Blessed by the Star
It is common for Catholics in India to assume that Independence Day was timed to coincide with the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. This is simply not true. Whereas the state of India was released from British rule on 15 August 1947, the ancient Marian belief was dogmatically defined three years later, on 1 November 1950. Read more
Celebrating Braz and Jazz
"Raga Rock" was a much-deserved tribute to Goa-born Braz Gonsalves. Read more
Three Founders in a Row
It struck me that we have three Saint founders of religious congregations whose feasts we celebrate on three consecutive days. And all of them have a presence in Goa:
St Joseph Vaz's Letter of Bondage
Remembering Prima Maria
November 1987. I was all of twenty-two years old and had landed in Lisbon. Shortly after this I phoned a relative for whom I’d carried a little parcel from her sister Genoveva (to whom I became a sobrinho by marriage but remained first a primo, via Curtorim). Her name was Rita Maria Gomes. I’d never met her before; yet she sounded so warm that I promptly accepted her lunch invitation. Her brother Nicolau stopped over to collect the item, early the next morning, shaking me out of my jet lag: he was my only visitor at Hotel Berna, Campo Pequeno, where I’d put up in the first three days of my year-long stay in Portugal.
After my maiden Sunday Mass na terra de Camões, I headed for Carcavelos, half an hour’s journey by train from Cais do Sodré. Usually shy at a first meeting, I was nonetheless eager to see my mother Judite’s “Guirdolim cousins”.
At Oeiras, on a near-empty platform, Primo Amâncio Frias Pinto and I easily spotted each other. As he comfortably drove me home in his white Renault 10, his down-to-earth style put me at ease. And then, when Prima Maria and the family welcomed me, I noticed the glow on her face: she had taken a shine to Judite’s son. My gracious hostess had very thoughtfully invited three primos still new to me: Noémia and her children Lena and Stuart. I instantly identified the senior one (now a much-loved Tia) as daughter of Primo ‘Picu’ Stuart, who I’d been very fond of as a child… Now here was a heady mix of Neurá and Curtorim/Guirdolim, and it made my day!
I have no photographs of that memorable coming together. That was altogether another age, the pre-digital age! I vividly remember, however, that the apartment was bathed in sunlight. Prima Maria had the table laid de rigueur and served a full course meal. It wasn’t easy, but she did it! And, yes, she kept up an animated conversation, centred on Goa, our relatives and friends.
It was still a bright and pleasant afternoon when Prima Maria suggested we take a stroll in the colourful feira nearby. And soon it began to feel like home. When evening came and Primo Amâncio (who’d been my father Fernando’s contemporary at Casa de Estudantes) dropped me off to the station, I felt a sudden pang of saudade…
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August 2018. Years after my unforgettable passage to Portugal, I met the simpático casal at their ancestral house at Ararim, Socorro – which, meanwhile, I’d become familiar with as the home of my wife Isabel’s maternal aunt Bernadete married to Terêncio Frias Pinto. Prima Maria made a few more trips to Goa, travelling solo after her husband’s demise. Last year, we crossed paths at Panjim’s Immaculate Conception church. That’s when I quickly fixed up a lunch appointment; and unable to meet up at home, we decided on a thali at the Fidalgo.
How can we forget the people who’ve made us happy at some time or other in our lives? I’m glad I started off by recalling the lovely moments spent with her family – oh my God! – three decades ago...
As for her, she was soaked in memories. She smiled wistfully, reminiscing about her spinster days in Goa and as a young wife in Mozambique, and gave me the lowdown on her life as a widow.
A grandmother of two, pretty even at eighty, Prima Maria was proud of her Gomes ancestors who made it big in Portugal. She spoke ardently about the Veiga-Gomes kinship, and – surprise of surprises – she pulled a neat set of notes and sepia out from her handbag to confirm that the doctor-politician Pestaninho da Veiga (1849-1901), the physician-writer A. X. Heráclito Gomes (1864-1934), and the poet Mariano Gracias (1871-1931), who died in Lisbon, were indeed first cousins! Prima Maria was thus a third cousin of my mother’s; her children Rui and Lara, and I, sit a step below.
Needless to say, formal relationships are not everything; it’s the level of friendship that counts. For instance, when the infant Maria Rita da Veiga, died of bronchopneumonia, a day prior to the arrival of a baby in the Gomes household, this new-born was baptised Rita Maria. The noble gesture speaks volumes of the oneness of spirit that proceeds from life built around shared values! In any case, a rarity in our day and age, this episode endeared the new Maria very especially to my mother who, aged 3½ years, had been confused and shaken by the disappearance of her immediate junior sibling.
There are, on the other hand, myriad incidents over which one has no control whatsoever; one gets to join the dots only much later. Consider my mother’s passing, at the age of 83½ years, precisely on Rita Maria’s eightieth birthday! Doesn’t this say something about the communion of saints that often goes unnoticed even by practising Catholics?
Life never ceases to amaze us. Prima Maria, despite her aches and pains, travelled to Canada, New Zealand and Australia – aching to connect with friends and relatives – whereas I’d failed to get in touch with her brother Heráclito in Porto. I’d thought of him, even in the midst of São João celebrations there, but it had remained just that – a thought… That I finally got to meet him, thirty years later, on Facebook, is another matter entirely! We now stand in awe of this gift from cyberspace.
My first – and last – lunch invitation to Prima Maria inevitably ended, but not before my mobile phone camera – sensing our connectedness – clicked away, trying to discover facial resemblances between kith and kin… And it was saudade once more…
Still a sunny afternoon, much like the one at Carcavelos, I drove Prima Maria to ‘A Pousada’, a pensão she was staying at, in the city’s charming São Tomé ward. We said our goodbyes, and I left. When I called up after a month, I got no answer… Heaven knows why!
Até sempre, Prima Maria!
Celebrating Braz and Jazz
"Raga Rock" was a much-deserved tribute to Goa-born Braz Gonsalves. Thanks to this presentation by Panjim-based Communicare Trust run by Nalini Elvino de Sousa, Goa got to sing paeans to a Jazzman who keeps a low profile after decades of showmanship in the Indian metros.
At the Kala Academy, on 14 June, I was charmed by the sight of a senior citizen at the entrance, welcoming guests with a gracious smile. Many passed him by, unsuspecting that he was Braz Gonsalves himself. For sure, many jazz aficionados have heard of the man and enjoyed his music; very few would have met him in person.
A few minutes later, the very same man wearing his trademark flat cap stole the show. At 86 years of age, he regaled a packed auditorium with his magical, golden saxophone. He was joined by his good ol’ boys: Louiz Banks (who formed the great Indo-Jazz Ensemble, with Braz); Karl Peters, India’s foremost bass guitarist, and drummer Lester Godinho, not forgetting his own, musically talented wife Yvonne ‘Chic Chocolate’ Vaz, daughter Sharon, son-in-law Darryl Rodrigues, and the youngest – and perhaps the most talented of them all – his grandson Jarryd Rodrigues. “Grandfather meets grandson,” boomed Banks, who also remarked that “the legacy of Braz Gonsalves is in the safe hands of his grandson Jarryd.” They made an amazing duo.
What a spectacular evening of jazz! And the music will play on, if the revelations on stage are anything to go by: Jazz pianist Jason Quadros, Portuguese-born soprano Maria Meireles, Anthony Fernandes (bass) and the ‘cool’ Coffee Cats comprising Ian de Noronha (keyboards, bass and melodica), Neil Fernandes (guitar and vocals), Jeshurun D’Cruz (drums), Jarryd Rodrigues (alto and soprano saxophone), Gretchen Barreto (vocals), Ajoy D’Silva (trumpet), and Lester D’Souza (tenor sax).
The music segment (vocals and instrumentals) was preceded by a musical skit in which sixteen children recreated the story of Braz Gonsalves’ life which began in Neurá-o-Grande, a village my ancestors hail from. And that was an added reason for me to celebrate Braz and Jazz!
Signs of our Times
Until 1961, official and commercial signage was, quite understandably, in Portuguese. Read more
Good Friday Procession in Panjim
The 3 o’clock, Good Friday service at the city church of the Immaculate Conception comprises a poignant Crucifixion tableau.
Soon thereafter, a procession of Senhor Morto (Dead Lord) on an andor (black canopied wooden platform carrying a life-size statue of Our Lord who died on the Cross) starts off, with a statue of Our Lady in trail. It wends its way through the main thoroughfares (the church square, a section of 18th June, Pissurlencar, past Azad Maidan), making a major halt to pray at the chapel formerly attached to the mansion of a Portuguese noble family. The cavalcade then proceeds via M. G. Road and Dr D. R. de Sousa, past the Garcia de Orta Garden, and up the church stairway.
The pious march takes approximately 90 minutes. It is animated by five decades of the Marian rosary recited over speakers fitted at several points; and by Lenten hymns sung by a choir to the accompaniment of a brass band. The circuit is marked by over ten descansos (halts). At these points, penitents, all of them de rigueur, in funereal attire, flock to the two statues. Members of other religious faiths also pay their respects; many watch in awe or stand at attention (I noticed a policeman saluting).
One such halt is at a quaint chapel traditionally called 'Capela de Dom Lourenço', located behind what is now the iconic Hotel Mandovi. In times past, the chapel was part of the manor belonging to Dom Lourenço de Noronha, a Portuguese nobleman, who had acquired a large estate in the then incipient city centre. After the palatial mansion was razed, the chapel was handed over to the care and possession of the city church. Alas, the venerable structure is in a state of disrepair.
On the said route, two Hindu families (Caculó and Neurencar) traditionally offer garlands. Businesses brighten up their establishments, or simply light candles and burn incense on the adjoining pavements.
In a coda to the baroque event is a sermon (Sermão da Soledade de Maria) at a stair landing: here, from a balcony that serves as a makeshift pulpit, a priest extols the virtues of Mary and highlights her present solitude. The congregation listens in silence even while vehicle noises spoil the ambience.
The statues return to the church for final veneration. By 8 o’clock, they call it a night!
Latter-day Lessons from Lent
A very important person who passed away recently is reported to have reflected profoundly on life and death, on his sick bed. Some others dismiss the story as a sham. At any rate, as the Italians say, si non è vero, è bene trovato – even if it’s not true, it’s well said. Reflections on the mystery of life and death hold important lessons for the human soul.
As Christians, we should be concerned about the life we lead, for upon that will depend our fate in the afterlife. It’s futile even for a churchman to bend over backwards to “save” a departed soul whose fate is practically sealed; and no amount of adulation can change their post-history. It is equally absurd to try and “modify” the image they’d carved for themselves. In short, it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for history to be rewritten convincingly and abidingly by PR men. Truth always prevails.
Lent is an apt time to reflect on our personal history and on meta-history. The season reminds us that we are dust and to dust we will return; it points to our impermanence and to the limited time at our command. But, alas, as Helen Keller notes, “Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life.”
It is undeniable that each day brings us closer to death; then, why not prepare for it while it’s time! There should be no regrets when the hour strikes. Étienne de Grellet says very evocatively: “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” Truly, if we have lived with loving kindness, at the end of our earthly journey we will not fret about how history will remember us. In the memorable words of King Dom Pedro of Brazil, we will die in peace, “serenely awaiting the justice of God in the voice of history”.
But isn’t all this easier said than done? Yes; as frail human beings, we’re prone to fail. Hence, the accent should be on mending our ways and getting back on track. On the very first day of Lent, the Holy Scripture counsels us: “Rend your hearts and not your garments” (Joel 2:12). It’s a clear invitation to look inside ourselves and pluck out the evil lurking there. A time-tested prescription for a change of heart is prayer, fasting and alms-giving, provided we don’t practise our piety before fellow humans in order to be seen by them; or look dismal when we fast, like the hypocrites do; and, when giving alms, don’t proclaim it from the rooftops.
But that’s not all. In our Information Age, we might well summon up another pertinent Biblical prescription: “Let what you say be ‘yes, yes’ or ‘no, no’” (Matt. 5:37) This Biblical instruction rounds it up for our social media-savvy generation for whom praying, fasting and giving alms may not be an issue at all but taking a position may feel politically incorrect. For instance, a Christian who has the impudence to refer to the sufferings of a politico, a mere mortal, on a par with those of Christ may well have betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver.
Steve Jobs, the man who hyped the Apple bite in the digital age, is also credited with a soulful quote recorded in his last days. He is said to have dubbed the modern, consumerist individual a “twisted being”. This is nothing new; it comes across as a newfound truth only because a latter-day ‘saint’ uttered it. The more important point to take in is that we shouldn’t leave plain truths such as these to startle us at the eleventh hour, when all along we’d learnt that our real treasure lies in Heaven.
We Christians who have gone through Lent year after year should have known better. Our catechesis should have set us thinking not only about life but about the afterlife as well. All things considered, Death lets us appreciate the meaning and purpose of Life – and this is perhaps one of the most important lessons we can draw from Lent.
First published in Renovação, 1-15 April 2019
and in The Stella Maris Bulletin, Lent 2019
Santos Passos in Panjim
The ceremonies of the Santos Passos (‘Holy Steps’, in Portuguese) – a representation of the holy steps of Christ’s Passion – date back to the early days of Christianity in Goa.
While the Holy Week services comprise the most intense moments of the Lenten observances, many churches spread them out over the 40 days of Lent.
At the church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, Panjim, a huge black screen is put up every year, on the first Sunday of Lent, at the archway leading to the chancel. As a little child, I was overawed but also curious to know from my Dad the meaning of the Latin expression inscribed very high up: “O mors, ero mors tua” means "Oh death, I will be your death".
Only much later, I got to appreciate John Donne’s poem, “Death, be not proud”, which ends with the line “Death, thou shalt die”. The words are from Hosea 13: 14.
Similarly, in John 11: 25-26, Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Inside the chancel of the Panjim city Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, or say, behind the black curtain, the tableau changes every Sunday. Here are scenes of the first four Sundays of Lent.
- The Agony in the Garden 2. Jesus is condemned by Pilate 3. The Flaggelation 4. The Crowning with thorns
The fifth Sunday of Lent is observed as Palm Sunday, alternatively called Passion Sunday. At this church, the scene is festive in the morning. By afternoon, the mood changes. After the evening Mass, the tableau portrayed is that of Jesus carrying the Cross. At other churches in Goa, this tradition of this tableau could be different. In fact, old parish churches in North, Central and South Goa have their peculiar traditions in this regard.
The larger-than-life size statue follows a procession of the faithful, down the zigzag stairs of the city church. The procession wends its way through the city streets, much like the procession on Good Friday, and returns to the church by Angelus time.