The Santo Estevam Blog

By Jose Lucas Mattos (From St. Estevam Firgojechi Zap, February 2010 issue) This year (1759-2009) we Zunvenkars got together to celebrate 250 years of our structural church. If we go back to the history of our faith, it is not of suit, boot and glamour of today, but our faith is of our poor "fottekars" who were ready to mortgage their lone possession "fottem" to build this magnificent architectural grandeur. As we see it today, it is not only the faith but a strong commitment and hard work which we inherited and flourished throughout the world. Under the spiritual guidance of our Parish Priest Fr. Olavo D'Souza, our village grandson, and Fr. Alexandre Fernandes, our assistant to the Parish Priest, we began this year's celebrations with a spiritual renewal of heart and mind and family life too. As the saying goes, "The family that prays together stays together" we began a five-day family mission conducted by Fr. Kenneth Telles of the Diocesan ...

Jackson Dias, St. Estevam (Letter to the editor, O Heraldo dated 15th May 2006) Having criticized the Christians before, the author Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code), now advises all believers to read the Holy Bible, as if they do not know the world of God.  I would like to know what pleasure the man derives by hurting the religious feelings of the most peace loving citizens of the world.  He talks about splinter groups in the Christian Church.  He talks of discrepancies in the  Bible, which are caused by Anti Christ like himself. The original book is pure, chaste and sublime.  Dan Brown cannot make the slightest dent in the teachings of the Lord.  When Christ founded his religion, he said to his disciple “Simon Peter, Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my church and not even the gates of hell shall prevail against it”.  And he went to add, “Heaven and  Earth may pass away, but my Word will not pass away”. And so, the Churc...

- Late Justice Remedios; First Goan Chief Justice of Goa. - Late General Medico Minguel Caetano Dias. - Late Lt. Col. Fr. Vitor Dias. - Late Dr. Alvaro Dias; Chief Justice of Goa. - Late Rev. Fr. Leandro da Rosa; Bacharel em Sagrada Teologia. - Angelo Fonseca, exponent Indo Christian Art (acclaimed artist and painter). - Late Dr. Estevam Afonso; Founder Director of Vaccine Institute, Goa. - Late Fr. Crescencio Monteiro; Professor of Rachol & Saligao Seminary and Konkani scholar. - Late Major Vincente Joao de Santana Dias. - Late Jose Ladislau Saldanha; freedom fighter and Tamrapatra awardee. - Late Canon Angelo D’Costa; Professor at Rachol Seminary. - Late Professor Dr. Bailon D’sa; Chief of UNESCO Project entrusted with the founding and manning of new University in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. - Late Dr.Olivinho Gomes; Konkani scholar and Head of Konkani Dept., Goa University. - Victor Magalhaes;freedom fighter and Principal, Govt. College, Canacona. - C...

Emidio F. Monteiro President of Carnival Committee (2003) - His message in the SECASA 2003 bulletin - All "Honrad Zunvenkars", specially as cultivators of our popular "Bhenddes". When a group of us decided to participate in the Traditional category of the Carnival Parade in differnt towns of Goa, in spite of opposition and criticism form disgruntled elements, we opted for the concept of vegetation with "Bhenddes" as prime product and the slogan "Be Vegetarian For Healthy Living" which ultimately conquered the cities of Panjim, Mapuca and Vasco and we deservingly got the 1st prize, while in Margao we had to be content with the 2nd prize. The large number of participants in ur floats which constituted an impressive number of females, and the original music, is something for all of us to remember for years. All this was possible due to the generous donations from all our villagers. The historic achievement has proved beyond doubt that we Zunvenkar c...

By Late Prof. L. M. Afonso Amidst the picturesque islands of Goa surrounded by the magnificent and placid waters of the River Mandovi one comes across a colourful island with a colourful history. The isle of Jua today glories in the memories of old kingdoms and mighty kings. The story goes back to the sixth century when it was known to the people around Konkan desh as “Shakecho Jumvo”. This green jewel originally consisted of three small islets viz Jua, Tolto and Vantso with a canal connecting them. It has been observed thanks to the silt deposits of the River Mandovi, that these small islets have been joined together into one island - that of Santo Estevam which has expanded rapidly, especially since the Second World War. Around the hill on which stands the imposing statue of Christ The King is a vast expanse of rice fields and in the distance rise small hillocks and dunes covered with forests, which are fast vanishing. Relieving the monotony of the scene there are lines of tr...

Manddo composed by Jackson Dias -I- Mudans korunk kednaim tunvem Goeam ieunk zai Zunveam oslo gaum tuka meuncho nam go bai Pordesant ami astanam, ugddas tuzo ietanam, Poddta amka tujim sopnam.   Ch: Ubo raulear dongrar, Nodor marlear ganvar, Polounk to srungar Mhonntat amkam bhenddekar, Purvoz amche varvemkar HONRAD AMI ZUNVENKAR   -II- Amchea Zunvear lhan vodd asa sobit tim ghoram Picavoll zaiti hanga khuxal tim poram, Sobit igroz kopelam xetamni rongoilam, Doria deger nettoilam   -III- Voddvik tuji sogleamkuch naum tin letramchem Lhan-tiko mapar tum istimossamchem Bhangar tum putamchem, Douloth tum dhuvamchem, Sobit JUA naum tujem.

By Late Prof. L. M. Afonso History is not just about quests or conquests. Beyond the ramparts and battlefields there were the ordinary men and women, the farmers and vegetable cultivators and the housewives who helped them, to keep life going. But their narratives lie frozen and unheard amid the dead debris of times. If you look around carefully you will find that every place has a nook or cranny which records history. It could be a decaying log or thatched hut of a farmer. All these have their own stories to tell. Jua then was a group of seven islets intercepted by swamps and marshy areas of the river Mandovi, Mangueral, Polvado, Tonca and St. Francisco was the biggest islet followed by the twin islets of Tolto, separated by “Karem Bath” Bairo Santissm and Aldeia Grande, Palmar and Cupa were the tidal islets. All these islets were systematically joined together by constructing culverts and causeways and by building defending bunds by our ancestors and later maintained by Comunida...

By Dr. Rufino Monteiro Viva Jua!! Honrad amu Zunvenkar!! Lovely Green Island!! These are the exclamations we are used to hear and feel proud of and this year at Carnival time in Goa, we are all delighted to see our Zunvenkars all in true Goan Traditional attire and way thrilling the crowds in all the major cities of Goa and winning laurels besides the hearts of people from Goa, other parts of India and abroad. Thus, the villagers of our great Green Island of Santo Estevam proved the point that if they come together for doing something constructive, they can surely be second to none. Over the years, our islanders have been shining lights all over Goa and even abroad with their hard-work, dedication and clever minds. Our village has produced many holy priests, famous architects and engineers, renowned doctors, illustrious teachers and artists, good sports persons and numerous other well known and respected people in their fields. But alas! What is the state in recent years? Despite hav...

Courtesy O Heraldo Jackson Dias, a noted singer, writer, conductor and composer from Jua has come out with an audiovisual CD titled "Iliana" under Bhenddekar Productions where Jackson pays tribute to his mother, who inspired him to follow his heart in Konkani music. The CD consists of Cantaram, duets and groups singing Mando in expression of Jua style and Goa in general. Jackson has trained some of the village youth to sing and dance in his album. This album introduces some new voices, mostly from Santo Estevam, such as Chiara Gomes, Antonetta Dias, Alwyn Gomes who are the new finds of Jackson Dias. The CD also features Xavier Gomes, Reniy Dias and Velany Gama a young co-producer. Mukesh Ghantwalhas rendered melodious music for the album while Marthalisa Afonso, Jelda Fernandes, Lee Ann Monteiro, Eden Marques, Anna Lisa Silveira, Diasa D'Costa, Stanley Marques and Anthony Sylvester have lent their voices for the chorus.

By Jackson Dias The idyllic village of Santo Estevam, the island called Ilha Verde (Green Island), has been the cradle of distinguished achievement in various fields and has produced several eminent personalities in diverse fields of endeavour. It may be sheer coincidence that the first Goan Chief Justice of the Goa High Court, Dr. Jose Maria De Remedios (1825) and the last of them, Dr. Alvaro Dias (1962), were both from Santo Estevam. One has to mention a few of them for illustration: the famous artist, Angelo da Fonseca, known as the father of Indian art; General Dr. Miguel Caetano Dias and his sons, Lt. Col. Victor Dias, and Dr. Antonio Dias, the first two becoming Directors of Goa Health Services and a third a medical scientist of renown; Mr. Eufemiano Dias, ex-Director, Goa PWD and eminent architect; Venith Alphonso, the documentary film-maker of "Bapuji" fame; Fr. Crescencio Monteiro, the eminent linguist and professor in the seminary; Dr. Bailon De Sa, ex-UN advisor, e...

Prof. Agnel Crasto sings praises for Jackson Dias’ latest CD “Iliana” (Courtesy Gomantak Times) Jackson Dias needs no introduction in Santo Estevam. He is a well-known singer, writer, conductor and composer of Konkani music. He has prepared an audiovisual CD which consists of cantaram, duets and group singing in memory of his beloved mother Iliana who inspired and encouraged him to follow his heart in Konkani music. The cantaram is his expression of the appreciation of his love for Santo Estevam in particular and Goa in general. He has trained some village youth to sing and dance the cantaram and the mando. This CD also includes some new voices of youth singing Konkani like Chaiara Gomes, Velany Gama, Antonetta Dias, Alwyn Gomes. The CD will be a discover of new talent I Konkani music. The album of Jackson Dias entitled “Iliana” is presented by Bhenddekar Productions with music by Mukesh Ghatwal and lyrics by Jackson Dias. Mukesh Ghatwal has done justice to the CD. This CD is the contr...

A review by Olivinho Gomes (Courtesy Goa Today) Music and song runs naturally coursing enthusiastically in the Goan blood. That has been happening mostly in fulsome blossoming in the emotional language of the Goan heart that is incontestably Konkani, however much other languages attempt to usurp that place. As a matter of fact there is in the market a growing spate of such cassettes, compact discs and albums featuring songs and charming music by well-known composers and singers as well as upcoming artistes among boys and girls who are making their debut on this scene. Among the latter figures Jackson Dias, a talented yet maverick poet, composer and singer who had confined himself to this date to catering to the needs of rural circles, particularly in his native village of Santo Estevam, and he was not taken very seriously. However, he appears to have graduated now from that rung of music makers and made a splash of sorts at a higher level in his first Konkani album entitled ILIANA that...

By Jackson Dias Not only do clouds play a role in the delicate temperature balance of the planet, they cause catastrophic weather phenomena. The more warmth that rises into the atmosphere in water vapour, the more powerful will be the climatic extremes. Global warming may have its greatest impact in transforming the sun’s radiant energy into climatic violence: burning heat, roaring storms and pulverising hail, as well as more and more drought of greater severity. As difficult as it is for meteorologists to predict the next day’s weather, it is far harder to make realistic long-term predictions, simulating the often contradictory forces of clouds with a computer is a tricky proposition. Even the inner workings of a single real cloud arc hard to reproduce in a laboratory. Helped by weather satellites, researchers now have hundreds of millions of bits of data at their fingertips each year. And yet that is only a tiny part of all of the measurements that could be made. Will the deserts bec...

By Jackson Dias Back in the mid-1980s, Veerabhadran Ramanathan of the Centre for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate in La Jolla, California, began wondering whether such condensation cooling alone was enough to protect the hottest regions of the Earth from overheating. He marvelled at the fact that the upper layers of the tropical oceans never got any warmer than 28 degrees centigrade, though the burning sun beats down on them day after day. Is there a mechanism at work that could even help stop the greenhouse effect? Water vapour only warms the atmosphere to a point, the point where the shadow-cooling effect of clouds takes over. Like an enormous parasol, the earth’s cloud-cover reflects much of the invisible and ultraviolet radiation from the sun back into space. Because the upper layers of clouds reflect light, they become blindingly white. And the whiter they are on top, the darker the clouds under them, hanging over the earth looking leaden grey, sometimes almost black. For the most pa...

By Jackson Dias The storm clouds stretch menacingly across the sky. From the plane’s cockpit, towering, monstrous clouds are visible – enormous mushrooms, their tops white and luminous, rising from the ocean below. Overhead, at an altitude of 18,000 metres (57,000 feet) flies a U-2 aircraft – a former spy plane converted to serve as a cloud-watcher. At this altitude, it is beyond the reach of the mighty powers of the weather below. Six thousand metres lower, meteorologists in a Lear jet are violently shaken. Hail hammers their plane as it bounces, through swirling fog. For six weeks in 1993, the two planes carrying members of an international team of researchers, flew through clouds above the central Pacific – in every sort of weather. The project, which also involved several ships and satellites, provided an in-depth look at the water cycle in the atmosphere, in which the clouds play a role. An even more ambitious co-operative study is planned for the skies above the Indian Ocean in 1...

By Andrew Pereira (Courtesy Times of India ) From the serene silence that is St. Estevam’s hallmark, the island village has burst into a riot of colours, laughter and unbridled joy since Christmas. “This is one time during the year when I see most of my parishioners”, says a smiling Fr. Olavo D’Souza, parish priest of St. Estevam. At other times, the 1961 hit Where Have All The Flowers Gone? could well have been written for the village. The St. Estevam men haven’t, however gone to war as the song’s men have, but have boarded ships and dropped anchor in the sea-faring profession to bring home the bacon. Saturday was the feast of the village patron – St. Stephen – and the missing men were home for it. This year, the feast celebrations are on a grander scale. The present church was built in 1759 by the village communidade with local support and the islanders are commemorating its 250th anniversary. “It’s three days of joy on the island: Christmas, followed by the feasts of St. Steph...