2006 January « FN: Frederick Noronha’s blog

As I write, the GUJ show (spearheaded by Ashley do Rosario and Umesh
Mahambre) are going great guns, at the Municipal Garden.

All doubt over the event was over, when we saw a good crowd turn up on
the evening of Thursday, Republic Day here.

The idea of having a children’s drawing competition starting 5 pm was a
good idea… it pulled in the parents early. So was the fancy dress (for
kids), and the music provided by the journos showed another side of the
profession.

It was nice to see the younger team taking charge of all the
arrangements. The programme is still continuing; unfortunately, one had
to miss Hema Sardessai in performance… and Bondo too!

Among those sighted at the event were the deputy CM Dr Wilfred de Souza,
Herald editor Robin Abreu, CCP chief officer Sanjit Rodrigues (seen
squatting on the band-stand) and a whole lot of journos and press
employees. FN

Secrets behind church facades

BY MELVYN MISQUITA [Herald]
melvyn at misquita.net

What do mermaids, a two-headed eagle, lions, the mythical Cyclops and a
boat have in common? Believe it or not, they all grace the façades of
parishes churches in Goa.

To be honest, a casual spectator may find façades of the 158-odd parish
churches in Goa nothing more than repetitive white-washed multi-storeyed
structures that deserved nothing more than a cursory glance.

That is, until they lay their hands on the recently published book “The
Parish Churches of Goa”, a study of façade architecture by Jose Lourenco
along with photographs by Pantaleao Fernandes.

The 201-page book is packed with exhaustive, yet fascinating,
information and pictures on façades of parish churches, right from
Agassaim to Veroda and even includes a map of Goa identifying the parish
churches for the curious traveller. The book, however, does not include
facades of non-parish churches (churches at Old Goa).

The authors begin by briefly describing the various architectural
influences of the west and east on church façades in Goa.

The early façades, according to the authors, were the ‘peaked gable’
façades, relatively unsophisticated late Portuguese Renaissance style,
as can be seen in the parish churches such as St Peter (Sao Pedro) and
St Lawrence (Agasaim).

The ‘Cupoliform’ façades, considered a Goan innovation, can be seen in
churches such as Our Lady of Immaculate Conception (Moira) and St
Cajetan (Assagao).

Other façades include the ‘Pozzoan pediment’ (such as Holy Spirit,
Margao), ‘Rococo’ (such as St Jerome’s Church, Mapusa), ‘Templet’ (such
as Savour of the World church, Loutolim) and ‘Neo-Gothic’ (such as Our
Lady church, Saligao).

A concise description of each parish in Goa is encompassed in a single
page, which includes other interesting details such as a brief history
of the parish, the feast of its patron (now you don’t have any excuse
for missing out on parish feasts of your relatives), the elevation/
inception of the parish, the latest picture of the parish and
architectural notes on the facade of the church.

While praising the rich architectural heritage of façades in the
parishes churches of Goa, the authors seem pained over the recent
unintentional ‘distortions’ to these façades, which, in their words,
“have marred the elegant beauty of these edifices.”

Some of these ‘distortions’ detailed in their book include the
installation of metalor plastic sheets to protect doors, windows and
belfry openings, concrete porches, back-lit signboards and ‘blinded
openings’, the closure of the oculi (the opening that streams light into
the church interiors).

The authors also express anguish over the recent trends to paint church
facade in multicolours, a far cry from the “resplendent brilliance” of
the white paint of yore, besides pointing to recent trends of
introducing fluorescent or sodium vapour lamps on or around façades,
aluminium windows and haphazard facade renovations.

A glossary and sketches containing the different elements of the church
facade are also a useful addition in the book.

The book is certainly an eye-opener to those who will now admit that
facades of churches are much more than repetitive white-washed
multi-storeyed structures that deserved nothing more than a cursory
glance.

While the book is strongly recommended for the fascinating stories that
emerge out of church facades, there is, however, one drawkback — its
price.

Priced at Rs 495, the book is by no means cheap and could well elude the
masses, who may miss out on the hidden secrets of church facades. (ENDS)

My one-time classmate (at Goa University, English dept) Brian Mark
Mendonca <brianmendonca at rediffmail.com> has informed me that he has
been invited to read his poems on January 18, 2006 at the N.I.F.T Campus
from 5.30 to 7.30 pm. Brian is a Vascokar, and is planning to come out
shortly with his new book of verse, titled after what must be his
favourite poem, “The Last Bus To Vasco”.

Sometimes, the fine-print that shows up in the advertisements makes for
interesting reading. For instance, some Vasco-related adverts in the
Navhind Times of Dec 28, 2005:

* Goa Naval Area is advertising for some tens of thousands of uniforms
and it specifies that those bidding need to be “competent contractors
owning atleast 15 sewing machines and having expertise in fabrication
of uniforms of naval personel serving at Vasco da Gama”…

These two conditions itself would probably exclude most from bidding
from this contract! Does it matter if someone has 15 sewing machines, or
is using some other model of completing the work, as long as the work
gets done as required? And wouldn’t the clause about having experience
in sewing uniforms in the past restrict the bids only to those who have
already won contracts in the past? Correct me if I’m wrong…

* Goa Urban Co-op Bank at Panjim has sent out notices to borrowers and
guarantors who have not repaid loans. These include two parties at
Vasco, a builder at Airport Road and someone else at Patrong, Baina.

* Meanwhile, the MPT has calledl for tenders for industrial acetylene
and oxygen gases, and old reusable unformed super giant tyres.

I guess the tendering sector in Vasco, particularly from the Central
government organisations, must be quite big business, even if little
understood by the average citizen. FN

Sometimes, the fine-print that shows up in the advertisements makes for
interesting reading. For instance, some Vasco-related adverts in the
Navhind Times of Dec 28, 2005:

* Goa Naval Area is advertising for some tens of thousands of uniforms
and it specifies that those bidding need to be “competent contractors
owning atleast 15 sewing machines and having expertise in fabrication
of uniforms of naval personel serving at Vasco da Gama”…

These two conditions itself would probably exclude most from bidding
from this contract! Does it matter if someone has 15 sewing machines, or
is using some other model of completing the work, as long as the work
gets done as required? And wouldn’t the clause about having experience
in sewing uniforms in the past restrict the bids only to those who have
already won contracts in the past? Correct me if I’m wrong…

* Goa Urban Co-op Bank at Panjim has sent out notices to borrowers and
guarantors who have not repaid loans. These include two parties at
Vasco, a builder at Airport Road and someone else at Patrong, Baina.

* Meanwhile, the MPT has calledl for tenders for industrial acetylene
and oxygen gases, and old reusable unformed super giant tyres.

I guess the tendering sector in Vasco, particularly from the Central
government organisations, must be quite big business, even if little
understood by the average citizen. FN

Looks like a serious concern for Vasco! FN

THIEVES STRIKE RICH WITH NEW MODUS OPERANDI

Herald Correspondent [Herald, Dec 28, 2005]

MORMUGAO, Dec 27 — The next time someone informs you that your money
has fallen down, be aware.

Cash and gold ornaments worth over Rs 1 lakh were stolen in three
separate incidents in the port town within a span of an hour.

According to Vasco police, one NEtaji Rao along with his boss Mahendra
Kumar Patwarai had gone to the Vasco post office, when a person
approached Netaji and told him that some cash had fallen down.

When Netaji bent to pick the cash, the person ran away with a bag
containing Rs 60,000 in cash.

In the second incident, one Vasant M Chauhan of Chicalim stated that he
along with his brother went to a bank at about 10 am, when a person with
a similar modus operandi took away a bag from the van containing Rs
40,000 in cash.

The bag was later found at Kharewada, with all the cash and some
documents of the vehicle missing.

In the third case, Verma Dabholkar of SIolim stated that a gold bracelet
and cash, all worth Rs 5000 were stolen from her car in the market in a
similar fashion.

One person has been arrested in this connection and further
investigations are in progress.

* * *

ONE DIES IN FREAK MISHAP

Herald Correspondent. Herald, Dec 28, 2005

MORMUGAO, DEC 27: A 34-year-old man from Odxel-Taleigao made a fatal
mistake by choosing an unusual spot for his afternoon siesta — behind a
bus.

According to Vasco police, Hirappa Kotbagi had gone to the Dabolim
airport, when he decided to sleep behind a bus (GA01 Z9399) at about
1.30 pm.

The bus driver failed to notice Hirappa and reversed the bus, crushing
Hirappa to death. Further investigations are on.