Herald, on the front page of its Heartbeat section, publishes the ‘Quote of the Day’ in two languages, English and Konkani, and if one notices the English quote it has the author’s name, whereas the quotes in Konkani are invariably anonymous. Assuming Konkani quotes were written by Goans, how come such Goans of wisdom were not given credit for their writings? Were they copied or translated from other languages? Or was it that Goans intentionally conspired to keep them anonymous for reasons unknown? The oldest newspaper of Goa, despite its best efforts and resources, is unable to track the author’s name. This only goes to show that Generation Past did a pretty decent cover-up job of striking out records of these authors. Compare that with the quotes written in English, finding credits seems so easy, despite the fact that its origins emanate from distant lands.
Of course, these Konkani quotes have survived many generations and some might justify that Portuguese in their quest to crush Konkani language, may have deliberately destroyed records. In that case, how is it that only the author’s name got lost and not the quote itself?
A very popular Goan Mando ‘Tambdde Rosa’ might be on most Goan lips, but how many of us know off hand that it was composed by Ligorio Dacosta in the late eighteenth century. Are we Goans bad and biased history writers waiting for an opportunity to conceal due credits whenever possible? Have we neglected or misunderstood the meaning of intellectual property? Was this a rule of thumb used by our Generation Past to suppress free thinking? Are we not able to come to terms that talent might exist in places where we least expect them?
Let’s not be under the impression that this phenomenon existed in Goa only in the centuries gone by; it exists even in a modern Goa, an era of information age and instant communication. Last year a Konkani film ‘O’ Maria was released, the producer smartly used Remo Fernandes in the promotion of the film. However, the day of the music launch, Remo was absent at the show. Apparently the producer had to choose between inviting a politician or chance the presence of an honest Remo, and his frank views on politicians. Was Remo’s absence, result of the producer’s hobnobbing with politicians, or a subconscious effort to keep Remo anonymous from the project? The producers eventually made amends by inviting Remo on centre stage at their silver jubilee celebrations. Too little, too late! Remo is Goa’s music icon; you can’t sweep him under the carpet, once you get the music out of him. Imagine the music composer was not the famous Remo, but an anonymous artist wanting to make a mark in the industry. With an attitude like this, instead of getting a career boost, would he not be lost in some fine print, to be later mentioned in history as some anonymous artist?
Goan cricketer Shadab Jakati and Swapnil Asnodkar are already going the anonymous way inspite of they being cricketers and members of the winning IPL teams, their names get mentioned very sparingly. Fifty years down the line, these cricketers will go down in history as anonymous cricketers of Goa. On the other hand, fifty years down the line, our present politicians will have their names written in history as great leaders and visionaries, despite our knowledge that their vision never extended more than political seat number crunching and booking air tickets to Delhi. It is time to start distinguishing true success, it has two advantages: it helps the successful person to strive harder and creates genuine role models for Generation Next. We need an environment where creativity is respected and the creator gets due credit.
(Above Article appeared on Herald Goa on August 26, 2011)
A very popular Goan Mando ‘Tambdde Rosa’ might be on most Goan lips, but how many of us know off hand that it was composed by Ligorio Dacosta in the late eighteenth century. Are we Goans bad and biased history writers waiting for an opportunity to conceal due credits whenever possible? Have we neglected or misunderstood the meaning of intellectual property? Was this a rule of thumb used by our Generation Past to suppress free thinking? Are we not able to come to terms that talent might exist in places where we least expect them?
Let’s not be under the impression that this phenomenon existed in Goa only in the centuries gone by; it exists even in a modern Goa, an era of information age and instant communication. Last year a Konkani film ‘O’ Maria was released, the producer smartly used Remo Fernandes in the promotion of the film. However, the day of the music launch, Remo was absent at the show. Apparently the producer had to choose between inviting a politician or chance the presence of an honest Remo, and his frank views on politicians. Was Remo’s absence, result of the producer’s hobnobbing with politicians, or a subconscious effort to keep Remo anonymous from the project? The producers eventually made amends by inviting Remo on centre stage at their silver jubilee celebrations. Too little, too late! Remo is Goa’s music icon; you can’t sweep him under the carpet, once you get the music out of him. Imagine the music composer was not the famous Remo, but an anonymous artist wanting to make a mark in the industry. With an attitude like this, instead of getting a career boost, would he not be lost in some fine print, to be later mentioned in history as some anonymous artist?
Goan cricketer Shadab Jakati and Swapnil Asnodkar are already going the anonymous way inspite of they being cricketers and members of the winning IPL teams, their names get mentioned very sparingly. Fifty years down the line, these cricketers will go down in history as anonymous cricketers of Goa. On the other hand, fifty years down the line, our present politicians will have their names written in history as great leaders and visionaries, despite our knowledge that their vision never extended more than political seat number crunching and booking air tickets to Delhi. It is time to start distinguishing true success, it has two advantages: it helps the successful person to strive harder and creates genuine role models for Generation Next. We need an environment where creativity is respected and the creator gets due credit.
(Above Article appeared on Herald Goa on August 26, 2011)
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