Thoughts must develop into actions.
Some spend all life thinking.
Some spend all life doing..
If 10% of Indian Youth, including both of us, can be the ones who think n do..
Vision 2020 we are ready !
Due to shortage of time, i was not able to reply personally for every mail, so had to send this mail to all of them, my apologies.
"Hi, Thanks for your feedback, I strongly believe that "As I am, so is my nation" it is upto us to rebuild a new Goa, a benchmark state for governance and citizen movement,
somehow in my introspection, i realized that there is no need for me to blame the government, the politicians, the society, i realized that before i expect the world to change, i need to change first, and hence i have tried in my small way to fight back. I have personaly taken interest to learn Right to Information Act, under which i have asked & presently fighting for information to show illegality, urge you to take intiative amongst your network of friends and relatives to make change,
The ripple effect has started, i read today that Gram Panchayat in Carmona, is up in chaos against a real estate project in their village,
In this journey, i have met many Indians anf Goans, who have fight alone, and unknown,
The intaitive taken by every citizen can make a slow and strong mass movement, there is hope because the power is residing in every individual, if every priest in church or temple discourses and guides the worshippers to take intiaitive, if every teacher guides students not only to be exam oriented but socialy concious, if every journalist does investigative journalism exposing corruption, if every parent spends more time educating his family about the mass reality, all we need to do is to introspect, on "how can i contribute",
I read this line from Frank Buchman,
"When man listens, God speaks, When man obeys, God Acts, When men change, nation change"
On 30 March 2008, both leading English newspapers of Goa, The Navhind Times and Oherald published my article .
The response of the article was tremendous than i expected, recieved many phone calls and sms from Goa. After my visit to Delhi, a strong inner voice on an early morning after a restless sleep made me type this article. I intially thought of mailing this article, exhibition collaterals, SAVE GOA flier to Goa Bachao Abhiyan, but was in 2 minds whether it will go to masses. Then i thought of mailing it to Mathany Saldhana or Manohar Parrikar in Goa. Amidst dilemna i spoke to my close pal of Intiaitves of Change, Aswinikumar Mohapatra and Dr. Dyson Misquita.
Dr Dyson told me not to make it a political issue but make it a mass issue. As he gave up his trust on politicians. Aswinikumar kept aggressively convicing me that i must send it all influence makers in Goa, from newspapers, NGOs, politicians etc. And thats what i did, made 15 envelopes with all awareness materials and couriered it to Goa. Within a span of 2 days, it reached across many readers.
Here are some emails responses i got,
Elvira Alvares replies that
"Read the below article written, by you. Have read articles such as these…..not only on destruction of 'Goa' but many other places as well and I do get the feeling that there may be many people who want to do something about it, but what? And by the time we think of the answer, we've {or at least I... have moved to the next day and the next….}. I feel we need to find solutions to issues that are close to us, in terms of, those perhaps residing at Vagator, need to find solutions for that area {for a start!}. This however is my suggestion. What is your solution for your below note? "
Shaun Lobo replies that "your article on the Goa Land Sale in Delhi was a great read. We need more people like you to stand up against the atrocious 'land grabbing' mentality of people who want to ruin and sell Goa for a price. May God always preserve his paradise - Goa and may man never ever come close to destroying it"
Vito Oliveira, President of Goan Association Germany replies that"really appriciate your time and effort for writing about Goas real estate market exhibition held in delhi.All what you said is absolutely true, Some of theseDelhietes have created a situation in Goa ,where owning a home for common man is a thing of the past.Thank you very much"
Ronita Torcato replies that
"Thank you for your insightful piece on Goa. The thing is Bombay used to be a clutch of seven islands, not too different, I would imagine, from Goa. The sepia toned pics that I have seen show a verdant place of coconut and banyan trees, and green hillocks and clean beaches. It's obvious Goa is going Mumbai's way. A concrete jungle. of matchbox apartments and slums. Thank goodness for small mercies, things haven't touched rock bottom and while there's life there's hope. Did you get the name or contact details of the activist by any chance? Best wishes"
Respected Architect Dean Dcruz replied that "Appreciate your article in the Herald Mirror of Sunday, 30th Mar 08. It is really sad to see Goa become this commodity and Goans selling out for a few pieces of silver. Appreciate your concern and support. Kind regards, Dean "
Special thanks to editors of all newspapers for publishing this article, and above all thanks to the readers of this newspapers for replying.
Philadelphia, PA | March 18, 2008 As Prepared for Delivery
"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.
And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.
This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.
This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.
I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.
Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.
This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.
And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.
On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.
I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way
But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:
"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."
That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.
Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.
This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.
And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.
But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.
Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative - notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.
The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen - is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
We can do that.
But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.
There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.
Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."
"I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.
Rajdeep Sardesai : In the early 1990s, Air India printed a calendar showcasing people from different states in their traditional costumes. The Goa portrait had a couple at a church wedding in bridal finery: the lady in a flowing gown, her partner in a jacket and tie. The publication sparked off protests within the Goan community, who accused the national carrier of portraying a flawed image of the state.
In a state where over sixty per cent is Hindu, the calendar was seen to reinforce the stereotype of Goa as a "westernised" Portuguese enclave. Ironically, the protests were led, among others, by the redoubtable architect Charles Correa, a Goan Catholic proud of his Saraswat Brahmin heritage, someone who was perfectly comfortable in his kurta pajama and Kolhapuri chappals. The protestors were successful enough to force a change in the calendar.
When the Air India Maharajah gets it wrong, what chance does the average Indian have of getting Goa right? For decades now, Goa has been the victim of a rather perverted caricature: the stereotypical image of the state has been of a lazy, fun-loving coastal community with a weak moral core. Bollywood, often the trailblazer in setting cultural trends, did Goa no favours: the majority of Hindi cinema showed the Goan as the drunk Anthony Gonsalves-like character, a woman on one arm, a whisky bottle bottle in his pocket. Even the otherwise well made Dil Chahta Hai created the idea of Goa as the ultimate fantasy of the young Indian: girls were easy, sexual freedom guaranteed with the puritanical streak of the rest of the country absent here.
Rewind to the original "Goan" film, Bobby in the 1970s: find me a Goan fisherman's daughter who dresses in skimpy bikinis and shorts like Dimple Kapadia and I will buy you a villa next to Vijay Mallya's seaside bungalow in Candolim.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been easy to shake off the "live the good times" image of Goa, especially when the mainstream media has lapped it up so easily. If a few years ago, it was fish, feni and football that was considered to be the limit of Goa's vision, its now sex, sin and sand, courtesy the Scarlett Keeling controversy. For an increasingly tabloidish media, the Scarlett controversy is manna from heaven.
A teenage white woman drugged, drowned, possibly raped, perhaps murdered, on a beach in Goa by mysterious shack owners: what more can a carnivorous media ask for? Especially when there are enough close up pictures of a semi-nude Scarlett with marks all over her body, suggesting foul play and a possible cover up? That the area where the incident took place is notorious for drug peddling, that Scarlett herself appears to have had an active sex life, that the girl's truant mother has a past history of crime, and is now embellishing her public remarks with unsubstantiated allegations against Goa's top politicians, that Goa's netas and local cops have a terrible record in fighting crime, can the media really then be blamed for seeing this as a sensational crime story which will catch restless eyeballs?
But Scarlett's story is not simply another whodunit, nor does it fit in within the "fight for justice" framework that in the aftermath of the Jessica Lal case seems to have become the new war cry for a section of the media. Instead, the Scarlett saga lies at the heart of a more abiding conflict between diverse cultural strands of Goa: between licentiousness and piety, between new world normlessness and old world certitudes.
There is the Goa of the beachcombers, of the hippies who discovered Baga in the early 70s, of the rave parties, of paedophilia, of decadent hedonism. But there is also the Goa of deep social conservatism, of folk religiosity in its village temples and churches, of simplicity of lifestyle within rural communities, of a premium on education and of immense pride in its plural, multi-cultural heritage. The Goa of a tiny strip of beach between Candolim and Anjuna is constantly in the media gaze and makes front page headlines. The vast majority of Goans who live outside this world are rarely documented because their lives seem much too unexciting to be explored. Historians and anthropologists have done much to unravel the "real' Goa, but for the national media, it is so much easier to reduce an entire people to a tourist brochure .
Indeed, Goa's tourism industry - earning the state approximately 10,000 crores in foreign exchange per annum -- has been at the heart of the modern-day mythification of the state as some form of a sexual paradise. It is estimated that around 25 lakh tourists come to Goa each year, a vast majority of them local tourists, eager to explore the "idea" of being in a "free" state, free from the restrictions of middle class attitudes. Only a fifth of the tourists who visit the state each year are foreigners, most of them looking for a cheap holiday. The Caribbean is too expensive, the Costa del Sol not exotic enough and Australia too far: so why not clamber onto a chartered plane to a land of the "carnival"?
Unfortunately, the postcard image of Goa often has little connection with the living reality of its people The result is a clash of cultures that has partly shaped the debate over the Scarlett issue. For many Goans, the foreign tourist is a needless intrusion into their community life . Even now, the idea of any form of nudity on the beaches offends Goans, at times even the sight of a half clad gent on a bike troubles villagers. Which perhaps explains why very few Goans seem to have any sympathy for Scarlett's mother, shocked as they are by her decision to leave her teenage daughter behind and travel to neighbouring Karnataka on her own. The Keelings' behaviour offends Goan sensibilities, it reopens lingering fears of a traditional society being overrun by the "outsider". That a young girl might have been raped and murdered by locals doesn't seem to concern a majority of Goans as much as it should.
And yet, the real threat to Goa's cultural identity does not lie in the lifestyle of the tourist, confined as they are to a small stretch of the state. In fact, in a state with limited employment opportunities, Goa needs to attract more, not less tourists.
The critical threat to Goan society instead comes from within: from the brazen sale of priceless real estate to those who have little stake in the state's future . It isn't the influx of tourists which should trouble Goans as much as the growing influence of the builders and construction agents who appear determined to destroy the state's environmental treasure in violation of all existing laws. While Goa's politicians go into cataclysms over the Scarlett case, how many of them have bothered to raise their voice against the virtual auction of the state to land sharks? Is it any surprise that in a state which has seen as many as 19 chief ministers in 21 years of statehood, politicians have lost the moral authority to speak up on the issues of governance that really matter to the average Goan?
Frankly, the challenge before Goa today is not the one which is being posed by a Scarlett-afflicted media: a permissive drugs and drink culture might make for good television, its not central to Goa's impending identity crisis.
The real challenge for Goans is whether they can preserve the uniqueness of their land by ensuring that it doesn't become another concrete jungle. Environment may not make sensational headlines like a murder can, but in the long run, preventing environmental degradation can alone secure Goa's future.
Post-script: Let me also debunk another stereotype: the "desai" in my surname often leads people to presume I am Gujarati. The fact is that my father was a Goan, and I am proud to be one too.
Destiny permitted me to attend Goa Property Show organized by Magicbricks.com (TIMES BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD) at Tivolli Gardens, Delhi on 15th & 16th March 2008. I am not sure, about the expectations of the Developers who had their stalls. As low turnout was seen on the first day with less than 300 viewers registered. Shockingly for me, most of the real estate developers were based in Delhi, NCR, one even from Kanpur. With all showing images and videos of ready to move properties and dream homes to the affluent “Delhiites”. With typical sales promises such as “When do you plan to visit Goa next, just give me a call, we will pick you up at the airport and take you to the site”
Some of the developers who had their stalls were Acron, Linc Property Developers, Chowgule Real Estate & Construction, Integriti Real Estate Developers, Nirvana, Nest Buildcon, Jai Bhuvan Builders and Rivera Construction, Tarika Lifestyle, Bullion Limited, Expanse India Buildcon, Geo Realtors, Gold touch Developers & Promoters, Decolive Realty Developers, Le Gardenia, Akar Creations, Property Management group, and Heritage Real Estate Developers.
It was sad to see, that many Young Goans at these stalls mentioning how easy it is to get a home near the sea.It was painful to see many sales representatives and developers talking & mispronouncing almost all places in Goa where they had development plans. Just made me, realize how easy it is to buy, develop and sell properties in Goa for anyone without even knowing the name of place, its culture and its people. One stall named Goodwill, run by young Goans, mentioned how they would get any kind of property from Plots facing beach or Hill side near sea. “Just send me your requirements and give me few weeks to get back with various options” were his words.
Another painful sight was the selling of plots and apartments in enchanted serene side of Goa such as ·Assagao by Expanse Buildcon and Delhi based Decolive,
·Kanpur based Geo Realtors’s project near Nagoa Church,
·Riviera Constructions “Foothills” Project and Integriti Developers’ “Aldeia Miraflor” Project in Arpora village.
·Delhi based Nirvana Nest Projects in Vagator, Anjuna, Aldona, Bogmallo
·Chowgule Real Estate Project “Meadows” in Paithona, Bardez.
To balance the equation of much hyped Goa Real Estate Show, was an unnamed Goan outside the exhibition area, who was distributing pamphlets with SAVE GOA printed on them, spreading the awareness amongst the visitors / buyers to be extra cautious when anyone promises them home near the sea, as it could violate the Goan Laws of CRZMA and Town & Country Planning Act (Hill cutting). Pamphlet mentioned “Unprecedented Demand in Real Estate is killing Goa’s Natural Beauty, where once existed serene beaches is now filled with concrete cement & high walls.” Going a step further he urged them to control their aspirations and profit motive to preserve a better Goa for the next generation.
There seems to be greater interests in the audience to know about the feelings of the locals. He mentioned that just as the Real Estate lobby, he was doing his job of listening to his inner voice of spreading the awareness of Socio-Cultural and Environment impact of these affluent projects. In apt words he quoted his friend as “Wrong will always remain wrong, even if everyone does it. Right will always remain right, even if no one does it.”
Image: SAVE GOA Pamphlets being distributed at exit of Exhibition Area
There were more surprises at this event, a Delhi based real estate developer –GoldTouch had plans to start a 5 floored apartment named Ruby Residency with 70 flats in the forests of Chawdi, Canacona. The Developer softly mentioned that there was a “nominal fee” of Rs. 50,000 for Water and Electricity Connection per apartment. I was surprised with his confidence in alien state when the Director mentioned about Read to Move Apartments near Patnem Beach. I wondered possible violations of hill cutting by projects such as Clairemont in Kadamba Plateau overlooking Mandovi in pursuit of providing “Priceless view from your apartment” starting from a crore.
Another surprise was many of brochures had the prices in Sterling Pound, I wondered how many Indians would like to use that currency. It was extremely evident that there is a greater story for selling the properties to NRIs and possibly Foreigners. Chowgule Real Estate Project “Meadows” in Paithona, Bardez also distributed CDs which started with video of Google Map showing journey from Great Britain to Paithona, Goa it seemed like a fairy tale in search of abode.
Another sad observation was the architecture of these upcoming projects. All seemed to be extremely lucrative and cost effective, a typical metro architecture. I wondered why Goa unlike some states in the world doesn’t have a set architecture pattern set, based on its unique Hindu-Portuguese Architecture much expressed in museum Houses of Goa. With no such legislation, Goa is all set to become an apartment complex filled with pigeon boxes for Indian families. With so many real estate projects in pipeline far away from the affordability standards of the large Goan Middle class, I wonder who would buy them. Question than arises as there is existing problems such as sewage, garbage disposal, malaria, pollution, traffic jams, water and electricity shortage, expensive private healthcare, drug trafficking, prostitution, foreign land mafias, etc. Will the office bearers, Panchayats and Government be held responsible for the “unprecedented” real estate splurge and its collateral damage as well as aggravation of existing problems? Do we fix the problems first and then start the real estate bandwagon.
To the Change the Land Rules, What is Goan Government waiting for? Another Land Scandal, Another Foreign Mafia Expose, Another exponential crime rate with greater disparity between the rich and poor, or Another “Aam Aadmi” movement to vote the Government out. All politicians in the recentturbulent political history of Goa are remembered for all the wrong reasons from greed to power hunger. I often dream to see Goa as the first developed state of India, I wonder where are the leaders to take Goa there. Perhaps many of them, selfishly driven with no time to introspect their cause to be remembered as martyrs of Development.
Back in Bangalore, I wondered why none of the Real Estate lobby thinks of sustainable and affordable homes for the poor and deprived staying in slums of Chimbel. Perhaps it was all about profit motive and greed. On introspection, I could relate to it, as many of my breed of IT Consultants choose to work for development of Global MNCs rather than Indian Rural Sector improving Public Distribution Systems, Traffic Management Systems etc. All I hope is that this realization turns into execution.
I conclude with words ringing in my mind of the activist outside Goa Real Estate Show that “Wrong will always remain wrong, even if everyone does it. Right will always remain right, even if no one does it.”
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chandni Parekh <chandni_parekh@yahoo.com> Date: Tue, Mar 18, 2008 at 10:48 PM Subject: Govt of India Online Grievance Forum To: chandni.parekh@gmail.com
The government wants people to use this tool to highlight the problems they faced while dealing with Government officials or departments like Passport Office, Electricity board, BSNL/MTNL, Railways etc etc.
I know many people will say that these things don't work in India , but this actually works as one of our colleague in CSC found. The guy I'm talking about lives in Faridabad . Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation laid new roads in his area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dugged up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents including this guy. But it was only this guy who used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. And to his surprise, BSNL and Municipal Corporation of faridabad was served a show cause notice and the guy received a copy of the notice in one week. Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as its clear that both the government departments were not in sync at all.
So use this grievance forum and educate others who don't know about this facility.
This way we can at least raise our concerns instead of just talking about the ' System ' in India . Invite your friends to contribute for many such happenings.
The attempt was with the objective to spread awareness amongst the visitors / buyers to be extra cautious when anyone promises them home near the sea, as it could violate the Goan Laws.
This is the pamphlets distributed:
Unprecedented Demand in Real Estate is killing Goa’s Natural Beauty, where once existed serene beaches is now filled with concrete cement & high walls.
We, citizens of Goa urge you to control your aspirations and profit motive to preserve a better Goa for the next generation.
As buyer, please ensure your property doesn’t violate Goa Coastal Regulation Zone and Goa Town & Country Planning Act
Subject:Concern and Questions over 123 Nuclear Agreement & Hyde Act
Dear Sir,
I am citizen of Panaji, Goa. I have been greatly concerned about the 123 Nuclear Agreement to be signed as UPA Government. I request you to kindly help me in getting answers to the following questions I have. I hope that as a member of Lok Sabha, and member of Opposition, you can certainly guide and help me with information.
After going through Nuclear 123 Agreement, as a common citizen with my present knowledge, understanding and maturity following are some of my views and questions. (This might change over period of time with more information)
We as a country have to consensus on 3 objectives before we get into this agreement:
Strategic Alliance-The clear objective that has to be discussed with nation at large is, Is India a threat to US as much as what US Can be threat to India? If US is considered as threat, by consensus, than we must not choose to go ahead with deal for sharing information to such depths. If consensus considers relationship as Ally, then information sharing is good.
Energy Vision- India has a major energy crisis on cards due to the ever growing Industrialization, exponential demand and regular power cuts in Rural India. Hence, a clear energy gap. As of present, Nuclear Energy is one of the best options to meet this demand or address crisis in the fastest and largest way. As large scale Energy is created in fastest time. But what are the threats we are presently having in India. We have over hundreds of Terrorist Organizations already against India, from Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, to Naxalites. With establishing of several nuclear reactors across India, do we invest more in their security to avert possible long term damage to our fragile environment. Why have developed economies in Europe, moving away from Nuclear Energy to alternative energy such Wind, Tidal etc. Is there some negative experience they have about Nuclear Energy? Since its just one planet we will be using Nuclear Energy, and then dumping nuclear waste on this same sensitive planet or country. Isn't this man-made technology creating more damage compared to existing methods of non polluted power generation? If the present Nuclear Energy vision of present governments backfires in future causing irreparable damage to society and environment, then will these 2 governments be held responsible and subject to prosecution. How much percentage of energy demand will met by Nuclear Energy? Does Nuclear Energy Vision contradict global movements on Climate Change?
Competitive Scenario- Is the domestic Indian Nuclear companies ready for competition with US or will they be compelled to collaborate rather than compete. What is the FDI Policy for this sector from commissioning of Nuclear Plants to importers / exporters of machinery, technology and raw materials?
The Agreement has its positives and negatives for both countries. Positives for India refers to assistance of technology, management expertise in enrichment, research tie-ups, lifecycle support, IAEA as referee, easier exchange of experts, transparency, greater trust between 2 countries making stronger alliance and policies enabling faster execution of projects to meet the energy demand .
A.Following are some of the Grey areas in the Articles of the 123 Nuclear Agreement:
Article 3-
Will the information under this article between 2 countries be accessible to private Nuclear Companies?
The article refers to control of information by both countries which it considers as Restricted Data. What kind of data will be considered as Restricted Data? Can this Restricted Data be very relative in both countries?
Article refers to sharing of Research Information- But what about possible IP discovered in India or US, isn't that information to be kept confidential?
Article 4-Nuclear Trade-
Nuclear Trade as such is more viable and profitable to American Companies than Indian. The clause of addressing applications of nuclear companies within 2 month period ensures faster access to Indian energy market. Will the same period of 2 months be given to other nations such as France and Russia?
Article 5-Transfer-
Are we ready for exchange of low enrichment uranium & technology for energy needs in return to easier access to market and critical security information?
If disruption of fuel occurs due to unavoidable circumstances, then both countries will jointly convene a group of friendly supplies from Russia, France and UK. Why jointly and no independence for India to establish supply channels from these nations.
Article 7-Storage & Retransfer- Sharing of list of facilities-
·If Information pertaining to Nuclear Program, locations and research activities are not available to Indian Citizens under Right to Information Act 2005, then how justifiable is it, to make it available to certain departments of another country, whose citizens are not under the jurisdiction or control Indian Administration?
·Which offices private and public in both countries will hold this information?
·Agreement does not refer to trial or compensation relief for any leakage of confidential information.
·With US having strategic alliance with Pakistan, is there possible sharing of sensitive information to our historically violent brother.
·Will US be compelled by Pakistan to offer complimentary arms support and technology, creating another arms race in Indian Sub-Continent?
Article 10-Access to IAEA on all Inventories-
US have only one visible balancing power that is Russia. Where as India has Pakistan and China. Will such information made to IAEA be considered sensitive to India though it might refer to Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy?
Article 11-Environmental Protection
There is No mention of compensation to society in case of any damage to environment or citizens. Our learning from Bhopal Gas Tragedy has to be understood by Policy makers. Where senior management of Union Carbide / Dow Chemicals are still liable for punishment, will senior management of companies and governments be held responsible for any possible further such cases.
If there is 2 month period for addressing grievances of companies doing business, why no time period fixed for compensation or punishment?
Article 14- Termination & Cessation of Agreement
Agreement applies for a period of 40 years, with one year advance notice for termination and possible withdrawal of technology, raw materials and end products.
If India develops its Research Strength in next 20-40 years, is it in strategic benefit to choose to share research information. Similarly is it benefit to US to do the same?
Some other questions un-answered are:
·What percentage of energy demand in next 25 years is going to be met with Nuclear Energy? What is number of Nuclear Reactors planned by Indian Government to be established in next 25 years. A control over number of reactors is needed to maintain the balance of dependency on nuclear energy due to its high environment problems. Free market attitude will create over production pushing our natural resources to its limits.
·Present Policy doesn't cover measures to tackle Kickbacks. As India has been very susceptible and many times compromised on several areas such as licenses, health and safety etc. Policy must ensure transparency in dealings and faster trial processes with both countries such as extradition treaty, freezing bank accounts of suspects, etc.
·Since the pool of Nuclear Scientists in India is limited, same pool of scientists might be playing dual role or later be involved in nuclear defense related work. Information regarding such profiles is usually considered confidential for security purposes. Present Agreement enables disclosure of such profiles in form of meetings, exchange visits etc. to private and public offices. Where there is possibility of leakage of information again.
·Agreement fails to address details of Nuclear Waste Management and Rehabilitation measures. If there join commissions to establish implementation of this agreement a necessary body has to be developed whose officers will be held accountable for nuclear waste disposal, management and rehabilitation.
B.Following are certain controversial sections within Hyde Act which needs National Debate:
A.Indian Sovereignty in deciding its foreign policy is debatable:
As per Hyde Act,
SEC. 103. STATEMENTS OF POLICY.
(b) WITH RESPECT TO SOUTH ASIA.—The following shall be the policies of the United States with respect to South Asia:
4) Secure India’s full and active participation in United States efforts to dissuade, isolate, and, if necessary, sanction and contain Iran for its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear weapons capability and the capability to enrich uranium or reprocess nuclear fuel, and the means to deliver weapons of mass destruction.
SEC. 104. WAIVER AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.
(c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—
(2) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.—
(G) A description and assessment of the specific measures that India has taken to fully and actively participate in United States and international efforts to dissuade, isolate, and, if necessary, sanction and contain Iran for its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear weapons capability and the capability to enrich uranium or reprocess nuclear fuel
SEC. 104. WAIVER AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.
(E)(i) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.—
(2) IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPLIANCE REPORT.—
(E)(i) an assessment of whether India is fully and actively participating in United States and international
efforts to dissuade, isolate, and, if necessary, sanction and contain Iran for its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear weapons capability (including the capability to enrich uranium or reprocess nuclear fuel), and the means to deliver weapons of mass destruction, including a description of the specific measures that India has taken in this regard; and (ii) if India is not assessed to be fully and actively participating in such efforts, a description of—
(I) the measures the United States Government has taken to secure India’s full and active participation
in such efforts;
(II) the responses of the Government of India to such measures; and
(III) the measures the United States Government plans to take in the coming year to secure India’s full and active participation;
B)Based on the above, following are the questions I have:
If US is arm twisting our foreign policy to disarm Iran. Why cannot we, as the second largest energy market, ask US to take similar steps to disarm Pakistan as for terrorists to acquire Nuclear weapons Pakistan is more vulnerable than Iran.
What happens to cultural ties with Iran, and days of Non Alignment Movement? Has the Indian Government taken into confidence the large Indian Muslim population who sympathize with Iran?
Section 103, b.1 “(1) Achieve, at the earliest possible date, a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear explosive purposes by India, Pakistan, and the People’s Republic of China.” I would like to know what the Indian Government’s opinion on this.
Sir, kindly help me, in getting these questions answered. I feel these legislations can impact the future of our country, and I hope there is a national consensus on them.
Subject- Possible breach of CRZ and Hill Cutting under TCP at Ozran Beach-Little Vagator
Sir,
Enclosed herewith please find pictures of Oceanic Bliss, a shack hotel on hill of Ozran Beach-Little Vagator Beach.
On 25th Jan 2008, I had personally met Mr. Morad Ahmed and informed him about this site. Urge to kindly inspect the site and investigate a possible violation of hill cutting and tree felling.
I would like to personally follow up this, as this place has been extremely serene for all these decades and I am indebted towards its preservation.
The participants and Catalysts (Faculty and IofC members)
The team of Intiatives of Change, Bangalore conducted Ethical Governance Workshop for Officers of Secretariat, Vidhan Soudha was a grand success. Some of the moments of the workshop are briefly highlighted in these images.
Towards the completion of the workshop, every participant in their group, presented change and initiatives they will take.
Leni Mathew Group
Dr. Ravindra Rao's Group
Mrs. Chitra's Group
Dr. Amit' Group
Skit Presented by Employees of Secratariat, a day at Office before the Workshop and a day at Office after Workshop. This skit is a beacon of hope that much can change in Government Offices. (Picture showing one of the Government Officers acting as enraged citizen fighting for his rights)
Aswini Mohapatra's famous skit of "If not NOW, then WHEN" A skit, that sends powerful message of Stand, Arise, and Fight, an message to empower every Government Officer to start the change from now.
Special thanks to Chief Coordinator- Dilip Patel for anchoring the entire workshop and making it a grand success.
In his own words Dilip summaries the workshop as " Dear all,
A big thank you to all in making the just concluded w/s with the staff of the Secretariat, GOK a big success.
Ravi for being available throughout, and setting the tone of the inner development along with the inimitable Amit. The session on relationships created a good discussion amongst the participations beyond the classroom!
Amit was superb in every thing he did- be it the songs (solo, and with Ravi as well as in chorus with others), or the sessions on 'unmasking', 'from here to there', and sharing the stories of rural school and turning around of the hospital as the project born out of QT triggers etc They were all indeed invaluable.
Deepak Mullick, as usual, cast his magic through the session on 'ethical governance' and 'honesty', replete with his stories of giving back many fold to his University, his parents, and later charting the path of honesty and growth in the corporate world.
Sarosh, with his slightly altered presentation on Leadership, Love and Fear etc created a deep impression on the participants. some continuing discussion wit Sarosh at the lunch table was the testimony.
Leni's trust dances, and the appreciative inquiry did the expected magic by creating impact about importance of trust in relationships, and team building, and making each and every participant aware of their own potentials, values and talents which had worked for them under adverse conditions.
Pravir's presentation on 'building bridges' was amazing. Personal contemporary stories of apology and restitution in family, work place and the social environments with documentary evidences presented did an exemplary job. Pravir was never in such elements before! Keep it up Pravir, kudos to you.
Prof. RR came in as a fresh breeze, and swept away every one with the facts and figures about the environmental issues. His presentation compelled us to think that no future programs will be complete without the session on environmental concerns. Thank you, sir, for sparing your valuable time. It was truly an eye opener experience for many.
Aswini , Navendu and Arjun handled the post dinner programs with zeal and maturity. They earned the admiration and respect from the 'younger' lot. Decision by a few of the participants to send their children/friends to up coming youth conference at Asia Plateau was a testimony enough. Cheers to you guys.
Lakshmi brought a new talent in the form of Prabha who invoked the Gods with her melodious voice, apart from participating with full enthusiasm. Apart from this, Lakshmi and the other senior facilitators handled the family group meetings with maturity and wisdom.
Saju and Suresh managed the entire admin in front, and behind the scenes effectively. I must thank Jija too here for rendering the silent services.
So, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It was a great team effort."
