Toronto East Goan Seniors Association New Committee goes “Back to the 50’s” for their 1st Event

The new TEGSA committee for 2008-2009 started their year with a 50's Night. It was sold out event within a week.

The night started with a sumptuous dinner of Pulao Rice, Green Masala Chicken Curry, Chick Peas, Potato Meat Chops, Sorpotel, French Green Beans and Fruit Salad . While waiting in line, in true Goan tradition, members and guests chatted with old friends and made new ones.

Emcee, Joachim Menezes, thanked the old committee and called up the new President, Charles Fernandes, who introduced his committee and also introduced special guests Rudolf & Maureen Fernandes, Tim & Jenny de Mello and John J. D'Souza from the 55 Plus. Goan Association, their sister organization in the west end of the GTA

A jive demonstration by Tony and Jenny Soares kicked off the merriment and it became a night of fun and frolic so reminiscent of the 50's that most of us forgot it was 2008. We jived and cha-cha'd, hula-hooped, rock and rolled and line danced to DJ Symphony's fantastic music till we were ready to drop. In fact, no one watching us would have called us Seniors! It's a good thing the scrumptious meal was served before all the activity – it gave us the energy to Shake, Shake, Shake our Booty.

Congratulations, to Martha Menezes, the new Social Secretary, and the new committee for making their very first event such a resounding, sold out success. Can't wait for the rest of the year.

See Events Section for TEGSA Calendar of Events.

Curtorim Loutulim Raia (CLR) Village Association hold their First Ladainha

Curtorim Loutulim Raia (CLR) Village Association held their First Ladainha (Litany or Ladainha) at the Sts. Martha and Mary’s Church in Mississauga, on Friday, April 11. In view of the limited capacity of the parish hall, the event was announced by word of mouth to the villagers. An attendance of 80 was thus very encouraging for the size of the reception hall.

The function started in the Church, with the youth leading the Rosary (Synuae Diniz, Tracyann Tellis, Merlin Araujo, Samantha Menezes and Daniel Diniz) followed by the “traditional Goa style” Ladainha, sung in Latin and hymns in Konkani, English and Portuguese with musical arrangements by our own Felix Remedios, Gavin Moniz and Cooty.

The Ladainha was followed by a “meet and greet” reception at the adjoining Parish hall. What is a Ladainha without “chonne and narl” and some snacks, dessert and coffee. The 2008 CLR committee made sure that the guests were not disappointed.

A sing along led by our lively musicians preceded the dessert. The function ended at 10 p.m. Everybody attending enjoyed the experience and there was a universal desire for CLR to continue with this Goan tradition and make it a CLR tradition. Special mentions go to Artimizia Tellis for being the coordinator for this event and to Fr. Edwin D’Souza for permitting the use of the Church and the parish hall.

2008 Goan International Conference, Toronto
Creative Writing Workshop
Wednesday July 23, &Thursday July 24 at the University of Toronto, Mississauga.
For more information see: http://2008goanconvention.com/program2.php

The Convention will feature a Writers workshop led by Victor R Ribeiro, an internationally published author (his novel, Tivolem, has been very well received). Attendees will also have exposure to other well known published authors.




About Victor Rangel-Ribeiro
Victor Rangel-Ribeiro began his professional writing career in Bombay in 1945, and has been writing ever since. His short stories and features have appeared in the United States and in the Indian press, in Goan publications such as The Navhind Times, Govapuri, and the Goan Observer, and in the Penguin anthology Ferry Crossing. In the US his work has appeared in three top literary journals: the Iowa, North American, and Literary Reviews. He was awarded the New York Foundation for the Arts Fiction Fellowship in 1990, and the Milkweed National Fiction Prize for his novel, Tivolem, in 1998.This celebrated novel about life in a quiet Goan village has been acclaimed by Booklist as one of the twenty notable first novels published in the US that year. A short story collection, Loving Ayesha, was published in India in 2003.

Rangel-Ribeiro has taught writing in New York and conducted workshops there and in Mumbai and Goa; in 2002 he also conducted a week-long workshop on the island republic of Mauritius at a Presidential commission’s request. He serves on the editorial board of the South Asian Review and has for several years been on the online international creative writing faculty of Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey. A member of American MENSA, the high-IQ society, Victor is the only Goan author to be written up and critiqued in depth in two major encyclopedias on writers: South Asian Novelists in English, and South Asian Writers in English, both published by Greenwood Press, Conn., USA.

Goan Seniors Trip to see China Rising
By: Pliny Noronha
Photographs by: Albert Fernandes

Click to view large

Our trip to China started on the 1st March, 2008. As we drove to Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport we left behind huge snow hills covering street corners and curbs from the February snow storms. We did our baggage check in at about 6 a.m. to catch the 8 a.m. flight to Vancouver on a 767, 300 ER (extend range) Boeing aircraft. Our flight departure was exactly on time from Toronto. Five hours later on arrival in Vancouver, we went directly to the International Airport Lounge to catch our flight to Beijing, China and that is where we met with our whole group that was going to be with us on the rest of the trip. Our flight from Vancouver to Beijing had a duration of 11 hours and 30 minutes and we flew on a similar type of aircraft as our previous flight. As we crossed the International Date Line an announcement was made on the P. A. welcoming the Group of 55 plus from Jacco Tours traveling to Beijing, which drew applause from the group of 34 and others. On our arrival in Beijing, the capital of The Peoples Republic of China, we were met by Simon our Jacco Tours representative and by this time it was 5 p.m. Chinese time. We were taken directly by a luxury coach to one of Beijing’s finest restaurants for dinner, where we tasted Chinese beer, Coke and Sprite. We were then driven to our Five Star Crystal International Hotel for a good nights rest.

We had a delicious breakfast the next morning on the 2nd of March, which comprised of all you can eat dried fruit, cereal, lassie, cunji, coffee, tea, fresh fruit etc. We began the trip after breakfast at 8 am, where we met our guide, Jessica who spoke fluent English and our photographer Michelle who with Simon were going to be with us while we were in Beijing. The Forbidden City the first attraction of our tour was awesome. This is the largest, most intact and complex conglomeration of ancient architecture in China. It features 800 buildings, with 9999 rooms adorned with golden roofs, red lacquered pillars and vermillion walls. The Forbidden City is now called the Palace Museum and occupies the Central part of Beijing Municipality and was the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Currently all ancient structures are considered World Heritage Museums by U.N.E.S.C.O. and they attract visitors from home and abroad.

After lunch our next stop was The Temple of Heaven, located in Southern Beijing. It is the site on which the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to Heaven, prayed for rain and good harvest. While traveling on the coach we passed by the Olympic stadium built in the shape of a birds nest and the aquatic center in the shape of a square with bubbles protruding out of its sides. It is built in such a way, so as to conserve energy by drawing light from outside for heating and other resources. Technologies were supplied by Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines. We then headed to the Summer Palace, a place which contains long corridors. It was where many Emperors held their summer retreats. It houses the largest preserved ancient garden in China.

After dinner we were entertained by a gala performance by the famous Beijing Acrobatic Show. On the way back to the hotel Simon sang a Chinese song for Vivian and Tony and promised to arrange another trip visiting Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore with them at the end of this year. That night most of us had a hour long body massage and my room mate besides snoring at night kept on snoring during the massage and I could not stop laughing to see how relaxed he was in that position.

We were unable to visit Tia’anemen Square, The Museum of the Chinese Revolution and The Great Hall of the People due to a week long conference of municipalities meeting with government representatives of the Peoples Republic. However, during the night our coach drove past the important buildings around the square which were illuminated. Chairman Mao Tse Tung’s picture was also displayed on every building.

The next morning after a sumptuous breakfast we headed out to the highlight of our trip, The Great Wall of China, with our guide, Jessica, our representative, Simon and our photographer, Michelle. The Juyongguan Path, fifty kilometers from Beijing to the Great Wall of China is one of the great wonders of the world symbolizing Chinese culture and pride. The Great Wall extends five thousand six hundred and sixty kilometers east to west in North China. Although we were asked by our guide not to climb the steep steps many, even the faint hearted persevered and managed to get a Hero’s Card representing four hundred conquered steps right to one of the Gate-towers of the Great Wall.

Our next destination was to visit the Sacred Path of the Ming Tomb, which contained statues of elephants, camels, dragons and horses adorning either side of the path; it was a long walk for some but a good ride on a mobile cart for others. We visited a Jade factory that evening; jade the stone symbolizing Chinese culture. We had our first taste of Beijing duck for dinner that evening.

Early morning, the next day we headed to the airport for Shanghai where we parted company with the pretty Jessica, our tour guide who got so attached to us. She was very emotional to see us leave and vice versa. We bought our pictures from our photographer, Michelle and that was the last time we saw her. Simon followed the rest of the group to Shanghai, a two hour flight from Beijing in another Boeing 767 aircraft belonging to China Airlines. Shanghai is the largest commercial and financial centre of China with its tall skyscrapers. In Shanghai, there is a lot of foreign influence and settlements of British, German and French dating back to over a century. It is here that we were introduced to our guide, Jean who was going to be with us for the rest of the trip and who came from the city of Hangzhou. While in Shanghai we stayed at the Milan Continental Hotel. We visited the waterfront and took a boat tour in the night with all its illuminated towers, a very pretty sight. Our coach took us to Hangzhou a city of rich history and culture. Marco Polo described this place as “The most beautiful and magnificent city in the World.” In Hangzhou, we stayed at the Picturesque Hotel and following a delicious breakfast we headed to Suzhou, a place that earned the nickname, “Paradise of Earth”. The city is full of beautiful classical Chinese gardens where we visited Shizi Lin Park and Hanshan Temple. Our coach took us to Wuxi where we enjoyed the beauty of Lake Tai and all the pagodas surroundings. While we were there we visited a pearl farm, where quite a few did their shopping for pearl necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Shopping was also a great highlight of our trip. Our coach brought us back to Shanghai where we spent the night at Yalong International Hotel. The next morning after saying goodbye to the group of ten that were going back to Toronto as well as Simon who was staying over in Shanghai for a meeting with the Mayor, we left for Xian with our guide Jean on a China Airline Airbus A-320.

When we arrived in Xian we were met by another guide, An Chin, who with Jean took us to a silk factory where we also saw a fashion show. We saw the Bell Tower and the Ancient City Wall that has survived up to this day, which was a twenty-five kilometer perimeter and one of the largest and most complete ancient military defense systems in the world. In the evening we enjoyed a Dumpling Banquet Dinner with rice wine and beer. We then went to Xian Empress Hotel to spend the night. The next morning we visited the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihaung the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty who wanted to live forever. The excavation of the Tarra Cotte Warriors was made by a farmer in the 1960 who we met while on the tour of the site. It is one of the top archaeological finds of the 20th century. Our last visit was to the Wild Goose Pagoda, the symbol of the city. It is said to have been built to house and protect Buddhist Scriptures which were collected by a Chinese monk Xuan Zhaung, whom at the age of 13 became a Buddhist monk. At age twenty nine he traveled to India to obtain the scriptures in 629 AD and returned back in 645 AD all his travels done on horseback. After dinner that evening we were entertained to the Tang Dynasty singing and dancing show. When we got back to the Empress Hotel we went straight to bed as we had an early 5 AM wakeup call to catch our flight to Beijing. Jean said goodbye in Beijing where we caught a non-stop flight to Toronto on Boeing 777. We were very tired by then and slept through most of the flight.

This script is compiled and edited by Pliny Noronha solely for the reading pleasure of the Goan Seniors Group of 34, who made the trip to China.

Muscat: Community Leadership Award to Celso Fernandes
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=45704

Monday, April 14, 2008 12:12:47 PM (IST)
Thumbay Group - UAE
by Clarence Pinto, Muscat
Daijiworld Media Network Muscat




Muscat, Apr 14: Recognizing the immense and selfless social, community and language service carried out by Celso Fernandes to the Goan Community, more specifically in the Sultanate of Oman, the Government of Goa honored him with one of the highest awards to the Non-resident Indians : Global Goans – The Community Service Leadership Award at the recently held function at Panaji - Goa.

Celso Fernandes, Muscat based Goan Community activist and strong Konkani philanthropist conferred with the Community Service Leadership Award by the Chief Minister of Goa, Honorable Shri Digambar Kamat at “the Conference on Indian Expatriates in the Gulf Countries” held at the Hotel Mandovi’s Convention Hall, Panaji on 29th April 2008. Honorable Shri Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs inaugurated the conference and Shri J. P. Singh, the Chief Secretary was the Guest of Honor.

“It was really a great honor for me” smiling and satisfied Celso told www.daijiworld.com Muscat Team. “and truly a recognition for all I have done for my people, my community and my language; in fact without expecting anything. I am grateful to Goan brothers and sisters for their constant love and continuous support to me.”

The Community Service leadership Awards established by the Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Government of Goa, is specifically to encourage Goan Community leaders whose work reflects a strong ethic of service to the community outside Goa. They seek to recognize, strengthen and highlight the importance of community leadership in participatory planning, action and improving people’s lives. Further, the Community Service Leadership Awards encourage others to acknowledge that leadership comes in many forms and in many fields including social service, philanthropy, human rights, citizen participation, education, youth development and the arts.

A proud Taleiganvkar, Celso was the founding member of Taleigao Kala Sonstha, Youth secretary for 9 years and the secretary general of St Michael’s Club, the only year when the club represented the GOA Football Senior League.

He continued his mission in Oman where he actively organized various socio- cultural and sports events for 30 years and more importantly the annual “Goa day” function.

Well respected, he was chosen to represent the Goan community for 3 terms in the Pastoral Council and was it’s Vice President from 2005 to 2007.

Celso is known for his generosity to Goans in Muscat in their financial and social troubles. With his enormous love and support for Konkani language he arranged various musical shows and tiatrs in Oman and was one of the main organizers in the historic Mangalore – Goan drama.

Employed as Senior Manager in BankMuscat, Celso is a Niz Goemkar ani niz Konkankar. Though known for his humility he proudly says, “ Goemkarpon samballat. Konknni uloiat. Konkni uloun, hoi tum girest zaumchonaim, ghoddie goribuch urtoloi. Hem sot. Punn tachem von vhodd sot mhontlear, tujea vavran tum Konknink ani Goemkarank girest kortoloi.”

Get The Right Name And Open Doors For Your Child
Thu Apr 17, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1747226920080417

LONDON (Reuters) - British parents spend 30 million hours a year picking the names of their newborn children, a survey showed on Thursday. And choosing the right name can be crucial -- if you want your child to get on in life.

The survey by Abbey Banking showed that parents agonize for up to 45 hours over the name of their child -- a combined 30 million hours annually in Britain. One in three parents believed the right name can give a child confidence while up to two million thought it could help their child's career prospects.

"There is no doubt that children's names reflect people's aspirations and parents believe names can affect career prospects," said Abbey Banking director Steve Shore. The latest national statistics update showed that Grace, Ruby and Olivia ranked as the current top names for girls and Jack, Thomas and Oliver for boys.
(Reporting by Paul Majendie, Editing by Paul Casciato)

Recipe for Today - Goan Fish Curry
Give it a try !

Ingredients:
2 pomfrets
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp salt
1 grated coconut
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 flakes garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
8 pieces red chillies
1 tbsp coriander leaves
3 tsp tamarind water
5 cups water
1 onion
2 green chillies

Method: Cut the pomfret into desired number of pieces. Add salt and lime juice to fish and marinate for 10 minutes Grind coconut, cumin seeds, garlic, turmeric, red chillies, coriander leaves, with tamarind water and ? cup water to a paste. Add remaining water to paste and place on fire. Add sliced onion and slit green chillies to Gravy on fire. Wait for 2 boils and add marinated fish. If boneless give the gravy one more boil. If with bone, give it 2-3 more boils. Serve hot with unpolished (brown basmati) rice.