FN: Frederick Noronha’s blog

Fundacao Oriente later today, March 10, kicks off a lecture series series that continues its earlier Indo-Portuguese historical and cultural interactions. Some of the topics are interesting, and the speakers are mostly people one could look forward to meeting.
This Thursday, from 6-7 pm, Dr Glenn J Ames has a catchy title for his talk — ‘A Tale of Four Cities: The Provincia do Norte in an Age of Decline and Rebirth, 1640-1683′.
The ‘Provincia do Norte’, or the Northern Province, was the hardly-northern not-far-from-Bombay edge of the colonial Portuguese empire in South Asia.
Dr Ames here tells the story of four cities — Diu, Daman, Chaul and Bacaim (today’s Vasai) — in the rebuilding of the Estado da India of the 17th century, as the Portuguese colonial state here was then known.
He’s Professor of French and Portuguese history at the University of Toledo, USA. He’s currently in Goa as a Senior Research Fellow of the American Institute of Indian Studies. His earlier books include Renascent Empire?: The House of Braganza and the Quest for Stability in Portuguese Monsoon Asia, ca. 1640-1683 and Vasco da Gama: Renaissance Crusader (2005).
In this session, Dr Ames’ argument is that the Portuguese by the late ’seventeenth century, were beseiged by both European rivals (like the Dutch) and indigenous powers like the Mughals and Bijapur.
Comments he: “The decade which began with the loss of Cochin to the VOC (Dutch) and the reluctant transfer of Bombay to the English, ironically also marked the beginning of three decades of vital reform for the Estado da India”. His study looks at the geo-political, religious and economic challenges confronting the Portuguese Crown in Asia, between 166301700 and more. He’ll explain the importance of the “Provinces of the North” in this reformation process.
On March 17, Prof Jean-Pierre Angenot, a Belgian-turned-Brazilian known for his TADIA (The African Diaspora in Asia) Network , explains the history and geography of the current-day often-neglected African diaspora in India.On March 24, journalist-turned-Kala Academy member secretary Vinayak V Khedekar talks on ‘traditional communication technique — phonology’ while a week later photographer Sunil Vaidyanathan talks on ‘India through my lens’.

Can you build within 500 metres of the high-tide line? (Yes, no, depends?) What do you do when you find an electric pole stuck in your backyard, after returning back to Goa, set there without anyone’s permission? (Can you do anything at all?) Can a buyer ask you to ‘convert’ your land before selling it? (What are the illegal rates?)
What’s the dividing line between a “Portuguese house” and one which is traditionally Goan? (Surprise: There are no Portuguese houses in Goa, as architect Gerard da Cunha unequivocally says, just a synthesis between the Portuguese and local style of houses!) Can a British national own property in Goa? Foreigners can, only if they establish they are a person residing in India, and that takes a half-year residence here to qualify. What does the 182-days-residence criteria (required to be considered a ‘person resident in India’) mean? What facilities are there for people of Indian origin to own land here — except for farmland — and can their children inherit it?
If you’re interested in such questions, and real estate issues, check out the Homes & Estates: Goa’s Property & Building Trading Guide magazine that comes out in four issues each year.
The Spring 2005 issue (Vol 6 Issue 3) is out, and is priced at Rs 30 UKP2 US$3 or Euro3.
It promises “over 2000 listings” of properties too. Have never myself checked out how effective this is as a tool to scout for properties. But as Goans rush headlong into a mad rush to sell their ancestral properties (a point _VM_ made not too long ago) the importance of such information becomes obvious.
There are two good panels offering architects’ and legal answers. Many raising queries are foreigners. This is edited and published by Michael Lobo of Parra and its art director is his Japanese wife Tomoko Mikada Lobo.
Generally, useful information. Even if one is suspicious about all those glossy adverts put out by the real estate lobby, which has significantly damaged the charm that lures to Goa, and has also made homes too costly for most local-earning locals to ever afford!