An account of Goa's keystone cops related with With a Pinch of Snark and a Touch of Class
Sunday, May 29, 2011
When the family cow turned into a mobile jewellery store
Read about the innovative way in which cash, cattle and conscience (well, a complete lack of it) came together in the smuggler's haven that was the Goa-India border in the 1950s in Short Takes Long Memories
Thursday, May 26, 2011
A blast from the past: An old Interview with Kishori Amonkar by Sharmila Kamat
Kishori Amonkar's interview
In keeping with the spirit of Short Takes on reminiscences related to Goa, here is a replug of my old interview of Goan classical music legend Kishori Amonkar as she scales heaven with her sublime notes.
The interview was done for the Times of India but for some reason as yet unknown has found its way into the music library archives of the Centre for the Study of Society and Culture
In keeping with the spirit of Short Takes on reminiscences related to Goa, here is a replug of my old interview of Goan classical music legend Kishori Amonkar as she scales heaven with her sublime notes.
The interview was done for the Times of India but for some reason as yet unknown has found its way into the music library archives of the Centre for the Study of Society and Culture
Featured as Coming Attractions on Galley Cat Reviews
Galley Cat Reviews - Coming Attractions
Here are some handpicked titles from our New Books section. Want to include your book? Just read our Facebook Your New or Upcoming Book post. Don’t forget to include your title’s exact release date and a link.
Baked-Off by LiNCOLN PARK: ”The fourth book by cult novelist, LiNCOLN PARK — is the irreverent and interactive story which uncooks the inner fixings, deep dishes and foodie wonkings of a nationwide baking contest.” (April 2011)
Short Takes, Long Memories by Prabhakar Kamat & Sharmila Kamat: “A ringside view of an eventful period in Goa’s history – its transition from being a Portuguese colony to becoming Indian, this is a tale of a land caught between the irresistible pull of India and the immovable object that was the inflexible colonial regime.” (May 2011)
Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly: ”Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself.” (May 2011)
Baked-Off & Angel Burn: Coming Attractions
 |
Baked-Off by LiNCOLN PARK: ”The fourth book by cult novelist, LiNCOLN PARK — is the irreverent and interactive story which uncooks the inner fixings, deep dishes and foodie wonkings of a nationwide baking contest.” (April 2011)
Short Takes, Long Memories by Prabhakar Kamat & Sharmila Kamat: “A ringside view of an eventful period in Goa’s history – its transition from being a Portuguese colony to becoming Indian, this is a tale of a land caught between the irresistible pull of India and the immovable object that was the inflexible colonial regime.” (May 2011)
Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly: ”Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself.” (May 2011)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Two Prisoners - one Jailer - a ringside seat in both cases
"It falls on but a few, to put it quite immodestly, to be on hand for the release of two prisoners, shackled by the same jailer, on opposite sides of the globe," as Short Takes Long Memories grabs a ringside seat first at the Liberation of Goa in 1961 and then, 13 years later, at the Carnation Revolution in Portugal as a colony and its coloniser are freed from the same jailer - the dictatorial Salazarist regime of Portugal, on opposite sides of the globe
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Salaam Mumbai
Here are some excerpts of a piece I had written on Mumbai some years back which celebrates the hustling -bustling metropolis that was unfortunately in the news for all the wrong reasons:
"For a person coming from Goa, the complete lack of interest shown by Mumbai commuters in a fellow being is disconcerting to say the least. Whenever I travel on a bus in Goa, and happen to start chatting with the person sitting next to me, I always end up being bombarded with questions about myself. Like where I come from and what I do in life. Like where I am going and for what reason. I have never been able to figure out how the answers will assist the questioner but I reply to them all the same.
Travelling in the ladies compartment in a suburban train in Mumbai provides you with an entirely different experience. You may be practically sitting on someone else’s lap during rush hour but the interest shown in you will be minimal. The only time someone asks you something is when the lady who is standing wishes to know where you will be alighting. Her aim is to book the seat you are occupying in advance of the other commuters. The jolly all-of-us-are-a-family-so-let’s-discuss-one-another spirit that pervades when Goans travel together in a public transport vehicle is conspicuous by its absence.
Going by the pace of life in Mumbai, where people are always hurrying and scurrying, the statement is undoubtedly true. Everybody there is busy - evolving a new business idea, earning a living, making money. If nothing else, then some members of the citizenry keep themselves occupied staying on the wrong side of the law. In Goa, it is said, you have time to pause, reflect, contemplate. In Mumbai, the philosophy is: “Time waste karne ka nahi hai.” A person has no time to smell the roses. Perhaps the reason is because, in the concrete jungle that is the metropolis,there are no roses left to smell."
"For a person coming from Goa, the complete lack of interest shown by Mumbai commuters in a fellow being is disconcerting to say the least. Whenever I travel on a bus in Goa, and happen to start chatting with the person sitting next to me, I always end up being bombarded with questions about myself. Like where I come from and what I do in life. Like where I am going and for what reason. I have never been able to figure out how the answers will assist the questioner but I reply to them all the same.
Travelling in the ladies compartment in a suburban train in Mumbai provides you with an entirely different experience. You may be practically sitting on someone else’s lap during rush hour but the interest shown in you will be minimal. The only time someone asks you something is when the lady who is standing wishes to know where you will be alighting. Her aim is to book the seat you are occupying in advance of the other commuters. The jolly all-of-us-are-a-family-so-let’s-discuss-one-another spirit that pervades when Goans travel together in a public transport vehicle is conspicuous by its absence.
Going by the pace of life in Mumbai, where people are always hurrying and scurrying, the statement is undoubtedly true. Everybody there is busy - evolving a new business idea, earning a living, making money. If nothing else, then some members of the citizenry keep themselves occupied staying on the wrong side of the law. In Goa, it is said, you have time to pause, reflect, contemplate. In Mumbai, the philosophy is: “Time waste karne ka nahi hai.” A person has no time to smell the roses. Perhaps the reason is because, in the concrete jungle that is the metropolis,there are no roses left to smell."
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Colonial Pimple refused to burst
Learn why Goa remained a ‘colonial pimple’ on the face of India, to borrow Jawaharlal Nehru’s felicitous choice of words, long after India became independent and other colonial powers had followed Britain in booking a one-way ticket out of the subcontinent.
Though Benjamin Franklin was quick to pronounce, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days," the Portuguese strongman- Antonio Salazar, just would not take the hint
Pic courtest: D Kirk
Though Benjamin Franklin was quick to pronounce, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days," the Portuguese strongman- Antonio Salazar, just would not take the hint
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Down Memory Lane in Goa
Friday, May 13, 2011
Short Takes Long Memories by Prabhakar Kamat and Sharmila Kamat
http://www.rupapublications.co.in/client/Book/Short-Takes-Long-Memories.aspx
A ringside view of an eventful period in Goa’s history – its transition from being a Portuguese colony to becoming Indian, this is a tale of a land caught between the irresistible pull of India and the immovable object that was the inflexible colonial regime. The book is based on the reminiscences of I.A.S. officer and diplomat Prabhakar Kamat. In the late 1940s, Prabhakar Kamat abandons the somnolence of Goa to travel by sea to Europe for higher studies. In Lisbon, his adventures navigating the minefield of culture shocks are tempered by encounters with revolutionaries from the larger Portuguese Empire. He returns to a Goa still under colonial rule, but with India’s patience wearing thin. A blink-and-you-missed-it Army action in 1961 lets Goa join India and plunge into its hectic, colourful democracy. Goa’s date with self-rule galvanises Portugal to follow suit. With sharp insight and witty anecdotes, the book showcases life as it was (and in some ways, still is) in Goa.
A ringside view of an eventful period in Goa’s history – its transition from being a Portuguese colony to becoming Indian, this is a tale of a land caught between the irresistible pull of India and the immovable object that was the inflexible colonial regime. The book is based on the reminiscences of I.A.S. officer and diplomat Prabhakar Kamat. In the late 1940s, Prabhakar Kamat abandons the somnolence of Goa to travel by sea to Europe for higher studies. In Lisbon, his adventures navigating the minefield of culture shocks are tempered by encounters with revolutionaries from the larger Portuguese Empire. He returns to a Goa still under colonial rule, but with India’s patience wearing thin. A blink-and-you-missed-it Army action in 1961 lets Goa join India and plunge into its hectic, colourful democracy. Goa’s date with self-rule galvanises Portugal to follow suit. With sharp insight and witty anecdotes, the book showcases life as it was (and in some ways, still is) in Goa.
| About Author |
 |
| ||
| |||
|
| ||
| |||
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)