Konkan Rail's Worst Tragedy

Goa woke up on June 23, to be stunned by the tragic news of the worst tragedy to befall the Konkan Railway Corporation at Vaibhavwadi near Ratnagiri at around 10 pm on June 22, killing 50 persons, the figure including women and children. Eight of those killed included Sunil Chari from Panjim, Andrew Jackson D'Cruz from Margao, Sarita Sunil Gawas, Shreya Gawas from Pernem, Sandra and Shawn D'Costa from Chinchinim, Chandrashekhar Rajashekhar Dali from Bangalore and Ramakant Rane, from Mumbai. Though the exact number of Goan victims in the train mishap is not known, the KRC officials put it around ten.

It was a heart-rending situation for several families. Sandra D'Costa (40) and her 16-year-old son Shawn were among those killed. Her daughters Jude (18) and Parvene (9) escaped with minor injuries. Sandra had arrived in Goa on June 22 along with her children, to attend her father's funeral at Fatorda. The bereaved family was returning to Bombay to hear about Shawn's exam results.

The Gawas family were on a visit to their native place in Ibrampur in Pernem. The deceased were Sunil Ramdas Gawas (40), his wife Sarita (32), son Prathamesh (8) and daughter Shreya (8 months). Sunil, a motor winder, was in Goa for the first time with his entire family, to attend the marriage ceremony of his sister Sunita on June 18. Due to Prathamesh admission to a school, Sarita prevailed upon the family on returning to Mumbai, but fate had written a different destination for them.

The engine of the holiday special being driven by KRCL's best driver, CK Johnson, dashed against a huge boulder lying on the track, and four bogies telescoped over the engine and got derailed. Within moments a hail of huge boulders and mud came crashing down and spread over the derailed bogies.

The Konkan Railway suffered a loss estimated to be between Rs 60 lakh and Rs one crore. Rs 1 lakh ex-gratia was disbursed to the next of the kin of the deceased. Besides people with serious injuries were paid Rs 15,000 each and those with minor injuries Rs 10,000 each.

A Sao Joao reveller at Siolim's boat parade

Goans celebrated the festival of Sao Joao on June 24 with the traditional jumping in the wells. Of course, the age-old practice is gradually waning in Goa. New traditions have been taking over, and one is the famed, colourful Sao Joao Boat Parade on the evening of St John's feast in Siolim village. This year, half-a-dozen gaily decorated boats participated in the popular event, which drew one of the largest crowds to witness it near the Bazaar Bridge in front of St Anthony's Church. Besides the boats and men wearing flower crowns, Konkani songs, music, folk dance, prizes, san'nam, vodde, et al formed a part of the parade. Check for details at http://www.goacom.com/goanow/24june/sj.htm

Grand-mai’s Ruchichi Fish Curry
By Melba Mergulhao-Carvalho Antao
From O Heraldo
Excerpt:
Just spent the weekend in the ancestral home and came back to the city, rejuvenated. It’s not only the village ambience that gets under your skin, it's the typical country food that invigorates your metabolism. In the village you go back to your roots. Rich or poor, they cook in earthen pots and food tastes different. You feel so close to the earth. Mind you, that wasn’t the case when I first came to this piece of paradise almost two decades ago. “How can mud pots be hygienic? Surely some mud gets into your system leading to some infection or the other,” I’d reason with Mom. She just smiled benevolently. The young can’t be convinced easily, her smile seem to suggest, like I do today, when my youngsters look askance at the clay vessels.