Se Cathedral

The Se Cathedral in old goa is the largest church in India dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria. It is the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and also one of the largest churches in Asia.

The Se Cathedral was built to commemorate the victory of the Portugues under Alphonso de Albuquerque over a Muslim army, leading to the capture of the city of Goa in 1510. Since the day of the victory happened to be on the feast of Saint Catherine, the cathedral was dedicated to her.

It was commissioned by Governor George Cabral to be enlarged in 1552 on the remains of an earlier structure. The actual construction began in 1562 under the reign of King Don Sebastiao. The Cathedral was finally completed in 1619 and was consecrated in 1640.

It originally had two towers, but one collapsed in 1776 and was never rebuilt.

Se Cathedral also houses a baptismal font made in 1532 which was used by Saint Francis Xavier the patron saint of Goa, in order to baptize several Goan converts.

St. Augustine Tower

One of the most spectacular of all monuments in Goa, is this highly visible landmark, a 46m-high tower served as a belfry and formed part of the facade of a magnificent Church. The construction of the building began more than 400 years ago and was finished between the years 1597 to 1602. The name of the designer of this magnificent piece of construction is not known, but he is thought to have been Italian.

When it was completed in the 16th century, the grand Nossa Senhora da Graca Church was recognized as one of the three great Augustinian churches in the Iberian world, the other two being the Basilica of the Escorial in Spain, St. Vincente de Fora in Lisbon.

On entering the church, the visitor would have a glimpse of the grand retable of the high altar, with its large gilt tabernacle sheltered within an arch, through a screen of arched piers. Vestiges of most of these piers were visible until recently; they supported a spacious choir which could have accommodated a large number of Augustinian monks.

The nave of the Church now lies open to the sky, under whose broken arches locals sometimes gather and talk. Covering the vast nave was a barrel vault, whose enormous weight unfortunately hastened its collapse.The church fell into neglect and the vault collapsed in 1842. The church's demise began with the collapse of this vault. The body of the church was soon destroyed, but the facade remained intact.

The tower's huge bell was moved in 1871 to the Church of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Panjim, where it remains and can be seen and heard today. In 1931, the facade and half the tower fell down, followed by more sections in 1938 leaving only half the tower that is seen and visited by thousands of tourists today.This remnant, the renowned St. Augustine's tower is all that remains of what was once one of the largest buildings in Goa -- The Augustinian Monastery.

Was this supposed to be a joke?

It is common practice here in Goa to splash local newspapers with advertisment on the occassion of a birthday of a public figure. I am sure it is not because the advertiser is not able to wish the birthday boy in person. Just that it is seen as a sign of goodwill to be seen as spending money to publicly wish the person.

However, what go me to post this story is the ad I noticed in today's edition of O Heraldo. An obituary in fact. I refer to this ad only as an example.

Why is it that the name of the deceased itself is in small fonts while that of the advertiser is even more prominent. Moreover, Joaquim Alemao even has his qualifications mentioned.

Just a few guesses:

• The deceased himself is trivial and not the main reason for the ad itself
• This is a good opportunity to promote Joaquim and Yuri in the eyes of the Goan public
• People need to know that Yuri Alemao is a social worker (how?)

Tick one

The medium of instruction issue

Have we just let the politicians distract us from the more important things and taken us for a ride? I am referring to the MOI issue that seems to have taken everyone's attention lately.

Not for a minute do I want to trivialize the importance of the subject itself. However, the way the topic has manifested itself and the direction it has taken are something we need to closely introspect.

Coming back to the topic itself, I am a big supporter of the MOI being in the local language until middle school with English as a subject. One of the key element of local identify is our language which is unfortunately losing out. The number of Goans who use Konkani as a language of communication is dwindling at a rapid pace. What recourse do we have before we lose our language itself?

I am aware of the argument that English is an extremely important language and very important in the workplace. But should this argument impact the current risk we face of losing our identity? I believe the current generation is exposed to English in many forms and hence masters the language through many other means.

Are we forsaking our identify and future by promoting English as a MOI?

Tehelka Tapes India Pak match fixing conversations

The derogatory ad

Refer to my earlier post.

Someone managed to send me a link to the ad posted on Flickr.

Read the ad. It's nauseating.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Picture courtesy joegoaukextra2

Dr. Hubert Gomes

"Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote."

William E. Simon

I bowed my head in shame as I read the the recent advertisement in O Heraldo (5th February 2011) put up by some supporters of Churchill Alemao. Unfortunately I am not able to download the ad itself hence I am providing a link here.

I am angry. I am ashamed.

But then, it's time we looked inwards. Are we partly responsible for the result? In the words of William E Simon, it is our good Goans who continue to vote such incompetent representatives to the assembly. As the next assembly elections draw near, its time to come out in large numbers and vote judiciously. Vote for candidates who have a vision and commitment for Goa. A candidate who can influence and develop policies that strengthen Goa and the niz goenkar.

Today, as I read the tirade against Dr. Hubert Gomes in O Herald, I am even more determined to vote. And vote for people like Dr. Hubert Gomes who I believe has accomplished so much in his career and can genuinely contribute to the betterment of Goa.

Please pass on this message to your friends and relatives.

The time has come.