GOAN
ARCHIVES PROJECT
OPEN HOUSE
OLDER ADULT CENTRE-MISSISSAUGA JANUARY 20TH 2010
MEMOIRS
Retrieved and Locked in a “Trove” of a “Treasure
Chest”
Working for the Common Good of our Goan Heritage
Report by Muriel Lucas
The
Goan Archives Project, “Open House, held at the Older
Adult Centre, in Mississauga, Ontario, on the 20th
January, 2010, was visited by “4 Wise Men” ,who
began their “Maiden Voyage”, carrying messages
of ‘hope’, hauled in, not only their empty
boxes, but their gifts of knowledge, wisdom and
insight. These wise men, namely Claude Gomes, Cecil
D’Cruz and Uvy Lopes, from the East, and John D’Souza,
from the West, got off to a roaring start, with
this monumental task of reaching out to our Goan
Community in raising awareness as to the importance of
archiving important memorabilia of our Goan heritage.
In his opening speech, Claude Gomes welcomed everyone
who attended and conveyed his message of the
importance of Archiving, He further emphasized that
the main purpose of this open house was to collect and
preserve items which are catalogued for safe keeping
in a file-folder and then stored for easy access at a
later date, thus making it easily accessible to
swiftly retrieve and explore historical content, at a
push of a button! They’re not just History! – they’re
Your History, related to your life, your
Ancestry, i.e. a collection of photographs, books,
newspaper cuttings, etc etc. The collected items will
serve to preserve the history of the community which
would otherwise be lost or inaccessible. This is the
message that the GAP founders would like to
enforce to the Goan Community at large.
Click to enlarge
There was a 20 minute question and answer period which
was interacted with an enthusiastic crowd, of about 35
in attendance!
Cecil sent a clear message in that, they are not here
to make any money, but to emphasize the need to bring
about awareness to our Goan Community. He emphasized
that, the next phase of this project are not things
that can be done by themselves, but hope that other
major organizations will come out in full support and
lend a helping hand in ensuring this major collection
of important landmarks in history, surmounts to a
sizeable trove, as they strive to succeed in their
“outreach efforts”!
John confirmed that they have gleaned at least two of
each of the important items of publications in the
community. i.e. one can be packed for the Archives,
and one for a Goan Library, if a small Cultural Centre
can be found to house it.
Special thanks go out to 2 leading Stalwarts of the
Community, namely Al Mathias , Armand Rodrigues, and
Monica Souza-Marques who brought in numerous
contributions. Their support is greatly appreciated.
Thanks go out to Uvy Lopes, and Luis Gomes, for
initiating the Logo, which was displayed in the hall
for viewing, which got raving reviews.
Special thanks go out to Juliet, Theo and Paul, for
their efforts in ensuring the availability of the
venue at the GCG at the acquired time. This small
venue is supported by some 40 people in their
membership and their generosity in assisting the GAP
event, surely sends a message, just goes to prove,
“from small beginnings, do mountains grow!”
Last, but not least, strong support was received by
Tina, Vivien and Muriel, who held the fort at the
front desk and did some good work by adding charm and
style to the event, in receiving, sorting and
documenting items in their respective envelopes.
The message is loud and clear that the GAP
committee wish to reiterate that this vital project is
here to enable the Goan Public to deposit items for
the Archives. They invite the people to meet the
Steering Group and gain feedback on the GAP. Those
wishing to submit collections can contact the Goan
Archives Project by email @
goanarchivescanada@gmail.com.
In conclusion
We wish one and all to join forces, pull strings
together and send in your items, ideas and assistance
in helping their “Maiden Voyage”, by hoisting
up the Mast, keeping it afloat and set sail, in search
of your hidden treasures”, thus saving it from
‘hitting the Iceberg’ in terms of the “Titanic”
– retrieve a Sizeable trove from the Ocean’s deep! –
before saying “Bon Voyage” to the 4 Wise
Men!!
Please note: In addition to
this – please watch out for the You Tube entitled
“Tracing our Goan Roots in Canada” – Muriel interviews
Claude Gomes .
Goan Archives Project Tracing our Goan Roots in Canada Muriel Lucas interviews
Claude Gomes Play Goan
Archives Video Click to
view video
Mississauga: The
Goan Archives Project organised an Open House for
people to donate any printed material relating to
their own presence in Canada or elsewhere. The project
was initiated by Cecil D`Cruz to collect printed
materials such as books, documents, articles and
personal career data from Canadian Goans. The aim is
to catalogue the collection and then handed it over to
a suitable library. A steering committee, with Cecil
D`Cruz, Claude Gomes, John D`Souza, Uvy Lopes and
Lazarus Pereira, has been formed to work on the
project.
Cecil mentioned that ever since the project was
announced and posted on many Goan websites, he has
received numerous equiries from individuals from many
parts of the world if they could contribute to the
project or if the committee wants to have similar ones
in countries where the Goans have a sizeable
population. Cecil said that because of limited
resources, it was impossible to handle the requests at
this stage.
Canadian Goans tell their
stories – A collection of 40+ essays
Mississauga,
ON - The 55 Plus Goan Association (55PGA) of
Mississauga is pleased to release Goa Masala, an
anthology of stories by Canadian Goans, both fiction
and non-fiction with a Goan flavour.
The Book launch date is FEBRUARY 06/2010, 9:00
AM – 1:00 PM, at the HEALTH & WELLNESS SEMINAR at
STS MARTHA & MARY’S CHURCH, 1870 Burnhamthorpe Rd E,
Mississauga, on Sat., Feb 6. (See
www.55pga.com
for details)
Canadian Goans tell their
stories Mississauga, ON-The
55 Plus Goan Association (55PGA)
of Mississauga is pleased to release Goa Masala, an
anthology of stories by Canadian Goans, both fiction
and non-fiction with a Goan flavour. While the book
seeks to record for posterity the memories of
Canadian Goans who have made Canada their home in
the past 5 decades or so, it should be also of value
to other Canadians interested in the diversity of
skills, education and life experiences of immigrants
that make up this multicultural land.
"Our vision was to capture for the future the many
stories that resided in people's minds and otherwise
might have not seen the light of day," says Rudy
Fernandes, President of the
55PGA.
Goa Masala contains about 40 stories, most of them
written by Goans who have settled in Canada after
spending years in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania in
East Africa, in Rangoon, Myanmar, and elsewhere.
Their memoirs range from an elephant hunt in
Tanzania to the removal of evil eye (disht), to
arranged marriages and snakes.
The project was undertaken by Rudi Rodrigues, leader
of the 55PGA Book Club, an artist and art designer,
who was assisted by an editorial team of Ben Antao,
Alick Alphonso, Joan do Rosario, Eric De Souza, and
Al Lobo. The publisher of the 275-page book is A
Plus Publishing of Toronto. The published price is
$15. (for details please refer to
www.55pga.com )
Created by: Menin Rodrigues is a businessman in Pakistan, he is
a Member of the Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese
of Karachi, Member of the Board of Governors of St.
Patrick's and St. Joseph's Colleges, and in his
spare time researches, collates and writes about the
past, present and future of Catholics/ Goans in
Pakistan.
Preview of
Book on GOAN MUSIC Message posted on
www.goanet.org
Jan 22, 2010
OSLANDO
[De Souza] the doyen of Goan Folkcrists who has
over several decades; released some of the best
sellers of Goan folk-music albums such as:
POILO PAUSS [The First Rains] -1971
SOUL OF GOA -1978
GOA MEU AMOR -1982
BOAS FESTAS [Happy Feast] -1985
NOSTALGIA -1992
has
now come out with his latest Best Seller, a BOOK
[over 300 pages] entitled "THE CHRISTIAN GOAN
KONKANI FOLK & ART SONGS" [cover 100 songs with
music notations & chords] (A NEW PERSPECTIVE} By
OSLANDO
Goan Voice designed and compiled by
Demerg Systems India,
Alfran Plaza, "C" Block, 2nd Floor, S-43/44,
(Near Don Bosco School), Panjim, Goa-403001
Tel: +91 0832 2420797 Email:
info@goanvoice.ca
Mississauga, ON-The
