Konkani Conquers
http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=7880&cid=15

The Mangalore-based Konkani cultural organisation Mand Sobhann has taken Konkani into the Guinness Book of World Records, for the longest non-stop group singing session, lasting 40 hours. The effort broke the earlier record, set by Brazilian group Communidade Evangelica Luterana Sao Paulo, which sang non-stop for 36 hours on 3 and 4 July 2004.The marathon singing session, which began at 6am on Saturday and ended at 10pm on Sunday, featured 44 troupes comprising 1,711 singers. They sang 645 songs during the session, without repeating a single composition. And, unfortunately, of the 44, just two troupes were from Goa. Surely an effort like this merited better participation. Congratulations, Mand Sobhann, you have made Konkani proud.

Sesa Goa Selected As Top Indian Company In Mining Sector
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=01222
NT Business Desk

Panaji, Jan 21: Sesa Goa Ltd has been selected as the top Indian company in the mining sector for the Dun and Bradstreet – American Express Corporate Awards 2007.

Dun and Bradstreet publishes ‘India’s Top 500 Companies’, which includes India’s most well-respected and high performing companies on the basis of various financial parameters. The companies considered for the award were the top 500 companies as covered under the publication.

The criteria for ranking used are total income, net profit and net worth. It includes both private sector companies as well as public sector enterprises (PSEs) that are listed on stock exchanges. The companies were short listed on the basis of their market, capitalisation on the BSE and the NSE.

For the past five decades, Sesa Goa Ltd, an iron ore mining company of the Vedanta group has been involved in iron ore mining, beneficiation and exports besides diversifying into the manufacture of pig iron and metallurgical coke.

Goa Plans Study On Out-Migration
By IANS

Porvorim (Goa) : Goa is planning to have a migration monitoring study shortly, with the state having a long history of skilled as well as unskilled jobseekers moving out and settling overseas. The state's Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Eduardo Faleiro, said Goa University's department of sociology was being approached for the study.

"Migration has long been important to the people of Goa. We need to adopt a scientific approach towards understanding migration," Faleiro said at a function held at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research here.

"We also need to understand what is the implication of (out) migration for Goan society and the economy. Goans have migrated before, during and after colonial times," said Faleiro, a former union minister who became Goa's commissioner for NRI affairs after his term in the Rajya Sabha ended. He pointed out that migration - whether to remote places like Myanmar decades ago, or to the Gulf, which he recently visited - involved both highly qualified people and unskilled job seekers from Goa.

Faleiro also announced plans for a Know Goa Programme that would bring 10 young people "in the 20s and 30s" back to Goa each year to study the life here and in one other state of India. "We would focus on young Goans who have never been back home," he announced. For a range of complex historic reasons, Goan out-migration, especially going abroad, has come largely from the Catholic population in the state.

December is the time when a number of expatriate Goans from across the globe head home, in keeping with the peak tourist season that is also a time for Christmas festivities. Over the past few days, an online network of largely Goan expatriates called goanet.org held its annual reunion in this state, and felicitated an eight-year-old Goan international chess champion, Ivana Furtado, during the event.

During the weekend, the GoaSudharop.org, another not-for-profit organisation meant to encourage local initiatives back home, held a discussion and debate on critical issues facing Goa. Speaking during a panel discussion at the function addressed by Faleiro, ad professional Cajetan Vaz suggested that Goan migrants retained their links with home, when they kept ties with the "three pillars" of their language, food and music.

Writer Vivek "VM" Menezes said a significant bit of Goan prosperity was based on migration. Besides remittances of money and ideas, expatriate Goans had been early adopters, adapters and cultural brokers, he said.

Goa shivers in cold
NT Staff Reporter

Panaji Jan 28 The city yesterday recorded the lowest temperature in 63 years, with the mercury touching 15.5 degrees Celsius.

The Goa meteorological department sources informed that the severe cold wave being experienced by north India has travelled down to Goa and the state is in the grip of cold since last couple of days. It was also informed that the city had experienced a temperature of 15.8 degree Celsius in the winter of 1981, while it was all time low in 1945 when the mercury dropped down to 14.4 degrees Celsius.

Though the city recorded 15.5 degree Celsius temperature yesterday, the villages around the state, especially those near the water bodies and arecanut plantations may have experienced cold with the temperature reaching as low as 11 to 12 degree Celsius, the sources maintained.

The sources further maintained that the temperature could still come down during next few days, before advent of the summer.

"AMCHE ANVDDE"
VASCO: Vasco based V3 Entertainment and Event Management staged "Amche Anvdde", a Konkani musical event at the Baina beach from 6.30 pm onwards. The vast audience was treated with yet another signature event of wholesome entertainment in tune with the traditional Goan ethos. The show brought together for the first time Goan musicians who have excelled in the Bollywood Industry and famous singers who have enthralled Konkani music lovers all over the world.

Did 'Konkani heartland' betray Eric Ozario?
PANJIM: For Eric Ozario, who single-handedly catapulted Konkani into the Guinness Book of World Records, it was sheer hard work all the way. Instances abounds of how he faced bouquets and brickbats. And that too, unfortunately, from a section of Goan Konkaniwadis, he says. [Nilesh Khandeparkar, GT]

Meet challenges of demographic trends: state finance commission
PANAJI, Jan 28: The second Goa State Finance Commission, headed by Mr Alban Couto, in its report and recommendations submitted to the Governor, Mr SC Jamir, at Raj Bhavan today morning, has called for strengthening the legal and institutional framework to meet challenges and pressures of demographic trends and to carry out priorities and programmes. [NT]

Konkani Flag Stands High on Global Scene
Mandd Sobhann Smashes Brazil Marathon Singing Record...

MANGALORE, Jan 27: History has been created today! Mandd Sobhann has done it! 'Konkani Nirantari', a singing marathon of multi singers, broke the existing record of 36 hours in the name of 'Communidade Evangelica Luterana Sao Paulo' of Ulbra, Brazil, by singing for 40-hours non-stop in Konkani. In what can be called the most anxious, nail-biting time of the evening, the wait for Keith Pullin, the chief adjudicator of Guinness World Records to announce the record never seem to cease.

The official valedictory programme started after a stupendous music performance which was also the last performance of Konkani Nirantari by Mandd Sobhann group which comprised of members of Mandd Sobhann, Kalakul along with Kuwait representative Rony D'Cunha. But no one gathered was bothered about anything other than chief adjudicator Keith Pullin's decision and when finally the compere handed over the mike to Keith Pullin to announce his decision there was pin-drop silence in the entire arena. Keith began his address thus, "It's amazing….everyone has done wonderful job. I have experienced something inexplicable in these last couple of days...Your effort has been outstanding to say the least and that has been recognized by Guinness Record…

Book 'Follow Me' to be released

Fr. Nascimento J. Mascarenhas is set to release his fourth book entitled ' Follow Me' on 30th, at the J.M.J. Hospital Hall, behind Clergy Home, Porvorim. The book is self published and will be released at the hands of Most Rev. Filipe Neri Ferrao, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman. "Follow Me" deals in two chapters, with the arrival of the Franciscans in Bardez, and their evangelisation of entire Bardez Taluka. The second part deals with the parish priests of the parishes of Bardez taluka.

The book has a foreword by Fr. Francisco Caldeira, Editor of the Pastoral Bulletin 'Renovacao'. Joel D'Souza has profiled the author. The book, an effort in compiling the work of unsung heroes, contains both old and new black and white photographs of the churches in Bardez and the front cover design is by another journalist, artist and Konkani writer Pio Esteves, of Agacaim. Fr. Nascimento J. Mascarenhas, has earlier authored and published three books - ‘Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom from Goa to Lisboa’ in 2001, A Paen to Ophthalmologist Dr. Prof. Claudio Raimundo da Gama Pinto’ in 2002 and ‘Mormugao’s Rich Heritage’ (2005). [Daniel F de Souza]