at Fourth Ward, Colva on late Saturday evening.

Colva police led by PI Tushar Vernekar rushed to the spot upon receiving a news from local activists and immediately requisitioned the services of a police dog to assist in the investigations.

PI Vernekar told Herald from the spot that the skeletal remains were found in the gunny bag recovered from a low lying field. He said the human body was fully decomposed and only the skeletal remains have been found in the bag. He said the skeletal remains will be dispatched to the Hospicio hospital for further investigations. The recovery of the remains sent shock waves in the locality, with locals saying the body of the human being might have been dumped long ago as evident by the extent of decomposition.

The Colva police are investigating.

On January 22, some Nigerians and locals of Arpora and Calangute clashed with each other at a restaurant in Calangute.

DEAD BUT NOT BURIED YEAR 1

February 18, 2009 It was one year since Scarlet died and the case was still hopping between different sections of Goa Police. The tale of desperate attempts to destroy evidence and change in investigating officers loomed large over this sensational case that could have unmasked the drug lobby in the state.

If not for a pair of chappals and undergarment that was left behind little away from Anjuna’s high tide line, the case would never have been so much controversial.

A year ago her mother had undergarment and pair of chappals, behind the bushes at Luis Shack which raised the suspicion that there was some activity preceding the death.

The mother walked with evidence to Calangute Police Station where Police Sub Inspector Nerlon Albuquerque did not heed to her requests.

It was only thereafter that the case was full blown into controversy with the Indian lawyer Vikram Varma coming to the rescue of British mother. The investigation was of the case was shoddy because police did not bother to collect proper evidences. There were also attempts to push the case under mat so that image of tourist friendly Goa police is not shattered.

Exposure of her diaries and subsequent claims of she being sex addict and drug addict was used to let the alleged accused go scotfree.

Police threw rule book to the wind and there was all possible attempts to hide things from the media.

But what happened at the end is actually a saga of shame for khakhi. During the first year of investigation two locals – Samson D’Souza and Placido Carvalho are arrested for drug-

ging, raping and leaving the teenager to die on the beach.

YEAR 2 February 18, 2010 Two years had passed and the trial was yet to begin in the case. The case was handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),

Nigerians: NOT QUITE WELCOME

T

Eminent scientist and former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam will speak on ‘Imagination leads to Creativity’ at 5 pm today.

February 18 will mark the third anniversary of British teenager Scarlet Keeling’s death. Her body still lies in possession of a British coroner, not buried. Her case too is far from being even close to completion. Vibha Verma looks at each of these years at a time to remind us of how our justice system has stopped her mother from knowing who her daughter’s killers were

Over staying, drug trafficking, visa problems. Nigerians in Goa seem to be more in trouble than out of it. Thomas Fernandes investigates

hey have been arriving in the State mainly for education or vacation, but a growing number of Nigerians have ended up in a room of a different kind – the police lockup.

Having grappled with Kashmiri traders, Russians and Israelis over the past two decades, residents along the Calangute-Anjuna coastal belt are now confronted with a new set of visitors, the Nigerian community, and the interaction has not always been pleasant.

The growing animosity among the locals towards the African tourists was exposed on January 22, when some Nigerians and locals of Arpora and Calangute clashed with each other at a restaurant in Calangute.

Despite this decline in hospitality, Nigerians are keen to stay in the State, so much so that many are willing to risk overstaying in the country without valid documents or, worse still, with forged visas.

The desire of many of these Nigerians to remain in Goa despite the risks has led many locals to question their main intentions of visiting

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the State.

On January 27, two Nigerians were arrested in separate cases in connection with possessing drugs worth a combined Rs 34.5 lakh, revealing the darker side of the Nigerian involvement in the drug trade.

Herald then dug into its archives and pulled out some surprising statistics (see chart). In Bardez taluka alone, 43 Nigerians were arrested in 44 cases within barely 16 months (October 2009 and January this year) in the police stations at Calangute, Anjuna and Mapusa, as well as by the Anti Narcotics Cell. One Nigerian was arrested twice, once each by the ANC and by the Calangute police.

Of those 44 cases, most were booked by Calangute police (23) and Anjuna police (13), followed by Mapusa police (4), Porvorim police (2) and ANC (2).

A majority of these cases pertained to overstaying in the country (31), followed by drugs trafficking (9), forged/fake visa (3) and escape from custody (1).

Incidentally, 19 of these cases were booked in a single month (April 2009), while nine cases were registered in October 2009.

The Calangute police had booked all nine cases in Octo-

ber 2009. At that time, the police had suspected a fake Visa racket involving the Nigerians, where the accused after scanning the Visa, had cut and paste it on the passport to legalise the stay in the country.

The frequency of arrests involving Nigerians was such that 25 of these 44 cases were booked by the police within a period of barely four months (March 2010 and June 2010).

“I have arrested most of the Nigerians either involved in illegal drugs activity or unauthorized stay in India.

Somehow, it makes me believe that they are more interested in the drug trade than their studies or other legitimate activity,” said Anjuna Police Inspector Manjunath Dessai, who is also presently heading the Calangute police station.

The frequent brush with the law enforcement agencies has also led to a decline in public sympathy for the Nigerian community.

A resident of Parra, who incidentally, is a friend of a Nigerian, said: “Most of these Nigerians are in Goa only to sell drugs and nothing else.

They are not here either to study or on holidays as tourists, but most are professional drug peddlers.”

Anjuna Sarpanch Lavino Rebello also believes that

most Nigerians are directly or indirectly involved in the drug trade.

“I feel most of the Nigerians are directly or indirectly involved in the drug trade.

However, I blame our own Goans for renting out their apartments or rooms to the Nigerians, I am willing to lead a campaign to drive away those Nigerians indulging in the drug trade,” Rebello added.

On the other hand, not all are willing to malign the entire Nigerian community as drug pedlars. But even those who believe that the Nigerians are being unfairly treated would admit that authorities need to keep a closer check on their activities.

Says Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes: “We should not crucify or harass each and every Nigerian for sake of others as there are a few thorough gentlemen. However, the police should keep a check on their activities as they are the ones who are capable of saying who is involved in drug trade, etc. We should be extra cautious while blaming the Nigerians.”

When contacted, none of the Nigerians were willing to comment on reasons behind the many arrests involving the Nigerian community in recent times.

Gudlar case: Sr cops claim godown was empty HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, FEB 5: A day after Chief Secretary Sanjay Srivastava’s confidential letter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged suspended Police Sub Inspector Sunil Gudlar of stealing drugs from the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) ‘malkhana’, senior police officers

claimed that the godown was empty.

“The total quantity of drugs in the godown was sent for forensic tests at Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Hyderabad after Crime Branch officials conducted panchanama in March-April 2010. How one can blame any police official,” a senior officer said on condition of anonymity.

which still working on the tattered pieces of evidences collected by Goa Police.

The superficial investigation and the time gap had stalled the case. CBI officials got close to filing the chargesheet, but the real issue of drug trade flourishing on the coastal belt had been left untouched.

Her body was dispatched to UK after con-

ducting two postmortems. Indian authorities went to the extend of holding back her organs.

The British government castigated the government included the Chief Secretary.

All eyes were on the chargesheet and trial, which would begin in Goa Children’s Court.

Two accused were already out on the bail.

The police had already filed a provisional chargesheet. The CBI had to work to work based on this provisional chargesheet.

February 18, 2011 Three years have passed. The chargesheet has been filed. The CBI is investigating authority and counsel representing CBI has quit the assignment sighting inordinate delay in the trial.

S R Rivonkar, a lawyer, who represented the central agency till 15 witnesses were examined now feels that there has been frequent change in the judges and also there are obstructions from the defence counsel. Rivonkar had predicted that the trial in the case would be end by December 2010 but things did not work out. The dragging of the case forced Rivonkar to quit.

Back in UK, the coroner is still working on Scarlet’s corpse. Fiona has claimed that the coroner has told her that he is having evidences which are more and even contradictory to what CBI has presented in the Court.

The trial has reached a stage where all the policemen who saw Scarlet’s corpse on the beach, Fiona and crucial witness Murli Sagar stands testified. The cross examination has also happened.

Curlie’s, a shack which shot in news after her death, still remains a hotspot and was even featured in a cover story of a national news magazine as a regular place to pick up drugs.

cORRiDORs Of POwER Starting this week Suraj Nandrekar will do a weekly round-up of political developments in the state called “Corridors of Power”.

His first is a look-back on the just concluded winter session of the assembly A naram winter session when garam was promised.

All the talks of the “garam” Winter Session of the assembly have turned out to be damp squib as the Digambar Kamat government having yet another smooth sailing in the 5-day assembly session, which concluded yesterday, with not much coming in from the Opposition.

Agreed, the Opposition did grill the government on several fronts including corruption in Public Works Department, privatisation of Mapusa Hospital and to certain extent on illegal mining.

But there were several other burning issues which could have been taken up on priority. The BJP has always been talking about the law and order situation and one expected them to go all out against the government. But what have they done in the assembly on this front?

Agreed again, the home minister robbed the opposition of any chance on grilling him on the drugs issue by making an announcement that the case has already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

But the other issues like the increasing police brutality by every passing day, the Cipriano custodial death is one such many cases which go unnoticed. Besides, there are temple thefts, murders and rapes on regular intervals besides the much bigger police-politicians drugs nexus.

But the Opposition failed to highlight the issue.

What was more shocking was the BJP leaders did not even react to the allegations made by Naik. Just before the assembly session the Home Minister Ravi Naik had made a scathing attack against the Opposition Leader Manohar Parrikar that the drugs trade flourished under him and he had links with drug dealer called Roy Fernandes and one Vaingankar.

If one may recall the proceeding in the assembly, none of the BJP leaders spoke on the issue at large there may have been some passing statement but none taken up seriously.

Parrikar too reacted very late on the allegations when one expected him to take the House by storm.

The BJP could have at least made an at-

tempt by moving an adjournment motion over the developments on Home front…

For many, the opposition to the government came from within the ruling party – Aldona legislator Dayanand Narvekar and to some extent Mauvin Godinho.

A jilted Narvekar, who was unceremoniously dropped as finance minister to make way for Babush Monserrate in 2008, took the government head one on several issues be it Home, mining, education etc.

Besides, he surprised one an all when he moved an adjournment motion. He was later pacified by the colleagues following, which he withdrew the motion.

But Mauvin’s assurance to corner the home minister in the assembly fell flat and he hardly raised the issue of any significance apart from the Special Status to Goa. Although Mauvin did not say much himself he made one statement which could hurt the opposition badly.

Participating in the discussion on the Governor’s address Mauvin said “I don’t know why the opposition is keeping quite on several burning issues…may be some of their works are also being done by the government.”

For chief minister Kamat, this session was business as usual - making several assurances in the House, which all know will never be kept up by him or his government.

All in all it was a smooth sailing for Kamat, who had put gag orders on his legislators on speaking against the government.

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When ‘Satyam’ (truth) loses its meaning, when ‘Adarsh’ (ideal) loses its meaning; we need to do something about it. – R A Mashelkar

face-off Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane, is a bit of a maverick in the preset ways of government functioning. Faced with a strong attack from his own party strongman Dayanand Narvekar for alleged irregularities in the PP model adopted for the North Goa district hospital, the Junior Rane says he has been completely transparent.

But has “distanced” himself from the controversy, in an interview with Sujay Gupta

‘I HAVE BEEN TRANSPARENT’ I report only to the Congress high command and keep the CM informed

Herald: Let’s get to the point straight away. Why wasn’t the request for Qualification for the north Goa district hospital vetted by the Finance and the Law departments?

Vishwajeet rane: The file was brought to me. It is clear that the RFQ was only an Expression of Interest. When it reaches the RFP (Request) stage the finance and law department comes. Anyway since the RFQ stands lapsed because of there was only one party, it will begin all over again but I’m directly out of it. The finance and law secretaries and director PPP will handle it and I have been briefed that a committee consisting of them will float an RFP which will cut down the time of processing.

Herald: But dayanand narvekar and others have accused you of doing privatisation under the garb of PPP rane: Let me explain. I am talking of a model of cross subsidy. The Asilo Hospital is currently subsidised by the government. The same subsidy will be available for the North Goa district hospital for 190 beds. The rest of the beds will be for high specialty treatment for paying patients. With high quality health care at their doorstep referral cases will not go out of the state. The revenue earned from this high specialty care will be used by the private player to take care of their operations.

Herald: But why isn’t there enough confidence in the PPP model?

rane: I have been transparent. The entire process has been and will be clear to all. I have decided to do the best for health care and am proud of the fact that facilities in GMC are state-of-theart. In the PPP model, we will give opportunities to doctors of Goan origin to return to their home land and practice. Our local doctors, whom are second t none will be able to interact with the best from outside who will work here.

Herald: What is so special about novo nortis that you have been backing them? rane: They are not just a company which makes insulin. They have an education and training programme which will train aganwadi workers so that administering of insulin becomes easy. Detection and treatment will ensure that cases of diabetes come down.

Herald: Getting to politics, are you a Congressman or are you your own man.

Will the seven constituencies under your belt be delivered to the Congress from your side? rane: I have taken permissions fro the high command to work in these areas.

The high command monitors my progress. I keep the Chief Minister informed. I have got permission to work in Siolim by the high command. I am a party man and always.

Ashok to lead BJP-backed panel for CCP polls HeRaLD RePoRTeR PANJIM, FEB 5: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)supported panel was unveiled today which will contest the forthcoming Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) elections under the leadership of Ashok Naik, who is projected as a Mayor candidate.

Leader of Opposition and Panjim legislator Manohar Parrikar announced the candidates for 25 out of 30 wards while rest names would be finalised and disclosed on Tuesday. The list does not include names for Ward Nos 18, 20, 21, 26 and 30.

The panel ‘Panaji First – Council for Clean Governance’ is full of surprises with hardly three faces repeated.

Parrikar claimed that few corporators opted out while reservations of certain wards made them to have fresh faces.

Addressing a convention of BJP workers at Gomant Maratha hall in Panjim, Parrikar said that the candidates are selected after extensive consultation process. He said that the consultation is on in five wards where the candidates would be announced on Tuesday.

Rupesh Halarnkar, Vaidehi Naik and Diksha Mayenkar are the repeat faces in the panel.

Vaidehi Naik, who got elected from ward number 12 last time, will be locking horns with the male candidates as her ward was not reserved.

“When we sat for the consultation in ward number 12, everyone suggested Vaidehi’s name,” Parrikar said while introducing her during the convention.

Former Cortalim legislator Matanhy Saldanha, who supported then Parrikar-led government, has also come in support of BJP-led panel this time. Saldanha was personally present for the convention and was seated amongst the candidates and BJP leaders on the dais.

Parrikar said that Ashok Naik has been projected as Mayor candidate because he had

aND THe BJP NoMINeeS aRe Wards 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 22 23 24 25 27 28 29

Candidates Natty Po Nelson Francis Cabral Gloria Po Prabhakar Dongrikar Sheetal Dattaprasad Naik Anant (Raju) Sinai Gaitonde Shweta Rahul Lotlikar Durga Keluskar Sudin Kamat Maya Joshi Manoj Patil Vaidehi Naik Bharati Borkar (Heble) Ashok Naik Shekhar Degvekar Neena Silimkhan Nilesh Khandeparkar Vianna Da Cruz Maya Talkar Shailesh Ugadekar Diksha Mayenkar Shubhada Dhond Shubham Chodankar Nivedita Chopdekar Rupesh Halarnkar

provided clean and efficient governance during his last tenure.

Addressing the gathering, Naik said that Panjim deserves better and residents of this place know it.

“We have an unyielding desire to improve the lives of the average Panjim resident, no matter how difficult the fight may be,” Ashok Naik said adding that ‘clean governance, transparency at all levels; honesty will be our hall marks.

He said that like minded, honest citizens have come together to offer a fresh chance to partner with every Panjim resident. “We are not governed by ulterior sense of accomplishment or an outside agency to further own goals,” Naik said.

Aldona MLA Dayanand Narvekar has taken to the streets to oppose what he calls the “privatisation” of the district hospital at Mapusa. In a no holds barred opposition to the project Narvekar tells Franky Gracias that the project is a scam.

‘Public will riot over PPP’

I am in opposition in my own party. Will decide on new political direction position because the Congress party has treated me shabbily in the last three years.

Herald: there are talks and rumours you are floating a new party. narvekar: (Doesn’t deny the same and laughs). In the last three years of my political career I have been sidelined by my party. I kept a low profile. In spite of that my call for the Mapusa meeting to oppose PPP was enormous and the same surprised me. Now I will call for a convention in South Goa in April as I have supporters even in the South.

After the response to this convention things will be known and a new direction may emerge.

Herald: You have been adamant in stopping the PPP initiative for the district hospital in Mapusa. dayanand narvekar: I am not going to compromise at any level as far as PPP in Goa’s health sector is concerned. It is a foremost constitutional obligation of the Government to provide health and education to its people.

Herald: How will you stop the Health Minister? narvekar: The public will stop the private people from entering the hospital. Mark my words there will be a riot if a move is made in this regard. Most of the people from Bardez are agitated and will not take things lying down. Thousands will come and squat on the streets because this is a big scam.

Herald: You stated during the Winter session the Health Minister has already struck a deal with Fortis for the privatisation. Can you elaborate? narvekar: I don’t want to comment on this. I will speak

at the right time.

Herald: What is the genesis of your whole agitation against PPP? Why don’t you want a model private hospital to come up? narvekar: Here the interest is only money. In 2007 Vishwajeet Rane asked for the portfolio.

Today major chunk of employees in the State’s health sector are from Sattari, Valpoi and Sanquelim. The 108 Emergency Service is in bad shape as the ambulances have become old.

Herald: recently you have been raising a lot of issues of corruption. the fact is you are also part of this Government, which is facing several corruption charges. narvekar: In 35 years of my political career there has never been a vigilance inquiry against me nor an income tax raid. I have never heard of concrete criticism against me, but there have been passing remarks. I am virtually in op-

Goa I Sunday 6, February 2011

Candidates are selected after extensive consultation process, which is on in 5 wards where they would be announced on Tuesday.

– Manohar Parrikar

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Do not throw garbage in the forest as it is observed that some people take for granted that the forest is a site for dumping garbage or waste.

— Dr Kumar

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Goa I Sunday 6, February 2011

On the one hand, the minister claims he is encouraging agriculture with new schemes, but on the other he is helping the mining lobby to destroy it.

— Activist

Bicholim village fighting lone battle against mining Penha De-Franca resolves garbage woes SAMIR UMARYE

Workers treat garbage at Penha-de-Franca village.

ANIL SHANKHWALKER PORVORIM, FEB 5: While many panchayats and municipal councils in the State face various obstacles in attempts to manage garbage, the Penha-de-Franca Panchayat seems to have found some solution to the garbage problem.

The Penha-de-Franca Panchayat was forced to resolve the garbage problem in the village, after a bitter experience with its neighbouring panchayat.

The Serula Communidade had earlier granted permission to the Penha-de-Franca Panchayat to dump its garbage on the Socorro plateau a few years ago for a fee of Rs 5,000 per month.

Photo by Anil Shankhwalker

by the panchayat,” said Narvekar.

“Since the pilot project became successful, Aldona MLA Dayanand Narveker asked the panchayat to prepare a project under Rural Disposal Garbage schemes 2005 and 2007 of the State Government for collection and disposal of garbage of 14 wards, which includes seven wards of Penha-de-Franca, three wards of Salvador-do-Mundo and four wards of Socorro Panchayat.”

“All these wards fall on Porvorim Plateau.

The project report is in final stages and once it is ready, it will be submitted to the government for approval through Aldona MLA Narvekar,” added Narvekar.

“The contract of garbage treatment collected from these 14 wards will be entrusted

BICHOLIM, FEB 5: A little known village in Bicholim taluka has been fighting a lone battle against a mining company since the past four years, in a desperate bid to save the village from imminent destruction.

Residents of Vathadev-Bicholim are up in arms against a proposed mine in the village, but their resolute opposition against their enemy is now being put to the test by politicians and money power.

It may be recalled that the news of the proposed mine at Vathadev first hit the taluka in December 2006.

This had sparked off strong opposition among villagers as well as from residents of Bicholim taluka.

On January 18, 2007, a public hearing was convened at Sanquelim and locals attended it in large number shouting anti-mining slogans. This forced authorities to postpone the hearing on "technical grounds".

Mine representatives were unable to submit the required documents and so the hearing was postponed to March 24.

On the proposed day, the hearing was held in the village and taking into consideration strong opposition to the project, a police force was deployed at the site.

The public hearing proved

Machinery and construction activity at the proposed mining site at Vathadev-Bicholim.

Photo by Samir Umarye historic, as people attended in large numbers and all voiced their opposition to the proposed project.

An assurance was given to the public that their say would be communicated to the government and the project would be stalled if it is against public interest.

But surprisingly without considering the public hearing, the mining lobby got the required sanctions from the Central government.

In the meantime, the locals formed Vathadev Nagrik Kruti Samiti and continued with the protest.

Incidentally, workers from a company also participated in one of the rallies as the mining company had proposed shifting of the company to another location.

Since then, the company has tried several means to woo the villagers. Money

power was used to split the villagers and some even succumbed to these techniques of the company.

Now after about four years, the controversy has again raised its ugly head.

The matter came to light when the locals noticed that the company had started cutting down some rare trees and clearing the area.

To add to this, the company also built a concrete shed and is slowly in a process of getting heavy machinery at the proposed site.

When this correspondent went to the site, there were three earth-moving vehicles stationed at the site with two security guards posted round the clock.

“The matter is still in the court and the mining company has started with its work, which is against the law,” environmentalist

Ramesh Gawas told Herald.

“The NOC that the mining company had taken from the Pollution Control Board has also expired and the work is still going on in full swing,” added Gawas.

“The Tillari canal passes through the area and construction work is very close to the canal. Huge piles of mud have been dumped near the canal, which could pose a major problem for the canal,” he said.

“The trees cleared by the mining were some of the rare trees and as per the rule, they cannot cut such age-old trees, which are important for the ecosystem,” added Gawas.

According to the locals, a minister is supporting the mining company.

“On the one hand, the minister claims he is encouraging agriculture with new

schemes, but on the other he is helping the mining lobby to destroy it,” alleged Vathadev Nagrik Kruti Samiti President Pramod Umarye.

If the mine comes up in the area, wells in the area would not only dry, but it would directly affect the Bicholim river as the proposed mine is close to the river.

The Kulagars, which are extended to about 1 lakh sq mtrs, would be the first to feel the heat of this mine.

The Tilari canal also passes through the proposed mining area, due to which it would also be severely affected.

In 2009, the government had spent about Rs 9 crore for de-silting the Bicholim river and all this would be gross waste of public funds if mining comes up at Vathadev. This is because during the monsoon, water along with the silt would directly flow into the Bicholim river.

Despite this, the government has turned a nelson’s eye towards the issue. The mining company has succeeded in getting the required sanctions from the Central government.

But all hopes are not lost for the protesting villagers of Vathadev as the mining company is yet to get an NOC from the District collector, who is also the chairman of the Disaster Management.

Valpoi down in dumps for want of a dump site ASHRAF KHAN

However, the Socorro Panchayat raised an objection to the dumping of garbage by Penha-de-Franca Panchayat on the Socorro plateau and even lodged a complaint with Mapusa Police in this regard.

The Penha-de-Franca Panchayat was forced to find an alternate site to dump the garbage.

Since the garbage problem is getting severe day-by-day, the Penha-de-Franca Panchayat decided to take some steps to tackle garbage problem in a scientific way, particularly of wards on Porvorim Plateau.

Speaking to Herald, Sarpanch Eknath Narvekar said most of the garbage is generated in Wards 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, which are located on the Porvorim Plateau.

“Therefore, the panchayat decided to entrust the job of garbage collection and its treatment scientifically to Lila Trust. Accordingly, after the discussions with Lila Trust, the panchayat constructed five vermin-composting pits in Ward 8 in 2009 by spending Rs 5.78 lakh,” informed the sarpanch.

As per the contract, the contractor collects and disposes off the garbage from the entire Penha-de-France area thrice a week and is paid Rs 50,000 per month for the services.

“Lila Trust set up the Green Shed for Sustainable Solid Waste Management in one of the corners of the garden at Porvorim and installed its machinery for conversion of biodegradable garbage into manure,” he added.

“Lila Trust started collecting wet garbage from houses in Ward 8 and dumped organic waste into these pits to convert it into manure. Every household is being charged a nominal fee of Re 1 for this service rendered

to Fomento. The panchayat has already earmarked an area of abut 3,500 sq mtrs to set up a Green Shed for the installation of the required machinery for the treatment of garbage by Fomento,” he said.

Lila Digital and Environmental Solutions Pvt Ltd Director Pradeep Sarmokadam stated that Lila Trust initially took up the pilot project of garbage treatment of Ward 8 of Penha-de-Franca.

“The staff employed by us collected garbage from 500 houses by visiting houseto-house everyday. The wet garbage was dumped in the pits of the area and the remaining garbage was brought to the Green shed,” said Sarmokadam.

“In the Green Shed, our staff segregated the biodegradable garbage and the remaining garbage is being sent for recycling.

Biodegradable garbage is converted into bioorganic fertilizer, which is rich in biological micro flora which enhances the soil fertility,” explained Sarmokadam.

Sarmokadam further said after completion of one year, the project was taken over by Fomento from Lila Trust and the former appointed Lila Digital and Environmental Solutions Pvt Ltd as its operators and managers.

“Since this pilot project has become successful, Aldona MLA Narveker has directed Penha-de-Franca panchayat to prepare a detailed project report under Rural Garbage scheme for the treatment of garbage of 14 wards,” he said.

“This project if approved by the government and entrusted to us, we propose to treat garbage of 14 wards by both ways, bio-composting and methanation processes, to ensure complete success,” said Sarmokadam.

VALPOI, FEB 5: The Valpoi Municipal Council (VMC) is down in the dumps for want of a dump, or at least one that is acceptable to the public.

The VMC has been hit by various obstacles in its quest to set up a garbage dumping site in the municipality. All dumping sites identified

by VMC from time to time have been futile, as residents have opposed these sites for varied reasons.

The VMC is desperate to address the issue as 2 tonnes of garbage is generated in Valpoi each day, while about 4 tonnes is generated on the Valpoi Bazaar day every Tuesday.

The latest site at Ward 7, which has been identified by VMC after acquiring a large portion of government land, has also proved controversial.

Fearing that the proposed site may create a situation similar to that of the infamous Sonsoddo plant at Margao, residents have decided to oppose the proposed garbage treatment plant tooth and nail.

The villagers have claimed that they have been getting overwhelming support from various NGOs to oppose the proposed garbage treatment plant.

As soon as VMC indicated its intention to set up a garbage treatment plant in Ward 7 (Sayyad Nagar and surrounding areas), residents on those areas were quick to raise their objection.

About 80 families residing at Sayyad Nagar dashed off a memorandum to Sattari Mamlatdar Satish Dessai, complaining that the entire area would be affected if a project is set up in the area.

The aggrieved residents also argued that existing wells in the village will be polluted, as the proposed plant is few metres away from their residential area.

They pointed out that the Kabrastaan (burial ground) is located a few metres from the proposed site as well as the government hospital, which is coming up adjacent to the Community Health Centre, Valpoi.

Villagers regularly conduct meetings to prepare themselves to oppose

Residents of Ward 7 VMC submit a memorandum to Sattari Mamlatdar Satish Dessai. Photo by Ashraf Khan the project for once and all. While are not opposed to the project in essence, they are unhappy that the VMC is planning garbage dumping sites close to residential areas.

Left with little option, the VMC decided to use a pit to dump garbage collected from all 10 wards.

This, too, was met with sever opposition as residents complained that the site is just 200 metres from the residential areas. They also stated that VMC garbage trucks were using the village road, posing a threat to other motorists.

Residents then blocked garbage trucks from entering residential areas, forcing the VMC to stop dumping garbage at the pit.

When contacted, Ward 7 Councillor Faimida Khan, who is incidentally vice-chairperson of VMC, told Herald that she is backing the people of her ward and will also oppose the project. “People have elected me as their representative and naturally I have to be with them,” informed Faimida.

When contacted, VMC Chairperson Umesh Gulelkar pointed out that VMC was earlier dumping garbage at Rede-Ghat in the past.

"But the area fell under the Mauxi Panchayat and the Mauxi Panchayat objected to this activity. As such, the VMC stopped dumping garbage there," Gulelkar said.

"The garbage was then dumped in a private property at Nanus. However, this was also stopped when villagers strongly opposed the move by stopping garbage trucks."

"With no option left, we started dumping garbage in the municipal council-owned area behind the council building. But unfortunately, this site is also presently overflowing with garbage and now, we cannot dump more garbage there,” said Gulelkar. Gulelkar admitted that a large portion of government land has been acquired by VMC in Ward 7 to set up a garbage treatment plant.

"The access road to the site needs to be constructed through land belonging to the Forest department.

The VMC is now awaiting an NOC from the forest department."

"Since it is a long procedure to obtain an NOC from the forest department, we have temporarily dug a pit in the acquired land to dump the garbage."

"But we were forced to stop dumping garbage there after residents opposed the site and stopped garbage trucks from using the village road,” admitted Gulelkar.

Gulelkar informed that the VMC is working hard to find a solution to the problem.

“VMC has stopped collecting garbage these days for want of a suitable site,” said the chairperson.

Forest is not a site for dumping garbage

ASHRAF KHAN VALPOI, FEB 5: They may be opposing garbage dumping sites, but Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dr Shashi Kumar IFS has warned people not to dump garbage or waste in the forest.

"Do not throw garbage in the forest as it is observed that some people take for granted that the forest is a site for dumping garbage or waste," remarked Dr Kumar.

Addressing the recent convocation ceremony of the 30th batch of forest guards at Valpoi Forest Training School at Valpoi, Dr Kumar asked forest officials to keep an eye on garbage-dumping activities in the forest areas.

"Forest officials should strictly monitor the situation where such practice is being carried out by some people," he said.

He also advised the public to take care of the environment in their areas.

"Use pollution-free materials such as jute or paper bags instead of polythene or plastic bags. Do not harm the environment and do not indulge in such activities which give rise to global warming," said Dr Kumar.

5

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www.herald-goa.com

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Cops victimising Jayesh, charge VHP, Bajrang Dal HERALD REPORTER

The priests who concelebrated the feast mass.

Sacred Heart feast celebrated PANJIM: The feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated recently at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Vaddem, Sanguem. The Novenas were preached by Pilar Fathers and the Priests from Rachol with special efforts from Fr Romeo Godhino. The main celebrant and the homily was preached by Rev Fr Milagres Baretto. The Parish Priest Rev Fr Tadeo D'Silva thanked all the Parishoners for their Support and help. The Priests present were Rev Fr Esperdao Gonsalves, Fr Aurelio Rodrigues, Fr Joaquim Fernandes, Fr Nelson Fernandes, Fr Michael Rebello, Fr Menino Mendes, Fr Andrew Silveira, Fr Jack Dias, Fr Avinash Colaco, Fr Anthony Paul Vaz, Fr Edwin Baracho, Fr Richard Corriea, Fr Anisio Mota. Later in the evening the Parishioners gathered for the drama 'Godfather.'

Health camp organised CURCHOREM: Quepem Taluka Women Self-Help Group in association with NUSI Wockhart Hospital recently organised a health camp for the women at Ravindra Bhavan Hall Curchorem.

Over 600 women participated in the camp. Dr Madhav Sanzgiri (urologist), Dr Rohit Modi (cardiologist) and Dr Mudit Khanna (orthopedic surgeon) apprised about sickness, cures and preventions in respect of their streams.

The camp was inaugurated by social worker Nilesh Cabral, ex-director of Handicrafts Department. Former CCMC councilor Felix Fernandes, Amrut Naik, Rita Prabhu, Priyanka Dessai and Self Help Group President Kamat were present on the occasion.

ICFAI charity drive PANJIM: Keeping in mind social responsibility, ICFAI Flexi Education (IFEN) Panjim branch along with ICFAI students, distributed gifts to children and elderly people of Missionaries of Charity Mother Teresa's Home in Panjim recently.

Damodar Parab, Branch Manager, IFEN interacted with them and guided them regarding new career options and education. On this occasion Mamta Verma, Valiny Pereira, Manoj Gupta, Sonal Talaulicar of IFEN and staff of Missionaries of Charity Mother Teresa's Home were present.

Sarojini elected CCC president PANJIM: Sarojini Sardinha was unanimously elected the President of Curtorim Cultural Committee (CCC) for the year 2011 at a meeting of members at Curtorim Panchayat Hall, recently. The following other members of the committee were also elected: Xavier Vaz (Vice President), Terrancio Fernandes (Gen Secretary), Roque Mascarenhas (Treasurer), Irish Viegas (Org Secretary), Angelo Dias (Co-ordinator). Curtorim Cultural Committee, which is in its fifth year of existence, organises talent search competitions in singing, dancing, acting etc, in association with Department of Art and Culture, and also a grand Carnival Float parade from Maina to Curtorim Market every year.

This year, the Curtorim Cultural Committee will organise the Carnival for three days on the March 6, 7 and 8.

PANJIM: Gerry Pinto (Gerald Jacob Pinto), a resident of New Delhi passed away after fighting a critical health condition. Gerry was a child rights practitioner, former Project Officer of UNICEF. His association with Goa and with Children’s Rights in Goa (CRG) was through a unique initiative by him in partnership with Prof Murli Desai (an academician) towards an initiative to mainstream child rights training through the Goa Initiative for Mainstreaming of Child Rights (GIMCR).

Panjim, Feb 5: State Hindu organisations - Bajarang Dal (BD) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today claimed that their South Goa based leader Jayesh Naik has been victimised by police by linking him with the murder of a labourer from Karnataka.

Jayesh Naik and his brother Rajesh surrendered before the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Margao on February 3 after which Maina Curtorim police arrested them.

The brothers are prosecuted in connection with the murder of Sultan Bellary, whose headless body was found at Nessai in South Goa. Briefing media in the city today, BD’s Goa convener Sharad Birajdar said that Jayesh is falsely implicated in the case as he has been opposing several anti-social elements in Margao who had terrified the locals.

“Police are targeting him because he had taken antisocials head on, who were enjoying police protection,” he said.

VHP’s Konkan region joint secretary Dipak Gayakwad alleged that Police Inspector Siddhant Shirodkar was selectively leaking the case in-

Strictly•by•appointments•:• Call•Mrs.•Julia•Monteiro•0832•••2416404• or• Dr.•Shipra•Pednekar•••9890090040 formation to selected media

seven persons came to and a Swift D’zire and took so that Jayesh’s name is ma- Pedda-Benaulim in two vehi- away the deceased Sultan ligned. He demanded the in- cles, including a Maruti van Bellary. spector’s transfer from the present place of posting.

“This is an attack against Hindu leader. Police have framed him in the case,” Gayakwad said. He said that they have full faith in the judiciary.

The two brothers are remanded to 10 days police custody for custodial interrogations in order to identify their role in the commission of offence, locate the absconding associates, recover the missing head of the deceased and also to recover the weapon used in the commission of the crime.

After his arrest, Goa•America•Heart•Foundation• Jayesh president of the Shri Swami Samarth Temple, Rumdamol had told waiting newsmen 6+A 5+'A *E!?!"3 6DL 85&,9 (' that he is innocent and J&KE! will come out clean and that this is yet another!?!(-!/-& attempt made<#+ %#"'$-)!)(#"' #" &?&+0 by the police to frame him up in a false case. M$&',!03 ME$+',!0 7 @!)$+,!0 The police have said that investigations have revealed /&)N&&" OHI )# PHI !) *!+,(!% %-("(%3 that Jayesh was in constant contact with his associates Q#! :I&+(%!

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Panjim, Feb 5: Giving a touch of modernity, the 2011 census will also enumerate third sex.

“For 2011 census, special efforts are made for gender sensitization of data. In the column of gender, along with male and female, there will be yet another column specifying other sex, for those who are neither male nor female,” Director of Census Operations, Goa A K Wasnik said adding that for the first time the op-

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2011 census records 60,000 more households HERALD REPORTER Panjim, Feb 5: After recording 15 percent rise in population during last census, the 2011 census has already recorded 60,000 more households in the state indicating that the population is likely to swing upward.

The census operation officials have said that 60,000 new households have been added to Goa taking the total number to 3.51 lakh households.

“The first phase of the decadal census in the form of house listing, which was done in April 2010 has recorded nearly 60,000 new households taking the total number to 3.51 lakh households in Goa,” Director of Census Operations, Goa A K Wasnik told reporters today morning.

He said that rise in number of households indicates that more nuclear families are taking shape in the State coupled with the migration from the neighbouring States.

“Within one bungalow there are several nuclear families living,” Wasnik said.

As per 2001 census, Goa’s population was 13,47,668 which was 15.21 per cent more than 1991 census.

Wasnik informed that the second phase of 2011 census which comes as population enumeration will begin in Goa from February 9 to February 28.

“During the first phase we identified buildings, census houses and households across the state. Useful data on the amenities available to the households as well as asserts owned were collected,” the official said adding that the revision round will be carried out from March 1 to March 5, 2011 during which updating on birth and deaths will be done.

The director said that the actual data will be out to the public in next one-two years.

Wasnik said that 3,054 enumerators, 500 supervisors and 10 percent reserve staff would be on their toes to collect data from across the state by visiting households.

When asked, the director said that the officials will try their best to avoid any duplication in names.

Census enumerates third sex too HERALD REPORTER

“

For 2011 census, special efforts are made for gender sensitization of data. In the column of gender, along with male and female, there will be yet another column specifying other sex, for those who are nei- A K Wasnik ther male nor female.

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Goa I Sunday 6, February 2011

tion called ‘other sex’ is added. However, he said that there is no provision to record live-in relationship.

As per the data, the post-enumeration survey of census 2001 for India has shown that while there was no gender bias in coverage, the overall omission rate was 23.3 per thousand persons, which is higher than that in 1991.

“As such, 2011 census will ensure complete coverage without omission or duplication,” director said.

“As per last census India has 1.2 percent disabled people, but actual number can be more as people tend to hide about disability,” he said adding that proper data can help the government provide better facilities for the disabled people.

Besides the usual information, the census operation will also collect data about the age at the time of marriage, distance commuted by person from his house to the place of work, mode of transportation and fertility rate.

Goa•America•Heart•Foundation•

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6

“ opinion WEEKENDEDIT

Churchill should stop insulting the Opinion Poll

Why is Ravi Naik compelled to let a man called Gudlar roam free, when the very same SIT has sufficient grounds to file a case because he stole drugs from the ANC godown?

— Sujay Gupta

Why don’t I understand the Home Minister

T

anohar Parrikar today visited Margao and summarily rejected Churchill Alemaos proposal to have an opinion poll on corruption in the PWD. Both developments happened within two hours of each other. Churchill playing to the galleries, wanted to go to the people for a verdict to be passed if he is corrupt. Parrikar meanwhile wanted a detailed commission of inquiry. While the first is laughable, the second isn’t practical. Asking Churchill’s people who he has showered largesse to tell if he is corrupt is to ask children if their regular candy supplier is a good man. While there has been no inquiry or hard proof to nail the PWD minister, Churchill is no Ceasar’s wife. The general buzz of huge kickbacks on every PWD contract, the presence of a young “social worker”, as the official “collection agent” of the minister, the free hand that Churchill has given to this social worker so much so that no contract is signed without a call from her, is getting stronger.

Winds blowing from Varca tell a tale on a daily basis. The latest being that money is charged even from people in the constituency for jobs of meter readers in the department . In a private gathering last week one senior minister from South Goa was telling another minister from a neighbouring constituency “ You are making so much money. Even if you give me 25% of what you make, I’ll live like a king for the rest of my life” Hence, to trivialize the issue of corruption in the PWD and calling for an opinion poll to settle the issue is huge insult to one of the finest and honourable exercises undertaken by every true Goan to determine his or her future. Goan’s voted for an independent identity based on their culture and language. It retained in uniqueness through an overwhelming exercise of a franchise which to this day every living Goan who went through that wonderful experience remembers fondly.

Does Churchill Alemao even know and respect the Late Shabu Desai, one of the heroes of the opinion poll whose statue was only now unveiled at the old bus stand ?

Does Churchill follow the principles of Jack de Sequeira, who believed that as trustees and not owners of this beautiful land, it is the moral duty of every Goan to preserve and pass on the land and identity that ancestors cultivated, to our children? Jack Sequeira did not live to see that day when the identity of Goas polity would be tainted with wide spread corruption. Lucky him.

Hence to even casually talk about an Opinion poll to determine corruption will be treated with the contempt it deserves.

Manohar Parrikar did speak of a commission of inquiry to determine corruption. This isn’t practical because how will a commission of inquiry go. And to what extent will it go to. This is a cancer growth of huge proportions. At every desk on every government department there is a stench of corruption from the police to the secretariat and to the constituencies. Land for projects is allotted on who pays the most and not according to what the land is allotted for. We are not missing just a point. We are missing the whole context. Our very core has been corrupted and it’s become a part of our lives. This isn’t about inquiries and investigations any more. It’s about us.

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ith a new look comes new elements – little differences aimed at brightening up the weekend. Apart from the special stories, in depth analysis on pertinent news of the week gone by and exciting visuals from Goa, India and the world, Herald Weekend has more in store for you…

Every weekend, the team takes a closer look at Goa from a few different angles, with interviews, special focus features and highlighting people who have and who could make a difference. There will be human interest stories of a different kind, people who innovate, create and progress without any outside help. Every Sunday, Herald will look at issues plaguing Goa, street food worth writing about, departmental woes that you readers have and a little bit of culture when we can As Goa’s people’s paper we have realized that apart from the people within Goa, there is an avid readership due to the multitude of Goans across the world. In this day, when email ids can take a backseat due to the faster and more interactive communication channels set up via social networks, we thought it would only be fair to set up a network of our own.

We will now carry opinions, excerpts of discussions and will also be able to get feedback and report due to our facebook page, which is the new portal of the new Goa. Apart from our stellar team of reporters, we now have the eyes and ears of the entire state to work with. Keep in touch, post, refute and more, do what you love doing – communicate. Let us work together to better this state that we call home. Let us be the change we want to see, in the words of one of the world’s famous freedom fighter. Viva!

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Lisbon is Panjim enhanced. It is also, the possibility of what Panjim and Goa can be, if we can get our act together – Jason Keith Fernandes

FLY ON THE WALL

his is a deep rooted predicament that has resurfaced again. A predicament that I thought I had left behind in Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, different and interesting parking spots in my journalistic journey. I’ve always had problems with them and since most of them were Chief Ministers or Governors (during Presidents rule) who doubled as Home Ministers, my discomfort only doubled.

Simply put, I’ve scarcely been at Home with them. All of them, with chilling consistency continue to act against the powerless, or worse still give free licence to their governments and police to run a system of the powerful against the powerless.

Not only has Home Minister Ravi Naik has lived up to his counterparts in other parts of the country but has surpassed them to an extent which is chilling and fearful. Looking back, Sunderlal Patwa (CM and Home Minister Madhya Pradesh in 1992), KV Krishna Rao, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in 1994/95 and Mulayam Singh Yadav (who wasn’t the chief Minister between 1995 and 1997 but ruled the government by proxy with Governor Romesh Bhandari doing his bidding openly), have at time tacitly done nothing when human rights violations have started in the face. And yet when anyone dared to fight back, double doses of pressure and threats followed.

In 1994, on a cold dark evening in Sopore, a Kashmiri mother told me gruesome stories of how the armed soldiers had repeatedly come to their village and beat men and raped young girls.

Such was their fear that they embraced militants with open arms and made them lie next to their teenaged daughters to protect them from uniformed rapists. When a group of journalists wrote a series of stories, we suddenly found that taxi drivers refused to carry us, hotels refused to let us in and we were told in very clear terms to leave Kashmir.

Sunderlal Patwaa BJP CM, was more subtle but effective. His director

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Vol. No CXI No. 37 I Goa I Sunday 6, February 2011

www.oheraldo.in

SuJay Gupta General of Police KPS Rathore, an RSS man who wore a police uniform of the same colour, , came down heavily when journalists of national dailies posted in Bhopal wrote how the state police stood and watched as members of the Sangh Parivaar ran amuck in minority areas of old Bhopal after the Babri Masjid demolitions. From open threats of harm to phone calls and letters to our editors in Delhi and Calcutta, we saw and heard it all.

In UP though, these niceties were avoided. A well known carpet manufacturer in Bhadoi, near Varanasi had burnt alive a minor child worker in his carpet factory. I happened to be in Bhadoi on a different assignment and got onto this story and did a series on the incident for my paper The Telegraph. A month later the police arrived at my Lucknow home with an arrest warrant. The charge? Not responding to three consecutive summons for an appearance in the criminal defamation case filed by the carpet manufacturer.

There was an unusual flurry of activity to whisk me away to the Additional District and Sessions Judges court in Varanasi so that the carpet manufacturer could begin his quest for justice for being defamed by a lowly reporter who had penetrated his citadel of crime.

I avoided the immediate arrest but did have to land in the Varanasi. Promptly upon landing I received calls on my hotel room number from the District magistrate and SP to “compromise”, for my own good. I did not and managed to get bail because of the intervention of the higher judiciary. Two people who were shocked and unhappy at this unfortunate development were the carper manufacturer and Mulayam Singh Yadav who wanted to teach this Bengali in bhaiya land, a lesson.

But you know what? So many years

later I can still look back and pass these incidents as an offshoot of compulsions of politicians. Governor Krishna Rao had no time to address human rights violations of the army when militants were kidnapping, capturing and killing at every bend on the hills, Sunderlal Patwa was merely being “nationalistic” because his parivaar had pulled down the masjid and cleansed Ayodhya and Mulayam Singh Yadav and Romesh Bandari were merely being good friends to a man who generously funded the Samajwadi party coffers.

But what compulsions does Ravi Naik have? Why is he compelled to initiate another inquiry by the SIT on the Cipriano custodial death case when he knows that the SDM and the Dy SP probing the case are sure of procedural and gross human rights violations of the Panjim police. He described Cipriano as a “chronic alcoholic with a “heavy mental disorder” and a “dangerous and furious person”. He has nothing to prove all of this but if that if these characteristics are a license to kill, then he should tell his police to give the same treatment to people in his force who fit the above description. And mind you, there are many.

Why is he compelled to let a man called Gudlar roam free when the very same SIT has sufficient grounds to file a case because he stole drugs from the ANC godown? What compulsions does Ravi Naik have to be dodgy about whether the girlfriend and sister of drug don Dudu met him with CD’s of their sting operation against Gudlar. He kept shut when the women went to town saying they showed the CD’s to Ravi Naik first. When asked a week ago, he denied seeing the CD’s. He even asked – in a sudden bout of memory lapse- who Zarina (Dudu’s girlfriend) and Ayla (his sister were).

Our Home Minister has no real compulsions to do all this. We hope. And therein lies the fear. When a man with no compulsions engages with the powerful to disengage the weak, alarm bells should ring. It is Goa’s tragedy that it is not sufficiently alarmed.

Circa 2011- A Goenkar in Lisboa

T

o be a Goan in Lisbon is to be in a relationship, caught between two rather different kinds of nostalgia, or more appropriately, saudades. The first is a nostalgia, a terribly bitter-sweet longing for Goa that has been left behind. The names of streets, the colour of buildings, the façades of some these buildings, trees, even the names of most people here, constantly remind you of Goa. Here in Lisbon lie the final resting places of people you grew up with on a first name basis; Afonso de Albuquerque, Vasco da Gama, Amalia. Lisbon, you could sometimes say, bears the imprint of Goa. For me personally, as someone who grew up in Panjim, Lisbon is Panjim enhanced. It is also on many fronts, the possibility of what Panjim and Goa can be, if we in Goa can get our act together.

This possibility is not the mere aping of Lisbon however, for there is much to be critiqued and improved on in Lisbon. This is where we come to the second kind of nostalgia, a longing for the old. This nostalgia is a dead-end. There is no future in mourning for the Goan pre-1961 past. This history is either extremely problematic to claim, or it was in fact the history of a small set of Goan families who have access to Lisbon and its metropolitan elite. The Goan living

JaSon keith FernanDeS in Lisbon in 2010 does not necessarily need to rely on this past to forge a contemporary relationship with the city; the present moment gives one enough and more opportunities to do so.

It is precisely this present moment that could allow us to reinvent the Goan We need to look beyond the chapters of history celebrated by these small select Goan families and look at the manner in which the silent members of Goan society reinvent this relationship. Such an exploration would allow us to move away from the problematic colonial and nationalist articulations of our relationship, and shift toward a more cosmopolitan relationship based on mutual respect and sharing.

This look of a Goan living in Lisbon (and in extension, Portugal) is not based solely on Goan emotions and experiences. On the contrary, this look at Lisbon is also based on the recognition of the fact that the contemporary Goan is also a South-Asian. To be South- Asian is to recognize that not only is the con-

temporary Goan born as an Indian citizen, but is engaged with a larger subcontinental politics. This truly sub-continental lens, freed from the shackles of restrictive nationalism, provides the Goan with an enhanced vision from which to examine and introspect on the Lisbon experience. To fail to do so would otherwise lead us to fall back into the narrow ruts of the nostalgic longing for the Estado da India under the Estado Novo. As I stressed before, this experience is too limited to provide support for a reinvention of a new Goan relationship with both Portugal and the world. In deed a relooking our relationship with Portugal will also impact on the manner in which we relook our relationship with the people we share the subcontinent and the country with.

But perhaps the reinvention of a relationship is beyond the capacity of a tiny column. My offerings here will seek to diary the manner in which a contemporary Goan negotiates life in our former metropole. Who knows what will come out of this exploration?

Jason Keith Fernandes is currently engaged in doctoral research at ICSTE's Dept of Anthropology in Lisbon. When not agonising over the state of his dissertation, Jason offers unsolicited opinons on law, culture and identity politics. He also desperately misses Goa.

PEOPLE’SEDIT

Panjim Is Choking Stephen DiaS

T

he Republic Day parade witnessed huge black smoke emanating from the Campal ground. Among those present, was Dr Simon D’Sousa, Pollution Control Board Chairman who was sitting close to the Governor of Goa, Dr S S Siddu.

Apparently, CCP workers were burning garbage to clean up the area, although burning of plastic is illegal. This was the sorry state of affairs even during the Republic Day. When I visited the Pollution Control Board to enquire about this and during my brief discussions with the Dr D’Sousa, who was my colleague at NIO, I learned that he has been doing his best to curb pollution in Goa but the concerned authorities

The overall situation in Panjim and other parts in Goa is alarming but our Governor has been portraying a rosy picture about the state of affairs while addressing the legislative assembly.

It is ridiculous, that the Governor is oblivious to the rapes, crimes, drug menace, police suspensions, garbage and pollution are a bit reluctant to act promptly. In fact, he mentioned a certain Ambe, CCP engineer who was asked to come and deal with stench around his office, which has still not been dealt with, even after an official intimation to the municipality.

Dr Joe D’Sousa, who is a consultant with the CCP, later told me that that garbage mismanagement has become a business and solutions are discarded by those in power with vested interests. Elvis Gomes and Mayor Carolina Po have been ignoring his official letters about the same.

In another incident, I noticed smelly drains near Hindu Pharmacy due to the dumping of garbage by some hotels around and even though the CCP is aware of it, no action is taken.

The overall situation in Panjim and other parts in Goa is alarming but our Governor has been portraying a rosy picture about the state of affairs while addressing the legislative assembly. It is ridiculous, that the Governor is oblivious to the rapes, crimes, drug menace, police suspensions, garbage and pollution, especially in mining areas. Is the Governor blind or not bothered about Goa’s affairs?

It is amusing to read in a national daily, based in Goa, that the CCP’s Chak a Chak campaign run by the CCP engineer Ambe is a huge success. Are reporters from Goa doing their home work before reporting or are they working from their desks and not from the field? Panjim today is stinking and our Panjim MLA Manohar Parrikar and Babush Monseratte are hoping that their respective panel of aspiring corporators would come to power in the CCP elections to later clean up the city!

My appeal to them would be to pull up their socks and address the grave problems affecting Panjimites.

Fo r le tte r to t he e di to r c o nt ac t us at mail @h e rald - g oa.c o m Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on behalf of Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Publications Pvt Ltd, Plot No: L-135, Phase II, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna, Salcete, Goa. Published at PO Box 160, Rua Sao Tome, Panjim, Goa - 403001.

Editor-in-chief: Mr R F Fernandes. Editor: Sujay Gupta (Responsible under PRB Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 2224202, 2228083, Fax: 2222475 (all Editorial); 2230535, Fax: 2225622 (Advertising); Margao: 2737689. Mumbai Office: 16-A, Bell Building, 2nd Floor, 19 Sir PM Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400001 (Tel: 22840702/22844908). RNI No: 43667/83.

HOW TO CONTACT US: mail@herald-goa.com — For press notes, general queries. reporters@herald-goa.com — For Reporters. business@herald-goa.com — For Business news. editor@herald-goa.com — For Letters to the Editor. sports@herald-goa.com — For Sports news. advt@herald-goa.com — For Advertisements.

Disclaimer: Except for the editorial above, articles and letters in Herald represent the views of the concerned authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.

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Faleiro calls for preservation of music and art forms HERALD NEWS DESK

HERALD REPORTER

Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Eduardo Faleiro inaugurates ‘7th All Goa Mando Festival’ at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. Also present are Director of TAME, Francis Braz, Jose Marie da’Silva and others. strictly be classified as a traditional folk song, it has been part of cultural repertoire of Goa for a long time. The lyrical and musical content of Dekhni, Dalpod, Fugdi, Dhalo, is definitely Goan, he added.

Faleiro felicitated Jose Marria Da’Silva, recipient of Mando Award for his contri-

bution to Mando lyrics and songs. Pervez Gomes released the souvenir on the occasion.

Director of TAME Francis Braz also spoke on the occasion. Bismark Torcato proposed the vote of thanks.

Faleiro also witnessed the Mando performances by the participants.

Grace Church feast today

Panjim, Feb 5: Speaker Pratapsing Rane on Friday told the Government to take serious note of rising incidents of cutting of cables of local news channels in various parts of the State during assembly sessions. He also asked the chief minister to intervene.

Cable connections were found to be cut in some parts of the State during this Session of Goa Assembly.

Non–performing ministers are put in spot due to live telecast of the proceedings.

The Opposition MLAs believe some ministers in the government who are not too happy with people seeing them criticized in the House, have hand in this business so that people are not in a position to watch the sessions live.

According to Canacona Police, a missing complaint has been filed stating that one

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Panjim, Feb 5: Our Lady of

Old Goa panel to hold dharna today

that Chapel of Batalhao on January 6 1812 till the present Church built in modern lines and inaugurated on January 1, 1977 and upto now, a vanguard of valiant priests worked saliently to propagate the devotion to Our Lady of Grace.

Its first Chaplain Padre Jose Caetano Lourenco, who built the attached residence to the Chaplain, the eclectic visionary Fr Tony Gomes, the sagacious cropper Fr Joao Lopes (both strong pillars), their hard work successors, Fr Bossuet Menezes, Fr Lino

Monteiro, Fr Joao Pedro Fernandes and present day pastor Fr Cleto Pereira, a good administrator and meticulous disciplinarian, in hard work trinity with Fr Jaime Couto and Fr Derick Fernandes, all worked ceaselessly and continue the task in the vineyard of God. Situated on the elevated Grace Estate, the Church square is an oasis of spirituality, inviting an introspection of present and past: Ave Gratia Plena, Hail Full of grace, Nossa Senhora de Graca.

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+ Old Goa, Feb 5: In an effort to save heritage sites and its surroundings areas at Old Goa from anti-social elements, an organization known as 'Save Old Goa' will organise a peaceful demonstration at the Gandhi Circle at Old Goa on Sunday morning at 10 am.

The meeting has been convened to protest against all destructive activities at the around the World Heritage sites in and around Old Goa. Speaking to Herald, Rector of Basilica of Bom Jesus Fr Savio Baretto said: "The meeting has been organised by the Old Goa Action Committee because we can see a rampant increase of builders grabbing all areas around Old Goa and are trying to make Old Goa a concrete jungle.”

“The government had promised in a meeting, where I was present once, that there would be a master plan for Old Goa. But till today, the Master Plan is not yet implemented,” he said.

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that one Ajay Narcinva Prabhugaonkar has filed the missing report on Friday.

HERALD NEWS DESK Grace Church, which was originally known as ‘Capela de Batalhao’ of Portuguese 1st Infantry Regiment, is celebrating on Sunday, February 6 the Feast of her Patroness, ‘Nossa Senhora de Graca’ (Our Lady of Grace).

People from all walks of life from Margao, in particular and from South Goa, in general, step every day in Grace Church in search of divinity, more especially on the feast day to join and take part in all day divine festivities.

The Grace Church has celebrated its Golden Jubilee in May 2009 on a grand scale.

This year marks the commemoration of 200th Mass celebrated in praise of Our Lady of Grace, ever since the first mass was solemnized on May 3, 1812, on the feast day of Santa Cruz (Feast of Holy Cross), 199 years ago.

From the construction of

The government had promised in a meeting, where I was present once, that there would be a master plan for Old Goa. But till today, the Master Plan is not yet implemented.

--- Fr Savio Baretto

Speaker tells Poinguinim resident missing Govt: Take Canacona, Feb 5: A 76-year- Hari Yeshwant Prabold man from Poinguinim hugaonkar of Mahalwadanote of cable has been reported missing Poinguinim has gone missing from his house since Thurs- since Thursday morning.

TV ‘cutters’ day morning.

Police further informed

Panjim, Feb 5: Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Eduardo Faleiro has stressed the need for preservation and promotion of all music and art forms of Goa. He said eminent Goan artists should be honoured and new talent should be encouraged to carry on the tradition.

Faleiro was speaking as the chief guest after inaugurating the 7th All Goa Mando Festival organised by Tourism Airline Management Education (TAME) in association with Department of Art and Culture and supported by Tiatr Academy of Goa, at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao recently.

Faleiro congratulated TAME for holding the Mando Festival in Margao for the last seven years and said that although Mando cannot

“

Eminent Goan artists should be honoured and new talent should be encouraged to carry on the tradition.

--- Eduardo Faleiro

Goa I Sunday 6 , February 2011

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mirror

“

The movement is still in a nascent stage and needs to grow further. For that, we do need funds to set up a mobile library that will be able to get to the deeper regions in Goa,” --- Diviya Kapur

Starting this week Herald Weekend will initiate periodic campaigns on issues in Goa that need urgent attention.

After the first opening which will broadly introduce the issue, the coming weeks will look into various aspects of the problem specifically, interview key stake holders and above all wait for your suggestions and solutions. Write in to campaign@herald-goa.com Do remember this is your campaign

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WASTEMANAGEMENT

I

magine going for a Sunday dip in the river near your house or even down by the beach and finding plastic bags and old beer bottles floating by. Picture yourself walking through the back alleys of Panjim or Mapusa, where once were clean pavements now stand mounds of garbage. All this is already a current affair and it’s about to get worse.

Goa’s garbage woes are piling up and it’s beginning to stink. As of 2011, Goa produces an estimated 400 tonnes of garbage per day!

And that number will only go up…

Tonnes… ! …that’s the amount of garbage Goa generates daily. Solving it is hardly a walk in the park. It dominates gram sabhas, causes local political disturbances, either to stop a garbage dump being formed or to transfer some to somewhere else.

To initiate this campaign towards solutions, Kurt Bento gives a broad picture scenario

What do we do with all this waste?

The Chak a Chak campaign on January 26, held in just a few places in Goa, with a very successful turnout, highlighted the dire state of affairs. Patricia Pinto, campaign co-ordinator had this to say, about the current situation, “There is hardly any proper garbage management in Goa and neither is there any sort of planning to rectify this situation. No one is taking it seriously and this is a situation that needs attention now!”

She would know, having worked a little over a decade ago with the government on ridding Goa of waste pet bottles and plastic bags – a project that was successful in a way but 80 days of garbage collection does not make a

Not worth the weight An average person produces 250 grams of garbage per day, if you multiply it with the population of Goa, that roughly amounts to 400 tonnes of garbage.

This of course does not even take waste produced by restaurants and hotels into consideration.

GOODNEWS

Heres to more reading

O

n February 6, hundreds of people will eat, drink, dance, socialize and shop, so that underprivileged kids can read. On February 26, art lovers across Goa and perhaps the world will be engaged in a bidding war to buy art from some of Goa’s brilliant and talented artists, just so that more books can be bought and more futures will have a solid foundation.

People will get together at Literati, a bookstore at Calangute, to bring to life a charity fete that aims to raise money for a mobile library.

BeBook is an initiative that aims to inculcate and encourage the reading habit in underprivileged children “We’ve already started going out in our cars, laden with books in the backseat, to orphanages and smaller schools, but the movement is still in a nascent stage and needs to grow further. For that, we do need funds to set up a mobile library that will be able to get to the deeper regions in Goa,” says Diviya Kapur, owner of Literati and

state clean. The work has to continue and neither can one depend on just a few individuals to do the job.

It starts with segregation of garbage. Panjim has some semblance of a garbage collection system but even that has its flaws. Dumping fish remains or chicken bones in a plastic packet simply defeats the purpose of separating wet waste from dry waste. Wet waste can be used to create compost and compost bins, if managed properly, do not stink.

But even before garbage goes into a bin, measures can be taken to reduce the amount of dry waste that each household produces.

“Refuse to accept plastic bags. I’m sure people can carry cloth or other bags when they go out shopping.

A little effort goes a long way into helping keep Goa clean,” Clinton Vaz, another

one of the volunteers at BeBook.

The fete will start at 10.30 am and will carry on through the day until 8 pm. There are going to be a lot of attractions at this fete – stalls with food, gifts, jumble sales and more – perfect for a day out. One of Goa’s young talents, the Streetlight People, an up and coming blues and funk band will be on hand to set the mood. Besides that, there will be loads of gifts and giveaways, chief amongst them, dinner for two at some of North Goa’s five-starred hotels, household items and more.

At the end of the day, it’s a

coming together of people who want to see change, improvement in children’s futures and a betterment of society. Today, underprivileged children get a better chance at education. They learn that studying is not a burden. Tomorrow, a children’s library is in the pipeline, where any child can be a part of it, some who can afford to pay so that others who cant also get the same privileges as them – that of being able to read and hold their heads up high in the world, that of being able to be a part of a society that looks after people who need help.

-- TEAM HERALD

T

he small lanes of Anjuna fade away as you step into Artjuna, a café cum art gallery and now the venue of an art fair extraordinaire. The small organic space created for the fair houses the work of 30 artists – painters, sketch artists, sculptors and more – from different part of the world and India as well.

Their theme – India, their vision – global!

Kate Wilson, young, brilliant photographer and curator of the art fair is one half of the brains behind this two week exhibition, the other half is Moshe, owner of Artjuna and someone who can create magic with leather. “I have been showing my work here at Artjuna for the past three years and one day, over a cup of coffee with Moshe and the fact that many artists would come over and ask if they too could show their work, that we thought of having an art fair,” says Kate.

The fair showcases Fluid Serie, the work of Joy Kesty, who also has her own independent art gallery in Morjum. Joy’s work is indeed fluid, with a depth and vision that seeps into you. Walking through the spaces demar-

co-ordinator with Chak a Chak and a waste management crusader asserts Not in my backyard…

One of the biggest issues plaguing Goa is the issue of dumping grounds and treatment plants. No one wants it around them, mostly due to the bad experiences encountered by the people of Curca.

The mismanagement of that particular facility left people with a bad taste in their mouth.

Sanjit Rodrigues, former CCP Commissioner who started the Panjim clean up operation says, “Today, the quantum of solid waste has increased, as has the amount of non-degradable waste.

Just dumping garbage is not the solution. It’s just going to fill up space. We need a sustainable model of garbage management.”

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Goa I Sunday 6, February 2011

Iain Mills, who is showcasing his work at the Artjuna Art Fair has worked with legendary photographer David Bailey for the better part of a decade

Proposal disposed, garbage not

T

he huge gap between policy and implementation at all levels of the states waste management mechanism is evident in the way an innovative Rural Garbage Disposal Scheme of 2005 has literally gone to waste. A notification issued by the Directorate of Panchayats in 2005 stated that all village panchayats would be funded 98 per cent of costs of setting up waste management mechanisms like compost plants, waste sorting centres, compost pits and waste collection processes like door to door collection, scientific segregation etc.

In addition, specific areas were marked which a cluster of adjoining villages would use as a common ground for dumping, sorting and treatment. The sum and substance of this was integrated micro level solutions at the panchayat level with funds coming from the government.

Clause 18 of the notification also provided for the entry of private professional players. The clause states “The designated village panchayat shall take full advantage of and shall extend their full cooperation to any common garbage treatment complex (CGTC) if and when established on a commercial basis by the government and through a competent private and professional entrepreneur Five years later, not a single village panchayat in Goa has availed of or implemented this scheme to scientifically dispose and rear garbage. The govern-

ment simply did not inform the panchayats or hold any dialogue with them. There was no effort to publicise this scheme or integrate the stake holdersnamely the panchayats either at the planning stage or when the notification as announced. Says former sarpanch and the longest serving panch of the Penha De France panchayat, Umesh Phadte “Firstly, there was very little information given to us.

Secondly we learnt that we had to first acquire land before we could avail of the scheme. Now the areas earmarked in the notification were selected at random. Acquiring those lands under severe local opposition would be next to impossible” Efforts are now being made to revive this scheme.

However inquiries have revealed that the scheme, though existing on paper was not referred to while making budgetary allocations. So even if the panchayats had availed of this scheme, there would be a question mark over its funding.

Art in the open cated by whitewashed bamboo mats you will see Iain Mills and his polaroid shots of Kerala, Lucie Walta, a Dutch lady who runs a cafe in Arambol called Double Dutch, but who specializes in making bronze sculptures from casts or Mao, a tattoo artist from Anjuna who has been working on illustrative tribal art for years now.

Some of his work has actually taken 10 years to complete.

Renu Pundir, from Delhi but now living in Panjim takes pains to create intricate acrylic paintings. She captures Goa by moving paint around on paper with

POLAROID HEAVEN: Iain Mills’ Kerala captured

Anjuna to many, is known more as a nerve centre for Goas infamous drug trade than the romantic associations of its hippie past. But the open art fair at Anjuna and events like these will change its image. Kurt Bento went to a café art cum gallery Artjuna where artists from all over the world poured their souls out

a knife. Cairo Sealey, is an English photographer who has shot images of local school kids on a beach in the shape of hearts for a Mapusa-based NGO called ‘Children Walking Tall’ and has postcards and prints for sale, all the proceeds of which go towards the NGO. These are stories of but a few of the people on show at Artjuna, some of them who have never let their work see the light of day in the past.

“Quite a few of these artists have never shown their work before so it was quite a task to get them to agree to come here and put up their creations. I have been doing the rounds of these small galleries for years now and I feel so happy that some of them finally took that first step and showcased their work,” says Kate.

Anjuna has been in the news for other reasons in the past. Many look upon it as another world altogether.

The exhibition, which will stretch up to February 14, proves that Anjuna is more than just the beaches or the hidden raves; it is a sight to behold and a place to get lost in a world of colour and creativity.

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VILLAGEREPORT Chandor

Goa I Sunday 6, February 2011

I personally feel that the shareholders and gaonkars should take interest in the communidade as they used to do earlier when dividends were paid.

— Thiago da Silva

Goa’s simple life is indeed exemplified in every one of its 180-odd villages.

Keeping with the theme of the people’s page, Herald Weekend takes a walk through the quiet, serene atmosphere of the quintessential Goan gaon and highlights its problems but also its history and uniqueness.

Reclaiming its past It’s a quiet little afternoon in Chandor and amidst the blasts of stone quarrying Julio D’silva takes a look at what makes this simple little village, with no places of worship or playgrounds, stay grounded…

(above) MARKET CLOGGED: The drain in the market clogged with plastic (left) CAVORIM CHAPEL: The chapel at Cavorim has been awaiting a resident priest since 1987

C

handor Cavorim is truly a quintessential Goan village. It has no industry and the village thrives on the earnings of the employed citizens, quite a number of which are overseas. It lacks many basic amenities and yet the people are quite content with what they have.

The present day Chandor Cavorim village panchayat came into being in 1972 after the erstwhile Chandor panchayat was bifurcated into two panchayats – Cavorim Chandor and Guirdolim.

Since then, the village has had eight sarpanchas with John Menino Dias having the longest term of 18 years.

The only significant contribution that John Menino Dias made to the village was the construction of a bridge at Miriagirem which can be used only by two wheelers and small utility vehicles because it is quite narrow. The singular achievement of all these sarpanchas is that the village has not changed its

rustic look as there are no high rises or multi-apartment buildings. However, this has not been by design.

Chandor Cavorim does not have a church or a temple or a mosque and the inhabitants are quite happy visiting the places of worship in the neighbouring Guirdolim village. The village has no playground and the youngsters are quite happy playing football or cricket in any open area. The Sports

Department did construct a playground near the St. Anthony’s Chapel under the ‘playground for village school’ scheme.

Chandor Cavorim is basically an agrarian village. It is indeed an irony that though the village is serviced by an irrigation canal – the Paroda canal that was constructed by the Portuguese – agriculture is on the decline and the village is now primarily driven by remittances from

its sons working either overseas or in the country. Incidentally, the village does not even have a bank and most of the overseas remittances are credited to the Canara Bank Chandor branch, which is actually housed in neighbouring Guirdolim.

The influx of migrants in the village is a festering issue that can blow up anytime.

What irks the villagers is the fact that the migrants have settled in one part of the

Western portion of the village in an area that was known as Xindremoll or Bachikamoll. Today that area is being called muslimwada and this is causing the problem.

Every day, the afternoon siesta of the residents of the Western wards of the village is disturbed due to the loud explosion caused by the explosives used to blast the basalt rock where metal is being extracted. This activity is carried out by circumventing all the rules and laws of the land as those involved had the right connections with the powers that be. The use of explosives not only disturbs the peace of the village but has also resulted in many houses developing cracks and quite a number of fields rendered uncultivable. Besides, the hillock looks ugly with the excavated portion resembling an ugly scar on a beautiful face.

This issue has featured many a times at the Gram Sabha meetings and the panchayat’s standard reply is that they are not involved

Sumedha Desai excels at Monte Music Festival Ashwin Tombat tunes in to virtuoso heaven

T

he three-day Monte Music Festival began on Friday 4 February at the Capella Nossa Senhora de Monte at Old Goa. Performances at the festival are always magical. The early evening performance, held outdoors, has the spectacular view of Old Goa and the Mandovi river as a background, and takes place against the setting sun.

Hindustani vocalist Sumedha Desai enthralled the gathering with a medley of compositions in evening ragas, starting with ‘Hansadhwani’, followed by a ‘dadra’. Sumedha has an easy mastery over the art, a powerful voice, and an obvious flair for performing. She has won numerous awards, and is one of Goa’s most accomplished young classical vocalists.

This was followed by a recital of Baroque compositions performed by a five member group from Portugal, ‘Os Musicos do Tejo’, led

in any way. The panchayat has steadfastly maintained that the matter should be taken up with the Communidade.

Mismanagement of the Communidade is one of the reasons for the decline in agriculture in the village. As the Communidade was dried of funds following the Land to the Tiller Act, it stopped maintaining the drains in the fields due to which they have got silted and the huge field known as Biczona is now waterlogged throughout the year and hence cannot be cultivated.

The Communidade is faced with the gargantuan task of reclaiming its land which has been very systematically transferred to individuals by the previous committee members either knowingly or unknowingly.

In what is truly surprising, even the major lake known as “Oilem Tollem” in the village has been transferred to an individual though historically all water bodies in the village remained with the Communidade.

Goa produces 400 tonnes of garbage daily. Whese does all of it go?

Read more on page

Tiago da Silva, a gaonkar of the village, after spending his life on the high seas, took over as the president of the Cavorim Communidade in April last year since he has retired from service and is back in his village. n What exactly are the problems faced by the Com-

munidade of Cavorim?

The main problem of course is the lack of revenue.

Earlier, when the communidade fields were cultivated we used to get revenue which was used to carry out the maintenance work like cleaning the waterways etc.

However, since the fields have now gone away from the Communidade we have to look for other avenues to generate income.

But the Communidades action of leasing land to extract black metal has come under severe criticism.

That is true. The lease was signed in violation of the Code of Communiade and I fail to understand how the previous committee could do so. What is worse is that we were under the impression that the lease had expired on March 31 2010 but were taken aback to realize that in November 2009 the then president had issued a NOC to enable the leaseholder to renew the licenses.

But the Communidade can still move to cancel the licenses as they are based on a fraudulently issued NOC. This particular issue is truly a messy one. As per the survey records, communidade is not the occupant of the land in question. It shows the names of some other individuals as occupants and the heirs of those occupants have now moved the court seeking to declare them as owners in possession of that land. Of course we are fighting that case. n How did the survey records change?

That is quite a long story. In fact, records of the communidade show that practically every president has transferred communidade land either in his or his family members name. We are in the process of identifying all such lands and shall initiate the process to get back the lands to the communidade. But it is truly an ardous task. n Why is it so difficult?

Although it is believed that Communidade is an autonomous body, the reality is quite different. We need the approval of the administrator for anything and everything and when it comes to filing cases, the process is still lengthier. Our complaints regarding encroachments were lying in the administrator’s office for more than two years without even an inspection being held. However, I must say that the present administrator has taken some interest and things are moving now. n What about income from the fishing rights and usufruct of the trees?

There again it is a long drawn process as we have to get the administrator’s approval which really takes a long time. In the first place, the administrator has additional charge and cannot devote time to the affairs of the communidade. Secondly the administrator gets changed every now and then and files remain pending. n So what according to you is the solution?

I personally feel that the shareholders and gaonkars should take interest in the communidade as they used to do earlier when dividends were paid. If we all pool our minds together, we can revive the communidade.

I took up this task to do something for the village, but I need help and co-operation from my villagers rather than being targeted unnecessarily.

Quite often, it’s at a little ‘hole-in-the-wall’ that you will find the best local food, from meats to fried chillies to spicy omlettes, Herald Weekend pays tribute to the folk that keep local street food alive and delicious, with a little bit of Goa in each morsel.

Saligao’s Burger Kings

by Marcos Magalhães. Normally, late evening performances are held in the chapel, but this group opted to perform outdoors, as the acoustics would not be right.

A badly misbehaving sound system detracted a bit from their performance, but this should take nothing away from their virtuosity. A so-

prano, a tenor and a baritone sang in harmony, unveiling compositions from the 16th to the 18th century, in Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and even English. It was a sublime performance; one that will be remembered.

Earlier, Delegate of the Fundacao Oriente Eduardo Kol de Carvalho welcomed

the gathering, while Goa Assembly Speaker Pratapsingh Rane and Portuguese Consul General António José Marques Sabido Costa lit the traditional lamp. A book by former Fundacao Oriente Delegate Paulo Varela Gomes – ‘A History of Church Architecture in Goa’– was also released.

On Sunday, the Kala Academy flute and sitar ensemble will perform at 6pm in the open courtyard. Then the Koranatus String Quartet, Tony Gatward and the Bangalore School of Music Baroque Ensemble will perform inside the Chapel from 7pm onwards.

B

urgers – spicy chicken, beef chilly, pork chilly, tongue, sorpotel and choris pau and cutlet pau, all this yummy fare and more can be found at D’Souza Goan cart in Saligao, diagonally opposite the church. With green fields behind them and the road in front, Agostinho D’souza and Anslem Fernandes sell their wares Monday through Sat-

urday from the evening into the night. One bite into any of the items on the menu and, in former Saligao Sporting and Sesa Goa footballer Agostinho’s words, “you’ll want to try it again… and again!”

Anslem, former cook on a cruise ship, says, “the people love the food that we cook, we’ve had such a great respose that we started creat-

ing specials on certain days so that people can have a take home dinner. We have even started catering to small get-togethers.” Their food is marinated and precooked at home the same afternoon by Anslem, except for the sorpotel, which is cooked and then marinated for a few days to let the flavour seep in.

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Goa I Sunday 6, February 2011

obituary obituary obituary obituary obituary obituary obituary

ULFA-Centre talks on February 10 PTI Guwahati, Feb 5: The banned ULFA today announced unconditional peace talks with the Centre on February 10 in New Delhi to find an amicable solution to their 31-yearlong armed struggle.

Terming the first round of talks as a "courtesy call", senior ULFA leader Sasadhar Choudhury told reporters here that the outfit "would like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be present during the talks on Thursday as he represents Assam in Parliament".

Asked whether ULFA's core demand of 'sovereignty for Assam' would be discussed, Choudhury said, "We have decided to go for unconditional talksâ&#x20AC;?.

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india

Goa ISunday 6 , February 2011

The judiciary system has to be overhauled in a serious way to mete justice to ordinary people.

--- Arundhati Roy

I have not heard any rumblings from anyone attempting to topple the Dr Mukul Sangma government in Meghalaya.

--- Oscar Fernandes

India, Pak to pick up the threads at Thimpu I never had a coterie PTI THIMPHU, FEB 5: Making a fresh attempt to restart the bilateral dialogue process, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir will meet here tomorrow during which the Indian side is expected to seek an update on the Mumbai attacks investigations and trial.

Rao and Bashir, who are here for the SAARC meeting of foreign secretaries and Council of ministers, are expected to take stock of the bilateral ties and discuss whether some confidencebuilding initiatives could be taken.

This will be the first meeting between the foreign secretaries after the failed talks

between the foreign ministers in July last year in Pakistan.

India, while keeping low the expectations from the meeting, has made it clear that it was ready to have discussions on all outstanding issues with Pakistan but through a step-by-step approach.

The resumption of fullfledged dialogue, which was stalled after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, would, however, depend on the progress by Pakistan to punish all those behind the 26/11 strikes, sources said.

At tomorrow's meeting, Rao is expected to seek an update from Bashir on the investigations and trial in the Mumbai attacks case in Pakistan.

She is also expected to

CBI gets court notice in spectrum scam case PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 5:A Delhi court today issued notice to the CBI, asking it to file a detailed report on whether its probe in the 2G spectrum case covers the aspect of national security as raised by Janta Party chief Subramanian Swamy in his private complaint seeking prosecution of former Telecom Minister A Raja.

“Issue notice to the CBI to file its detailed report of the investigation being carried out by it and whether it covers the aspect of national security as raised by Subramanian Swamy in the present case," Special CBI

judge Pradeep Chaddah said.

During the hearing, the court queried if they can still proceed in the case before it in the wake of Raja's arrest by the CBI. Seeking CBI's response in the matter, the court posted the hearing for February 23.

“I am of the opinion that this court should not proceed for the time being with this matter”, the judge said while issuing notice to the CBI. Swamy, meanwhile, submitted before the court that he is intending to move an application to implead some other persons, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, as accused in this complaint.

HOPE FOR THE BEST Setting the tone for the meeting Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said ‘We hope that both the governments come to satisfactory conclusion about what is required so that the trial could be satisfactorily concluded because justice has to be done.” seek a response from Bashir on India's request for voice samples of the persons in Pakistan who were heard coordinating the 26/11 attacks.

Setting the tone for the meeting, Rao said yesterday in Delhi, “We hope that both the governments come to satisfactory conclusion about what is required so that the trial could be satisfactorily concluded because justice has to be done.”

She made the comments after meeting Home Minister P Chidambaram during which they are understood to have discussed issues related to the Mumbai attacks.

Noting that 26/11 trial in Pakistan was “one of the issues under discussion between the two governments, particularly between the Interior Ministry of Pakistan and our Home Ministry,” she said New Delhi and Islamabad have been in corre-

spondence about the exchange of evidence that is required for the trial to go forward.

On her meeting with Bashir, she said India will see how it can pick up the thread once again.

“We are going to meet after a certain interregnum, a few months after last meeting. So, we will see how we can pick up the thread once again. I am sure we will exchange ideas. Let's hope that we would be able to pick up convergence of views. Every such meeting is an attempt to build greater comprehension of each other's position and deeper understanding,” the foreign secretary said.

The meeting could also set the stage for the visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister

Shah Mahmood Qureshi to India in the first quarter of this year.

Qureshi, who has been invited for talks by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, is unwilling to travel to India till there is an assurance that the talks would be “result-oriented.”

India is of the view that the meeting between the foreign secretaries would be exploratory in nature, aimed at unlocking the process of dialogue.

India feels that before the two countries agree on resuming the full-fledged dialogue, the two sides should take steps in the fields which affect common people directly. In this context, India wants to discuss issues related to visa, fishermen and trade and commerce.

around me: Devgn PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 5:Ajay Devgn feels that his dislike for a coterie around him has kept him in good stead in Bollywood.

Devgn had three hits to his credit last year and opened 2011 successfully with Madhur Bhandarkar's rom-com 'Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji' but the nationalaward-winning actor says he has been careful about picking up people around him.

“I have never had a coterie around me whether at the beginning of my career or today,” Devgn told PTI. “I may have seen highs as well as lows but never ever have I given myself in the hands of those who may take

unfair advantage of me,” says Devgn.

The actor says he did not think twice before agreeing to play a 40-year-old guy, who falls for his 20 something junior at the workplace.

Devgn and Emraan Hashmi reunited for the buddy comedy again in 'Dil Toh...' after 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai' where they were pitted against each other.

“When Madhur came to me with 'Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji', I and Kumar Mangat (producer) sat down with him and started discussing the other co-actors. It was Madhur who came up with the idea of roping in Emraan and I was convinced too."

Trinamool may back Congress on JPC demand PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 5 : T r i namool Congress, which has been supportive of the clamour for a Joint Parliamentary

Committee probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam, may go with the Congress if it accepts the opposition demand.

The major ally has decided

to go with the Congress saying, "We have no objection to JPC if the government accepts it”, Trinamool Congress sources told PTI here.

Banerjee has already

made it clear that being a UPA ally, her party would go with whatever stand the coalition government at the Centre takes in the matter.

Earlier the party had said they were willing to support the demand for JPC probe into the spectrum issue.

However, the party wanted a debate on the issue

in parliament. “Let us hear the opposition view on their demand for a JPC. Let us also hear why the government has so far refused to accept it”, they said.

FROM PAGE 1 Fatorda erupts the Opposition leader making his presence felt at the Gumteshwar Temple just at the entrance to the Multipurpose school complex with MLA Damu Naik in tow.

After participating in the pooja, Parrikar said though the Assembly session is over, BJP’s crusade against corruption will continue. “What has happened in the Assembly is just the beginning. We will continue our crusade against corruption till the next Assembly session”, he said.

When newsmen drew his attention to Alemao’s challenge to BJP for an Opinion poll on corruption in the PWD, Parrikar shot back “if he thinks he is innocent, why did he not agree for a Joint Assembly Committee (JAC) on the water distribution scam?”.

Apparently calling spade a spade, the Opposition leader said a Commission of Inquiry headed by a retired Judge should be appointed to check the works carried out by the PWD for the last one year. “The inquiry should probe whether the works carried out tally with the payments made by the PWD. Let the Commission probe the works bill-wise”, he added.

Incidentally, the Fatorda MLA assured newsmen that he would unveil more scams in the PWD, and sought to know why the PWD Minister was silent on the demand of a JAC on distribution of water tanks. “Just wait and watch till the next Assembly session. Many more skeletons will tumble out of the cupboards”, Damu said.

Incidentally, Damu’s political rival Vijay Sardessai, who accompanied Alemao to the sports meet, described Damu as anti-poor saying the water tanks were distributed by the PWD because of restricted supply to the common man. “If we give ration to the people on festive occasion, the BJP calls it a scam.

The BJP is bereft of issues and this shows their bankruptcy of ideology. Even when I distributed sarees during a Haldi Kukum function, the MLA has objected. Apparently, Damu feels insecure and frustrated because his defeat is imminent”, Sardessai added.

Power project MoU undertake mining activity.

Despite no amendments being made to objective clause, the nodal agency not only went ahead with the selection of the developer i.e – KSK Energy Ventures Ltd but also signed MoU with them before a coal block was actually allotted to the State by the Centre.

This MoU was not approved by the Cabinet nor was it referred to the finance or law departments The State Finance Department in its observation on the awarding of contract and MoU said that the selection done was only on technical criteria and infructuous.

“Technical parameter is a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition. Financial parameters are crucial for selection of developer. The financial bids that optimize the benefits to the Government and to the public at large should become the basis for selection process”, the Department observed.

“The basis of the bench mark for financial parameters indicated in the MoU is not known”, it further stated.

As per the documents available with Herald, the objective of the Government is to earn revenue from the project and produce power to become self-reliant in power requirement.

However, the Finance Department pointed out “…to achieve these objectives, there is no financial modeling done and revenue streams worked out”.

As per the MoU, the power project SPVs (Special Purpose

Vehicle) shall commit to supply 10 per cent of power available or 240 mw whichever is higher at the power project after meeting the obligation to the host State but before selling or supplying the power to any other person.

“While the Government intention is to become self-reliant in power requirement, the reason for fixing only 10 per cent requirement is not known. In fact while the first right of refusal for a part of power generated goes to the host State, the Goa Government should have kept the first right of refusal on the balance power production. Therefore the rationale for only 10 per cent commitment is not clear…” the Finance observations say.

Also, what is pertinent to note here is that according to the MoU, the rate of power supply shall be mutually negotiated and concluded by the parties at relevant time.

“If the Government does not know the cost of power and the private sector has major say in the arrangement than the entire exercise becomes hypothetical”, the observation say.

From the above observation it seems like the entire exercise is infructuous and financial irregularities ruled the day.

Tainted Pak trio same Test, and Butt was party to the bowling of those deliberate no balls, were proved”, the ICC said in a statement.

“We, therefore, impose the following sanctions: On Butt’s ten years ineligibility, five years of which are suspended on the condition that he doesn’t commit further breaches of the code, and that he participates under the auspices of the Pakistan Cricket Board in a programme of anti-corruption education.

“On Asif, a sanction of seven years of ineligibility, two years of which are suspended on the condition that he commits no further breach of the code and also participates in an anti-corruption programme”, it said.

“On Aamer a sanction of five years ineligibility. No further sanctions are imposed on any player”, the statement added.

Happiest State in the world technological freedom came in 2008 with the signing of the Indo-US nuclear deal and the lifting of the ban on dual-use technologies for India by advanced countries.

The fourth freedom, he said, was yet to come. This would be the inclusion of all of India’s people, including the poor presently excluded, into the great India growth story. He urged

Indian industry to make ‘inclusion’ of the masses a cornerstone of its policy.

Pointing out the huge influence his uneducated mother and his dedicated teacher, Bhave (see yesterday’s Herald), had on his life, Dr Mashelkar said that parents and teachers play the greatest role in the building of a nation. He said what India needs is ‘convex lens leadership’ which brings light and thinking together, rather than ‘concave lens leadership’, which disperses it.

Pointing out that ‘innovation’ meant the successful exploitation of a new idea to create wealth in this country, Dr Mashelkar said that an attitude of “Why not?” was required, and a willingness to think outside the box. Open-mindedness, he said, and willingness to understand other points of view would lessen conflict in the country. For an innovation revolution, Dr Mashelkar called for “innovation in education and education in innovation”.

In a speech peppered with quotable quotes, Dr Mashelkar at once inspired, entertained and enlightened a jam-packed Dinanath Mangeshkar Hall at Kaka Academy. He said India’s greatest strength was that 55 per cent of the country’s population was under 25.

He warned, however, that unbridled and widespread corruption could derail India’s success story. To become a genuinely developed country, he said, Indians will first have to become non-corrupt.

Answering questions after the lecture, he agreed with an engineering college student that there should be Research and Development (R&D) centres in Engineering Colleges, as engineering science is weak in India. He also said that while it is very unlikely that India can ever overtake China in economic terms, it can do much better in creativity and entrepreneurship; it already has 760 R&D centres employing 160,000 scientists. Giving the audience his email address – ram@ncl.res.in – he said he was willing to answer any questions.

Earlier, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat inaugurated the D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas. He said the festival of ideas was to create an exchange of thoughts that can build the society, state and nation. Dr Mashelkar, he informed the gathering, was the head of the committee to draft a ‘Goa Vision 2035’ document, to draw a roadmap for the State’s development. Praising Director of Art and Culture Prasad Lolayekar for his dedicated efforts to improve the festival each year, he said the special eminence of this year’s speakers reflected the golden jubilee year of Goa’s liberation. Director of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Dr Satish Shetye conducted the proceedings.

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World SNAPSHOT European leaders clash BRUSSELS: Sharp disagreements opened up among European Union leaders at a summit here over a german-led plan to boost the competitiveness of weaker euro-zone economies, threatening to unsettle recently calm European financial markets. The german proposals, backed by France, are viewed as the price for an agreement to expand a bailout fund for the struggling economies of the euro zone and give the fund greater powers to stem the region's debt crisis—a move seen as critical to restoring confidence in the euro.

Transplant ban on papal organs

VaTICan CITY: The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI, who has long been a champion of organ transplants, is no longer an organ donor. The Pope's secretary, Monsignor georg gä¨nswein, addressed the issue in a letter to a german doctor who has been using the fact that Benedict had a donor card to recruit other donors. Vatican Radio, in a german language report this week, said Father gä¨nswein wrote that while the former cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's organ card dates to the 1970s, it was rendered void when he became pope.

Thailand, Cambodia ink ceasefire

Bangkok: Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a ceasefire Saturday after renewed fighting in a disputed border region killed at least one soldier. a tentative ceasefire appeared to be holding late Saturday after Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged artillery fire along their shared border. Military officials from the two countries blamed each other for the outbreak of hostilities, the first in the region resulting in fatalities in a year. Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says the military has specific rules of engagement that were also communicated

Myanmar state media asserts junta head’s role AFP BANGKOK, FEB 5: Myanmar's junta chief appeared on the front of the main state newspaper Saturday, above news that a retired general had been made president, in what one analyst said was an apparent assertion of strength.

Than Shwe, the junta number one who has ruled Myanmar with an iron fist since 1992, was pictured in full military uniform and described as senior general and commander-in-chief of defence services in a prominent announcement.

The item in the New Light of Myanmar, entitled "Various national races share joys and sorrows", appeared to be reprinted from an earlier proclamation on the country's unity.

It was positioned above a report on the appointment of prime minister Thein Sein, a key ally of the army chief, as Myanmar's head of state.

"Maybe whoever is in charge of the newspaper, they just wanted to confirm that Than Shwe is still the boss," said Myanmar expert Aung Naing Oo. While Than Shwe has not taken up the top political role in the country's new political

system, many analysts have long expected him to try to keep some control behind the scenes.

Thein Sein's appointment was seen as supporting fears that the regime has engineered the political process to hide military power behind a civilian facade.

The 65-year-old former junta number four became a civilian to contest the November election as head of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which claimed an overwhelming majority in the poll.

Despite the selection of a president, a government has not yet been formed and key regime figures remain in their positions.

The formation of a national assembly in Naypyidaw, convened for the first time on Monday, takes the country towards the final stage of the junta's so-called "roadmap" to a "disciplined democracy".

A quarter of the parliamentary seats were kept aside for the military even before the country's first poll in 20 years, which was marred by the absence of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and claims of cheating and intimidation.

PTI PTI

CAIRO, FEB 5: Uncertainty and tension gripped Egypt on Saturday with international clamour growing on beleaguered President Hosni Mubarak to hand over power immediately as saboteurs blew up a key gas pipeline to Israel adding a fresh dimension to the 12-day old crisis in the Arab nation.

As unprecedented protests raged at the famous Tahrir Square in central Cairo, the state TV reported "dangerous explosions continuing from one spot to another" in the main source of gas supplying pipeline in El Arish.

The attackers used explosives to blow up the 240km-long pipeline in the town of Lihfen in northern Sinai near the Gaza Strip and the army shut down the gas supplies to Israel and Jordan, Egyptian officials said.

"It's big terrorist operation," the stateTV quoted an official as saying, who blamed the attack on "foreign elements."

The attack on the pipeline came after Israel, which receives 40 per cent of its gas demand from Egypt, expressed concern that the supplies could be threatened if a new regime takes over in Cairo.

The attack happened as tens of thousands of people held demonstrations against Mubarak with no sign of an end to confrontation which has pitted the 82-

Egyptian troika planning to limit Mubarak’s power PTI NEW YORK, FEB 5: Newlynamed Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman and his top military commanders were discussing plans to limit President Hosni Mubarak's decision-making authority and possibly remove him from the presidential palace. Quoting US and Egyptian officials, New York Times reported that the plans did not call for Mubarak to be stripped of presidency immediately.

The paper said that Army's backing was being sought to make Suleiman to head an interim government which would negotiate with the political opposition a timetable for elections. year-old leader against the anti-government protesters.

With no let up in protests fury, President Mubarak, who appeared increasingly cornered, held a meeting of his new cabinet to revive the economy and project calm in the face of the increasing

turmoil.

The meeting was attended by Egypt's new Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq as well as the central bank governor and the ministers of petroleum, social solidarity, trade and industry, and finance.

Finance minister Samir Radwan announced that the banks and stock market will reopen by Monday as he termed the economic situation in the country as "very serious". A government analyst claims that the uprising is costing the country at least USD 310 million a day.

The President appears to have dug in his heels with the prime minister announcing that Mubarak had no intention to quit or transfer power to his deputy Omar Suleiman as being suggested by the country's major allies like US. The state-TV reported that Mubarak's meeting took place on Saturday morning in the presidential palace Heliopolis, a Cairo suburb, miles away from Tahrir Square.

Massive protests were also witnessed in other major Egyptian cities, including Alexandria and Suez, demanding an end to Mubarak's 30-year rule.

To pace themselves, the protest leaders declared that while the sit-in would continue at Tahrir Square daily, the massive rallies would be held on Tuesdays and Fridays.

BERLIN, FEB 5: British Prime Minister David Cameron believes his country’s policy of multiculturalism has "failed" to prevent the radicalisation of Muslims by hindering their integration into the British society.

In his first speech on radicalism and causes of terrorism, the Prime Minister said a "hands-off tolerance" of those who reject Western values had failed to prevent the rise of Islamic extremism in Britain.

He said Britain has "even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter

4 accused as US spies, killed in Pak AGENCIES ISLAMABAD, FEB 5: Militants in northwest Pakistan shot and killed four men they accused of spying for the United States, police said The bullet-riddled bodies were found Saturday dumped along a road in North Waziristan, said senior police official Sajid Mohmand.

A note attached to one of the bodies read, "This is the fate for whoever works for the US," Mohmand said.

North Waziristan is widely believed to be a safe haven for the Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

The district has seen a sharp increase in aerial strikes by U.S. unmanned drones.

Analysts say the targets are often chosen based on information gathered from local residents.

Over the past two years, the Pakistani Taliban have killed dozens of men in the tribal region after accusing them of providing information to Pakistani security forces and US troops operating in Afghanistan.

Europe to Egypt: After Mubarak, don’t rush election REUTERS MUNICH, FEB 5: European powers Germany and Britain urged Egypt on Saturday to change leaders rapidly but take its time holding elections, saying traditions of tolerance and fairness had to be built to make democracy work.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and European Council President Herman van Rompuy reiterated demands for a rapid "transition" -- a phrase that has

become a diplomatic codeword for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak after 30 years of militarybacked autocracy.

But they said caution would be needed in the aftermath.

"I don't believe that we solve the world's problems by flicking a switch and holding an election ...

Egypt is a classic case in point," Cameron told a security conference in Munich.

"I think a very quick election at the start of a process of democratization would be wrong," Merkel told

the same meeting, citing her own experiences as an East German pro-democracy activist at the time of the 1989 collapse of the Berlin Wall.

"If there is an election first, new structures (of political dialogue and decision-making) don't have a chance to develop."

Mubarak, who has pledged to step down in September, said on Thursday he believed Egypt would descend into chaos if he were to give in to almost two weeks of demands by an unprecedented popular revolt

that he quit immediately.

He has fashioned himself as the crucial rampart against Islamist militancy in Egypt and the indispensable player in maintaining a peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979.

Political analysts say European caution about free elections in Egypt will be seen by many in the Middle East as evidence of Western anxiety about the possibility that Islamists could come to power in the Arab world's most populous country.

Critics of Western diplomacy in

the region says this anxiety reflects a double standard, namely that the West compromises on its democratic ideals when the outcome would be unfavorable.

Egypt's largest opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the authorities despite being officially banned. The Brotherhood says that, if given the freedom to choose, most of Egypt's 80 million population would choose a form of Islamic law, although it is publicly committed to political pluralism.

Bad luck, Yasi’s tail behind the drenching AGENCIES

oUT FoR a SWIM: Jemima (seated), alexa and Jack at Brighton grammer’s sports oval.

Finally Cameron realises multiculturalism has failed PTI

There should be greater scrutiny of Islamic groups. Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism.

-- David Cameron

Egypt remains tense; sabotage adds new dimension to unrest

British officials called Zardari as numbskull LONDON, FEB 5: In a damning assessment, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has been described

by Britishofficials as "highly corrupt" and a "numbskull".

The assessment of Zardari was made by officials and military leaders in the months after his election as president in September 2008, The Daily Telegraph reported citing documents leaked by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.

Sir Jock Stirrup, then Chief of the Defence staff,t old American diplomats that Pakistan was already in an "arguably worse" state a month after Zardari’s election.

He said although Zardari had made "helpful political noises," he’s clearly a numbskull.

His comments were echoed by high-ranking British officials who said Zardari had "not much sense of how to govern a country" and "no goals beyond hanging on to power".

A leaked record of the talks

“

If given the freedom to choose, most of Egypt’s 80 million population would choose a form of Islamic law.

-- Muslim Brotherhood

goa, Sunday 7,February 2011

to our values," a policy that needs to be revised.

Addressing a security conference in Germany, Cameron argued in favour of developing a stronger national and "muscular liberalism".

Decrying the long-standing policy of multiculturalism, Cameron also suggested that there should be greater scrutiny of Islamic groups that get public money but do little to tackle extremism.

"Let’'s properly judge these organisations: Do they believe in universal human rights - including for women and people of other faiths?

Do they believe in democracy and the right of people to elect their own

government? Do they encourage integration or separatism?" he asked.

Cameron said what is needed is the strengthening of national identity and allowing people to say "I am a Muslim, I am a Hindu, I am a Christian, but I am a Londoner... too".

"Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism," the prime minister said.

The comments did not go down well with Muslim groups, some of whom said the community had been singled out as part of the problem.

Reacting to the speech, Muslim

Council of Britain’s assistant secretary general Faisal Hanjra said the stance was a disappointment and signalled no positive change in the new government’s approach to tackling the problem of extremism.

"We were hoping that with a new government, with a new coalition that there would be a change in emphasis in terms of counter-terrorism and dealing with the problem," he said.

"Again it just seems the Muslim community is very much in the spotlight, being treated as part of the problem as opposed to part of the solution," he was quoted as saying.

Calling for tough measures

against groups that are seen as promoting extremism, Cameron said ministers should refuse to engage with such groups, they should be denied access to public funds and barred from spreading their message in universities and prisons.

He said under "doctrine of state multiculturalism," different cultures have been encouraged to live separate lives and "we have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong".

Britain is scrambling for ways to handle the problem of home-grown extremists, a phenomenon that is worrying the country for some years now.

MELBOURNE, FEB 5: Australia’s Victoria State has been lashed by the tail of cyclone Yasi, producing severe storms and torrential rain.

The moist air from Yasi, downgraded from a cyclone to a tropical low after its winds eased below gale force, was dragged south in an arc from Queensland's northwest, through Alice Springs and as far south as Melbourne.

A large cold front heading north cooled the warm monsoonal air and caused huge cloudbursts that dumped up to 200 millimetres of rain in just two hours over Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Moisture remaining from cyclone Anthony was also hanging over the state and contributed to the deluge.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Stephen King said the weather was unusual for Melbourne. ''We have had extremely high moisture levels in the air from both ex-cyclone Anthony and Yasi … Then we had a [cold] trough yesterday that triggered the thunderstorm activity,'' Mr King said. ''This sort of rain coming from the tropics, you get it in Sydney and Brisbane, it's not that unusual, but to get it this far south is probably quite rare.''

Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs were among the worst-affected areas. Lyndhurst recorded 180 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday.

Mildura, in the state's north-west, recorded 142 millimetres - the town's highest daily rainfall total on record.

Ex-cyclone Yasi was yesterday hovering over the Northern Territory, about 430 kilometres south-west of Mount Isa, causing heavy rain in far west Queensland.

It is expected to continue to spread moisture into southeastern Australia today, but its influence will diminish by tomorrow.

While the wild weather across Australia in the past two weeks may feel like an end-of-days movie, experts say it is the product of bad luck and normal long-term weather patterns.

Environmental scientist Stewart Franks at the University of Newcastle said cyclonic activity and recent major flooding in Australia's eastern states were the result of La Nina activity, which has been intensified by Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or low-frequency cooling in the mid-latitudes.

Associate Professor Franks rejected the idea that category-5 cyclone Yasi was unprecedented. He said cyclone Mahina in north Queensland in 1899 was stronger.

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sports

India's campaign at the Fed Cup turned worst as it was relegated to Group II of the Asia/Oceania Zone after losing the play-off tie 1-2 to Chinese Taipei in Nonthaburi on Saturday. Ashvarya lost 3-6, 3-6 to Ting-Fei Juan and Poojashree went down fighting 57, 1-6 against Chin-Wei Chan.

I pin the blame for my departure from Liverpool squarely on the shoulders of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The club's ousted owners are responsible for Liverpool's worst start to a league season.

-- Fernando Torres

Navdurga win Ponda Youth U-14 cricket title HERALD SPORTS DESK Panjim, Feb 5: Navdurga High School, Madkai won the top honors winning the under-14 finals of Ponda Youth Inter-Schools Cricket Tournament beating Symbiosis organized by Sports Excell to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of GVM’s GGPR College, Ponda.

Navdurga won the toss, elected to bat and scored 48 for the loss of 4 wickets in their allotted 8 overs with opener Diptesh scoring 11 and their consistent performer Vikrant scoring 13 not out with 2 boundaries.

Siddanth, Saiesh, Satyam and Pranesh claimed a wicket each of Navdurga.

Symbiosis had Siddanth scoring 11 runs and was the only player who put some resistance to Navdurga.

The strong bowling line up of Akshay, Vikrant, Sarvesh and Sanket helped the Shiroda boys from scoring at will as in their previous matches. Navdurga won by 6 runs and rightly Vikrant was declared the man-of-the tournament in the junior category while Siddanth of Symbiosis was the man-ofthe finals.

In the semi-finals of under16 category, MIBK Khandepar got the better of Government High School, Bethoda to meet Dada Vaidya HS Curti who defeated Pragati Vidyalaya Borim.

Ramnath and Sunny of

MIBK put together an opening partnership of 36 runs in the overall total of 77 for 4 at the end of their stipulated overs. In reply, Nilesh (15), Suraj (18) and Vinay (16) tried to overcome the MIBK boys. However, they fell short by 9 runs in which Sunny claimed 2 wickets and was declared the man-of-the match.

In the second semi-final, Dada Vaidya had to sweat it out to make it to the finals beating Pragati Vidyalaya in an exciting encounter.

Initially, the match ended up in a tie and then the super over was applied do decide the winner to enter the finals.

Dada Vaidya had scored 73 for 5 with Chandresh scoring 16. Anwar scored 15 not out and the successful bowler was Yogesh for Pragati who claimed 2 wickets. Pratap scored 24 and Kunal 15 for to tie the match. However, in the supper over Pragati won the toss and elected to bat and could muster only 10 runs while the winning team Dada Vaidya scored 11 runs with one ball to spare.

Pradeep Gaonkar, secretary of Goa Vidyaprasarak Mandal was the chief guest and distributed the prizes alongwith Principal Kamat of GVM Higher Secondary School. Principal P. M. Bhende welcomed. Director of Physical Education of GVM GGPR College, Betty D’Silva proposed the vote of thanks.

Dhempe, Salgaocar move up

HERALD SPORTS DESK

Panjim, Feb 5 : Dhempe College and V M Salgaoncar College won their first round matches against Goa College of Pharmacy and SV's S Caculo College respectively in Goa University cricket championship on Friday.

Dhempe beat Goa College of Pharmacy by 59 runs.

After winning the toss, Dhempe decided to bat first and scored 167 for 6. Akram Shaikh 43, Pramit Naik 29, Vinod Sutar 20, Krishnaraj Khandolkar 19, Shaish Morajkar 15. Ved Pawar 3 for 26, Sameer Velip 2 for 23 and Avinash Gaude 1 for 24.

Goa College of Pharmacy could score 108 for 7. Sameer Velip 37, Ved Pawar 15.Vinod Sutar 4 for 34, Isaq Tejani 2 for 15, Sameer Tari 1 for 18.

In another match, V M Salgaocar College beat Caculo College by 5 wickets. Batting first, Caculo College scored 127 for 7. Harshoullas 39, Vithal Gawas 24, Swapnil Parab 12. Tushararvekar 1 for 22 and Tushar Shirgaonkar 1 for 20. Salgaocar College won the match in 18th over with 5 wickets in hand. Onkar Gaonkar 53, Tushar Narvekar 25. Kritesh Kinalkar 2 for 26, Vithal Gawas 1 for 12, Saji V 1 for 21.

Durgesh to lead baseball team HERALD SPORTS DESK Panjim, Feb 5: Durgesh Prabhu Gaonkar will lead the Goa University baseball team for All-India Inter-University Baseball Championship organised to Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak from February5.

The team: Durgesh Prabhu Gaonkar (captain),

Gautam Gaude (vice-captain), Chandrashekhar Rathod, Pradesh Gaonkar, Manohar Gaonkar, Vinesh Satarkar, Dhananjay Velip, Deepak Bhagat, Hitesh Madkaikar, Akash Velip, Pradeep Ajagekar, Sudir Ganesh, Kailash Gaonkar (coach), Savio Leitao (manager).

Agasaim’s big win over Merces HERALD SPORTS REPORTER

Mapusa, Feb 5: Agasaim Youth Club recorded a convincing 5-1 win over Merces Sports Club in GFA’s 2nd Division, at DSYA ground, Santa Cruz on Saturday.

Agasaim led 2-1 at the breather.

Rudy Godinho scored a brace, while Alinton Vaz, Francis Silveria and Abdul also got their names on the scoresheet for Agasaim.

Kiran Kari scored a consolation goal for Merces.

Astrocio Fernandes was booked for Agasaim and Agnelo Carbral of Merces was also booked.

In GFA’s U-14 league at Assolna ground, Snow’s Football Academy defeated Ambelim Sports Club 2-0 and at Rosary ground, United Boys of Palolem trounced Colmorod Ratwaddo Sports Club 6-1.

Palolem led 2-1 at half time after going down to an early goal from Colmorod.

Navdurga High School, Madkai, winners of Ponda Youth Inter-School Cricket Tournament for under-14 at Ponda alongwith Predeep Gaonkar, Principal Kamat, Principal Bhende, GVM College PE Director Betty D’Silva and Kennedy D’Silva.

Curtorim Gym triumph HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Margao, Feb 5: Curtorim Gymkhana defeated Wilred Leisure Sports Club 2-1 to claim top honours in South Goa Zone GFA Second Division play-off at Cuncolim school ground on Saturday.

All goals came in the first half.

Curtorim Gymkhana turned the tables right from the word go in a scintillating fashion with midfielder Mariano Rebello and Agnelo Colaco being the chief architects of Curtorim’s victory. Both played a key role in spraying accurate passes to keep the forwards busy.

Coach Alex Dias played a strong side and the players responded well with Agnelo Colaco and Mariano Rebello being on the scoreboard.

Wilred Leisure, on the other had, were eager to put an improved performance and also avenge the earlier defeat in the Second Division League. But they did not succeed.

It was only in the 16th minute that game came alive as midfielder Agnelo came

sure and trouble the rival defence with well orchestrated raids. They nearly found further success but striker Melvin Fernandes failed to beat Wilred Leisure goalkeeper Mohammed Shaikh. Curtorim Gymkhana created many forays into the rival territory but Mariano Rebello’s try deflected off the rival goalkeeper.

Curtorim Gymkhana continued in the same vein after change of ends but could not add to their tally. Wilred Leisure tried to neutralise the lead and managed to create chances but they could not score due to some tight marking by Alleulia Fernandes.

Wilred Leisure were unlucky soon after the resumption when Nickson Castana’s swif shot was blocked by Curtorim Gymkhana goalkeeper Johnson Bhagat.

Curtorim Gymkhana spurned a golden opportunity when Mariano Rebello drew out Wilred Leisure goalkeeper Mohammed Shaikh but shot wide with an empty goal before him.

In the 85th minute, Wilred

Chandor regrouped quickly and fought back gallantly with Cruz Gomes putting his team on equal terms in the 6th minute with a stiff grounder.

Unfazed about the equaliser, Verna struck rhythm with their forwards showing good application, going all out and succeeding with Anthony Rego striking the second time to give his team a 2-1 cushion.

Crossing over, Chandor put up a better display and their forwards and midfielders worked in tandem to put the rival defence under pressure. Their persistent raids paid off when Cruz Gomes

punished the rival goalkeeper with an adroit placement.

With the scores level 2-2 draw, the teams went all out in search of the match-winner but failed to get the result.

In the tie-breaker, Sammy Dias, Leo Menezes, Ashward Fernandes, Soccorro Fernandes, Savio Fernandes and Suraj Zambodkar were on the target for Chandor Club while Vijal Rego, Ajay Satardekar, Basil Rego and Marian Rego converted for Verna.

Anthony Rego of Verna and Cruz Gomes of Chandor were awarded best players awards respectively.

dominated the proceedings in both sessions and could have won by a bigger margin had Rosario Ferreira’s tries not hit the crossbar.

Clayson Pereira was in his elements as he troubled the rival defence but was unlucky as his try kissed the horizontal.

Crossing over, Snows Football Academy went all out and found success when Rosario Pereira bulged the net off a pass from Clayson Pereira.

Snows’s insurance goal came midway in the second half when Daniel Gomes slotted past the rival goalkeeper.

Chandor move into semis

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Margao, Feb 5 : Chandor Club made their way into the semi-final of 3rd All-Goa Wilred Leisure Cup inter-village football tournament organised by Wilred Leisure Sports Club easing past Verna Sports Club 7-6 via the tie-breaker in an absorbing quarter-final at Curtorim ground on Saturday. Verna wee leading 2-1 at half time.

Verna started well going into the lead in the very first minute when striker Anthony Rego punished the rival goalkeeper with a pile driver.

Stung by that early setback,

Snows score past Ambelim

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

The Goa University baseball team for All-India Inter-University Baseball Championship with Milton Fernandes.

up with a superb strike from outside the box to put Curtorim into the lead.

Wilred Leisure did create some decent opportunities but strikers Sertorio Monteiro and Nickson Castana failed to get past the Curtorim Gymkhana defensive line marshalled by Alleulia Fernandes.

Curtorim Gymkhana had scoring opportunities but striker Melvin Fernandes squandered a sitter.

Wilred Lesiure restored parity through Andrew Colaco after he received a through pass from playmaker Peter Pereira.

Stunned by the equaliser, Curtorim Gymkhana went into the attacking mode and repeatedly raided the rival citadel but their strikers frittered away scoring chances.

Curtorim Gymkhana regained the lead in the 32nd minute when midfielder Mariano Rebello beat the rival goalkeeper with a snap shot after he received a pass from Agnelo Collaco.

The goal helped Curtorim Gymkhana to pile up pres-

Margao, Feb 5 : Snows’ Football Academy, Raia blanked Ambelim Sports Club 2-0 in GFA under-14 league at Assolna ground, on Saturday.

There was no score at half time.

Snows Football Academy

Leisure missed a sure opportunity to level the score but substitute Charles Dias was the culprit as he failed to beat the Curtorim goalkeeper off an assist from Peter Pereira.

With this win, Curtorim Gymkhana qualified for the final play-off and topped the group with six points from two matches while Wilred Leisure suffered their first defeat and have no points from one match.

Curtorim Gymkhana coach Alex Dias was elated with his side’s performance. “I have always advocated an all-out attacking approach and today the boys implemented our strategy perfectly. It is a great victory as my boys promised me to give their best and also it gives me great satisfaction that every one worked hard.

This victory is one which I can dedicate to the villagers from Curtorim and club president Sebastiao Baretto. I also congratulate each member of the team for their commitment, hard work and dedication they displayed in the match,” Dias added.

GFA 1st Division: Corps of Signals v. Salcete FC, Navelim ground, 3MTR; Mormugao Port Trust v.

Raia SC, Tilak Maidan, Vasco. Kick off 4 p.m.

GFA U-16: Guardian Angel SC v. Guirdolim Club, Curchorem ground, 4 p.m.

GFA U-14: Ave Maria A & W Club v. AA de MajordaUtorda-Calata, Rosary ground; Raia FC v. Wilred Leisure SC, Raia ground; Orlim SC v. Colmorod Ratwaddo SC, Orlim ground.

Kick off 4 p.m.

3rd Wilred Leisure Cup soccer: Wilred Leisure Sports Club v. Navelim Sporting Club, Curtorim ground, 4.30 p.m.

1st all-Goa karate championship organised by All Goa Karate-Do Association, Indoor Stadium, Campal, Panjim, 5.30 p.m.

Ponda Taluka chess tourney for schools

HERALD SPORTS DESK Ponda, Feb 5: SRS Computer Services will organise the third Ponda Taluka level chess tournament for school students from Ponda on February 13 at Wagle High School, Mangueshi from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Std V to X students from Ponda High Schools may contact Sagar Sakordekar on 9422593131 or Amogh Namshikar on 9422455806.

Spot entries will not be accepted.

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“

We conceded three goals. Credit to the Chirag forward line. Joshimar's playing style is similar to Odafe Okolie. I am, however, very happy with my team's performance as we won the match inspite of Odafe's absence."

-- Vincent Subramaniam, Churchill coach

Goa I Sunday 06, February 2011

Where are the young players?

Wayne Rooney played in the youth leagues. You can’t expect the National coach to find players in the bushes.

-- Bob Houghton.

SNAPSHOT Chloe, Snehal win gold

Panjim: Chloe Charlene Fernandes (50m) (MES HSS, Vasco) Snehal Divakar (30m) (GVM HSS, Ponda) clinched gold medals in under-19 category in the ongoing 56th National School Games Archery Championship at Balewadi, Pune.

Chloe also secured a silver medal (30m) in the Indian round category.

In the individual category, Chloe Charlene Fernandes also secured a gold medal while Snehal divakar secured a silver medal.

In the team championship Goa secured a silver medal with Chloe Charledne Fernandes, Snehal Divakr, Ravina Naik and Kirti Umarye being the team members.

St Andrew’s win NG basketball

MAPUSA : St Andrew’s High School, Goa Velha were victorious in boys U-14 North District basketball, organized by DSYA at Peddem complex on Saturday.

Lok shikshant High School, Dargal, Pernem were the runners-up.

In the girls final, St Anthony’s High School, Monte de Guirim defeated St Theresa High School, Candolim.

In the zonal cricket U-19 girls final, Government High School, Sanquelim overcame St Xavier’s High School, Mapusa.

St Joseph’s School, Calangute moved into the semi-finals of the U-13 primary school football festival tournament, defeating Saraswat School 2-0. Daniel Fernandes blasted in from close range to open the scoring and shortly after Neil Joy shot from distance to seal the win.

The winners of the Don Bosco Oratory Futsal Festival 2011, alongwith Peter Vaz of Sporting Club the Goa, Elvis Gomes, vice-president of GFA, Fr Ian Figueiredo, Provincial of the Salesian Konkan Province, Fr Paul D’Souza, Vice-Provincial and Rector of Don Bosco Panjim, Fr Willie Fernandes, Administrator of Don Bosco Panjim and Manager of Don Bosco College, Fr Rallino, Director DBO..

Churchill tame Chirag RESULTS

Nat Games Probables win MAPUSA: The National Games Probable XI scored a 2-1 victory over Sesa Football Academy in a friendly match at Duler stadium, here on Saturday. Cavin Lobo and Pratesh Shirodkar got the goals for the National Games XI. The match was played at such a high tempo with players of both teams trying to impress their coaches that the management of both teams decided to call a premature end to proceedings midway into the second half to avoid unnecessary injuries.

“Both sides played extremely well. I am very impressed with the standard of play,” remarked National Games coach Anthony D’Souza who is also Clifford Chukwuma’s understudy at Sesa Football Academy set up.

Vasco Club for all-India tourneys MAPUSA: Vasco Sports Club will pack their bags and leave for the FDF football tournament in Bhopal on Monday. The tournament has already started, but Vasco are seeded into the quarter-finals and will play their first match on February 9.

The tournament is set to finish on February 12 and Vasco are expected to travel directly for an All-India football tournament in Assam, which starts on February 18.

“We are entering the tournaments in order to prepare our team for the 2nd Division I-League, which will kick off shortly. After these matches we will know where we stand and what we can improve on,” reasoned out Vasco coach Gavin Araujo.

Karate results PANJIM: Following are the results of 1st all-Goa karate championship organised by All Goa KarateDo Association.

Above-18 (below brown) kata (boys): Gold Pankaj Chodankar, silver Arvind Kumar Vishwakarma, bronze Rohan Shirgaonkar.

Above 18 (below brown) kata (girls): Gold Madhura Chari, silver Marina Fernandes, bronze Nikita Chari.

Kumite: Gold Marina Fernandes, silver Madhura Chari, bronze Pooja Kothardkar, bronze Gorette Pinto.

Kumite above 18 years (below brown) boys below 60kg: Gold Raju Gupta, silver Dasharath Naik, bronze Prakash Naik, bronze Rohan Shirgaonkar.

Kumite above 70kg: Gold Croidin D’Cunha, silver Pankaj Chodankar, bronze Gaurij Kanodkar, bronze Lawrence D’Souza.

Kata above 18 (brown and black boys below 60kg: Gold Pratmesh Naik, silver Kefas Figuereido, bronze Nahim Karkumiya.

Kata below 70kg: Gold Seraz Shaikh, silver Isaac Mascarenhas, bronze Rosendo Fernandes.

Kata above 70kg (boys): Gold Navin Nanoskar, silver Mahesh Shirodkar, bronze Sidharth Mandrekar

5-a-side football at Raia MARGAO: The Young Boys of Duglor will organise their 6th all-Goa five-a-side football tournament on Febraury 13 and 20 at manora ground, raia. Rs 10,000 (winners), rs 8,000 (runners-up) and Rs 2,000 (semi-final losers) will be awarded. Detaila may be obtained from Mario on 9850477453 or Valent on 9850455283.

Tennis ball cricket

PANJIM: The Sunshine Sports Club of Carambolim will organise their second all-Goa tennis ball floddlight cricket tournament on February 18, 19, 20 at Carambolim panchcyat ground. Rs 12,000 (winners), Rs 6,000 (runners-up) and Rs 2,000 (semifinal losers) and other prizes will be awarded. In all, 24 teams will participate. Teams may contact Narendra on 9822153107.

Chirag United 3 Churchill Brothers 5 Man-of-the match: Kayne Vincent (Churchill)

Mumbai FC 1 JCT 1

Man-of-the match: Ebi Sukore (Mumbai)

Pune FC 3 Indian Arrows 0

Man-of-the match: Edmar Figueira (Pune) PTI Kolkata: Churchill Brothers took full advantage of a weak Chirag United defence to register a 5-3 away win in a round 13 I-League match at Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Saturday.

Churchill led 2-1 at halftime Kayne Vincent, who was adjudged man-of-the-match, struck a brace (10th and 78th), while Steven Dias (21st), Boima Karpeh (49th) and Amauri Neto (70th) fired one each in the high-octane clash.

Chirag United reduced the margin through Elijah Junior (19th and 65th) and Malswamtulunga (57th).

The Goan giants with 26 points are now clinging to third spot on the table as the big win meant that they have the highest goal difference (19), having scored 33 goals already.

Chirag United have 18 points and are placed at the seventh spot.

Playing without their star striker and the leading goal scorer of the tournament, Odafa Okolie, who is nursing an injury, Churchill Brothers took an early lead when their New Zealand recruit fired in from a Dias pass.

But Chirag scored the equaliser through Junior after Denson Devadas set it

up in the midfield.

In fact, Chirag could have taken a lead but Jerry Zirsangha's nice shot was thwarted by Churchill goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya.

After the break, Karpeh struck from an Amauri pass four minutes into the second period to lead the goal rush as Churchill took a 3-1 lead. But Chirag made it 2-3 with Malswamtulunga finding the net in the 57th minute from a Gouranga Dutta cross from the left.

A penalty in favour of Chirag then helped them bring the match on an even keel. In

Salgaocar Churchill Dempo Mumbai Chirag Pune FC JCT Indian Arrows Air India Viva Kerala

the 64th minute, Joshimar's header from a Lalkamal Bhowmick's cross found Churchill defender L Robert's hand inside the box and referee Deepak Singh awarded the penalty in the home team's favour.

Junior struck from the spot to make it 3-3 but the listless Chirag United defence failed to hold off the attack and let in two goals subsequently.

Amauri broke the deadlock in a 70th minute goal, while eight minutes later Vincent put the final nail in the coffin for the eighth goal of the match.

13 9 1 3 28 13 7 5 1 26 13 6 4 3 22 13 6 3 4 21 13 4 6 3 18 13 3 5 5 14 13 3 4 6 13 13 3 4 6 13 13 1 7 5 10 13 1 5 7 8

points points points points points points points points points points

Bibiano Sporting, Jesus Nazareth, Don Bosco top

DBO Futsal Festival 2011 HERALS SPORTS REPORTER Panjim, Feb 5: Bibiano Sporting, Jesus Nazareth and Don Bosco clinched the futsal titles at the first-ever DBO Futsal Festival 2011 at Fr Benedict Furtado indoor stadium, Don Bosco, here.

Don Bosco A, Jesus Nazareth and Bibiano Sporting won the titles in under-14, under-19 and the open categories respectively.

In the under-14 finals, Don Bosco A defeated the B team 3-1, with Akeraj Martins who was awarded the most promising player, scoring one goal while skillfully controlling the game and Dayne Britto scoring two. Sabino Pereira scored for the runners-up.

In the under-19 category, Jesus Nazareth got the better of M7 B 2-1 to clinch the title.

Mumbai, JCT share spoils; Pune win AGENCIES Kholapur, Feb 5: It was not a happy ending for Mumbai FC as they were forced to share points after playing a 11 draw with JCT in a Round XIII match at Sahu Maharaj ground, Kolhapur on Saturday.

It was certainly not the result Mumbai were aiming for as a dejected Mumbai manager Henry Picardo said, “This was not the result that we wanted. We still see ourselves at the fifth spot, which

could have been better with a win.’’

In an evenly poised match, the first half saw both teams taking an aggressive approach, but the Mumbai outfit did have a slight advantage over their opponents.

After some half hearted chances being created, but no huge misses in the first half, it was the second half which gave the spectators some delight. After a goalless first half Mumbai came back with a fresh perspective on

the ground as their striker Abhishek Yadav finally looked to be in sync with the team.

Mumbai finally broke the jinx in the 57th minute through Ebi Sukore. Mumbai midfielder Sukore dribbled past two JCT players and placed the ball safely into the post.

After taking the lead, just three minutes later, Yadav got a golden opportunity to extend Mumbai’s lead. Striker Henry Ezeh ran through solo

but his attempt was stopped well by the JCT custodian.

JCT earned a lifeline and came from behind to level terms in the 83rd minute. A misunderstanding between Mumbai custodian Amit Singha Roy and a defender saw JCT’s Amandeep Singh taking advantage as he planted the ball over the goalkeeper’s head to snatch a point.

Mumbai FC’s Ebi Sukore was adjudged man-of-the match.

“We are very upset with one

point. We could have gone to the fourth position had we won but we are still on fifth position. We want to catch up with the leaders. But we still have time for the next match against Air India as it is definitely going to be a very vital game for us,” added Picardo.

Pune FC beat Indian Arrows 3-0 with Arata Izumi (63rd), Edmar Figueira (71st and 78th) being the scorers at Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune in another match.

The open category finals was dominated by Bibiano Sporting, capping the luck of Fluke Winners who had managed to fight through to the final stage.

Daniel (5th minute) and Bibiano (10th minute) sealed their fate scoring goals and confirming their position as the winners of the Futsal Festival.

The chief guest for the presentation ceremony was Peter Vaz, Mangind Director, Sporting Club the Goa and the chief sponsor of the event. The guests of honour were Elvis Gomes, Senior vice-president of GFA, Fr Ian Figueiredo, Provincial of the Salesian Konkan Province, Fr Paul D’Souza, ViceProvincial and Rector of Don Bosco Panjim, Fr Willie Fernandes, Administrator of Don Bosco and Manager of Don Bosco College, Panjim.

5-a-side football at Raia MARGAO: The Young Boys of Duglor will organise their 6th all-Goa five-a-side football tournament on Febraury 13 and 20 at manora ground, Raia. Rs 10,000 (winners), rs 8,000 (runners-up) and Rs 2,000 (semi-final losers) will be awarded. Detaila may be obtained from Mario on 9850477453 or Valent on 9850455283

East Bengal look for crucial victory today Around 1 lakh spectators for Kolkata derby expected

AGENCIES

Kolkata, Feb 5: Mohun Bagan will lock horns with East Bengal in a high voltage derby encounter on Sunday to be played at Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.

Lots of hype has already been generated for the match with spectators turnout expected to be around 1 lakh. In the league table East Bengal are way ahead with 30 points, 12 points ahead of Mohun Bagan. Both teams have played 12 matches each.

Few National team players have joined both the teams, though Mohun Bagan seem to have benefited from the latest joining as their

defence had been shaky right from the start of the season. Their defence line-up will likely be Surkumar Singh, Deepak Mandal, Anwar Ali and Mohanraj which should bring stability to their defence.

With Shilton as goalkeeper, Rakesh Masih will be the holding medio, while Jayanta Sen or Manish Maithani will be assigned the job of attacking midfielder.

Technical Director Subhash Bhowmick will chose from Snehasish Chakraborty, Ishfaq Ahmed or Satish Kumar as the two wingers.

Barreto and Chidi will be the twoman forward line for Mohun Bagan.

Mohun Bagan has been scoring

goals with players like Edeh Chidi, Jose Ramirez Barreto and Muritala Ali upfront and they have so far scored 16 goals together, but they have let in 13 goals which has been the main concern for Subhash Bhowmick.

East Bengal on the other hand are at the top of the league table and playing consistently good football throughout the season.

Their Asian recruit, Tolgay has been in the peak of his form as he has already scored 9 goals in this tournament.

Robin Singh will miss tomorrow's match due to suspension and Sushil Singh will likely be Tolgey's striking

partner.

East Bengal has been making most of their moves down the right flank as Naoba Singh and Sonju Pradhan seemed to combine well down that side whereas their left flank is a bit of concern. Penn and Mehtab Hussain, however, have been the pillars of East Bengal team and whether East Bengal will manage to get 3 points tomorrow will depend on the performance of the two midfielders.

In defence, Uga Okpara and Gurwinder Singh will be the two centralbacks with Soumik Dey and Naoba Singh being the two wing backs.

In last year's I-League, Mohun

Bagan beat East Bengal 5-3 in the first match with Chidi Edeh alone scoring 4 goals whereas in the return leg Mohun Bagan once again emerged victorious and won the match 2-1.

East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan said, "We will look for 3 points from tomorrow's match. The only difference with Mohun Bagan is that their National team players are automatic choice in their first XI but in our case most of them have to sit out because we have an otherwise set team. We are confident of winning the match," Technical Director, Subhash Bhowmick, said.

The match will be telecaste live at 3.30 pm on M Khobor as per AIFF.

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Openers Abhinav Mukund and Robin Uthappa bulldozed the North Zone bowlers to script a brilliant run chase as South Zone clinched the Duleep Trophy with a day to spare.

Ryder ton helps NZ to face-saving win over Pak

AGENCIES

Arsenal's Ivorian-Swiss defender Johan Djourou (right) scores the second goal of the match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park, Newcastle on Saturday.

Newcastle stun Arsenal with 4-goal comeback SCOREBOARD Stoke . . . . . . . .3 Everton . . . . . . .5 Wigan . . . . . . . .4 Tottenham . . . .2 Newcastle . . . .4 Aston Villa . . . .2 Man City . . . . . .3

AGENCIES

Sunderland . . .2 Blackpool . . . . .3 Blackburn . . . .3 Bolton . . . . . . . .1 Arsenal . . . . . . .4 Fulham . . . . . . .2 West Brom . . . .0

London, Feb 5: Newcastle United produced an astonishing fightback to draw 4-4 at home to Arsenal on Saturday after trailing 4-0 as a record 38 goals were scored in the Premier League on Saturday.

Secondplaced Arsenal were four-up after 26 minutes with Robin van Persie twice on target.

But after Abou Diaby was sent off in the 50th minute, the home side struck four times to grab an unlikely point and leave the Gunners four points behind leaders Manchester United who play at Wolverhampton Wanderers later.

Carlos Tevez scored a hattrick before halftime for third-placed Manchester City in a 3-0 win against West Bromwich Albion, twice converting from the penalty spot, as City close the gap on United to five points.

Fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur moved level on points with Chelsea after substitute Niko Kranjcar’s last-

gasp winner in a 2-1 home victory over Bolton Wanderers while sixth-placed Sunderland suffered a 3-2 defeat at Stoke City after twice leading.

Louis Saha scored four times in Everton’s 5-3 home win against Blackpool, Wigan Athletic beat Blackburn Rovers 4-3 to edge out of the bottom three and Aston Villa and Fulham shared four goals at Villa Park.

The 38 goals s c o r e d eclipsed the previous Premier League record of 36 on a single Saturday set on November 27 last year.

Arsenal were left kicking themselves as they blew the chance to keep the pressure on United when a fourth consecutive Premier League victory appeared to be in the bag.

Theo Walcott fired the Gunners ahead in the first minute and Johan Djourou headed a second soon after before Van Persie’s double had some home fans heading for the exits.

However, Diaby’s sending off turned the tide against the visitors who fell apart after Joey Barton’s 68th minute penalty gave Newcastle a glimmer of hope.

Leon Best made it 4-2, Barton struck again from the penalty spot and Cheik Tiote

scored the equaliser after 87 minutes with a stunning volley from 20 metres.

Auckland, Feb 5: Jesse Ryder scored his second one day international century to help New Zealand earn a face-saving 57-run victory over Pakistan at Eden Park on Saturday in the sixth and final match of their series.

The win was just New Zealand's second in their last 16 completed ODIs and was sorely needed to give them a hint of self belief before they head to the World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Ryder scored 107 and combined in a 123-run partnership with Martin Guptill (44), while a 120-run partnership between Scott Styris (58 not out) and Nathan McCullum (65) at the end of the innings helped Kiwis to an imposing 311 for 7.

Wicketkeeper Kamral Akmal top-scored for the visitors, who held an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series before the match at Eden Park, with 89, including three glorious successive sixes into the lower deck at the ground.

Afridi (44) also provided some late jitters for the New Zealanders as he combined with Sohail Tanvir (30) before being caught by Nathan McCullum off Hamish Bennett, who finished with for four for 46.

James Franklin captured three for 50 to give the small crowd something to cheer about when Pakistan were dismissed for 254.

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“Ronaldo needs to learn from the best player in the world, Messi. He should learn how he plays and leave behind his arrogant attitude.

-- Walter Pandiani, striker

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My only concern is the fitness of the guys.

If they can last the entire tournament without injuries, we could certainly regain the World Cup -- Anil Kumble

Fitness only concern for India: Kumble

PTI Bangalore, Feb 5: Former Test captain Anil Kumble reckons it is India's best chance to lift the ODI World Cup after 1983 but fitness of players would be a major concern and ending the 28-yearold jinx would depend on whether the squad remains injury-free during the event.

"My only concern is the fitness of the guys. If they can last the entire tournament without injuries, we could certainly regain the Cup," Kumble told PTI in an interview ahead of the February 19 to April 2 mega-event to be held in the sub-continent.

Kumble said along with India, defending champions Australia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka are the other favourites for the coveted trophy.

"We have a very bright chance, probably it is our best opportunity to win the Cup," said Kumble.

Kumble weighed the advantages that India had to win back the title, last won by Kapil's Devils in 1983.

"We have lot of advantages going into the tournament.

The form of the players is encourgaing. The quality of players is good. There are some all-rounders as well who can chip in with both bat and ball," emphasised Kumble, who was part of the Indian World Cup campaigns in 1996 (at home), 1999 (England), 2003 (South Africa) and 2007 (West Indies).

India's most successful bowler feels the sub-continental dustbowls would be of great advantage to India.

"Besides the form and quality of players, the pitches would suit our game. We know our conditions too well.

We know what we can expect," said Kumble, who as president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, has dedicated his time for the

conduct of the World Cup matches in the City.

Talking about the disappointment of losing the 1996 semifinals and the 2003 finals, Kumble said: "We came very close to winning. It was disappointing that we could not get to do what we were capable as a team. Each time we got close and lost, we knew we had to wait for a long time as the World Cup is played only once in four years."

Asked if Sachin who will be playing his sixth successive World Cup, will be under pressure to deliver in front of the home crowd, Kumble said: "He has been around for 21 years. So there is no question of him being under pressure."

"He is playing at his best that I have seen. He has looked relaxed in all the matches that I have watched.

If he plays the World Cup like any other ODI, he should be scoring lots of runs," said Kumble.

IPL scam: Modi's fate on Feb 15 AGENCIES Chennai, Feb 5: The Chennai police has given time till February 15 for four persons accused in a funds misappropriation case, also involving suspended Indian Premier League Commissioner (IPL) Lalit Modi, to appear before it for inquiry.

City Police Commissioner T Rajendiran said that the fate of Modi, who had twice refused to accept police summons, will also be decided after February 15.

"We have given them time till February 15," said Rajendiran in Chennai.

The accused had earlier been asked to appear for an inquiry either on January 25, 26 or 28, any of the dates suitable for them.

The four accused who are given an extended time are Harish Krishnamachari of Mumbai, World Sports Group office-bearers -- Venu Nair, Andrew Georgio and Seamus O'Brien.

The case was filed by BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan, who lodged a complaint last year against Modi, charging him with misappropriation of Rs 468 crore, mainly in allotting media rights and free commercial rights.

Hayden is the biggest chicken-hearted: Bhajji Says nice ploy by Mathew to sell his book

PTI New Delhi, Feb 5: Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh today lashed out Mathew Hayden terming him the ‘biggest chicken hearted cricketer’ he has ever seen and said the Australian's remarks against him for missing the Nagpur Test were ‘a lot of crap’ to sell his book.

"I don't know what these Australian cricketers are up to? Even Ricky Ponting wrote a lot of crap to sell his book and now this guy Hayden is doing so," Harbhajan fumed while giving his reaction to PTI. The former Australian opener in his autobiography ‘Standing My Ground’ had

said that erstwhile Indian captain Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan chickened out after having a look at the bouncy Nagpur strip during Australia's tour of 2004. He had even expressed his surprise in the manner in which Harbhajan had "food poisoning" on the eve of that Test which Australia won convincingly.

"Who is Hayden to judge Harbhajan's calibre. I don't know what he is smoking these days.

Probably he was in some kind of trip when he wrote all that rubbish. Should I now give Hayden some money to keep quiet?"

If that wasn't enough, Harbhajan said that he is still

Somdev moves Behave yourself: into semis Ganguly to Hayden AGENCIES Johannesburg, Feb 5: Commonwealth and Asian Games gold-medallist Somdev Devvarman advanced to the semi-final of the South African Open after he fought back from a set down to beat

local hope Rik de Voest.

The 25-year-old Indian star triumphed 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 after a 138-minute battle at the Montecasino entertainment centre in Johannesburg on Saturday.

With this victory, Somdev made amends for his last year's outing in the ATP World Tour event in Johannesburg where he was eliminated in straight sets by Spain's David Ferrer at the quarter-final stage.

"Rik is a great player whom I got on top of only in the closing stages and now I must face another South African (Izak van der Merwe) for a place in the final," said Somdev.

"We share the same coach and practice a lot together so we know pretty well how the other plays. It is great to reach the last four of such a prestigious tournament as the South African Open."

PTI Kolkata, Feb 5: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly today hit back at Matthew Hayden for claiming that he had chickened out of 2004 Nagpur Test because of the green wicket there, saying his record on such pitches in Australia would tell a different story.

"I request him (Hayden) to behave like an international player," Ganguly said.

Drawing comparison of the Nagpur wicket with that of Gabba in Brisbane, Hayden had written that Ganguly's late withdrawal was due "greentrackitis, where you develop a severe intolerance to green wickets likely to give plenty of headaches as a batsman".

Ganguly reminded Hayden that he had scored a hundred at Gabba besides playing important roles in India's wins later.

"He remembered Brisbane in Nagpur. Just want to remind him of my hundred in Brisbane in the first Test. Also since 2003, we have beaten them (Australia) everytime in Brisbane.

Me and Bhajji have been important part of Indian team on all those wins," he said.

Ganguly, who was the Indian captain, pulled out of the Nagpur Test, citing a leg-muscle injury. The home side was trailing 0-1 in the four-match Test series.

I don't know what these Australian cricketers are up to?

Even Ricky Ponting wrote a lot of crap to sell his book and now this guy Hayden is doing so -- Harbhajan Singh willing to bowl if Hayden has have got him out." the heart enough to face him. Referring to Hayden's term "This is an open challenge. of "Greentrackitis", HarbhaWhenever and wherever Hay- jan said, "I have scored half den wants me to bowl at him, century even in Australian I am ready. Does he have the soil. May be Hayden has this courage to face me. Because, habit of conviniently forgetwhenever I have seen him bat ting the achievements of Inagainst me, he always had a dian cricketers. At the end of petrified look. Just check the the day, he doesn't have the record books in case you want qualification to judge the calto know how many times I ibre of Indian cricketers."

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Goa I Sunday 06, February 2011

I almost thought of quitting international cricket when I was dropped from both the Test and ODI teams last year.

-- Yuvraj Singh

Afridi named Pak skipper AGENCIES Karachi, Feb 5: The PCB have named Shahid Afridi as captain of the ICC Cricket World Cup team, ending speculation over who will lead

Pakistan in the tournament.

Pakistan were the only country among the 14 contesting nations who did not announce the skipper when they named their 15-man squad in January.

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Panchayati Raj bedrock of democracy, Sonia tells eves

Congress President Sonia Gandhi inaugurates an auditorium at Lalganj during a visit to her constituency Raebareli on Friday.

PTI RAE BARELI, FEB 5

Congress president Sonia Gandhi today asked women panchayat representatives to prepare themselves to face challenges and overcome social hurdles while performing their duties. “ Pa n c h a y a t i Ra j i s t h e bedrock of democracy. As women representatives face various social hurdles, it was a major challenge before them to execute their responsibilities successfully,” she told a Panchayati Raj meet at Kathwara block here.

She said that to strengthen the panchayati raj system in the country, the UPA government has taken a number of steps.

“A number of amendments have been carried out in the Panchayati Raj Act by the UPA

Bangladesh hands over 2 ULFA leaders

government to empowering the local bodies chalk out basic development schemes and execute them,” she said, adding that provision for direct devolution of funds in their accounts have also been made.

Pointing out that 50 per cent of the panchayat seats have been reser ved for women, Gandhi said, “You have an important role to play in the development of a village and now this can be done as per the expectations of local residents.”

S h e s a i d p l a c e s w h e re elected representatives were dedicated, more development was taking place.

The Congress president said it was their duty to ensure that benefits of ambitious schemes like Indira Awas Yojna reach the needy.

To drive home her point, Gandhi said, “The dedication

Abhi’s fans plan birthday surprise

PTI

PTI

SHILLONG, FEB 5

MUMBAI, FEB

Bangladeshi security forces today pushed back two top ULFA leaders through the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya where BSF took their custody, official sources said.

ULFA 'Captain' Antu Chaudang and 'Second Lieutenant' Pradeep Chetia were pushed back through the Dawki border early this morning, the sources said They were being taken to Guwahati by a team of Assam Police.

In an e-mail to the media on December 18 last, ULFA 'Publicity Secretary' Arunudoy Dohotia had claimed that these two leaders had been picked up by Indian intelligence agencies in Bangladesh and since then the duo’s whereabouts were not known.

Chaudang was the third top ULFA leader on the run after 'Cin-C' Paresh Barua and 'Commander' Jibon Moran.

with which you work to keep your family healthy, similarly you should work to make gram sabha capable and carry out development works.”

She said when Rajiv Gandhi realised that benefits of various schemes and development were not reaching the grassroots, he started the panchayati raj movement.

At the instance of the then prime minister, a law was enacted to decentralise power through panchayati raj system throughout the country, she said.

The Congress president said that during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure panchayats were allowed to get funds directly under Jawahar Rozgar Yojna.

“It was due to his vision that Dalits and tribals got reservation in panchayati raj institutions,” she added.

Actor Abhishek Bachchan, who turned 35 today, will be in for a surprise party when his friends will land in New Zealand, where he is currently shooting for Abbas-Mustan's 'Players', to celebrate his birthday.

“Abhishek's friends plan to fly down to NZ where he is shooting to surprise him. Abbas Mastan have decided to give the unit a break and celebrate his birthday in a big way,” sources said.

For Junior B, it is going to be like any normal working day but little does he know that his friends will be flying down to New Zealand to indulge him in his favorite adventure sports.

“Since he loves adventure sports but hasn't got the time to indulge in them, thanks to his hectic schedule, his friends decided to surprise him and have booked an entire day of interesting activities in NZ,”

sources said.

All his close ones have planned an entire day of bungee jumping, white water rapids and zorbing since Abhishek is a complete adventure junkie.

Friend Sikander Kher and others have left for New Zealand to surprise him. Aishwarya has already reached there to be with her husband on his special day.

'Players', a remake of 'Italian Job' stars Abhishek, Sonam Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bobby Deol and Bipasha Basu.

5 SIMI activists to go back to jail PTI BHOPAL, FEB 5 Five activists of outlawed Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) who had been released from jail in Madhya Pradesh on the eve of Republic Day under the routine amnesty provision, would be sent back to prison.

“The five SIMI activists who were released from Ujjain district's Khachrod sub-jail on Republic Day eve last month will be sent back to the jail soon, as the Madhya Pradesh government has revoked the order of their remission,” official sources said here today.

Orders in this regard were issued last evening and efforts were on to bring them back to the jail, they said.

Ujjain Range Inspector General of Police, Upendra Jain said he received an order from the

Jail Department that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 has also been added among sections, which will be out of the annual amnesty ambit.

This implies that the five SIMI activists who were jailed under this Act must be sent back to jail, he said.

The move comes apparently after saffron organizations and various political parties expressed their displeasure at the amnesty given to these activists by the Jail Department.

Apart from revoking the remission order of SIMI activists, the State government last evening also relieved Principal Secretary (Jails), Sudesh Kumar from his charge and suspended Khachrod Jailer, Sanjeev Gandle, the sources said.

The five SIMI activists who

were released on Republic Day are: Zadeel Parvez, Ayaz alias Ashu, Akbar Kha, Meheruddin and Irshad Ali all residents of Unhel village in Ujjain district.

They were arrested on charges of holding a terror camp at Unhel village in September 2008 and were in judicial custody since then.

On January 12, 2011, a local court in Ujjain sentenced them to five-year imprisonment and going by the State government's decision, the prison term had been reduced by half.

The State government had released 608 prisoners on January 25 from different jails in the State exercising the power conferred by sub-section (1) of section 432 of the CrPC (the Act pertaining to remission and suspension of sentence of convicted prisoners).

TN urges Centre to prevent killing of fishermen UNI CHENNAI, FEB 5

The Tamil Nadu government today urged the Centre to take a decisive action to prevent inhuman killing of Indian fishermen, especially from the State, by the Sri Lankan Navy in the high seas.

Presenting the Interim Budget for the year 2011-12 in the State Assembly, Finance Minister K Anbazhagan said the Centre should take decisive steps to ensure that the Tamil fisher-

men do not get killed in future.

The fishermen from the State, who live under difficult circumstances, have no options but to go to the sea to catch fish to meet their livelihuood.

“Seeing the painful situation in which they are being continuously hunted by Sri Lankan Navy, the Tamil Nadu Government has raised the issue before the Centre many times, both in person and in writing'', he added.

The Centre, while sharing the

State's concern, has taken up the matter with the Sri Lankan Government, Mr Anbazhagan said.

“But the Sri Lankan Navy continues to indulge in inhuman activities and are not stopping the killing of our fishermen”, he said, adding, since there was no end in sight, the Tamil Nadu government urges the Cenre to take a decisive action to settle the problem and ensure that the fishermen do not killed in future.

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Orissa child development minister resigns over dal scam UNI BHUBANESWAR, FEB 5

Orissa Women and Child Development Minister Pramila Mallick, who was embroiled in the controversial multi crore dal scam in the state, today tendered her resignation form the post.

Ever since the multi crore pulse scam surfaced during a probe by the Vigilance Department, the Opposition had tar-

getted Ms Mallick demanding her resignation and criminal action against the persons involved in the supply of sub standard and adulterated dal to the children under the Supplem e n t a r y N u t r i t i o n a l P ro gramme(SNP) and the Mid Day Meal scheme in the State.

The state Vigilance which had submitted its report to the government, however, gave a clean chit to the women and child de-

velopment minister, but provided vital information about the involvement of some district Collectors in the scam.

Prior to the resignation of the minister, the two major Opposition Political parties-the BJP and the Congress-today held separate press conferences and accused Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for shielding the Minister and senior IAS officials in the scam.

BJP State President Juel Oram and senior Leader Bijaya Mohapatra said the Naveen Patnaik government could not escape the responsibility in the scam by putting the blame on the officials.

State Congress Working President L B Mohapatra on the other hand, demanded the Naveen Patnaik government has lost the moral responsibility to remain in power even for a mo-

ment.

Mohapatra even questioned that despite the scam being detected by the state Vigilance it was more surprising that the concerned minister had not resigned from her post owning moral responsibility.

The Congress also demanded a CBI probe into the scam and a medical check up of all the children who had consumed the adulterated dal over the last few

years.Mallick told waiting newsmen at her official residence that she had submitted her resignation on moral ground keeping the high image of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, BJD party and the government.

She further said that she did not want the Opposition to raise their finger against the government on the pulse scam.

BJP President Nitin Gadkari being welcomed during a function to felicitate the party workers in Patna on Saturday

Omani held for spying

An Omani citizen was arrested from a military area here on suspicion of spying and sent to judicial custody for 14 days, police said today.

Hassan Bin Obdullah Bin Abraham (35) was picked up from the Army Equine Breeding Stud Farm premises here yesterday.

He was produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Anshu Shukla, who sent him to judicial custody for 14 days Abraham said he arrived in India on November 25 last (PTI)

Banding to track routes of birds PTI PUNE, FEB 5

In an effort to track the migratory routes of birds in the Sinhagad fort forest near here, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) carried out the first banding session in the region, tagging about 75 winged creatures this week.

Witnessed by a large number of environment activists and nature enthusiasts, the BNHS eam caught birds belonging to 25 species in the nets put up in the Sinhgad valley which included the Asian Paradise-Flycatcher, Leaf Warbler, and Grey Wagtail.

Elaborating on the BNHS banding session-cum-training workshop for bird lovers in Pune region, Sujit Naravade, researcher, told PTI that during the excercise aimed at creating wild life awareness, the team led by S Balchandran weighed the birds, noting down their measurements of wings, head, torso, beak and tail before releasing them into the azure skies.

Since not much information

is currently available on the routes they take, the tracking of journeys of migratory birds is expected to provide important clues for planning of protected areas for their habitat.

The birds that were banded

by BNHS, the nodal agency for bird ringing in the country, comprised six to seven species of migratory birds which frequent the Indian sub continent flying their way from Urasia, Russia, Siberia and Middle East as they cross the eastern Himalayas, Naravade said.

With regard to the Sinhagad valley, where around 130 bird species have been sighted, he said the loss of habitat was a major threat to the winged population as the fort region is being treated as a picnic spot by revellers whose growing numbers have led to mushrooming of hotels and other commercial activities. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is an urgent need to reduce this disturbance to the birds in the valley and use of plastic by tourists resulting in ecological and environmental degradation of the region which needs preservation measures,â&#x20AC;? Naravade pointed out.

T h e t o u r i s t c a r s w e re being allowed to go to top of the fort to the detriment of bird population, he added.

The data on ringed birds collected through recapture and subsequent release or its recovery as dead bird go a long way in helping ornithologists to study their life and movement pattern.

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GOA’S HEARTBEAT

Stifling Our Local Wine Culture?

Koiteachea kamak kuradd naka - Anonymous

Tourism

Parenting

email us at: goasheartbeat@herald-goa.com

What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile - William Sokolin

According to experts, Goa is the only state in the entire country which produces wine from local fruits. But why is this industry being stifled? You want a high? Why not have it the local, organic way? Herald delves…

BY CHRISTINA VIEGAS HERALD FEATURES t is interesting to learn from experts that ours is the only state that produces wines from locally grown fruits. Apparently, other states make wines but from grains like rice or from the sap of the tree’s bark like toddy wines. In fact, we have had a local wine culture from many, many decades ago. Probably, even centuries ago, when wines were made during the maharaja period!

Yet, at the Grape Escapade festival year after year, the wines that are displayed, promoted and sold are wines from out of the state. Pots of money (our money) go into making this festival one of the best and there is no dearth of glamour, fun and wining and dining – but all this, surely for the very elite. The wines cost in thousands. What about the common people? How many can afford a bottle of wine costing anywhere between Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000? So who is benefiting at this festival?

Obviously the big wine companies from out!

Yet, quiz our Goan companies promoting these wines with regard to who is benefiting and you are told, “The consumer.” That’s right! There is just no doubt that the consumer gets to sample some of the finest wines from the world over. But then, who are these consumers? Definitely, the elite! These are people who travel abroad and can sample these wines anywhere in the world. No, no! We have nothing against this.

Grape wine promotion can continue. It is always good to have an exchange of goods between countries. And the elite too have a right to purchase these imported wines, right here in the state. But why at the cost of our local wine industry?

If Goa is to be promoted as a lifestyle destination of wines, it should be the local fruits wines. Because the local fruit wine culture is what we have in Goa; not grape wines! In the early decades, Goa did not have a culture of grapes wines, except for garnering in Port wines from Portugal. In fact, there were some esteemed Roman Catholic families who made wines from local fruits like ‘jamuns’ and others. But over the years, it fizzled out due to poor economics and lack of government support to expand their ventures or to promote this local wine making.

During Christmas or other special occasions we have the Goan women churning out some of the most delicious wines. And not just this, they make wines from local fruits throughout the

I

year; seasonal fruits from every season. And there is no better tribute to this art of wine-making than ‘Successful Goan Home Wines’, by the late Edwin Saldanha, a skilled local winemaker. In this book, he has given recipes of wines made from apples, ‘bhindas’, bananas, red cashew apples and many other fruits. He also mentions, “Some boys from South Africa tasted my wine and said it really tasted like sherry (blended, fortified wine from Spain). Yet, it was wine, made from the cheapest possible fruit you could use in Goa – cashew. One lady from Germany brought in cream of sherry. Believe it or not, it’s no different from my wine.”

Yet, how we Indians rush for all the sherries that come from foreign shores?

There is rampant ignorance in the state with regard to the number of families who still make local fruit wines. Government bodies like the GCCI and GTDC should join hands and help these people to promote and market their wines. Some suggestions are to have made in Goa fruit wine festivals with winemaking competitions where cash prizes can be given out so that people can be motivated in making their best wines and showcasing them. For eg, Rs 20,000 for the best cashew wine or pomegranate wine or whatever. These events should be held alternately in all the main cities of the state like Mapusa, Panjim, Margao, Vasco, Ponda. That way, we can garner in the involvement of large numbers of people from all across the state. Besides, we will get huge numbers who attend these events. food festivals are one such apt archetype of how people go out of their homes to sample the various cuisines.

Isn’t it very evident that Goa dances to the tunes of the tourists? So, it would do good to know that foreigners are more interested in organic wines and not commercial ones. Even Indian tourists today are big-time into health drinks. Who wouldn’t want to spend money on organically made wines which are good for health? Fruits like chickoo and mango ripen fast and spoil easily whereas fruits like jackfruit have become too tedious for today’s people. So why waste these fruits, when they can be made into healthy, organic wines? Just look at the interest and enthusiasm for locally made products. Why do people go flocking to purchase locally made products like pickles, preserves, ‘ladoos’ etc?

But our authorities definitely need to tap this industry and promote these fruit wines. The good news is that there is huge market for this, but the sad news is that is has not been tapped. Right now we have a very small supply of these home-made wines but the demand is high. The middle class and lower middle class will pick up a bottle of wine costing Rs 150 to Rs 200 without a qualm.

Government boosting of this industry would be a boon to the school and college drop outs or other unemployed youth who squander away their lives and thereby turn to various abuses. You do not even need a large area to start. Even a single room would do. And just good clean water and your inborn skills. There is profit in this and the wines are produced through environmental friendly methods. These winemakers should also be granted excise concessions.

But unfortunately, there is this monopoly, lobby (whatever you call it) of big wine players who stifle this local winemaking industry with their big stakes. In fact, the big wine producing countries, where labour cost has rocketed, are all turning to India to start operations because they get cheaper labour here and even the cost of raw material is cheaper.

And we Indians just welcome them with open arms and go all out to make it easy to set up ventures here. But what is in it for our local residents?

Digital Samsara’s Goan Connections

Horses bring Relief in Rough Mexico City

The term Digital Samsara brings to mind technology and ancient energies and the band that goes by this name follows a similar route creating electro-acoustic music that has international appeal

T

BY RON FIDELIS he Sanskrit word ‘samsara’ is the indefinitely repeated cycle of transformation and imbibing this into their music is the international band Digital Samsara. According to their website, ‘Digital Samsara is an energy field where ancient sounds and sacred rhythms are discovered by the mutating mind of evolving technology...’ The band creates electro-acoustic world music, their forte being the use of traditional instruments and sounds vis-à-vis modern ones fused together using computer techniques together with great programming abilities.

Shani Ben-Canar first formed Digital Samsara in Israel in 2005 with his wife Valerie Dechen Paley and a little help from his long time companion Ignat Karmalito and other musician friends.

“Lately, there has been a rise in the number of collaborations of a core single. Two or three-member headed music ensembles like Kundalini Airport, Goatika and Essence invite other musicians to jam and be a part of their music. Digital Samsara is one classy act from amongst these kinds,” Saligao born guitarist of international repute Elvis Lobo’s says, giving an insight on musicians jamming up with cross-cultural musical influences.

“Digital Samsara has also collaboratively done work featuring many great musicians such as Dirk Kunesh (Germany), Kobi Klar (Israel), Shahar Kaufman (Israel), Alexander Garon (Canada), Ignat Karmalito (Russia) and flautist Binod Katuwal (Nepal). From Goa, we have our very own Elvis Lobo,” reveals Shani Ben-Canar. This connection can safely be regarded as ‘the other’ closest affiliation to the state, besides performing for its guests and local population too, from time to time.

Shani Ben-Canar has done the final mix on the audio soundtrack of popular Goan artist Sharon Mazarello’s Konkani film, ‘Tum kitem kortolo also?’

“Goa does not have spacious enough and well-equipped sound studios like the ones in Bollywood which accommodate entire orchestras. Here we have to put together parts and pieces of

the orchestra recorded separately. This was where we used the expertise of Shani,” reveals Wilmix. The final concoction of sounds and the mix for this film’s music thus got meticulously done by Shani,” he adds.

“It was very exciting for me. My father too indulged in classical and orchestra music. So I thought this would be a nice project for me to work on as well, given that I was from the next generation and adapting to newer forms of making music on the computer,” says Shani. Born in Ulan-Ude in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, into a family of musicians and composers, Shani had mastered the violin and guitar at an early age. He had then applied his musical talents to sound engineering, programming and other musical instruments such as the Arabic lute (Al Oud), Turkish Saz, Indian tabla, sitar, Latin and oriental percussion.

Valerie plays percussions besides working with the visuals at their performances.

“Since 2007, we have been performing as Digital Samsara and coming for creative vocation to Goa to jam with local bands, record new tracks and even shoot video clips,” reveals 1968 born Shani Ben-Canar.

With four albums to their credit up until 2007, their first music and video DVD compilations called ‘India and Nepal discovered

by DS’ was released in 2008, apart from their singles released for different other record labels ever since and counting. And as we now know it, their connection with Goa, apart from this state being their inspiration factor sure seems as profound as their musical works.

G

uadalupe Pena’s great grandparents began working with horses when La Hera Ranch still lay in fields outside Mexico City. Now it is surrounded by graffiti-covered walls and barred windows but, behind its metal gate, it offers hope where hospitals have failed.

After Pena was partially paralysed by a stroke seven years ago, horses helped her to recover as she experimented with hippotherapy, deriving from the Greek word ‘hippos’, meaning horse.

She discovered the therapy – in which the motion of the horse’s body stimulates the patient’s muscles – shortly before she fell ill.

“We’ve lived with horses all our lives so it was the opportunity to apply it all,” Pena told AFP, as she prepared one of five dedicated horses – chosen for their patience and trained to avoid reacting to emotions –- to receive six-year-old Citlalli Lopez.

Pena, who studied psychology, treats all kinds of patients from severely disabled children to arthritic 80-year-olds.

Many bring their children as a last hope for help with conditions from cerebral palsy to advanced cancer or spinal cord injuries.

“Patients come here because they’ve been rejected by other places due to the severity of their problem,” Pena said.

Surgeons doubted whether Lopez would survive a first operation for a malignant brain tumour and cyst three years ago.

She has now had 10 operations and can no longer speak

and barely move.

Pena slowly turned Lopez to lie in different positions across the horse’s back, as it stood calmly in the dusty arena. The horse’s body temperature is slightly higher than that of a human, helping the visibly tense Lopez to relax.

Pena then stretched her arms in the air, sitting behind her on the horse’s back and encouraging her to adjust her hips to keep her balance.

According to the American Hippotherapy Association, “Hippotherapy has been shown to improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor development as well as emotional well-being.”

Sessions at La Hera cost around 10 dollars, which is costly for the mainly poor families who come here, but they are still enthusiastic. Adriana Lopez said it was the only treatment to show positive results for her daughter.

“This hand was really hard,” Lopez said, holding her daughter’s palm in her own after the last session. “She always kept it bent downwards, and tight. It was really hard for us to stretch it. And now it’s very soft and loose.”

Therapeutic riding – a broad term for treatments including hippotherapy – began in Germany and Denmark shortly after the World War II and later spread across Europe, the United States and Canada.

Thirty-eight countries took part in the last International Congress of Therapeutic Riding, in 2009, in Germany. Support is now growing in Mexico, where horses have been a mainstay of rural life since the Spanish brought them to the Americas in the 16th century.

(Courtesy: AFP)

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Sunday, 6 Feb 2011

WHAT’S UP IN GOA??

D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas, organised by the Director of Art and Culture is underway till February 10 at the Kala Academy, Panjim. Call 2420452.

‘Sunset Art Programme’, an innovative art programme for children, organised

by Kala Academy will be held every Sunday from 5pm to 6.30pm for 6 weeks at the Jetty. Call 2420452.

‘Asturi’, an exhibition for woman by woman organised by the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Women’s Wing will be held from February 10 to 13 from 10amto 8pm at Azad Maidan, Panjim. Registration is open.

E-mail goachamber@gmail.com. Call 2424252.

Physical Theatre Workshop for Adults and Children, organised

by Sunaparanta - Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho, Panjim will be held from February 7 to 12 from 4pm to 7pm at Sunaparanta. Call 2421311.

SEQC’s Twenty Paces – Solo Knock-Out Quiz Finals will be held on February 20. Call: 2452805-10 or email: prog@incentgoa.com The Monte Music Festival 2011 organised by Fundacao Oriente and Cidade de Goa is underway till February 6 at the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount, Old Goa. Each day’s programme will begin at 6 pm.

Nine differently-themed brunches, by the Goa Marriott Resort with NINE will be presented on February 6 at Waterfront Terrace and Bar, Goa Marriott Resort, Campal, Panjim. Call 2463333.

All Goa Special Healing Retreat for Married Couples is underway for the next 5 consecutive Fridays at the Carambolim Church. Transport will be available from Margao near Fatima Convent, Bus Stand from 6:30am onwards.

Hindi, Konkani and Sanskrit languages courses, organised by Dona Paula Communicare, the Centre for

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email us at: goasheartbeat@herald-goa.com

HOROSCOPE languages, will be held from February 7 at Dona Paula. Em a i l communica_mundus@yahoo.co.in. Call 2456156.

The first fund raiser, organised by Bebook a mobile library for underprivileged children will be held on February 6 from 10.30am to 8pm.

A jazz concert featuring humorist and jazz singer Ash Chandler, organised by the Goa Chitra will be held on February 6 at Goa Chitra, Benaulim.

Call 2772910 or 6570877.

‘Landscapes of the Mind’ – Impressions from near and far, an exhibition of mixed media paintings by Rani Sarin will be held on February 12 and 13 from 10am to 7pm at Gallery 3 of the Sunaparanta – Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho, Panjim. Call 2421311.

A Solo Singing Competition, organised by Omkar Cultural Association will be held on February 19 at 5.30pm in Dhargal. Auditions will be held on February 5 from 2.30pm to 8pm at Goa State Museum, Patto, Panjim and February 6 from 10am to 6pm at Dhargal Panchayat Hall. Call 9823306652 or 9673997188.

Animation Specialist Programmes, organised by Arena Animations will begin on February 14 at MGM Animations Academy, Panjim. E-mail mgmanimations@gmail.com. Call 2225153, 9423885224, 9823013484, 9823611824 or 9890432246.

Third Konknni (Romi Lipi) Literary and Cultural Sammelan, organised by the Dalgado Konknni Academy will be held on February 19 and 20 at Kala Academy, Panjim. Call 2420452.

‘Ensuring peoples participation in the International Year of Forests’ will be the discussion of this fortnights Friday Balcao session to be held on February 11 from 4pm to 6pm at Goa Desc Resource Centre, No 11, Liberty Apartments, Feira Alta, Mapusa. Em a i l goasdesc@gmail.com.

This is not the day to go the safe route. Be the first one to 21 Mar - 19 Apr t a k e a r i s k .

Yo u ' v e g o t some serious ambitions roiling around in your mind -- and the right kind of energy to bring them to life! You can convince nearly anyone that your plan is the best one to follow.

Taurus T h e p e o p l e moving more slowly than you have a lot to 20 Apr - 20 May t e a c h y o u .

Someone is in a big hurry, and they are sure to get on your nerves today. It's just one of those things, though -- sometimes you and your people are a little out of sync, and you just have to let them go.

Get tighter with Gemini your newest acquaintances -take time to set a solid founda21 May - 20 Jun tion. Someone needs to speak out before the whole group disintegrates -and it almost certainly has to be you. Take a deep breath and start telling the truth, as that is the kindest thing you can do right now.

If you've been somewhat suspicious of someone, you will learn the 22 Jun - 23 Jul facts today.

Your quick thinking saves the day once again -- but it might ruin your mood! It could be that you figure out who's been stealing from the office or how to get your kids to settle down, but it might not make you happy.

It takes a lot of time to learn something new, so don't be im24 Jul - 23 Aug p a t i e n t w i t h yourself. You can have a good time doing almost anything today -- so maybe it's a good time to have that difficult chat with your kid or clean the gutters. Nasty business doesn't have to be so nasty!

Step up and play peacemaker between the warring 23 Aug - 22 Sep coworkers or friends around you. You're feeling a little tense today, and you might find that your energy is better spent on solo projects, as you're more likely to start fights. They might be productive in the end, but not so much in the here and now.

Compromise with your selfless and your selfish tenden23 Sept - 22 Oct c i e s t o d a y.

Think long term.

You are feeling the urge to get down to some more intimate social business -- though that does not necessarily mean romance! Try a heart-to-heart with a sibling or a long walk with one of your kids.

Scorpio You know that you're not out for your own gain. Don't 23 Oct - 22 Nov worry if others are skeptical.

You need to start some new, healthy habit -- like exercise, a new commitment to whole grains or even just an hour per day less screen time. You're in the right frame of mind to really make it stick!

Sagittarius S p e n d t i m e

Capricorn Opposites attract, but opposites can also infuriate. Avoid 22 Dec - 20 Jan disagreements t o d a y. Yo u r family or friends are pressing you to spend more time with them -- but it's time that you can't really afford. See if you can get them to just chill out, because you're sure to be back with them soon.

Aquarius Exploring your surroundings in detail is never a waste of time, 21 Jan - 19 Feb especially now.

Yo u feel amazed late in the day -something really big is going down, and that almost certainly means that your ideas are in the mix. Still, even you are somewhat shocked by how well it all comes together.

If someone's ambiguous comments get on your nerves, 20 Feb - 20 Mar ask what they really mean.

Your senses are a little confused right now, but with good reason -- someone is trying to pull something on you! It might be a good idea to go along with it, because you're sure to come out on top.

Aries

Libra

with children today, and you will discover a 23 Nov - 20 Dec goofier side of yourself. You are finding your work -- or chores, or even dirty, mucky cleaning -- to be much more fun than you would have expected at first. See if you can spread the love around a bit so others can share.

WORD OF THE DAY

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Pisces

DID YOU KNOW? Canopic jars of ancient Egypt

praline Pronunciation prah-leen Function Noun Meaning 1: a french confection consisting of a caramel-covered almond or sometimes a hazelnut 2: a cookie-size confection made especially of butter, brown sugar and pecans: developed in New Orleans in the early 19th century Example Sentence The kids enjoy a delectable praline for dessert.

LAFFS

Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from limestone or were made of pottery. These jars were used by Ancient Egyptians from the time of the Old Kingdom up until the time of the Late Period or the Ptolemaic Period. All the viscera were not kept in a single canopic jar, but rather each organ was placed in a jar of its own. The name ‘canopic’ reflects the mistaken association by early Egyptologists with the Greek legend of Canopus. The jars were four in number, each charged with the safekeeping of particular human organs: the stomach, intestines, lungs, and liver. In the Old Kingdom the jars had plain lids, though by the First Intermediate Period jars with human heads began to appear.

WIZARD OF ID

Funny Quote

“I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming.”

– W C Fields

DAILY GROOK RIDE PRIDE

by Francis Rodrigues bikes repair air pollution, so says their spokes-person!

GARFIELD

MIND BENDERS

SUN MOON TIDES

Tongue Twister Sunday 33° C | 21° C Dawn 06:41

Clear

Sunrise 07:03

Sunset Dark 18:35 18:57

Moon rise 08:48 High 12:40

She stood sadly on the silver steps of a fish sauce shop

Moon set 21:12

TIDES Low High Low 06:51 12:39 18:38

13:00 Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...

18:30 Kushti 21:00 Mela 09:20 Confessions of a Shopaholic 11:30 Good Morning, Vietnam 14:00 Ratatouille 16:15 Hollow Man 18:40 Dr. No 21:00 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li 23:05 21

09:30 12:00 14:15 16:45 18:45 21:00 23:00

Son of the Mask Spartacus Species Thunderbirds Wild Child 9 John Q

08:30 11:30 15:00 19:00 22:30

What goes through water, but doesn’t get wet?

High —

D Tide timings are for Mormugao Harbour. For Panjim/Calangute add 20 mins. For Colva add 30 mins

Hanuman Ishq Vishk Naseeb Don: The Chase Begins The Rookie

Last ‘Riddle Me This’ Answer: Noise

13:20 15:50 18:50 21:00 23:50

12:30 16:00 20:00 22:45

P.S. I Love You Beverly Hills Ninja Mr. Deeds A Few Good Men The Replacement Killers

Don No. 1 Hadh Kar Di Aapne Munnabhai M.B.B.S. Waqt Humara Hai

19:30 Border 23:00 Chak Dhoom Dhoom Team Challenge

21:00 India Edition 22:00 India Edition

10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00

09:30 11:00 12:30 13:30 13:58 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:30 16:32 17:00

19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00

Reaper Reaper Got to Dance Breaking The Magician's Code India's Minute to Win It Got to Dance Breaking The Magician's Code Top 20 Countdown India's Minute to Win It Got to Dance Timeline

10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30

Warehouse 13 American Idol Two And A Half Men Two And A Half Men The Simpsons The Simpsons Friends Friends

15:00 16:00 17:00

09:15 Nurse Betty 11:25 3 Ninjas Kick Back

08:00 11:30 15:30 19:00

09:20 Jajantaram Mamantaram

Vaishanavi Ajooba Dhamaal Zee Cine Awards 2011

IDIOT BOX 10:00 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:00 16:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 22:30

09:00 11:30 13:00 14:30 19:30

Pyar Mein Twist Wife Bina Life Wife Bina Life Superstar Buzz Chup Chup Ke Milenge Milenge Love U Zindagi Tere Mere Sapne Wife Bina Life Pyar Mein Twist Love U Zindagi

We are Family Jubilee Comedy Circus Jubilee Comedy Circus C.I.D 56th Filmfare Awards : Red Carpet 20:00 56th Filmfare Awards 22:30 Jubilee Comedy Circus

10:00 Dance India Dance Doubles Lime Light 10:29 Ek Nazar 10:30 Idea Jalsa: Music for Soul 10:59 Ek Nazar 11:00 Zee TV Special 13:00 Gold Awards 2010 16:00 Dance India Dance Doubles 19:30 Ishq 23:30 Idea Jalsa: Music for Soul

10:00 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma 15:30 Ring Wrong Ring 17:00 Gili Gili Gappa 17:30 Gili Gili Gappa 18:00 Mrs. Tendulkar 20:00 Amar Prem

SUDOKU 777

Riddle Me This

10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 23:30

Laugh India Laugh Rang Badalti Odhni Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani Superstar Buzz Veer Geet Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani Yeh Ishq Haaye!!

Housefull Dhoond Legi Manzil Humein

08:00 Bhagya Vidhata 09:00 Chak Dhoom Dhoom Team Challenge 10:00 Uttaran 12:00 Bigg Boss: Grand Finale 15:00 Chak Dhoom Dhoom Team Challenge 17:00 Udaan

15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00

Koffee With Karan Burn Notice Burn Notice Koffee With Karan Koffee With Karan How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother Koffee With Karan RIPping The Decade

10:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00

ICC World Cup H/ls Venue Talk Venue Talk Venue Talk India Edition India Edition Venue Talk Venue Talk Versus ICC World Cup H/ls ICC World Cup H/ls Versus India Edition

18:00 18:30 18:55 21:00 21:25

SA Tennis Open SA Tennis Open Capturing The Cup The Fourth Estate Sportscenter Weekend Capturing The Cup The Fourth Estate Capturing The Cup Sportscenter Weekend The Fourth Estate We Captured The Cup - The Captain's Tales Scorecast Sunday Super Sunday Barclays Premier League Super Sunday Barclays Premier League

10:00 11:00 12:00 15:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00

UEFA Europa League H/ls WWE: NXT WWE: Specials European Tour WWE: NXT ICC Cricket World Football League Show WWE: Specials

08:48 2011 Commonwealth Bank Series 16:30 Cricket Extra - ICC Cwc 17:00 The Contenders (Cwc 2011) 20:00 Capturing the Cup 21:00 World Cup Superstars 21:30 World Cup Superstars 22:00 2011 Commonwealth Bank Series H/ls 23:00 World Cup Upsets

09:00 La Liga 2010/11 11:00 Italian Serie A 2010/11 13:00 UEFA Europa League 2010/11 H/ls 14:00 NPower Championship : Reading vs. Queens Park Rangers 16:00 UEFA Champions League 2010/11 H/ls 16:55 Italian Serie A 2010/11 19:00 FIFA: Futbol Mundial 19:25 Italian Serie A 2010/11 21:30 UEFA Europa League

2010/11 H/ls 22:30 Countdown to Kick Off 23:25 La Liga 2010/11

10:00 Journey to the Edge of the Universe 11:00 Super Factories 12:00 World's Deadliest Animals 13:00 Nat Geo Amazing!

14:00 Dangerous Encounters 15:00 Rescue Emergency 16:00 Monster Moves 17:00 Nat Geo Wild 18:00 Nat Geo Amazing!

19:00 Nat Geo Investigates 20:00 Journey to the Edge of the Universe 21:00 Jailed Abroad 22:00 India

06:00 Art of living 06:30 Holy Hymn Singing 07:00 Rhythmic Breathing 07:30 Dudhsagar 08:00 English News 09:00 Snaden Shawn Dance Jhalak 09:30 Pilar Care for Mother Earth 10:00 English News 11:00 Santa Cruz Mando 11:30 St Xavier Sunset Symphony 12:00 Flavors 12:30 Chris Perry Musical Show 13:00 English News 14:00 Konkani Movie 15:00 Dudhsagar 15:30 Rhythmic Breathing 16:00 English News 17:00 Sunday Mass 18:00 English News 19:00 Snaden Shawn Dance Jhalak 19:30 Clown Fiesta 20:00 English News 21:00 Fine Tunes 21:30 St Xavier Sunset Symphony 22:00 English News 23:00 Sunday Mass 00:00 Dudhsagar 00:30 Clown Fiesta 01:00 Chris Perry Musical Show 01:30 Trendsetter Note: Subject to change

Instructions for Sudoku 9 x 9 letter: To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each of the nine vertical columns, in each of the nine horizontal rows and in each of the nine boxes

SUDOKU SOL 776

HERALD CROSSWORD - 777 Across 1- Facet; 6- Voodoo amulet; 10Greek letters; 14- Trademark; 15Wall St. debuts; 16- Weeps; 17In reserve; 18- It's owed; 19Stately aquatic bird; 20- Single piece of information; 21- Innate; 23- Penpoint; 25- Man-mouse connector; 26- Orange cover; 29Gather, harvest; 32- Series of metal rings; 37- That, in Tijuana; 38- Knitting stitch; 39- Yellowish brown pigment; 40- Study of communicative attitudes; 43- Loose overcoat; 44- Radio switch; 45Boy king; 46- Body of salt water; 47- Held on to; 48- Not any; 49Mil. address; 51- Bring civil action against; 53- Autopsy; 58- Muslim teacher; 62- Han ___ was a "Star Wars" character; 63- Actress Ward; 64- Young; 65- Clairvoyant; 66- Worthless person; 67- Path; 68- Brio; 69- Squeezes (out); 70- Nay sayers; Down 1- Trudge; 2- Mandlikova of tennis; 3- Slightly; 4Unilateral; 5- Fragrant resin; 6- Calf-length skirt; 7- Amenable; 8- Change jobs frequently; 9Blender brand; 10- "___ quam videri" (North Carolina's motto); 11- Large village; 12- Blind as ___; 13- Nine-digit ID; 22- Intolerance; 24- European brown bear; 26- Dupe; 27- Sir ___ Newton was an English mathematician; 28- Norwegian name of Norway; 30- Directional ending; 31- Pond scum; 33- Riled (up); 34- Writer Loos; 35- Become liable for; 36- Beastly; 38- Flat; 39- Uses a sieve; 41- According to; 42- Diamond authority; 47- Currency unit of the Soviet Union; 48- Nerve cell; 50- Deputised group; 52- Shadow; 53Christmas; 54- Zeno's home; 55- Maize; 56-

Swerve sharply; 57- Edible roots; 59- Boor; 60Monetary unit of Lesotho; 61- Citrus coolers; 62Compass dir.;

SOLUTION - 776

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Sunday, 6 Feb 2011

BY JANICE RODRIGUES The Paranjoti Academy Chorus his demise, took over as the conHERALD FEATURES ductor of the choir. It must have horal music has always stirred the i s o n e o f t h e f i r s t c h o r a l been a difficult task to step into the souls of the listeners, the singers’ e n s e m b l e s t h a t h a v e b e e n shoes of your predecessor, but Wadia voices lifting spirits to a higher p e r f o r m i n g a l l a r o u n d t h e has come a long way and has been place. But getting the singers to with the choir for the past 44 years. sing right is the job of the conductor. “For country and the world for the “It was difficult at first, getting on the conductor, the whole Orchestra makes last five decades. Herald chats the other side, from being a singer his instrument,” says Coomi Wadia, the con- with Coomi Wadia, the present to becoming a conductor,” she says. ductor of one of the finest choirs in the “There were people who didn’t beconductor of the choir, about lieve in me, there were people who country.

The Paran- their recent performance at the said that I wouldn’t last but I had a j o t i Monte Music Festival supportive choir who made it all posAcadsible,” explains Wadia. Going by her e m y definition of her job, she had to bring Chorus has sung in 22 lan- out the voices of each member of the choir, the right pitch, guages in places like Eu- the right note. “They are humans and humans are sensitive rope, the US, Middle East, beings. To have each of them sing the way I want them to sing Japan and the Philippines. is a difficult job,” says Wadia.

“I joined the choir in 1961 In the age of hip-hop and rap, choral music has still managed as a singer when Dr Paranjoti to carve a place for itself in the hearts of its audience. “Choral was the conductor,” Wadia music has its own niche, there are young people joining it recollects. Wadia served too; our choir has people from all age groups,” she explains. a s a n a s s i s t a n t t o And this is evident in the numerous choirs that are also going Paranjoti and upon the same way.

C

Parenting

Pg3

Monte Music Festival casts its First Spell Photos by Rozario Estibeiro

HERALD FEATURES he first day of the Monte Music Festival 2011 held at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Monte, Old Goa, kicked off with music from two diverse genres, the Indian classical performance by Sumedha Desai and the performance of classical Portuguese songs by the five-member band Os Musicos Do Tejo. These performances gave the audience a taste of both East and West.

Set against the picturesque backdrop of the Old Goa Monte overlooking the river Mandovi, the concert filled the air with a mystical aura.

T

All steps lead to Monte: People climbing up the steps to the majestic ‘Our Lady Of the Monte Chapel’ atop the Old Goa Monte

Conductor in command: Coomi Wadia

Down the country road: Os Musicos Do Tejo performing Portuguese folk songs Treating the audience: Sumedha Desai

It runs in the family: Zefan Rodrigues, Braz’s grandson started out the show with an instrumental piece (above)

Photos by Rosario Estibeiro

THE MAN, THE MUSIC, THE MOMENTS

The woman behind the man: Yvonne Gonsalves, Braz’s wife takes to the mike, belting out a few numbers

Like father, like son: Gino Banks displaying his musical talent along with his father Louis (above) The keyboard solo: Ace piano player Louis Banks concentrates on his instrument (left)

In the heat of the musical moment: Percussionist Bondo

MUSIC REVIEW

BY COLIN SAVIO COELHO colin.coelho@gmail.com

Three different moments of the musical genius: Getting set...(top left) In musical motion...(left) Proud of his golden instruments (below left)

Lose yourself in the Delectable Rhythm of Flamenco

BY COLIN SAVIO COELHO lamenco is one form of art that is said to have influenced the new world. The music is expressed in three forms: Toque (guitar), cante (song) and baile (dance). The album Flamenco Guitano holds strong to the exact mood of the flamenco, its expression and melody.

Flamenco is said to be the music of the Gitano (gypsy) from Andalusia in Spain. But many other regions have also played a very expressive part in the growth of the Flamenco. In fact, there are many artists of the music and dance form that are born outside the gypsy community. There are beliefs that Flamenco was, in the original years, simply unaccompanied romani singing (cante). Later, the songs were sung to the accompaniment of the flamenco guitar (toque), dance (baile), even rhythmic hand clapping (palmas) and rhythmic feet stomping (zapateado).

Flamenco Guitano begins with a very buoyant rendition of Buleria. The gypsy beat is pronounced and most notably, easily evident. It is followed by another one that keeps the mood going in Pidamela. But then comes one that we could easily identify with in Hotel California.

There is also the flamenco version of All My Loving.

From the beginning right to the Reggaeton mix finale with Torre de Babel, the album is a live-wire. There is something infectious about the beat and the infection can

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spread into an epidemic of harmonious proportions.

The other tracks that we could easily feel one with are Baile Me, Una Paloma Blanca, Volare, Bem Bem Mari and Bamboleo.

The album seems to have all that the Flamenco Guitano would hold dear to his heart in his beloved Flamenco.

The 21 tracks put together are all characteristic of the art and has the potential to keep the listener spell-bound for a whole hour, if not more while playing it all over again.

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Sunday, 6 Feb 2011

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Is Miley Cyrus dating a British Actor?

Ralph Fiennes may play Baddie in New Bond Movie

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iley Cyrus is now seeing someone new.

Many would say that this girl is highly confused about life since she has no control over falling in love. The Hannah Montana singer who is shooting for her new film, So Undercover, is reportedly seeing British actor, Joshua Bowman. The two got to know each other on the set and ever since they found the spark, they hit it off immediately.

Miley, who was last in a long term relationship with her Last Song co star, Liam Hemsworth, now seems to be having a ball with Joshua. They were also seen together cuddling at their film’s wrap up party.

Well, let’s just hope that this relationship with yet another co star is stronger and lasts longer than the Last Song one. All the best, Miley!

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ctor Ralph Fiennes, popular for his villainous turn as Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise is in talks to play an important role in the forthcoming 23rd James Bond film where Daniel Craig plays the famous spy. Fiennes was approached by film producers and director Sam Mendes to take on what is being described as a “darkly complex role” in the film, whose working title is Bond 23.

“It’s the first of a new generation of Bond films and the ideas Mendes has push the film into darker territory where the characters are modern, mature and challenging. The part is one of extreme complexity and only an actor of great ability and dexterity can take it on – and Ralph’s name is top of our list,” a film executive said.

Craig is reprising his role as 007 while Dame Judi Dench will return as his stern boss M. Spanish actor Javier Bardem is also circling the negative role in the film but Fiennes is being considered for a different role.

The new Bond flick is scheduled for a November 2012 release.

Shahid Kapoor is a High Flyer!

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Mugdha improves Mother Tongue with Marathi Show

ollywood actress Mugdha Godse, who made her television debut as a judge in a Marathi talent reality show says it has given her an opportunity to go back to her Maharashtrian roots.

Mugdha, a former model who debuted on celluloid with Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion said her school education was in Marathi medium. “As a young girl, I struggled to speak English.

Now, I am struggling to speak Marathi. This is the irony of life,” she said, admitting that in glitz and glamour of the fashion world, her fluency of the mother tongue had suffered.

Initially, she was undecided on doing television but when she saw the auditions of folk artists from different parts of the state, she decided she had to be part of the show on Zee Marathi.

Talking to reporters, Mugdha who hails from Pune, said the main aim of the show Marathi Paaul Padte Pudhe was to provide a platform to folk artists who are driven by passion for the art, to showcase their skills. “Competition and elimination is just part of the show,” she added.

She said she was being herself as a judge. Speaking about her wardrobe on the show, Mugdha said earlier she thought she would wear traditional clothes, but decided otherwise as she was taken on the show for being a Marathi girl who had carved a niche for herself in the fashion industry.

“Hence, I have decided to have a mix and match and keep a balance of traditional and modern outfits,” Mugdha said adding that she has shot seven episodes so far out of the total 34. As for films, Mugdha has Will You Marry Me? opposite Shreyas Talpade due for release in mid-2011.

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hahid Kapoor will be the first actor in the world to fly the F-16 IN Super Viper fighter plane. He will be participating in the Aero India 2011 show, in Bangalore, where he will fly the plane on February 11. Until date, no actor has got a chance to sit in one of the fastest flying planes in the world.

A source revealed that the actor has been preparing for this for the last few months. “He’s gone through rigorous training for the last one month and will continue to do so till his flying date. Apart from the training, there are a number of medical tests that need to be approved before he can actually sit in the cockpit; he has passed most of them so far.”

Incidentally, Shahid plays an Air Force pilot in his father Pankaj Kapoor ’s directorial debut Mausam, opposite Sonam Kapoor. As a part of his role, he’s getting acquainted with the various aspects of fighter planes and also meeting air-force personnel to get in d e p t h knowledge. Sheetal Ta l w a r producer of Mausam confirms, “Yes, Shahid will be flying the F 16. He will get the opportunity to feel the thrills and the major adrenaline rush that a pilot goes through during course of duty.”

Slimmer Women receive Higher Salaries, while Men earn more if they’re Fat

High-tech Prosthetic Arms can now be controlled with Thoughts!

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orthwestern University scientists have developed high-tech prosthetic arms that can be controlled using thoughts instead of a motor. After an amputation, the nerves in a stump remain healthy, at least for a while, and scientists are making use of this fact to create highly dexterous, thoughtcontrolled prosthetics.

Todd Kuiken and his team at the Northwestern University are looking at how different patterns of brain activity can be used to control prosthetic limbs.

In an experiment, the nerves of the stump of Jesse Sullivan – who underwent the surgery about eight years ago – were connected to muscles in his chest.

So, when he thinks about moving his chest muscles, the signals are picked up by the nerves in the arm and interpreted by a computer, which relays the information to the prosthesis.

“If you transfer the nerves from the stump to healthy muscles, then you can amplify the brain signals used to control the arm. We can use those signals to control the device,” said Nate Bunderson.

The team has fine-tuned the system that interprets these brain signals, giving the patients control over a wider range of movements than was ever possible before. Whereas most amputees seem to lose control of these nerves over time, because they are no longer being used to control muscles, in patients like Sullivan, the signals appear to become stronger.

According to Bunderson, this effect could be due to the brain getting used to the re-wired pathways. “Instead of having muscles interpret the neural command, we now have a computer trying to interpret the neural command and the brain has to adjust to that.”

Unemployed People suffer from Health Problems More Often

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en should be big and strong, and women skinny – a cultural lesson drilled into our heads ever since we were tots. Unfortunately, that’s how it has to be if you want to earn a fair salary too.

According to a recent study, men who are skinnier than average cash smaller paychecks than normal-weighted men, while thin women are paid significantly more than their average-size counterparts.

Experts say it is just another sign that as a society, we have internalised the unrealistic, media-driven physical ideals that show up in the workplace – and, therefore, the pocketbook.

Researchers Timothy Judge and Daniel Cable found thin women earned about 16,000 dollars more a year on average. In contrast, thin men earned about 8,000 dollars less than their more muscular male co-workers.

They said that much of the problem is the result of subconscious decisions based on entrenched social stereotypes. Their report cites studies in which obese individuals were identified as ‘undisciplined, dishonest and less likely to do productive work’.

Conversely, the researchers pointed out that employers and fellow employees associate values of self-discipline, thrift, hard work and positivity with thin individuals.

The researchers suggested that employers look at their assumptions about employees’ weight, because they may be rooted in prejudice.

Editor –in-chief: R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat. Chief Editor-Features: Christina Viegas.

Parenting

new study has shown that compared to people in employment, men and women who are unemployed suffer more often and longer from both physical and emotional complaints.

The GEDA study (Gesundheit in Deutschland Aktuell, or Current Health in Germany) was carried out in 2008-2009 by the Robert Koch Institute.

The results showed that unemployed people between the ages of 30 and 59 years are especially and often affected by physical, emotional and functional impairments such as sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance addictions. As a result, the unemployed make more use of the health care system.

The health consequences of unemployment result from loss of income, loss of social contacts in the workplace or loss of social reputation.

Unemployed men and women who are supported by their partners, family members, or friends are less frequently affected by these complaints.

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Sunday, 6 Feb 2011

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r WEEKEND u o d n e l Sp

Goa’s First GIP Why no ‘Feni’ festival?

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4

Grandma’s Kitchen

IT Trends

Sannas and Bebinca

World of Online Purchases

The Man with the Golden Saxophone One of the greatest saxophonists India has ever produced is Braz Gonsalves.

Having celebrated his 77th birthday on Feb 3, 2011 this genius performer celebrated his special day with a concert involving his family and buddies.

CAETANO DE ABREU gives us an insight...

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t is said if music is life, “Play on,” as nothing can ever satisfy us from this hypocritical world that we live in but only music can give us exhilarating solace to see light at the end of dark and dreary channel. Reams have been written about malpractices and chicanery engulfing our ambit of perseverance and dignity although nothing constructive has come about to be-calm our frayed nerves which fortuitously only soothing music can be credited to that march of appeasement over our feelings of despondence and turn the same into joyful ecstasy.

Music is a gift of God, the Almighty. It is the innermost sensitive feeling which transcends into astral cosmic magnificence where man is but a speck into that vast magnitude of the universal delight but plays its significant role to bring unrequited contentment amongst the forlorn and the devastated. It is in this context where man, for the love of music, transversed world acres to bring forth his sublimity as dictated, to emulsify his zest for the joy of living a happy and fulfilled life in the service of God and the mankind, and this man is none other than Braz Gonsalves - the wizard of Saxophone, who during his lifetime as a performer par excellence regaled myriad audiences with enchanting strains of mellifluous music which did not come from his brains but right from his heart.

Although knowing him from close quarters, say from three decades ago, sketching a semblance of his profile deems to be daunting, nevertheless, Braz and his beloved spouse Yvonne (daughter of the renowned Chic Chocolate) made my life a load easier with their easy-going manners and affable banters which encouraged me to subscribe to pen this profile for the others to take cue and emulate not only in performing music but also to act in an dignified manner which lauds their sincerity in action to make this world a better place.

Braz was born in the idyllic village of Neura where he procured his first music lessons imparted by his father Lawrence Gonsalves (the Parish ChoirMaster) to launch his career in musicology. At the outset, Braz went along with the Village Band playing tabor in total synchronisation with the remaining

Celebrating a Musical Journey

members performing for church festivals and the like but all within the preview of church's discretion. With the love music creeping into his soul, Braz left for Bombay at the very tender age of 15 and from thereon there was nothing to look back and ponder but to look forward and enjoy the fruits of achievements.

Braz who plays with dexterity tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, in addition to the flute has been a regular at India's jazz events which commenced right from the first ‘Jazz Yatra’ in 1978 to subsequently follow in another consecutive five ‘yatras'.

Besides performing with great Indian exponents like Louis Banks, Rama and J Mani, Karl Peters, Ranjit Barot, Shanker Mahadevan, Pam Grain, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivamani, Monserrate Brothers, and others, Braz also did perform with international greats like Charlie Byrd, Eddie Daniels, Sadao Watanabe, Cat Anderson, Karen Crogg, Roman Bunka, Maynard Ferguson, David Liebman, Albert Mangelsdorff, Tony Caprio, Joya Sherrill, Toki Akiro, to name a few. He has been a soloist for recordings of Jazz, Gospel, Indi-pop, Ad Jingles, and Hindi film Music. Being a pioneer of Indo-Jazz fusion music, he did recordings of his original compositions called ‘Raga Rock’ debuted from Calcutta in 1970.

Braz's improvising genre saw him being featured in Europe and the Far East.

He underwent a world tour with his ‘Sangam’ and with ‘City life’ along with Louis Bank.

Braz’s original love is devoted to his god, thus upon his return to the land of his forefathers he is solely dedicating his spare time in the service of humanity with a mission to teach love through his music with non pareil performance. From the personal front, one can say that Braz is involved in charismatic renewal which is in service of Christ. He humbly expresses that as of now he is crafting distinct music to the glory of God, the Almighty, which I personally may add that in his autumn of his life he is all set to gain personal satisfaction through music to fulfil his mission on earth, can there be anything else more sublime?

BY NOMRATHA FERNANDES HERALD FEATURES raz Gonsalves’ 77th birthday couldn’t get any better.

On stage was his long-time friend and band mate of the Louis Banks Brotherhood, ace pianist Louis Banks, Bondo and his wife Yvonne. Joining them was Gino Banks on drums, Louis’ son, and one of India’s talented drummers. While off-stage, were hundreds of his fans, cheering and encoring. We of course are talking of the concert that showcased the versatile musical talent of one of India’s finest saxophone players.

Any article written on Braz would give one a fair idea

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Women on the Tiatr Stage

of his talent with the saxophone. But to watch this talent display itself in a setting like this one is a whole different experience altogether. A packed crowd, a rainbow of lights, one legend on the sax accompanied by another on the piano, along with Goa’s Indo-Latin percussionist only enhanced the power of the music.

The evening began with an instrumental, ‘Love for Jesus and Mary’ by two of Braz’s grandchildren, Jarryd Rodrigues on the tenor sax and Zefan on the flute. Their performance was proof of the tips and tricks their grand father probably threw in their cap.

...contd on page 4

On the Tiatr

Stage

BY TOMAZINHO CARDOZO

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iatr’ is the most popular dramatic form of Goa. The very fact that hundreds of ‘tiatrs’ are produced and presented every year, and some of them having a run of not less than 100 shows, in a tiny state of Goa, proves its popularity among the masses. No feast, no special occasion in the Christian community is complete without presenting a ‘tiatr’.

Like on any other stage, be it in our country or abroad, women joined the drama stage much later due to social compulsions. A woman acting on a stage was looked down upon and was considered of a low character. It took hundreds of years, even in developed countries, for women to act on the stage.

In the world Going through the history of various theatres in the world one finds Isabela Andreini stepping on the stage some where in 1582 for the dramatic troupe ‘Commedia Del Arte’ in France. Isabela was a finest actress and could act only because of her husband, Francisco Andreini who was acting in the same play.

In India In our country, women started acting somewhere in 1789, when Mrs Bristow, an English woman, built her own theatre in Calcutta. The females namely Mrs Deacle, Madam Dhermailvilla and others who stepped on the stage that time were all from Britain. The first Indian woman to act on the stage appears to be Binodine Dasi on Bengali stage, making way for others to enter the dramatic stage.

On the ‘tiatr’ stage On the ‘tiatr’ stage, it was Regina Fernandes who acted first, way back in 1904 in the ‘tiatr’, ‘Bhattkara’. At that time, even the Marathi stage did not have a female actress on it. Regina Fernandes goes down in the history of ‘tiatr’ as the first lady on ‘tiatr’ stage who gave lead and set an example for others to follow. Regina could act on the stage because she was the wife of Joao Agostinho Fernandes who wrote and directed the ‘tiatr’, ‘Bhattkara’. She was a fine actress and proved her talents on ‘tiatr’ stage under the direction of her husband, Joao Agostinho Fernandes.

Efforts of Pai Tiatrist Joao Agostinho Fernandes, who wanted to give ‘tiatr’ a modern look, introduced Carmelina Fernandes, sister of

Regina Fernandes on the ‘tiatr’ stage. Carmelina with her sister, Regina performed very well giving ‘tiatr’ stage a boost in comparison with other stages of that time. Unfortunately, Regina Fernandes expired at a tender age. It was a big loss to Joao Agostinho Fernandes and a bigger loss to the ‘tiatr’ stage.

Joao Agostinho’s love for ‘tiatr’ encouraged him to introduce Ms Luiza Maria Colaco to the ‘tiatr’ stage. Incidentaly, Luiza was the second wife of Joao Agostinho Fernandes. He also motivated his daughters to act on ‘tiatr’ stage. Their presence added glamour to the ‘tiatr’ stage.

More female faces Other directors also made efforts to introduce new female faces on the ‘tiatr’ stage.

Saib Rocha, another pillar of ‘tiatr’ stage, introduced Georgina Fernandes and later inspired his wife Ermelina to follow him on stage.

Dioguinho D’Mello, a prominent singer of yesteryears, brought his sister, Ismenia Fernandes on the stage. Ismenia was a fine singer and an excellent actress too.

Other girls who ventured to step on the stage in the 1920s and 1930s were Ida, Adelia Mendonca, Artimista Almeida, Etelvina Menezes, Carlota, etc. The act of these girls needs to be appreciated because they displayed courage in breaking the social taboos and opening the mindset of the society to accept that acting is an art, a gift of god and that god’s gift should be shared with all, and the only means to share it is the stage.

Conclusion Since the 1940s and afterwards, the number of female artistes on the ‘tiatr’ stge went on increasing. More and more girls displayed their dramatic talents and received public appreciation. Although all of them could not make a mark on the stage, some of them really contributed to the development of ‘tiatr’. There is no doubt that the presence of women on the ‘tiatr’ stage provided beauty and glamour tand made acting meaningful and real.

(Email your feedback to: tomazinho.goa@gmail.com)

WEEKEND Splendour

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email us at weekendsplendour@herald-goa.com

Sunday, 6 Feb 2011

GOA’S FIRST AND ONLY GIP

BEAUTY & brains

A Feni-licious Fill of Goan Spirit

Why not a ‘Feni’ Festival?

BY CHRISTINA VIEGAS HERALD FEATURES he last weekend saw the Inox courtyard spruce up to the very elite Grape Escapade; the festival of wines. The whopping amount spent on the event was all too obvious. Reason cited by the government: to promote Goa as a lifestyle destination with a healthy, liberal drinking culture. Yet ironically, tourists from all over flock to Goa to pick up ‘Feni’ and not grape wines!

You don’t have to probe behind the event to see that it is nothing but a Page 3 event where huge commissions and kickbacks do the rounds. It is for the elite to sip their wines and enjoy the cultural extravaganza. How many of the middle-class Goans can truly afford the whopping costs of those fine wines displayed at the festival? And why should our money get spent in promoting wine companies from out?

If Goa is to be promoted as a lifestyle destination of wines, it should be the local fruits wines. Because the local fruit wine culture is what we have in Goa; not grape wines! The community of Roman Catholics are skilled makers of local fruit wines whether from papaya, guava, jackfruit, chikoo etc. But alas! Our government prefers to relegate this culture to some kind of ‘within your home wine culture’.

For now, let us stick to ‘Feni’. Why no festival to promote Goa’s only GIP? In fact, one of Goa’s wine boys at the wine festival asserted, “People come for free wines, they just overdo it and don’t even remember which wines they had.” So much for elegant wine-tasting and not getting high on wines!

We need bodies like the GCCI and GTDC to come forward and organise promotional events for ‘Feni’. Just showcasing some ‘Feni’ cocktails and flavoured ‘Feni’ will not do. We need to take ‘Feni’ outside Goa; a huge ‘Feni’ festival in a highly populated place like Mumbai where there are a sizeable number of Goans who will definitely attend the festival and even bring their non-Goan friends and introduce them to the potent drink. Besides, we should have such festivals in places like Chandigarh, New Delhi and Punjab where there are heavy-spending liquor connoisseurs. The promotions should be vigorous which should engender in these moneyed people ordering for barrels of ‘Feni’.

According to experts, in order to accomplish the above, we first need to gather market intelligence. We need to

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BY DR NANDKUMAR M KAMAT

Official Language Act Loss of a Generation

ascertain the states with a drinking culture and where governments are willing to help as in Maharashtra and Karnataka. ‘Feni’ will also do whopping sales in the northeastern states as they need strong drinks to keep them warm. Besides, the suggestion is also to market our brew to the cantonment areas as the army has a drinking culture. Why allow them to go for Scotch and Indian Made Foreign Liquors when they can have a Goan-MadeIndian-liquor as potent as ‘Feni’?

For festivals to be held within Goa, it has to be on a huge scale; an all out international event. In fact, there are suggestions to hold an international cashew and mango festival during the hot, summer month of May when it is holiday time and no rains, thereby making it favourable for people from all over to travel to Goa for the festival. Dr Nandkumar Kamat, senior scientist enlightens, “Though cashew plant came from Brazil and mango is from India, both are closely related and grow during the same period. It would be ideal to combine both and have an international festival. Show the manufacturing of ‘Feni’ with a distillation unit. The versatility of ‘Feni’ can be showcased through cocktail making, flavoured ‘Feni’, medicinal ‘Feni’ and also how the liquor can be used in cooking. Bring out the different kinds of cashwenuts – ‘masala’, chocolate, salted, roasted etc along with the variety of cashew ‘ladoos’ and ‘burfis’ and the cashew apple jams, pickles and preserves.” He continues, “Similarly, the versatility of mangoes can be displayed with the various pickles, jams, juices, wines, sweets etc. We will get tourists flocking for this event.”

Yes, the learned gentleman is absolutely right! Doesn’t the government spend monstrous amounts of money on the international film festival, Shigmo and Carnival?

Don’t they get their act together, form committees and host events of such a large magnitude? So why not an international cashew festival? We can have a variety of literature churned out on facts on cashew apple and ‘Feni’. Perhaps, we could also club this with Goan food and fashion. Now, that would be a rocking event!

Involve progressive farmers, orchard owners, ‘Feni’ distillers and bottlers and even the media can be invited to be official partners where informative supplements could be churned out. For the people outside Goa, this would be a novel event. And for within Goa, we would be able to garner in the support and interest of our rural settlers too as which resident wouldn’t want to get involved in an event that promotes their local product?

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onkani is my mother tongue and language of my thoughts. But I am nowhere when it comes to writing or speaking good, fluent, real Konkani.

This is an impact of 11 years of school education in Marathi medium. By number of worldwide speakers, Konkani is among 125 top languages in the world. Molecular genetics has shown that Konkani is genetically closer to Gujarati than Marathi. This contradicts the anthropologically unchallenged claim of ancient Goa as the centre of origin – the much touted –‘Mulpeeth’ of Konkani. Ethnic histories of tribals outside GoaKukna/Konkana, Gamit and Mavchi indicate that these Konkani speaking people were possibly the real custodians of proto Konkani. But there is terrific hesitation among 'radical mulpeethwadis' to communicate with these neglected tribals in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Konkani linguistic anthropology is at least half a century behind standard advanced works done by scholars like Danish linguistic anthropologist, Tove Skutnabb-kangas.

She is my role model to approach the problem of origin, development and expansion of Konkani. Such a task is likely to attract a lot of personal criticism and calculated hostility from certain circles. Her monumental contributions could be seen at http://www.tove-skutnabbkangas.org/en/Tove-Skutnabb-Kangas-Bibliography.html. I wish she visits Goa and enriches our own understanding of Konkani.

Konkani would stagnate if we don’t permit her to flourish in every field. But this objective was defeated. A whole generation has been misguided. The English website of the directorate of official languages tells the truth for all practical purposes English is the official language of Goa and Konkani continues to be the emotional and sentimental official language.

Konkani is the official political language and language of political campaigns. There is tremendous procrastination on front of pro Konkani warriors; self styled Konkani champions, writers, activists, critics, journalists to demand demystification of governance and administration in Konkani language. I would consider it a great victory if they succeed in getting the official gazette published in Konkani. I

Versatality of Feni demonstrated by Kazkar Feni

BLUE MOON 1and 1/2 parts Cashew Feni 1/2 part Blue Curacao 4 parts Pine Apple Juice Method: Put some ice in a cocktail glass.

Pour pineapple juice and Blue Curacao and stir.

Glass: Cocktail Garnish: Slice of fresh Pineapple

had given a call years ago - “people’s laws in people’s language – ‘lokanche kaide lokanchya bhashent’”- expecting a movement from grassroots level to demand translation of all major laws of Goa in Konkani language.

Not even a single law is available in Konkani. This is most shameful achievement after passing of the official language act.

A week before his first appearance as the Chief Minister for June 18, Goa revolution day ceremony, I had requested Shri Digambar Kamat to get at least 100 major laws of Goa translated in official language Konkani before December 19, 2010. It appears that the act was misinterpreted as an act to promote only literary and cultural fields and in government employment include knowledge of Konkani as essential.

Has the act become a powerful social, economic, political shield of the Goans? If yes, then there would not have been any concerns against the migrant population or a demand for ‘special status’. Once you get statehood, you have the full mandate to protect and safeguard the interest of the population which speaks the official language, the Konkani speakers of Goa. On February 4, official language act of Goa entered the silver jubilee year. What’s our score during the past 24 years? Konkani has disappeared from markets and bus stands. Konkani is dead in Vasco, Margao and Ponda. Konkani has vanished from educational campuses. The only Devanagari Konkani daily, highly subsidised by a socially committed Philanthropist is not patronised by a million Konkani speakers in Goa. Parents who declare their love for Konkani and send their children to expensive English medium schools do not care to patronize the only Konkani daily or the few local Konkani periodicals, especially ‘Jag’, ‘Bimb’, ‘Konkan Times’ and ‘Gulab’. Official language act would have real meaning when people would have their own laws in their own language. The common man uses broken Hindi to make purchases in fruit, vegetable and fish markets. The only word the non-Goan traders have picked is – ‘patrao’. They think Goans would be pleased if they are called ‘patrao’.

In Karnataka, Kannada is the social, economic shield of the Kannada speakers. Once you cross Goa, from Karwar to Kanyakumari you understand the real meaning of states having their official languages. Where Goa stands today? See the popularity of victorious Konkani from Anjuna to Sinquerim. Is this the reward Konkani martyrs deserve?

(Email your feedback to: nandkamat@gmail.com)

oil S s ’ oa G From

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BY MIGUEL BRAGANZA

Carnations, Pinks and Roses

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e are just a week away from Valentine’s Day eve and Ashok Dande has set a date for all the dandy dudes. In fact, if you have not attended the whole day workshop on gardening at his house and plant nursery yesterday at Nagalim Baixo, diagonally opposite the St Michael’s Church cemetery in Taleigao ODP Panchayat, it may be wise to rush now and pick a few tips besides a plant or two. You can then talk knowledgeably to your Valentine, Valentina or whoever.

Here are a few tips if you just cannot make it to Nagalim today.

Carnations are difficult to grow in Goa but their close relatives, known simply as Dianthus or Pinks, are easily grown. I know because I am among the few who have actually tried growing carnations on a commercial scale in Goa ... and failed. The word ‘Pinks’ has nothing to do with the colour of the flower or with the protestation of the Negro lad on being called ‘coloured’ when he was born, brought up and would die ‘Black’, while the ‘White man’ is born pink, becomes green with envy, yellow with cowardice and grey when dead! The flower petals have a serrated margin as if cut with ‘Pinking scissors’. Hence, the name ‘Pinks’.

The blooms of carnations live for a long time, even as cut flowers.

For long lasting love, use red; for fidelity use a white carnation. Most boys think they know all about the girl they want to date but often do not even know her favourite colour. They have a week to do that before buying the flowers for her.

‘Roses love sunshine, violets love dew. Angels love heaven and I love you,’ or so go the lyrics of a popular song of this season in the years gone by. The best roses from India go to Brussels from later this week till the eve of Valentine’s Day. The price of one red rose in the international market on Valentine’s Day is approximately three Euros. On February 15, the value of a rose drops to a few cents or pennies.

There are a few points to be noted by those who want to grow roses successfully in Goa. The first point is straight from the song, ‘Roses love sunshine’, if you do not have bright

sunshine in your garden or terrace/balcony, then growing roses is not for you. The second point is that you should preferably buy ‘budlings’ or budded rose plants of a desired variety and colour of rose from a credible source. This allows you to buy a plant without a flower or a bud. Grow the plant for six months, pruning and training it to have an ‘open heart’ before it produces the first flower.

The ‘open heart’ is achieved by simply cutting the branch just above an outward facing leaf with a swollen axillary bud. The new shoot will grow outwards. This will progressively lead to the plant resembling an empty cone. With sunlight falling on the hollow centre as well as the outside of the rose bush, it will bear flowers profusely on new shoots in all directions. If growing on the terrace or balcony, a twelve inch diameter and twelve inch high terracotta pot is the best container.

After placing the ‘crocks’ near the drainage hole, fill the pot with the standard mixture of three parts soil, one part sand or coco-peat and one part cow-dung manure or compost. Cowdung is not bullshit, even if it is produced by a male Bos indicus or Bos Taurus or any other bull. Fresh cowdung tea, made by mixing equal parts of dung and water and diluting the supernatant liquid after an hour or two, is the best liquid food for rose plants. Give your Hybrid Tea or HT Roses some cow-dung tea and watch the results. Panchagavya works like a miracle on roses.

Growing up roses is like bringing up children: correction and training is best done when they are young. The best rose plant variety can be a disaster as a bush although it may produce a few individual flowers that are wonderful. The lack of experience often shows on the first specimen one seeks to bring up the right way but saves on the correction because it may be too strong. Correction often means beginning all over again, after first resorting to a very painful severe pruning.

As they say, ‘One gotta do what one gotta do’ because things do not change for the better by themselves: somebody has to change them.

That is how the premium blooms are produced for Valentine’s Day, even if it needs a ‘Pink Chaddi Campaign’ to celebrate it in some parts of India where turmeric grows wild.

(Email your feedback to: braganza.miguel@gmail.com)

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Across Ad word Cloak Combustible matter Actor Baldwin Continuously Greek peak Ark builder Slender freshwater fish Gather, harvest He loved Lucy Banned insecticide Womb Broad valley Play thing Amphetamine tablet How to dress for a ball Pond scum Colombian city Trickery Highly respectful way of addressing a man Jackie's predecessor Able to Child support?

Iowa city Profits Located Cost Clock face Member of the Conservative Party Watched Mac

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Small children Prissy Toothbrush brand Langston Hughes poem Capital of Norway Monetary unit of the former Soviet Union Calf-length skirt Collar type Not e'en once Earth Day subj.

Down Quartz grains Burn soother Meadows Spiny anteater Icily Battery terminal Heating fuel SASE, e.g.

The paw of a foreleg Consumer Biblical birthright seller Drinks (as a cat) Nonpile cotton rug of India Male cat Hydrocarbon suffix Ancient Greek city-state Small yeast-raised pancake Everglades bird Noted Lawful Grassy plain Cravings

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Inquires Humped ruminant Bullfighter Good spirit Needlefish Whenever Afflict Person who robs Silk fabric Lodge letters Formerly, formerly Hawaiian city Small child Auricular Commotion Earth Flee

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WEEKEND Splendour

Pg3

email us at weekendsplendour@herald-goa.com

Sunday, 6 Feb 2011

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W E E K LY

undane astrology is astrology applied to world affairs and events. It is a branch of astrology which deals with the rise and fall of nations, formation/duration of governments, political events which affect nations and their people, fate of the head of the states, economy and prosperity of the country, war and peace, natural calamities, communal/religious riots, weather etc. Mundane astrology is based on the belief in “cosmic consciousness” – the belief that that any celestial event anywhere in the universe also affects the earth and all on it. No matter how far away the celestial bodies are, the unique vibration they generate through their movements in the space affects everything on our earth. The ‘Tandava’ or cosmic dance of Shiva – the endless whirling of each atom and body through space, in musical harmony and empathy- is how we describe it.

Everything has its own place and nothing happens without a meaning – even though we are unaware of it at the time.

We, means humans. Animals seem far more attuned to the cosmic dance. How do they sense earthquakes and floods?

No scientists have been able to understand this. Can they sense the earth's vibrations or detect changes in the air or gases ? How do they know how severe the winter will be or even the day that winter sets in when our most sophisticated weather stations fail? What triggers their survival mechanisms ? Researchers observed the movement of a group of sharks just before Tropical Storm Gabrielle and Hurricane Charlie. After the barometric pressure dropped just a few millibars they swam to deeper waters, where there was more protection from the storm. Birds and bees also sense this drop and will instinctively seek the cover of their nests or hives. These are reactions to immediate events. How do animals predict long term events like how harsh winter will be? And how do we help ourselves to their knowledge ?

Predicting the weather has been a human passion for ages. Farmers wanted to know what kind of a season was coming; would there be enough rain or would there be drought? Would the winter be cold or mild? How could they tell if a violent storm was coming? This being a pre radio/TV and weather station time, they relied on natural signs to help them predict the weather.

The most convenient barometers were their own farm animals and these were rarely wrong.

Fishermen, for instance, notice that in autumn, migrating fish come back early in years when winter will bring an early freezes, but come out later in years when the rivers freeze late. In the USA , a groundhog is still used to predict the weather for up to six weeks in advance. If you see a groundhog’s shadow at noon on the 2nd day of February (Groundhog Day), then the weather will be cold and wintry for another six weeks. Animal folklore has passed on from generation to generation. Much of it is now forgotten, retreating in the face of scientific ridicule. But our ancestors did not need fertiliser or pesticides and they had a lot more to eat. The earth delivered much more. (If you think that this is another old wives tale, read this one statistic: In India we only started using fertiliser in 1960. This went up in 1965 to one million tonnes. Today it is 75 million tonnes. The amount of grain produced has not increased) Native Americans believe black bears choose different sleeping spots in their caves depending on how cold the winter will be, or the fur on a rabbit's feet will grow fluffier if the winter is to bring heavier

H O R O S C O P E

ANIMALWorld

Weather Predictions

by Animals

Mar 21 - Apr 19

You're way out in front of the crowd at the beginning of the week. The possible pitfall: impatience, where you may need to allow a little time. Around Wednesday or Thursday, by using a little charm, you can have your cake and eat it too. Put your ideas across diplomatically. Aren't you a flirt on Friday and Saturday! You're 10 kinds of fun now, just be gentle with those who are liable to fall hard for you.

Sunday is a day at home for you.

snow. Simply coincidences ? But science is based on observation, and folklore is based on centuries of observation . The creature with a 100% accuracy in predicting the weather is the ladybird. They announce the coming cold by disappearing and are the first insects to announce the arrival of spring.

HERE ARE SOME SAYINGS: Cats scratch a post before a wind, wash their faces before a rain, and sit with their back toward the fire before a snow.

If a rooster crows at night, there will be rain by morning.

Pigs gather leaves and straw before a storm.

If a dog starts to whine for no reason, you can expect a major storm.

Birds on a telephone wire predict the coming of rain.

Loud singing crickets predict the coming of violent storms.

Locusts sing when the air is hot and dry.

When toads appear in large numbers, you can expect rain.

If bears and horses get thick coats early, then expect a severe winter.

Squirrels are busier gathering nuts before a bad winter.

If wasps build their nests high, a severe winter is on its way.

Frogs croak louder when bad weather is due.

Birds fly lower and gather in large numbers on tree branches when bad weather is due.

If roosters crow later than their precise morning hour this is a bad weather prediction.

Bees and butterflies will vanish from the flowers just before the coming storm or rain.

Horses sweating in the stable or stretching out their necks is a sign of rain.

Dolphins find shelter in protected bays in order to avoid a coming storm.

If there are many bats at night, or flying much longer than they usually fly, there is a glorious day ahead. If there are fewer bats than usual, this indicates bad weather coming.

Crows croaking loudly in the morning is a sign of a good day.

If hens roll around in the dust rain is coming.

Swallows flying at very low levels means bad weather. Hawks flying high means the weather will continue to be fine.

Gnats circling in a mass before sunset denotes good weather approaching.

Before a big storm, fish tend to bite more often, hence the phrase, “trout jump high, when rain is nigh.”

Ants scuttle around busily before a storm and even cover up the entrance to the ant-hill to keep out rainwater.

Before a hurricane, sharks that rarely leave their home waters will flee the path of the storm while seagulls instinctively fly inland.

Earthworms come out of their holes before it rains.

When the cuckoo is heard in low lands, it indicates rain; when on high lands, fair weather.

(To join the animal welfare movement contact gandhim@nic.in)

Apr 20 - May 20

May 22 - Jun 20

If you're thinking about something new, don't rush into it.

Check out all of your options.

Some fresh ones may open up on Wednesday or Thursday. Gorgeous, grounded energy is on tap for you these days, with matters of the heart highlighted, too. On Friday and Saturday, you may not be incredibly efficient, but you have enviable emotional intelligence. On Sunday, having people over may be more fun than heading out and about.

Whatever you're aspiring to you can get it going at the beginning of the week.

A key now: get input from those around you, and lots of it.

Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, ruminating on what you've learned is favoured. It may be a challenge to concentrate, but you can do it! Romance or some other sweet stuff may come knocking on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, plan to soothe your soul and rest those busy feet.

Sept 22 - Oct 23

Are you willing to compromise with a friend, your boss, a coworker or a partner at the beginning of the week? If it turns into something of a tussle, Wednesday and Thursday are excellent days to sort it out amicably. You're forgiving and compassionate now. On Friday and Saturday, a conversation could get intense. It may be uncomfortable; on the other hand, it may be kind of hot. On Sunday savour the simple things.

BY MANEKA GANDHI

Oct 24 - Nov 21

If you've fallen off your fitness regime, renew your commitment to your health at the beginning of the week. Starting small is fine. Talk a walk for example. A certain situation could get tense on Wednesday or Thursday, and you're not one to back down. By initiating a dialogue that breaks the impasse, you'll demonstrate both strength and flexibility. Observation's more fruitful than action on Friday and Saturday.Sunday, listen to your instincts.

Jun 21 - Jul 22

Keeping your emotions in control may be tough at the beginning of the week. Schedule in some destressing activity.

On Wednesday and Thursday following up is key now in all aspects.You'll more than likely get terrifically positive responses. You might just be a party animal on Friday and Saturday, and even if you're not acting wild, all eyes are on you. Get out of your shell, at least a little bit! Sunday's energy is super too.

Nov 22 - Dec 21

You'll love a game at the beginning of the week, whether of the physical or brain-teasing variety. Around Wednesday or Thursday, lend someone a hand when they least expect it. It needn't be a big thing, it's the observant thoughtfulness that counts now. While you're likely busy on Friday and Saturday, you may not get the mental stimulation you require. Make time for reading or watching a documentary. Keep Sunday free to do what you like.

Dec 22 - Jan 19

A relative, a wise friend or a mentor can help put something worrisome into perspective at the beginning of the week. Taking action makes matters better, too. Wednesday or Thursday should bring a big improvement, on the work or love front.

Work hard and play hard on these days; when the weekend comes, you're likely to be preoccupied by intellectual or interpersonal matters.

Think it through, and come Sunday, you may be ready to make a change.

Jul 23 - Aug 22

Aug 23 - Sept 21

You're way out in front of the crowd at the beginning of the week. The possible pitfall: impatience, where you may need to allow a little time. Around Wednesday or Thursday, by using a little charm, you can have your cake and eat it too.

Put your ideas across diplomatically.

Aren't you a flirt on Friday and Saturday!

You're 10 kinds of fun now, just be gentle with those who are liable to fall hard for you. Sunday is a day at home for you.

What you think is a spirited discussion at the start of the weekcould be interpreted as an argument. Take a little extra care with your delivery. In a bit of a switcheroo, you may be inspired to bare your soul mid-week. Sharing your innermost thoughts is scary, but it's worth it. On Friday and Saturday, you're likely thinking faster than most. Pushing them can either be fun or a pain. Sunday's a great time for a little gathering.

Jan 20 - Feb 18

Feb 19 - Mar 20

Your intellectual capacity is stunning at the beginning of the week.

Formulate some amazing new ideas and make some interesting connections. Around Wednesday or Thursday, life could seem dull by comparison, but just set about learning something to regain your spark. Speaking of sparks, they're liable to fly on Friday and Saturday, maybe in the romance department. You're a naturalborn flirt now. By Sunday, you'll be happy to simply dawdle around.

Is somebody hiding something at the beginning of the week? Try shedding light and getting issues or secrets out in the open.

By Wednesday or Thursday, you might just be shouting from the proverbial rooftops. Find your unique expression; it's so much better than the usual. Watch your step, literally and figuratively, on Friday and Saturday; you may be accident- or mistake-prone now. The arts are in the stars on Sunday, whether you're spectating or creating.

GRANDMA’S

At the British Cemetery

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BY SANJEEV SARDESAI

t has been widely accepted that the Portuguese rule over Goa was for a period of 451 years from 1510 to 1961. However, many fail to note that a period of 14 years between 1799 till 1813, Goa was under the control of the British Regime.

It was in the year 1799 that news came of an impending attack by Napoleon’s French Fleet of 26 ships and 14 frigates on Goa through the Suez Canal and the Arabian Sea. Taking this as a reason the British landed their forces in Goa and took control to ward off any threat to their allies, the Portuguese regime here.

Sir Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay rushed to Goa on September 6, 1799 with a garrison of a 1,000 Europeans, rank and file in seven ships commandeered

by Col William Clarke. During their occupation of Goa, the British erected many edifices and barracks in Aguada Fort area, at Gaspar Dias and at Mormugao. None of them remain in existence today.

Among the only constructions that one can see is the cemetery that the British constructed to cater to give a burial to their near and dear ones, during their stay here. This cemetery lies to the south of the road proceeding to the Raj Bhavan at Dona Paula and is easily noticed by its imThe survey number pressive entrance and a long laterite stone fencing. Though the exact date of construction is not known, it may be presumed that it was constructed in 1802.

VIEW Finder

Kitchen

Sweets, a Better Way to Express

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The main gate immersed in vegetation The cemetery is enclosed with a fencing of 110 meters in length and 65 meters in breadth.

Initially it had no gate, and it is recorded that the locals grew rice in the cemetery compound. In 1949, it was repaired by the British Consul and a gate was erected.

There are 47 tombs, of which eight are with a wall constructed around them. The latest burial is traced to as early as August 10, 1912.

It is mentioned by a traveler W Walker that the maintenance may have been paid for by the Collector of Belgaum. During the Commonwealth Heads of Government Retreat held in Goa in 1984, the then British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher visited this cemetery.

(E-mail your feedback to sanscritic@sify.com)

oan cuisine is a wonderful mix of various cultures and is a blend of varied influences. The cooking techniques, style and recipes is a perfect mixture of Christian, Hindu and Portuguese community. It is because of this cultural mix that has gifted Goa the culinary wonders and some great delightful dishes. Today, we talk about the sweets which are prepared in our kitchen and could be a trace of history in the next generation as difficulty to prepare the dishes would lead to avoiding of such preparations.

Coconut is an integral part of the raw material used in the sweet cookery. Its use in different forms, whether in the juice or dessicated, this wonder nut is extensively used in Goan sweets . Goan sweets usually have the same core ingredients of rice flour, coconut milk, palm jaggery, semolina and eggs, from which a formidable array of sweets and savouries are created.

The most famous Goan sweet is ‘bebinca’ also known as ‘bibink’. It is a wonderful concoction made of layers of coconut pancakes. The extract of coconut milk is added to flour, sugar, eggs and ghee and other delectable ingredients are used to make this delicacy.

Each scrumptious layer has to be baked before the next one is added, traditionally it has 16 layers but can be made with less or more. The dessert is baked in a specially-made clay oven, with hot coal as a source of heat, placed above. Though the process of making bebinca is tedious, the dessert is a mouth-melting dream.

Hence, it was developed in Goa's convents and monasteries, where time was never in short supply.

BEBINCA INGREDIENTS: • 250 gms plain flour • 700 ml coconut milk • 2 cups sugar

BY LAWRIE COLACO

• 2 dozen egg yolks • 1 1/2 cups ghee (clarified butter)

METHOD: • Mix the coconut milk and sugar together and stir till the sugar is completely dissolved.

• In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks till creamy.

• Add the coconut milk and mix well.

• Add all the flour to this, a little at a time, making sure that no lumps are left.

• Pre-heat your grill.

• Put a tablespoonful of ghee in a baking pan (any shape) at least 6" deep. Put this pan under the grill till the ghee melts.

• Take it out from under the grill and pour some of the prepared batter into it to form a 1/4" thick layer. Put back under the grill and cook till the top is golden. Monitor frequently.

• Remove from under the grill and immediately add another tablespoonful of ghee on the previous layer. It will melt.

• Now pour another layer of batter of the same thickness as the previous one. Cook under the grill till golden.

• Keep repeating the layering process till all the batter is used up.

• The last layer must be ghee. When it is done, turn the Bebinca over on a flat dish and Serve • Cut into slices and serve warm or cool.

SANNAS (Toddy Fermented Rice Cakes) INGREDIENTS: • salt to taste • 250 gm rice • 20 gm sugar • 1 coconut • 500 ml toddy Method : • Wash and soak the rice overnight. Drain and grind the rice finely with toddy. Add grated coconut and make a thick batter.

• Add sugar, cover and keep in a warm place for about 3 hours or until the batter ferments.

• Add salt to the batter and mix thoroughly.

Pour the batter into shallow round molds and steam for 15 minutes.

(Add taste to your life , keep cooking be safe and healthy and keep in touch, till next edition of cooking on Valentine’s Day as we look into cooking with love , for love and by love )

WEEKEND Splendour

email us at weekendsplendour@herald-goa.com

Pg4

Sunday, 6 Feb 2011

The World of...

Online Purchases HERALD FEATURES one are the days when one waited eagerly for their relatives to come back home from ‘abroad’ for those shows, that pair of denim jeans or all those boxes of chocolate - just one amusing consequence of the result of online shopping.

Twenty-first century India has most definitely taken to the world of making purchases online. They save on time, money and the hassles of traditional shopping, state followers of online shopping. One has access to a wider variety of items, offers and products that are not available in the vicinity of the buyer. All you need is a computer and a decent internet connection to begin with, and then of course a debit or credit card, a net-baking account or the mode of payment the website offers. It has been a decade of healthy internet shopping for Indians and in accordance, plenty more have been set up. Of the many out there on the World

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1) www.eBay.in

Mario’s Famous Five

BY ASHWIN TOMBAT

B O O K

Wide Web, here are a trusted top three.

eBay.in is the Indian version of the popular online shopping portal eBay.com, one of the world's most popular online marketplace. It provides a large number of options for buyers in every category. The website has a diverse and passionate community of individuals and small businesses and it offers used and fresh items with a wide network of international shipping.

Ebay is the leader when it comes to online shopping in India. With just about every thing under the sun, ebay is one of the best portals for shopping in India.

2) www.homeshop18.com

In 2008 PC World Magazine gave the website the Best Shopping Site Award. Three years down the line and it has only got better. With a wide variety of what seems like everything under the sun this website is soon inching towards becoming India’s preferred shopping site. The site is attached to the Network18 Group, India's fastest growing media and entertainment group. Besides the website, HomeShop18 has also launched India’s first 24 hour Home Shopping TV channel.

W O R M

3) www.indiaplaza.in

The fact that the website has 3.5 million items for sale and also an in-house control of web technologies, warehousing and logistics; supported by a 24-hour Customer Service Centre in Bangalore will definitely make it popular with buyers. No doubt in saying that the site, with operations in Bangalore, Chennai and Austin is the world's largest Indiacentric e-commerce company with over one million online transacting customers globally.

...CONTD FROM PAGE 1

The Man with the Goldan Saxophone In his signature gold buttoned black suit and newsboy cap, stepped on stage Braz along with Louis, both ready to set the evening on fire. Calm and composed and handling his instrument with ease, he appeared as young as they come, not at all 77 years.

They began with ‘You don’t know what love is’, a smooth jazz instrumental that saw a peppy piano solo from Banks. “We last played it forty years ago,” said Banks, very eager to relive that time. Accompanying them was Sheldon D’Silva on bass guitar and Gino Banks on drums, members of The Matrix Band.

From one composition to another, originals included, the evening was as smooth as the music. The harmony of instrument and sound between Braz and Louis was excellent, saying plenty of their musical sync and their friendship. A few songs featured his wife Yvonne, established jazz singer who in spite of the inconvenience of her fractured foot sang with the mighty voice she is known for, scatting included. Anyone who missed these two seasoned musicians’ live performance missed a concert of a lifetime.

Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Mario’s Best Cartoons, Vols I and II Mario’s Travels Mario’s Bombay Mario’s Goa Published by Architecture Autonomous Rs 495 each ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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hen I was growing up in the ’60s and early ’70s in Mumbai, India had only a few cartoonists. There was Shankar in Delhi, who had his own weekly, and Abu Abraham. Both were brilliant in their own ways, but in Mumbai we got to see very few of their cartoons. Our favourites were R K Laxman and Mario Miranda.

They were a study in contrasts. Laxman had his daily frontpage ‘You Said It’ in ‘The Times of India’, with his common man, clad in a torn dhoti and patched shirt, observing the most outrageous doings of our pol i t i c a l leaders, industrialists, socialites, et al, but never saying a word.

Though he then did a three-column composite cartoon on Sundays, Laxman’s strength was always in his captions. His jokes were political and they cut deep and sharp.

Mario, on the other hand, relied on some wonderful caricatures like Bundaldass the politician, Miss Fonseca the secretary, Miss Limbupani the filmstar, and others. Mario’s strength was in his lines. He was a true artist. Though this (very) occasionally meant that his jokes were not that sharp, the visual more than made up for it. Even a child that had not yet learnt to read or an illiterate person could enjoy Mario’s cartoons; they were so funny just to look at.

I realised years later exactly how great an artist he was, when the ‘Illustrated Weekly of India’, then India’s largest-selling magazine, would occasionally carry the sketches of Mario’s travels. Each panel was remarkable, not just for the choice of perspective or the minutely etched details, but for his overall mastery with the pen and brush. They were not mere illustrations for a travelogue, but serious works of art.

Over the last decade or so, Mario has faded a bit from the public domain, not least because he retired and moved from Mumbai to his ancestral home at Loutolim in Goa in the ’90s (his cartoons continued to

appear in ‘The Economic Times’), but also because he was getting on in age (he is 85 now). But however frail his body might be, his hand is still firm, and he continues to draw.

And then, some years ago, Architect Gerard da Cunha realised that though Mario was one of India’s most accomplished cartoonists, his life’s work was not documented. So he put in years of effort to gather as many of Mario’s works as he could, and compiled the most rep-

Photo by Christina Viegas

resentative and best works into a magnum opus which he simply called ‘Mario de Miranda’. It was a massive volume that chronicled all the representative periods of his life’s work, including an essay by Mario and samples of his travel writings. But, being the size it was, plus by the expenses of collating all his work over two years or more, it cost around Rs 2,500, and not all of Mario’s fans could afford to buy one. But it seems a whole lot did, especially when it was offered at a sharply discounted rate during exhibitions to promote it. The book seems to have served its purpose, of creating a ‘Mario revival’.

For, Gerard has now come out with five books of Mario’s works. Two of them are the cartoons that he created for newspapers and magazines, classified over the years. One is a book of the sketches based on his travels, and the other two are his drawings of the two places that captured his heart, where he lived all his life – Goa and Bombay (not Mumbai!).

There is very little that one can comment on the content, which is vintage Mario, and therefore superlative. But let me say that the selection is excellent, the books are well produced hardcover volumes, on thick art paper, and the printing is excellent. Best of all, each of them costs just Rs 495, and unless one has a deep compulsion to buy the entire set at a time, are eminently affordable. So get your fix of Minister Bundaldass, Miss Fonseca, Miss Nimbupani, Moonswamy and Co. Get a load of incredible sketches in Mario’s Travels. Mario’s Goa will delight each one of us. And Mario’s Bombay will take those with memories of that city in much better times on a nostaligia trip. If you love Mario as much as I do, these are not to be missed.

Churning out music even at 77: Braz Gonsalves

Mundgod...Little Tibet

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BY SAVIO D’COSTA id you know that Mundgod, a small town some 41 kilometres from Hubli in Karnataka is home to one of the highest concentration of Tibetans outside Tibet? When you arrive in Mundgod, you feel as if you are in Tibet. The landscape is dotted with multi-colored monasteries decorated with yellow and red rooftops. Our guide monk, Saldrine is an American woman who has lived at Doeguling Tibetan Settlement for a number of years and is happy to show us around. I make it a point to meet Saldrine on my occasional trips as she is eager to to converse in English during my short time. As we enter the courtyard, Saldrine gives us a background of the Settlement.

The 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet is a dark period in Tibetan history with the loss of over 6,000 monasteries and temples and the flight of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader to India. With India and later Karnataka’s support, some 4,000 acres of land in Mundgod was given to the Central Tibetan Administration and Tibetan Government in Exile to help resettle Tibetan refugees in Southern India.

Doeguling Tibetan Settlement is made up of 11 camps of which two - Drepung and Ganden - are only for monasteries. The Settlement has seven monasteries of which Drepung is the biggest with a prayer hall that can accommodate over 5,000 monks.

When you walk inside the monastery, you come face-to-face with large gold-plated statues of Buddha and Tibetan deities. You will see Tibetans dressed in their traditional attire just

People

TRAVEL

waiting for the bus or engaged in their daily tasks including praying and studying.

Just being at the Settlement evokes a wonderful feeling of being at complete peace.

The Settlement is the centre of monastic education. Doeguling Monastic University is fashioned after Tibet’s reputed 500 year old Doeguling Monastic University which was destroyed by the Chinese in 1959. It is home to student monks from many countries who receive a Mahayana-Buddhist theological education and live a simple monastic life.

Today, there are more than 8,000 monks in the settlement, certainly a Little Tibet!

We had lunch at the local eating house which served authentic Tibetan cuisine.

The meat-filled dumplings (momos) and noodles were accompanied with a mild flavored soup called ‘thukpa’ and fragrant butter tea. Tibetans weave traditional rugs which are sold at handicraft centers located within the village.

As we bid farewell to monk Saldrine, we realise that despite the odds, Tibetans have managed to preserve their culture and way of life. Now you have an opportunity to visit Tibet without leaving India.

Photos by Savio D’ Costa

(The author conducts organised educational tours for school and college students as well as family groups. Email: sdcosta123@rediffmail.com)

Editor –in-chief: R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat. Chief Editor-Features: Christina Viegas. Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 6658512, 6658500, 2224202, 2228083. Fax: 2222475. Email: weekendsplendour@herald-goa.com.