ItsGoa - April 2022 Edition

People, Food, Travel, Hospitality

Nitisha Pandit

Nitisha Pandit from Mapusa deservedly won the title of Miss Fashion World 2021

MARY ANNE CORDEIRO

Helping Talented Individuals in the Fields of Science, Arts and Sports

ANKUR KANOLKAR ABDUL RAHIM

He was diagnosed with a very rare eyesight condition called retinitis pigmentosa

Goan boy Abdul Rahim Shaikh is instrumental in bringing MMA to Goa

SONIA SHIRSAT

Sonia Shirsat is undoubtedly a household name in Goa. Her music has swept the world by storm.

BillyToons MILROY GOES

Milroy Goes is an Indian film director from Goa.

From creating toons, scribbling on the bench to WhatsApp Stickers and even minting NFTs.

Editorial

Hello Readers, The weather is changing from cool and breezy to hot and humid. Children are ready to go into holiday mode with their final exams almost over and schools are closing for a nice long summer break. It's time to get your light loose summery wear out and head to the beach. Goa boasts of a 103 km coastline with the most enchanting palm-fringed, white sandy beaches you'll ever find. You don't need a beach umbrella or a picnic basket. There are plenty of shacks that dot the beaches providing beach beds and umbrellas for free to customers but payable for those who prefer to just laze around. For the hungry belly, the beach shacks and restaurants around offer the most delectable cuisine with fish fare uppermost on the menu in season at reasonable rates. Celebrations never end in Goa, be it the IPL (Indian Premier League) or Easter. Goans are all geared up. The frenzy to form teams and win on Dream11 makes me wonder about the cricketers actually playing. The focus is no more on the teams that are playing but on the teams that are made by individuals for Dream11. I'm not a cricket fan but have followed the golden rule, “If you can't beat

them, join them!” So, I take my popcorn tub and sit by the side of my hubby like a pro. Our breakfast discussions these days are ‘the reason for Kumble being dropped as head coach” (a PTI article in the NT dated 8th April - 'Kumble felt he was treated unfairly’), or ‘BCCI politics’. I listen intently and enjoy adding my two-paise bits. The conversation steered to ‘Virat’ and ‘Dhoni’ and landed at ‘Vinod Kamble’ - how he was the best in his time and how he is the only cricketer to hit three consecutive test centuries in three innings, all centuries against different countries. By then Breakfast was done and I got thinking of the Captains of the IPL cricket teams. If the team loses, the Captain is held responsible. If the team wins, much is made of the captain despite his poor performance. That is the irony of the game.

Then onto more pressing things like making Easter Eggs? Despite all the weight consciousness, healthy lifestyle rants and low carb diets, Easter Eggs are made in every traditional Goan household either with milk / dark chocolate or marzipan. Shaped into bunnies or oval eggs, some hollow inside stuffed with little cotton chicks and goodies, gifted to each child or hidden around the house for an exciting treasure hunt on Easter morning.

Easter signifies Christ's Resurrection and a promise of eternal life. So here’s wishing you all a Very Happy Easter.

Get in touch:

Nordic Intent HQ, Lane 4, PDA Colony, Near Le Magnifique, Bardez Goa – 403521 +91-9765419976 mail@itsgoa.com

Index

01 Nitisha Pandit

02 Sonia Shirshat

03 Billytoons - Billy Joe Fernandes

04 Milroy Goes

05 Mary Anne Cordeiro

06 Ankur Kankonkar

Introduction

Goa, the tiniest state on the western coast of India, boasts golden pristine beaches, palmfringed avenues, flavourful food, delicious Portuguese-influenced sweets, and warm, hospitable people. Also known as the Ibiza of India for its partying. A tropical paradise of flora and fauna, from the very famous 'almi' (mushrooms) endemic to its forests, that grow only on the red mud anthills, to the solar prawns that are fished immediately after the monsoons, Goa is unique. Tourists are also attracted to Goa for its cultural heritage - from the famous old Portuguese churches like Se Cathedral in Old Goa, the 16th Century Safa Masjid in Ponda and Shree Mangesha Temple in Mardol, the legendary Arvalem or Pandava Caves where the Pandavas of the Mahabharat fame lived, to its two unique festivals - Carnival and Shigmo. Goa plays host to many festivals

07 Abdul Rahim Website:

- the International Film Festival of India that promotes cinema, the Serendipity Art Festival, Sunburn Music Festival, The Grape Escapade to name a few. To showcase this varied heritage of culture, art, tradition, food, and people, in 2015 ItsGoa was born. The main aim was to make it the premier portal for all things Goa. We were able to showcase Goa like never before. Soon our blog-based website transcended the virtual space, with the ItsGoa magazine – a sought-after resource for visitors to Goa from countries like Norway, Germany, UK, USA, UAE, etc. The Covid Pandemic in 2020 brought everything to a standstill and printing of the magazine was put on hold. Now that life is almost back to normal in Goa, and to maintain the covid norms, we have decided to launch our very own ItsGoa magazine online.

A little about our Magazine

Think of Goa! Think ItsGoa! Our magazine is known for its business listings of basically anything and everything found in Goa. We also produce uniquely written articles in regard to Goa. Some of these folk tales you quite literally will not find anywhere else on the net. These rich in content stories are passed down from generation to generation in the villages of golden Goa. We also provide up-to-date news and information on travel, food, and events that are taking place in this beautiful State of Goa. The content on ItsGoa is written by people who are passionate about calling this tiny state their home. Our writers come from all walks of life, and through our social media handles on Facebook or Instagram, we’re able to showcase Goa through many different lenses.

The ItsGoa magazine is a single point of reference for news, lifestyle, and culture in Goa.

NITISHA PANDIT

I’m from Mapusa and I am an Instagram Influencer cum Fashion Blogger, who also wears the mittens to bake & shake a leg dancing.

It was glitz and glamour at the mega finale of the Mr, Miss & Mrs. Fashion World 2021 onboard the Big Daddy Casino, Panjim. Stars descended on the riverside venue to join the participants from across the country as judges decided to select the best emerging talents. Nitisha Pandit from Mapusa deservedly won the title of Miss Fashion World 2021 to the delight of the crowd.

Nitisha, tell us about yourself…

I am Nitisha Pandit. My loved ones call me by many names but most commonly “Niti”. I’m from Mapusa and I am an Instagram Influencer cum Fashion Blogger, who also wears the mittens to bake & shake a leg dancing. My Instagram handle is @nitishapandit.

What was that one moment that changed everything?

I was a stage kid from my childhood. Loved dancing and acting from the very beginning but when it came to my college it wasn’t just dancing and acting but it was also fashion that caught my eyes or you could say caught my heart so when that hit me, that was the time I stepped into modelling. I started off with a small platform i.e. participating in my college events and fashion shows and that’s how I got my recognition in modelling and this way my journey in modelling began.

I was never a girl who had stage fear. So one of the designers suggested I participate in a beauty pageant and give it a shot so I took it into consideration and there was my first beauty pageant Miss Rosary Queen and guess what, I WON and that’s where everything changed.

I would say it’s not that I adapted to fashion but fashion was always inside me. I wanted people to know me and recognize me for what I do and who I am & what better platform than Instagram. I started learning and upgrading myself in this field and Instagram is such a platform where you can do much more than you think. Hence, my journey as an Influencer cum Fashion Blogger began along with my dancing career.

Any funny or inspiring childhood story or memory you want to share that shaped your life… Well, yes… I still remember the first time I was up on stage for my school gathering (U.K.G) and my partner decided not to show up but I did not give up nor stepped out, I decided to dance without a partner all

alone grabbing all the attention from other kids. This incident helped me realise that it’s your road, yours alone. Others will or can walk with you but no one can walk it for you. Being a single parent was not quite an easy task for my mother due to the mentality of our society but here I am, a strong independent woman. She raised two strong kids who are proud to be her daughters.

Everything you see is all because of her. My mother is my biggest fan & my biggest supporter. She is the reason why I am WHO I AM. So now you know from where I get the strong, brave and independent genes.

What’s the biggest challenge when pursuing this full-time?

I would say my biggest challenge was to walk hand in hand with my work, my studies and my Passion. It wasn’t easy to take all of these and walk together forward. And there came a time when I had to give up on something and giving up on my job wasn’t an option as I was the only earning head in my family. They say if you want something, want it bad enough and if it’s really important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse, and I found a WAY. I recently started my own outlet Peach Blush keeping. We take orders for cakes, desserts & savouries. Still struggling with the new startup but everything will just be fine as time passes. It’s a challenge to balance my life with work, influence, dance, modelling, baking (@peachblush) & family responsibility but when you love what you do, somehow things just work out and fall in place.

A bit about your role models. I have just one role model and that is my MOTHER because strong women aren’t simply born, they are forged through the challenges of life. With each challenge, they grow mentally and emotionally. They move forward with their head held high and strength that cannot be denied. “She is water; powerful enough to drown you, soft enough to cleanse you and deep enough to save you. She is truly a warrior and who better a role model than your own MOTHER.

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What role did family and friends play? Any quick incident you recall?

Well, I am truly blessed to have such a supportive family and awesome friends. They are both like pillars of my life. Equally strong and equally important. They have been there & support me in every step I take. A few years back I took the decision of quitting my job as ( Dance Instructor/Coordinator) and wanted to step into the corporate world. And like always nothing is as easy as it sounds or seems to be. It was a big and difficult decision that I had made but my family and friends helped me get through it. My family helped me by telling me the pros and the cons of our corporate and economic world and my friends motivated me towards it. They told me I must go on adventures to find out where I truly belong. Whether dancing, modelling or influencing, my family & friends have always been very supportive.

What would you tell yourself if you went back in time?

If I go back in time, I would tell myself how proud I am today of what she has become. I would tell her not to blame herself for the wrongs happening around her, that it’s not her fault. Would tell her never to doubt herself and anytime you do remember, you are a strong soul who shines after any storm. You can literally get through anything and you have demonstrated that time and time again. Keep going. Keep shining! You got this. And most importantly, I will tell her that she’s the strongest woman I came across and her mother is so proud of her.

Any person/celeb from the past you’d want to meet? Why?

Not really… Never actually gave it a thought. But now as I’m asked about it and given a chance I would really like to meet Sadhguru Ji, not for any other reason but just because his outlook towards life and situations is very much different from ours. I don’t follow him as such but listening to him is so pleasing and relaxing sometimes. And not to forget I would LOVE to meet Salman Khan. The reason being, he’s been my favourite from the start.

What is the legacy you want to leave behind? And for whom?

I want every individual to know that it is OK to be scared, it is OK to cry. Everything is ok but giving up should not be an option. They always say that failure is not an option. I say, Failure should be an option because when you fail you get up and then you fail and then you get up and that’s what keeps you going. That’s how humans are strong. FAILURE IS AN OPTION, SHOULD BE AN OPTION but GIVING UP IS NOT. NEVER. I do want to leave a legacy and want to be remembered not just for who I am but also for what I am in terms of my work, my nature, my thoughts, my values & not just by my loved and dear ones but by everyone. We all work hard and we all want to make money, who doesn’t want to but we do it all for ourselves. That’s not life. You go out, you seek people who need your help, and you make their lives better. You become that sponge that can absorb all the negativity and you become that person who can emit beautiful positive vibes and when you realise that you have changed someone’s life or because of you this person didn’t give up, that is the DAY when you live, ALWAYS. Helping someone can be in whichever way possible for you, it may be by simply listening to them or by just saying IT IS OK, YOU WILL BE FINE. It may not be something big because sometimes doing something small for someone can turn out to be the biggest help.

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PEOPLE

SONIA SHIRSAT

“Singing is something that comes naturally to me. It’s all a gift from above. It all started when I won the All Goa English Solo Singing Competition during my tenth standard. That was my first trophy.”

Sonia Shirsat is undoubtedly a household name in Goa. Her music has swept the world by storm. Here’s her story, chorused with dreams, ragas, high notes, inspiration, and her stellar musical journey. Humans of Goa is our original and official series that shares inspirational stories from the lives of Goans. We speak to talented and contributing individuals from this wonderful tiny state.

“I initially sang ‘Papa kehte hain’ for a Sarvajanik at Ganesh Chaturthi when I was seven. I was a regular at school tournaments and in college after that.

Ponda was Sonia’s birthplace, where she grew up, and where she went to school. She then went to Miramar to study law at Salgaonkar’s Law College, after which she spent four years as a visiting faculty member teaching law to the students.

Despite having completed a thorough legal education, her singing career began with a Margaobased band named Status 4. The wonderful thing about this band was that it was conducted by Dr. Alan Abreu, who was the Principal of the Ponda BEd College, is the Dean of the Goa University Educational Faculty, and also a family friend. He was so taken with her singing western pop at university festivals that he decided to hire her. With such a fantastic individual leading the band and a dedicated Sonia who didn’t give up her master’s programme, teaching, or singing, her parents had no choice but to let her pursue her ambitions without limitations!

“Singing is something that comes naturally to me. It’s all a gift from above. It all started when I won the All Goa English Solo Singing Competition during my tenth standard. That was my first trophy.”

My mother and grandmother used to sing, but it was only a pastime for them. She was very enthusiastic about it, so she sang a lot. My father, a doctor, would occasionally sing as well. He was known for playing old Hindi songs by well-known senior vocalists.

I grew up listening to a lot of Hindi film music. I assumed I inherited their enthusiasm because I like singing as well, so I practised on a regular basis.

Once I was hooked on MTV, I got introduced to beautiful albums by Whitney Houston (Bodyguard),

Mariah Carey (Butterfly), and I could sing in Whitney Houston’s voice, Celine Dion and Tony Braxton were also inspiring.

The issue is that female singers like Lata Mangeshkar and others in Bollywood sang in a higher range of voice called soprano, precisely because they sang for duets where the male voice’s range had to match theirs.

Our vocal cords are technically powerful when we use our speech tone, but the head voice (soprano) has to travel to a different range and requires training. So I’d rather sing male singers’ songs since I wouldn’t have to fight with the high pitch. MTV drew her interest, as it does most teenagers, and she was exposed to western music.”

A year after the competition, Antonio Chainho, a Lisbon-based Portuguese guitarist maestro, came down to Goa for a workshop. He was on the lookout for someone who could sing Fado.

I wasn’t keen on it because it was in a language I didn’t know at the time, but he urged me to learn Fado, so I did. I performed with him, and later, after the show, he approached me and informed me that my voice was best suited to Fado. He indicated I could always contact him if I needed assistance. That was the first time someone listened to my voice and advised me on how to improve it. Sonia grabbed the listener’s heartstrings in Goa, Daman, Bangalore, and Delhi with her Fado songs. She lectured at the law school while simultaneously singing in the band and for the Konkani programme ‘Bhangrale Ghoi.’

Multitasking couldn’t have lasted much longer. It was time to specialise rather than be a jack of all trades. There are times in life when one is faced with many possibilities but only one choice, and the decision made at that time is irrevocable, therefore it must be made with extreme caution.

If it’s right, it’ll completely transform your life. Sonia had made a similar decision. It signalled the start of a new chapter.

Sinking into Fado was not at all what she had anticipated. “During my stay in Portugal, every evening at seven o’clock, I would go to the Fado

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homes, which were set up for Fado performances,” Sonia recalled. They were tiny, well-built buildings with restaurants where people might congregate and enjoy appetisers, wine, or coffee. Two chairs were set out for the guitarist and the Fadista, who would arrive and begin their performance. Nobody was allowed to leave, talk, or even make the sound of silverware while the Fadista sang.

I sang Fado with a sitar and the help of a Portuguese guy from Goa, followed by Mando, a Goan folk song with Portuguese instruments that many people refer to be Goan Fado (I disagree). I summoned Maestro Antonio Chaihno, who performed a lovely concert for me. I wanted them to feel the essence of Fado via my singing, and I wanted to show them the type of music where poetry was the source of beauty. I attempted to decipher the cross-cultural relationship between the two countries by singing a Hindi song, ‘Humne dekhi hai inn ankho ki,’ with the Fado instruments.

Despite the fact that I was not a well-known vocalist, the performance sold out two days in advance. There was a waiting list, and I was featured in three of their major national newspapers, on their radio, and on three of their national networks in real-time.” Few people can make the transition from student to teacher. It’s only possible if you have a firm grasp on the subject and are willing to provide even the tiniest details.

In Goa, Sonia was the only professional Fado singer. She had accumulated a wealth of information in Portugal, which she urged to be shared with the people of her homeland if it was possible. The Taj chain of hotels approached her and asked if she might train people in Fado. Sonia has performed in worldwide Fado concerts at venues such as the Kala Academy, Clube Vasco da Gama, and Cidade de Goa.

Her music has also led her to Canada, the United States, Luxembourg, Portugal, France, the Middle East, Nepal, Singapore, Macau…the list goes on and on! But one location, in particular, holds a special place in Sonia’s heart.

“Cidade de Goa has been a spot where I’ve been singing Fado since the beginning,” she said. Sonia decided to create a project named ‘Fado in the City’ in 2016 because of its uniqueness. She wanted to take it to every city in the world. She hosted free

Fado events for people who had never heard of Fado or the language.

“I have never sought the government,” she stated confidently. We are currently self-sufficient, with sponsors, facilities, and resources. The goal, to make Fado significant to everyone, is the most crucial part here.” Her efforts were not in vain. In 2011, she received the Goa Yuva Srujan award.

“I taught Fado workshops in Jaipur and Delhi.” I was also invited to IIT Kharagpur for a SPICMACAY International Convention, which featured numerous artists and artisans specialising in wood carving, flower making, crafts, and South Indian traditional dance. One of the ten students I had was a Pakistani national. I also gave a three-hour workshop at MES College, with 5-6 Afghans in the audience. So I’m content with where I’m at; Fado is developing at its own speed!”

The word “fado” literally means “destiny.” The origins of history can be traced in a variety of ways. One reason for this is that it was sung by seamen who missed their families and homes. Another version is that it was performed by Portuguese street comfort women. Fado contains melancholy, melancholic sounds and significant lyrics in any case.

In the pool of mixed culture in Goa, I didn’t know how many people would be open to Fado music,” Sonia said of her initial hesitation about learning Fado. Fado is sad music; it’s an acquired taste, not a commercial product.” I had previously travelled to Portugal on a Fundacao Oriente scholarship in 2006 when Maestro Antonio Chainho assisted me in learning about the Fado. With language being my sole restriction, it was an eye-opening experience for me. So I’d accompany my mother, who spoke Portuguese. Despite this limitation, Fado and Sonia’s romance flourished. “I chose to go to Portugal alone,” she said of her bold decision.

I wanted to thoroughly immerse myself in Fado. My mother’s distant cousin, who was visiting Portugal, arranged for me to stay in an elderly lady’s home as a paying guest. It was a large house with 14 rooms on the first level, and the lady who lived across the street had picked up a few survival phrases from my mother. The elderly lady was a sweet lady who was patient with me. She would get irritated when I left for Goa because we both enjoyed each other’s company so much.”

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Fado has a lot of influence on people. There are many different types of fado music. It is known as Morna in Cabo Verde, Mando in Goa, and Gazal in India. The beauty of these songs is in the singer’s vocals, which do not require a large orchestra or a large number of violins. A Fadista (Fado singer) is supposed to communicate emotion through her singing, however, she relies on the musicians for her base and beats. Thousands of people listened to her perform Fado music. The semi-classical genre, like the majority of semi-classical genres.

Fado follows a set of rules that other genres may find weird. Fado, for example, has a musical interpretation that is akin to Hindustani Bandish, in which one sings a raga while inserting a poem in between the sounds. “If a Fadista copies an original, there is no value,” Sonia explained, “but if a Fadista interprets an existing Fado with another Fado, it is valued by the people.” Such techniques are exclusively present in earlier societies and are not found in modern music.” Sonia became one with Portugal’s music after living and studying there. Sonia exclaimed, “I realised I had a connection with Fado, so I decided to focus on this field.” She had made a connection not only with the music, but also with the people who made it. “I had to return to Portugal every year for a month to dispel my reservations about this music.” Thankfully, I had a lot of senior citizen acquaintances in Portugal.

I used to bring a list of my concerns from home and submit it to them.

The majority of my friends were musicians, Fado writers, or poets. They thought I was amusing! To

them, I was like a kid, asking questions and talking about it. I used to ask them questions that perplexed them since they had never considered them before. As a result, they’d offer me books about Fado and its history. I’ve been emailing them my doubts up until now, and they’ve always responded promptly. The rare books I’d bring back from Portugal used to be the heaviest part of my luggage.”

Sonia has big ambitions for the future of Fado music, much like any other parent who makes elaborate preparations for their child.

“I’d like to build Fado houses in Goa as they do in Portugal.” I want the singers to understand what they’re singing so they can get into the spirit of the song. We also need a well-informed audience that understands the language so that the singers do not deceive the audience. We inform the audience about the Fados sung at every performance and event so that they are aware of what we are singing. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to take one day at a time, and yes, perform on a song composed by Chris Perry.” “The period just before going to Portugal was complex. My entire career hinged on that one decision I took. That’s life for you.”

“My legacy would be to ensure Fado continues to grow in Goa and maybe discover future Fado artists that will keep this trend going.”

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BillyToons is the brainchild of Billy Joe Fernandes. Billy’s heart ticks to the beat of his homeland – Goa. Every happening, be it the sad demise of Fr. Bismarque, Formalin Fish, Coconut Tree destruction, or just saying “Deo Boro Dis Dium” (meaning, May God grant you a good day), BillyToons has captured them all through his art. We spoke to him about his inspirations, journey, and of course, BillyToons. Humans of Goa is our original and official series that shares inspirational stories from the lives of Goans. We speak to talented and contributing individuals from this wonderful tiny state.

Billy, tell us about yourself…

You might know me as BillyToonsGoa, but my real name is Billy Joe Fernandes. Creating toons has been an integral part of my life, from Scribbling on the bench to WhatsApp Stickers and even minting NFTs. At home they call me Billy and my fans call me BillyToons, it’s funny when they ask me “What is your real name?” And I say, it is Billy. I’m from Sirsaim, a beautiful village with rivers, springs, hills, fields, and loads of Serene views, situated in the Bardez taluka of Goa. Art has been my calling from the very beginning, it’s the best form in which I can express myself, and with the advantage of digital art and social media, it becomes easier to address the masses I believe people need a little bit of humour, a little bit of colour, a different perspective for better awareness and understanding, and I’m doing my part to keep the Goan Art, Culture and Heritage Thriving.

What was that one moment that changed everything?

I would say the moment when I laid my hands on the then-new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic which was Nokia’s first touch-screen phone which had a stylus and an app for drawing. That’s when my art went digital.

Any funny or inspiring childhood story or memory you want to share that shaped your life, and what’s the biggest challenge when pursuing this full-time? Yeah, when I was still schooling at St. Britto’s High School, Mapusa this was in 1998, I was nominated by my school for the all Goa Child Art Competition organised by the Goa College of Art on the occasion of its Silver Jubilee Celebration at which I was awarded a certificate of merit. From this point onwards art became my identity.

As of now I’m a Logistics Supervisor at National Oilwell Varco in Dubai, creating toons is something that I do at home mostly in the evenings when I have free time, and that’s the biggest challenge as I try and create new content almost every day. A bit about your role models. Goan Artists like Mario Miranda, José Pereira, Alexyz have portrayed the best of Goa, and through their work preserved the identity of Goa, In this digital age, my goal is the same, to showcase the Art, Culture & Heritage of Goa on a Global stage, and leave Goa’s imprint on the Digital World for Generations to come.

What role did family and friends play? Any quick incident you recall?

My life has always revolved around Friends and Family, today whatever I am is because of the Love and Support from them, their belief, motivated and propelled me into exploring and developing my skills as an artist, I still remember one of my friends gifting me a book of Mario Miranda’s artworks which influenced me to have an art style of my own.

What would you tell yourself if you went back in time?

I would probably not even meet myself. Sure I’ve had tough times, but those are the times that have made me who I am today, and I’m grateful for those times. Even if I would somehow land in the Past during a tough time, I would just watch myself and remember “These were the times that built me.”

Any person/celeb from the past you’d want to meet? Why?

Now that’s something I cannot miss out on, I would definitely like to meet the Late Mario Miranda, firstly because of the sheer honour of it, but mostly to feel his energy and vibe.

What is the legacy you want to leave behind? And for whom?

Goa is not the same what it used to be , and we don’t know when it will become ‘Golden Goa’ again, but one thing we know for sure, is that Art is always preserved and through art, Identity.

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In this digital era, you must have heard about being careful of what we upload on the internet because it always remains on the web even after you delete it, I want to use this in a positive way by uploading my art about Goa, and spreading the awareness, humor, laughter, colours and characters that depict the identity of Goa in its entirety. And with the evolution of the internet into Web 3, my toons are assured to portray and preserve the identity of Goa for Generations to come and that will be my Legacy for the Native Goans, The Global Goans and those who are in Love with Goa.

PEOPLE

He is credited with being the person to introduce digital cinema in Goa with his debut theatrical film “The Victim” (2012).

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Pervis Milroy Goes, known better as Milroy Goes is an Indian film director from Goa. He hails from the beautiful village of Cuncolim in South Goa. He ventured into the Film Industry in 2007 with his debut short film "Vengeance". He gained a lot of recognition as a film director soon after the release of his second short film "Unexpected" in 2009. He was mentored by a French film enthusiast named Anthony Coombs-Humphreys, who not only believed in his potential as a filmmaker but also assisted him in producing a remake of his short film Unexpected for the international audience. The movie, which was titled "Expect the Unexpected", featured a Bollywood actor named Deepraj Rana. The movie was released in 2011 and received very good reviews. His film “Welcome Millions”, which was released in 2018, was eligible for the Best Picture Award at the 91st Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2019, but was not nominated in any categories. He is credited with being the person to introduce digital cinema in Goa with his debut theatrical film “The Victim” (2012). Besides filmmaking, he also has various other business ventures including a coffee shop, an artist management firm and a Portuguese passport consultancy firm. In a brief chat with us, Milroy gave us an insight into his life, his journey as a filmmaker, his other commercial ventures and lots more.

Excerpts

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Perves Milroy Goes. I was born on 3rd September 1986. I am the 9th child in a family of 10 children. From my childhood, I had a very strong interest in painting, drawing and art. Even when I was in class X, I used to take part in several drawing and painting competitions. I was so much into art that I missed out on many of my classes while I was in my SSC year.

So, did you complete your SSC?

No. Since I knew that I wasn't well prepared to answer my SSC exams, I decided to take a one year break and answer my exams in the next academic year.

Were your parents and teachers ok with your decision to not answer your SSC exams?

Yes. When I told my parents that I wanted to take a break and answer my exams in the next academic year, they had no objection to it. My teachers, as well

as my headmistress, were also very supportive of my decision. They told me to take a break, study hard and then answer the exams next year.

So, did you answer your exams in the next year?

In my family, all are very highly educated. I have a sister who is a lawyer, a brother who is a lawyer, and my youngest brother has done his post-graduation. When the next academic year started, I found it very odd to go back to school, with students one year younger than me in age. I also had developed a lot of interest in software related to graphic designing and was not very much interested in studies. I had never ever failed in my life. And since everyone in my family is highly educated, I decided that instead of answering my exams and failing, it would be better to drop out of school, because I felt that dropping out would not be as shameful and embarrassing as failing in my exams. To uphold the respect and good name of my family, I decided to drop out of school.

After dropping out of school, what did you do? After dropping out of school, I wanted to study fine arts, but I could not get admission because the criteria to be eligible for admission was you had to be 12th pass. So, I started learning software like Adobe Photoshop, Coreldraw, and various other software related to digital arts, web designing, and video editing. After I dropped out of school, my drawing teacher, who was very close to me, told me that digital art was picking up and that I should start learning all the software related to digital art. When my sister was in the eleventh standard, we bought a computer home for her to use. I started learning all the related software from her computer. Also, I had a neighbour who had a photo studio. He gave me a copy of Photoshop and I started learning this software on my own.

What was your first job?

My first job was as a cafe attendant at a cyber cafe in Margao. I used to work from morning till 5 p.m as a graphic designer at the same place and then I used to serve at the cybercafe for 2-3 hours in the evening as a cafe attendant. After working at the cyber cafe for about 2 years, I started my own graphic design and website development firm called “Stunning Point”. The firm used to develop websites and graphics for clients, both in Goa as well as in different parts of India. My firm’s first major client was Club Tito’s. Website: www.itsgoa.com I Instagram: @_itsgoa I Facebook: Itsgoa

How did you get into films? Did you take up any special course in filmmaking? No. I did not do any course in filmmaking. All the knowledge that I have about filmmaking is self-learnt. I was a huge film buff from my childhood. I used to watch a lot of movies on DVD, especially Hollywood movies. So when you buy an original DVD of a movie, you get two DVDs in it - one is of the film and one is of the making of the film. Watching the making of films motivated me to become a filmmaker. Also, I learnt all the various filmmaking and videoediting software by myself. I also gained a lot of knowledge and experience regarding filmmaking by meeting other filmmakers and by attending the masterclasses conducted by eminent filmmakers at IFFI in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Any interesting incidents that shaped your life that you would like to share with us? Yes. I had an opportunity somewhere in 2007 to witness the shooting of a Bollywood movie in my village of Cuncolim. The film that was being shot was “One Two Three”, starring Suniel Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor and Paresh Rawal. The shooting of a scene for the movie was going on at the KTC bus stand in Cuncolim. I went on the set, got to meet the director, and also acted in one of the scenes of the film as a junior artiste. After the shot was done, everybody was told to leave the area. Mr. Sunil Shetty was sitting on the set and many people who had gathered near the set were going to take his autograph. However, the crew were driving people away from the set. I thought they would allow me to take an autograph because I was a part of the film. I took Sunil Shetty’s autograph and as I was leaving the set, one of the crew members started scolding me and asking me why I came near the actor despite being told not to do so. This incident kind of served as a motivating factor for me to become a filmmaker. I had got this thing in my head that instead of being shouted at by a crew member, one fine day, I will also direct a film and be the boss on the set. I will be the man at the helm of affairs on set, not an ordinary junior artiste who can be shouted at.

Give us a brief idea of your journey as a filmmaker?

My first short film, entitled “Vengeance” was made in 2007 with my brother Rohan Goes, my good neighbour Khabir Moraes and a few students from Afghanistan who were studying in Goa at that time.

The film was widely circulated among students and earned a lot of popularity within a few weeks of its release. In 2008, the film was screened at IFFI Chota Cinema. My next short film called “Unexpected'' came out in 2009 and was featured at IFFI that same year. It got more exposure at the festival and also helped me to gain recognition as a filmmaker. People from different film industries across the world, who had come to attend the festival, shared their views and valuable suggestions with me regarding my film. I then made a feature film in 2012 called “The Victim”. This film was the first Konkani movie to get a digital theatrical release. It featured a few Bollywood actors and was shot entirely on a Canon EOS 7D camera. One of the scenes of the film was shot at the same bus stand where I had first seen a movie being shot. The only difference was that this time, I was the man behind the scenes, wearing the director's hat and calling the shots on the set. I was not an ordinary junior artiste the way I was when “One Two Three” was being shot. Soon after making “The Victim”, I got a phone call from an ad agency in Delhi saying that they wanted to shoot an ad film with Brett Lee in Goa and wanted me to come on board the project as the creative director of the film. I did the ad film with Brett Lee and the film earned a lot of popularity when it was released. I also have done many music videos for English and Hindi songs. One of the English music videos was featured on Vh1. My short film “Peon – Ek Chaprasi” premiered on the closing day of the 'Goa Short Film Carnival in 2015.

In 2017, I wrote and directed the feature film ““Welcome Millions'' '' and in 2018, the film had its premiere at Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills, USA. It went on to qualify for the Best Picture Award in the general category at the 91st Academy Awards but was not nominated in any categories. Currently, I am a participating member at the Academy Awards, which means I am eligible to contest at the Oscars again. And this time I am independent and associated with various licensed agents of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to make more big dreams come true on big banners.

Did you try working in Bollywood?

I was in Mumbai while doing the remake of my short film “Unexpected”. The movie had actors from Bollywood. I signed Deepraj Rana, a famous Bollywood actor for the film, brought him to Goa,

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and shot the film. I became very good friends with him and he introduced me to many other people in the film fraternity. He used to invite me for lunch or dinner whenever I visited Mumbai. I have met Sanjay Mishra, the actor from Golmaal. Every time I go to Mumbai, I have to inform my friends from Bollywood. I have to have breakfast or lunch with them. They treat me like family. So, yes. I am very much open to doing films in Bollywood.

Is there any particular actor from Bollywood that you would like to work with someday?

As I have told you, I have a lot of good friends from Bollywood. I have worked with many Bollywood actors in the past and I am very much interested in doing a Bollywood film. But as of now, I am more focussed on which platform I should target rather than which actor I should work with. I have tasted success on Amazon Prime Video and am now focusing on Netflix.

What prompted you to start Cafe Bom Gosto? I always wanted to do many things in life and during the lockdown, my younger brother Rohan Goes saw a business opportunity in the food business segment. Also, one of my sisters was learning to make various sweets by watching YouTube videos. So, I and Rohan joined hands together as partners and decided to start a cafe that would help us to earn good revenue (since the food business was booming during the lockdown) and also provide a platform for my sister to sell her homemade sweets. All these thoughts and ideas led to the birth of Cafe Bom Gosto in April 2020. Ever since the cafe started, it has come a long way and has become very popular with tourists as well as locals. It has established itself as a brand and has been awarded the Times Food Delivery Icons of Goa award for 2021. The café is located right in the heart of Cuncolim town, near Cuncolim Kadamba Bus Stand. It is the only café in the Cuncolim stretch that serves fresh bean coffee, with a signature blend, brewed! Apart from serving food and drinks, the cafe also houses a mini-library where patrons can sit and enjoy a nice read. The cafe is also the venue for several events and meetups where like-minded people get together and share views and exchange ideas.

What are the other things that you are into? I run a consultancy firm in Cuncolim which assists people in applying for Portuguese Nationality. I believe that if you're good at something and you strongly want to do it, then you should just go for it. I assisted many people from my extended family in obtaining Portuguese nationality and during this whole process, I gained a lot of knowledge about all the procedures involved in applying for it. So, I started using all this knowledge to help my friends in obtaining Portuguese passports and gradually I turned this into a commercial venture where I provide all the necessary information and other services involved in applying for a Portuguese passport. I also have a firm known as Buenos Muzik, which assists aspiring singers in Goa to get into the music industry. This firm is run by me and my brother Rohan Goes. As a filmmaker, I have done a lot of work for major music labels like SareGama and Sony Music. I have also worked with music maestro A.R Rehman's singers on several music projects. So, since I had a large network of established musicians and other important people in the music industry, I decided to use that to assist aspiring singers in Goa to get a foothold in the music industry and give them that much-needed exposure. Whenever we come across any singer whom we feel has a lot of potential, we help them out by providing them with all the resources and contacts that they need to kickstart their musical career. Whether you’re a singer, songwriter or musician, we back you in what you need to succeed in today’s world of music.

Any celebs that you have worked with?

Yes. Apart from Bollywood actors like Deepraj Rana and Razak Khan, I have also worked with singer Shashaa Tirupati. I am also very well connected with Kåre Wanscher and Mikkel Lentz from the famous band "Michael Learns To Rock". They have produced the background score and theme song for my film “Welcome Millions”.

Any message that you have for all our Goan youth out there?

Yes. There are 3 important things that I have learnt through experience that I would like to share with all our Goan youth. Firstly, it is very important to surround yourself with people who have a positive mindset and who are very supportive. It is very

contribute to your growth as a person. People who lift you up and encourage you during your struggles. Critics are good, be prepared to accept criticism and if you are put down, don't forget to stand back up. Don't make friends with people that lead you along the wrong path. The type of people you are surrounded by makes you who you are.

Secondly, whatever it is that you are doing in life, start small. If you make small mistakes during your journey, learn from those mistakes and fix them. These mistakes help you grow and become a better version of who you are.

And finally, the third and most important thing is that it is very important to have a strong connection with

no victory. I am a living testament to this. Despite being a Class X dropout and not having any high educational qualifications, I have still emerged successful in my life. I have tasted success as a filmmaker, as a restaurateur and also as an entrepreneur with my Portuguese Passport consultancy firm. Whatever good has happened in my life, whatever I have achieved till today is all because of my strong faith in the Almighty whom I always give first place in my life.

Alright, then. It was a pleasure speaking to you Milroy. We wish you the very best in all your future endeavours and look forward to seeing many more good movies from you in the near future.

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Mary Anne Cordeiro

Scientist and Managing Director of Science to Business; Dance enthusiast and Presiding Member of the Board of BalletBoyz; and Member of the Joseph Rufino Cordeiro Foundation

Mary Anne Cordeiro was born in Nairobi and brought up in the United Kingdom, nonetheless her parents instilled a sense of intense culture and pride in her, for her Indian heritage. Through long holidays spent at their ancestral home in Saligao, Goa; she developed a lifelong appreciation for the vibrant complexity of Goan society and her ancestral village of Saligao.

Join me as I sit down with Mary Anne Cordeiro, Managing Director of Science to Business and the Director of Albion Technology and General Venture Capital Trust; to discuss her experiences in helping early stage scientific endeavours and technologies with product development, commercialization and funding strategy. We also touch upon Balletboyz, for which she is a presiding Member of the Board, having been Chair of the Board for 5 years previously. We end the interview talking about the Joseph Rufino Cordeiro Foundation, a project that is close to her heart and is in essence a gift for deserving individuals to pursue their endeavours in the fields of Science, Arts and Sports (or as she likes to call it: SAS which translates to “breath of life” in Hindi). Join me as I get to know more about the extraordinary Mary Anne Cordeiro.

To start off, please tell me a bit about your upbringing and your ties to Goan culture

“My name is Mary Anne Cordeiro and I was actually born in Nairobi, Kenya, where my father was in charge of Civil Aviation, working for the East-African and British Government. He and my mother are both of Goan origin, my late father is from Saligao and my mother is from Salcete. My parents met in Nairobi in 1952 and they got married in 1959. There were problems in the ‘60s with the Mau Mau rebellion and my parents therefore decided that rather than sending us to a boarding school in England (which as expats the British Government was happy to pay for), they would move to England with us, which we did in 1970. However, my father and mother always made sure that we were very well aware of our Goan roots, and we spent virtually every single family holiday in Goa, in our house in Saligao.”

And, How would you spend your vacations here in Goa?

“At that point both my paternal grandparents had passed away, but my father had an aunt and she would organise various home cooks to come and

cook meals for us. Which was somewhat difficult for us because we were not very used to eating in the Goan heat. We would spend our mornings with breakfast consisting of Pao bread, and then at around 11 o’clock we would have Kanji with Raw Mango Pickle. Then we would have a full lunch consisting of Vindaloo and Sanna. At 4 o’clock we would have tea which included Dodol and various other sweets. And then we’d have a big dinner as well...”

“But that was very Goan for us, because we weren’t used to eating quite as many meals, and obviously in that heat we were not very hungry, so most of the food used to go to our neighbours. That was my experience with the cooking that was going on at the back of our house, with old coconut graters and grinding stones on the floor. To this day, I still remember them making bebinca. I was always fascinated with how they would get all those wonderful layers and particularly in those old clay ovens. I mean, it was just a huge industrial operation.”

“...And then my other memory is of my father, who, even in the midday heat, would take us on our bicycles through the village introducing us to all the villagers, but Dad always insisted that we get to know who everyone was or how they were related to us. It is sad to reminisce about this nowadays, because many of those families aren’t there in Saligao anymore or many of those houses are empty or now in ruins.”

Speaking about your childhood days in Saligao, how has your ancestral home changed over the years and what still remains the same to this day? “When my Dad retired in 1989. My parents completely did up our ancestral home: they changed the floors, from concrete and cow dung to tiled floors; and they changed all the toilets to proper flushing units; my father also put a pump system in place to pump water from the well up to the tanks in the loft; and still to this day we heat water in the kitchen with fire wood; and there is a shower pump, to pump the water for a bath. My English friends who come and stay here find it really quaint and effective and it really does make you think much more carefully about how much water you use, which is different in the West where you don’t usually think about conserving water.”

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So I suppose in a sense your house is still very traditional…

“Yes, It is quite traditional, in fact I’m sitting on the swing on the balcão of the house overlooking the fields in front of me. So we’ve tried to retain some of the old features, even some of the old furniture is still the same.” After talking a bit more about her upbringing and deep roots in goan culture, we discussed Science to Business, which she founded and is the Managing Director.

In an article Published in 2015, it was mentioned that you are, and I quote; “motivated by what you perceive to be a big gap between getting scientists ‘off the bench and on the road’ “. “Could you tell me a bit about your Company - Science to Business and what it is that your company does?”

“Okay, sure. So my interest in science was brought out by my father. My father encouraged all of us, we're three girls and we’re all scientists: My older sister is a Biochemist, my younger sister is an Ophthalmic Surgeon, and I learnt Chemistry to a Masters level in Oxford University, for which I was awarded a scholarship. Oxford Chemistry is a four year course and in the last year you do a dissertation in a subject that you may take to PHD level; I worked with Prof. Graham Richards, to design drug molecules using structural aspects of quantum mechanics. That company: Oxford Molecular, was then spun out and was one of the most successful companies in the 1980’s.”

“But I, myself having come from a family of scientists, realised that it is very difficult for scientists to get their products to market, because it is very difficult to get intelligent funding and actually structure a viable business model. In fact, my father had a patent for a meteorological system for wind speed and wind direction, which he patented in 1983 and when he and my mother actually went to market it, the idea was stolen by an electronics company from the US. So, I've grown up understanding that there is a huge problem in trying to get good science to market. So my idea has always been that I’d first go into business, and find out about how to value and fund companies, how to negotiate and how to structure deals and then go back to science.”

“That’s what I started to do from 2000 onwards; I worked with scientists to provide funding and commercial strategy to bring new medical technologies to market. So at Science to Business we

advised a range of medical technology businesses from the idea, all the way to getting the product launched on the market, taking into account who the potential customers are, how they’re going to distinguish their business proposition from the competition and also how to get the business funded. That’s really what Science to Business is, we’ve had about 20 to 30 different clients in the course of 20 odd years.”

You mentioned that scientists encounter difficulty in marketing their products, what problems were they facing before your company provided its services?

“Maybe an inventor understands their technology, but they may not be very good at understanding the market dynamics, so one of the important aspects is putting the correct team together. That typically involves finding a commercial person with experience in that area. So, for instance, if it's a drug delivery device, someone who’s actually worked in a company that has successfully sold drug delivery devices - we bring them in to help the team. By this stage the team will include a scientist as well as a finance person to build the commercial and business model for the product.”

“...You know when you’ve invented something, you feel like it's like your baby and you think it’s like the best thing… It is very very difficult to break from that mentality and think of it from the customers’ point of view and what distinguishes your innovation from other products. ‘What is the product's unique selling point and why therefore does the customer need to buy your product as opposed to any other product.’ And having that objectivity is very important.” “One of the projects that I’m currently working on originated from the technology used to manage Scoliosis through Bracing; but the technology was not fit for that purpose. We then tried to see whether it would work for Emergency Splinting - I was in discussion with a few emergency doctors who said that when they (they being doctors who work with air ambulances) go to fetch highly injured individuals, the biggest problem is moving or handling them multiple times and not a broken arm or leg. It is actually the potential to cause even further internal or soft injury every time a person is moved or handled that is the biggest problem. Therefore we came up with a transfer device that the patient remains on from the scene of the accident

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all the way through their hospital journey - through a CT scanner and on the operating table till finally to the hospital ward bed. And it has a number of other features which includes warming the patient, which is also important as a lot of trauma patients can't manage body temperature and they invariably get hypothermic. We’ve patented this technology and we’re in the middle of doing user trials at the University Hospitals of Birmingham. And the idea is, after we’ve obtained regulatory approval, that we launch the device onto the market by the end of this year. As I have explained, this product is very much driven by market needs.”

Another project within the realm of multi-talented Mary Anne Cordeiro, is BalletBoyz; for which she is a member of the board. Continue reading, to know more about the founders of BalletBoyz and why Mary Anne Cordeiro joined them on this endeavour of theirs.

I should also mention that you’re a Board member of Balletboyz, what is it about the creative arts and theatre that attracted you to this project?

“Well, I’ve always been very creative and artistic. Dance and music has always interested me. I play the piano. I also love to dance, I think it’s a great way to exercise. I’ve done a whole range of dances from contemporary to Latin American.”

“I was introduced to the founders of Balletboyz, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, in 2000. They are two dancers that are Royal Ballet trained but they got tired of always being labelled as ‘men in tights’ and typically always being pictured gay or ‘always in leotards’. So, they founded BalletBoyz in 2000, as a way of getting men into dancing and in the hope that they would just be seen as being fantastically good dancers. They formed this group initially with 6 dancers - the idea was that it would primarily be a group of men and that they would have one or two ballerinas. BalletBoyz has been highly acclaimed and they have travelled the world. By 2014, Michael and William thought that they were getting too old for touring as they were in their late 40’s. Since then, we’ve recruited young boys from a range of backgrounds but all highly proficient in dance. Another thing that the company is well known for, is making films, for which we’ve won a number of awards. The most recent one being Romeo and Juliet. We also have live performances in theatres.” “We’re huge on diversity, and I don’t just mean diversity of gender but also diversity of ability.

We’re in the process of putting together a program for disabled children to see how we can teach them what they can do and what they cannot do through dance.”

In my final minutes with the marvellous Mary Anne Cordeiro, we talked about a project that is very near and dear to her heart - The Joseph Rufino Cordeiro Foundation.

We’ve talked both about the Science as well as the Arts; that you’ve paved major contributions towards, I think it would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the Joseph Rufino Cordeiro Foundation. To quote your gracious philosophy: ‘To serve SPORTINGLY is the ART of giving and the SCIENCE of fulfilment. I am here to fulfil my father's vision. To serve is my duty.’” “Could you tell me a bit about the initiative behind THE GOLDEN WING and GOAN NIGHTINGALE CORPS?”

“So, my father as you’ve probably gathered was a scientist, he was an aeronautical engineer. He kept in good health even through Covid, but being 96 he had a very weak heart and whenever he got an infection, his heart just couldn’t keep up with it. In November 2020, he was admitted into the hospital with pneumonia and heart failure. However we brought him back home, as Covid had restarted in the United Kingdom hospitals. We were all very pleased to launch the Joseph Rufino Cordeiro Foundation whilst he was still alive on 5th December 2020 with the main aim being to nurture talent in the fields of Science, Arts and Sports. We choose ‘SAS’, which means ‘breath of life’ in Hindi. The first thing we did when Dad was still alive was to intertwine our Indian and Western roots through a divine literature project. There’s a very famous Bible called the Thomas Macklin Bible, which was printed in the 1800’s by a woman; in fact George III was one of the patrons of it. My father was fully behind the vision to have it translated into Sanskrit with the help of the Banaras Hindu University; this would be the first time that the Bible will be translated from English to Sanskrit, it’s usually the other way around. This was in December 2020 and my father passed away on 5th January 2021, exactly a month later.” “It was very difficult to travel at that time, but my sister Lucinda and I came to Goa in February 2021, with some of my father’s ashes, because he had expressed a wish that he wanted some of his ashes to be in his ancestral home garden. At that time, we Website: www.itsgoa.com I Instagram: @_itsgoa I Facebook: Itsgoa

2021. So we have both a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom, as well as one in Goa to undertake our work.” “The other initiative that we have is the Joseph Cordeiro Foundation Award for Excellence, and we had the inaugural award ceremony in the United Kingdom on 16th December 2021 at the British Library in London. We gave three inaugural awards in the fields of Science, Arts and Sports. In Science we gave it to Prof. Hagan Bayley, who is an acclaimed scientist from Oxford who has founded a very successful company which has been spun out, called Oxford Nanopore; this has taken the costs of decoding the genome from millions of dollars down to a few hundred dollars at most. We also gave the Art Award to acclaimed spiritual artistUdayraj Gadnis, who is very well known for his superb monumental artworks. Finally we gave the Sports Award to the Olympic Gold Medal Winner for javelin, Tessa Sanderson, who also helps children enter the field of sports.”

“The initiative called the Golden Wing is for giving a scholarship to a deserving engineer in the field of aeronautics. As my father was an aeronautical engineer, it is very important to me that we nurture research and development in that field. We gave the scholarship this year to a young Indian engineer by the name of Vivek Ajgaonkar who is based in Mumbai, and who worked on the JRD Tata aeroplane restoration project, in Mumbai.”

of community healthcare workers in Goa and so I had been looking for ways to get another initiative off the ground in Goa and that brings me to the Goan Nightingale project. We launched the Goan Foundation on 27th March 2022 at the Maquinez Palace in Panjim and that occasion was marked by presenting the Joseph Rufino Cordeiro Foundation Award for Excellence to Dr. Asha Sawardekar. She is the Founder and architect behind Sanjeevan where in addition to looking after old ladies and destitute women, also has a nursing school for training young girls who have graduated from the 10th standard, in the field of nursing, for a 2 year period, after which they are assigned a Government recognized Diploma. We want to work with Dr. Asha, to promote the work that she does and to also provide employment for the young nurses who have passed out as qualified nurses from Sanjeevan. I would also like to start this initiative in Saligao, where I believe there is a need for more nursing care.”

Any parting words that you would like to give our readers...

“Well, you know… what has been wonderful is the support and the enthusiasm that I have had from everyone. I think people find it very heartening that someone who lives abroad still cares a lot about Goa and nurturing talent here.”

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PEOPLE

Ankur Kankonkar

Technology has made my life easier. It is a big boon for me and for all people with disabilities. Without technology, life would be very difficult for me" says Ankur.

Ankur Kankonkar was born on 19th June 1989 in Canacona. The only child of Mr. Shahu Kankonkar and Mrs. Pramila Kankonkar, Ankur was born completely normal and was a very bright kid when at school. He did his schooling at Katyayani Baneshwar Vidyalaya in Canacona. He passed his SSC in the year 2004 and then moved to Fatorda to pursue his Higher Secondary Education (Class 11 and 12) in the Science stream at Chowgule College in Gogol. He passed his Class 12 board exams in the year 2007 and then took up B.Pharma at PES College of Pharmacy in Farmagudi. During his first year in college, his vision started deteriorating, but it still did not affect his daily life significantly.

However, in his second year, his vision started getting worse. He could not see things and identify things clearly. Due to this, he was unable to cope with his studies at college. Eventually, he dropped out of college in 2009.

After a series of medical examinations by doctors, he was diagnosed with a very rare eyesight condition called retinitis pigmentosa. This is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). The onset of symptoms is generally gradual and often begins in childhood. There is currently no cure for retinitis pigmentosa.

Having dropped out of college, he went into depression. He couldn't digest the fact that a bright and energetic youngster with a lot of dreams and aspirations is sitting at home. He kept asking himself as to what wrong did he do to deserve this. However, during those difficult moments of his life, he received a lot of support from his parents, his childhood friends, his cousins and other family members.

During this period, Ankur came across a software called JAWS, which stands for Job Access with Speech. JAWS is a computer screen reader program for Microsoft Windows that allows blind or visually impaired users to read the screen either with a textto-speech output or by a refreshable braille display. JAWS enabled Ankur to once again use the computer and the internet despite being visually impaired.

While browsing the net, he came across the story of Kartik Sawhney, a Delhi based visually impaired student who became the first 100% visually impaired student to pass the CBSE Class 12 board exam in the Science stream. After his class 12 exams, he wanted to join IIT but did not get admission because of his blindness. So he went to the USA, got admission in Stanford University and completed his Masters in Computer Science from there. He now works as a software engineer at Microsoft. Kartik's story led to Ankur thinking that, “if Kartik can achieve so much despite being 100% visually impaired, then why can’t I? Kartik's story served as a spark of inspiration that drove Ankur to start exploring as to what course he could take up to study further.

After a lot of research and thinking, Ankur decided to pursue a B.Sc. in Computer Science. However, to pursue this course, he needed to have maths as one of his subjects in Class 11 and 12. He did not take up Maths as one of his subjects during his higher secondary days at Chowgule college. After a couple of trips and discussions with the Goa Board of Education, he was permitted to answer the class 12 Mathematics paper and Computer Science paper. The next challenge was to find good tutors who would coach Ankur for these two papers. They approached many tutors and finally found two who were willing to teach Ankur and prepare him for these two subjects.

He answered both the papers with the help of a writer and cleared both successfully. Armed with all the prerequisites needed to apply for a B.Sc. in Computer Science, he approached Chowgule College for admission. The college was a bit hesitant to admit him because they were a bit apprehensive whether a visually impaired person would be able to cope with the studies, especially since it involves Maths and other complicated computer related formulas and algorithms. They asked him to approach Goa University who told him that the decision to admit him rests with the college. After a few trips running back and forth between the college and the university, Ankur was finally granted admission in Chowgule College in 2014. Going back to college after a gap of more than 6 years, Ankur had to share the classroom with students who were six years younger than him in age. However, despite the huge age gap as well as the fact that he was visually

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impaired, he was treated very nicely by all his college mates. Being an extrovert, he made many friends during his first week in college. Also, all his teachers were very supportive of him. They were amazed by his confidence and willpower to study computer science and were very eager to help him out with anything that he needed. His first year of college went by quite well. He used to manage his studies as well as his social life with friends very well. He used to understand whatever was taught in class and did not face any major difficulties with studies despite being visually impaired. He answered all his papers with the help of a writer, except his computer science paper, which he answered on his own by typing the answers to the questions on a computer. It was his computer science teacher who insisted that he answer this paper on his own, as it would help him to become more independent and gain more confidence as well.

He cleared all of his first five semesters with very good marks. In his 3rd year, he majored in Computer Science. He scored 94.5 % in his final exams and successfully graduated in 2017. He was the topper of the entire Goa University across all B.Sc. streams. For his incredible achievement, he got a lot of press coverage and was felicitated by various organisations. He was also felicitated in the Goa Vidhan Sabha by the then CM Mr. Manohar Parrikar. After graduation, he pursued a two year Masters in Information Technology programme at Chowgule college and successfully completed the programme in 2019. Fresh out of college, he along with two of his friends started a company called Kapslock. It is a company that provides software development and social media marketing and branding services. The company got its operating licence in August and the company commenced operations on 15th August 2019. The firm has developed eCommerce websites, custom software for companies for internal use, websites for finance companies, tourism companies, healthcare companies and investment firms. Ankur liaises with his clients via video conferencing apps like G-Meet and Zoom. Ankur says that a lot of awareness needs to be generated on a very large scale to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in Goa. There are a lot of misconceptions that people have regarding persons with disabilities. For example, "many people ask me how do I run my firm? How do you type on the keyboard when you cannot see?"

The attitude that society has towards people with disabilities needs to change and for that awareness is very important”, says Ankur.

Secondly, the government should work to make public buildings more accessible to persons with disabilities by providing ramps, markers etc. Also, educational institutions must be more open to accepting persons with disabilities. “Society should be more empathetic to persons with disabilities”, he says.

Also, there needs to be the promotion of technology for persons with disabilities."What technology has done for me, no person could have done for me. Technology has made my life easier. It is a big boon for me and for all people with disabilities. Without technology, life would be very difficult for me" says Ankur.

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PEOPLE

Abdul Rahim Shaikh

Goan boy Abdul Rahim Shaikh is instrumental in bringing MMA to Goa and making it a household name.

Goan boy Abdul Rahim Shaikh is instrumental in bringing MMA to Goa and making it a household name. Four times National Champion, Abdul comes with a long list of national and international accolades. 27-year-old Rahim is the only Goan who currently holds the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt. Rahim has trained under the former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and is a passionate young man determined to bring MMA to its peak in Goa. He has brought the association to Goa facilitating young aspirants with all the tools required to learn the techniques and practice them. Rahim got candid with us about his journey so far.

How did you get into MMA?

The initial years of my life were spent in the Middle East. In 2010, I came back to Goa because my grandmother was ill. I found it difficult to get accustomed to Konkani because I had studied in an Arabic school. As a result, I was not doing well in school. On the advice of my cousin, I decided to take on a sport and make good use of the extra 30 marks we got in school upon participation in sports. The sport I chose was Judo and it gave me various combat styles to choose from. I got inclined towards MMA in Goa, as it is a sport with great intricacy and teaches not just fighting but how to avoid fights and that’s where my journey in MMA began.

Who is your role model?

I have two role models. The first is a Cuban American fighter, Jorge Masvidal. And my second role model is Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Russian fighter.

You’ve studied Mechanical Engineering. How did you balance both- your passion for MMA and your college schedule?

I got into a Mechanical Engineering college in Mangalore but I quit two years into my degree to focus on myself and my sport. My family was against this transition, but I had already made up my mind. I started fighting and won a couple of national championships. Then, I started my gym and here I am. I believe that consistency is the key. I believe in showing up every day, working hard, and not competing with others but competing solely with myself.

How have your experiences been in all the international tournaments you were a part of? In terms of the events and their organization, it was

great! However, in India, it is more expensive to participate in this sport because of the registration fees and the living expenses for the duration of the event. But in international events, your expenses are, for the most part, taken care of by the event organisers themselves. This is one major difference between national and international events that I noticed.

Which was your most memorable fight?

My most memorable fight would be the fight in 2019 that I participated in under the banner of the IMMAF World Championship 2019. My opponent was a Lebanese fighter. I won this fight and was ranked 24th globally.

What are the various titles you have won?

I have won four of the five MMA national championships that I have participated in. I then got selected for the World Championship, which was held in Bahrain, this is called IMMAF (International Mixed Martial Arts Federation) World Championships. This is like the Olympics of MMA. I participated in the IMMAF twice and finished 24th in the world. I have also participated in Judo nationals, Kurash nationals, a combat style practised in Central Asia and I am also a serial champion in my state in Khurash, Judo, Wushu Sanda, and Grappling National Champion. Overall, I have 15 to 16 national events in all the sports combined. What made you choose the bantamweight category? I fight at 61.5 kg. A bantamweight category ranges from 57.2–61.2 kg. It gets its name from the bantam chickens, also called featherweights. MMA is all about making smart choices and making the best of the opportunities presented to you. I fight in this category because my body fits this category well, I am quick and dominant in this weight class. I have extra reach over other fighters fighting at bantamweight and this is where I have more of an advantage over my opponents.

How are you preparing for Goa’s Fight Night 2,0? you mentally?

A month before a fight, I follow a strict diet, low in carbs and high in fat and protein. I also use a thermal suit, do a lot of cardio, and do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. Mentally, I train for endurance and stability. Staying fit physically helps tremendously with that.

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How do you think the MMA scene is going to change in Goa and what is the scope for young aspirants?

The MMA scene in Goa has grown quite a bit. I often get requests from athletes in North Goa asking for either help or MMA fighting equipment. And I am often asked to organise events in North Goa. But, my sole focus is on South Goa. In fact, we organised an event called Goa’s Fight Night 1.0 in Fatorda last year which was a success. We were supported by Vijay Sardessai, who is also the president of the MMA association. A massive crowd attended the event. I want to ensure that this event becomes a calendar event that offers a platform for Goan MMA athletes to showcase their skills. A large number of Goan athletes cannot afford to fight in other cities like Bangalore, Delhi, and Haryana because most often participating in these fights is an expensive affair. That is what led to the inception of Goa’s Fight Night. On April 1st, we are heading into the second edition of Goa’s Fight Night 2.0 which will be held in Fatorda.

What can help the MMA scene to improve in the state?

There is a lack of support in terms of unity in the community and financial funds available. Luckily, in December 2021, we received support from Vijay Sardessai. We are looking for support from the government, and from our current MLAs who are leading our constituencies. What is your goal as an athlete?

My dream is to sign a contract with the Brave Combat Federation which is a league in Bahrain, owned and run by the King of Bahrain HRH King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Can you tell us about your key achievements and the MMA in Goa?

I am the first of many things. In 2019, I was the first Goan to have the Brazilian jiu-jitsu belt which no Goan has achieved yet. I am also the first Goan to win the MMA National Championship and the Grappling Championship for Goa. And, I am the first Goan to create an MMA association in Goa of which Mr. Vijay Sardesai is the President. With his support, I have started Goa’s Fight Night, a tournament for MMA fighters to showcase their talent and get an international level experience of such tournaments.

You run a Martial Arts Club Rahim’s Ultimate Fight Factory. What was the inspiration and vision for that?

After I became a National Champion consecutively in 2016, 2017, and 2018, a number of people who wanted to train under me began to contact me via Facebook and Instagram. That is when I decided to open an MMA gym and Rahim’s Ultimate Fight Factory was born. I opened up this gym in 2019 in Davorlim on February 9th. The main idea behind Rahim’s Ultimate Fight Factory is to provide a platform to MMA athletes in Goa and to give them the guidance they need.

Lastly, a message for aspiring fighters of MMA in Goa?

At the moment, MMA is the second-fastest-growing sport on the planet. It is also the most-watched sport in the world. Keeping that in mind, the future is bright for aspiring and willing MMA fighters. They should believe in themselves and put in efforts consistently and they will definitely get the results that they dream of.