Once
upon a time in the tiny state of Goa, there lived two friends called Jennifer
and Shweta. They were inseparable and were the best of friends. Nothing could
come between them. Though they came from different backgrounds and spoke
different dialects of Konkani they shared a mutual respect for each other, they
both loved Konkani.
As
years passed, they drifted apart. They argued a lot due to their various
ideologies, the transition from Konkani to English worsened their relationship
as Shweta had another reason to love Konkani. In addition to it being her
mother tongue, she knew the role Konkani played in the 'Opinion Poll'. She was
determined to help Jennifer recall her love for Konkani. The odds were stacked
against her but she was tenacious. Eventually she broke down Jennifer's walls
and revived her love for Konkani.
This story may seem far fetched but these
concepts are applicable to Goans and to all who read this article. Some may
wonder why the emphasis on the past, but history has lessons for everybody and
there's tonnes of it in Goa. This may seem straight out of a book but when I
talk of history, I speak from experience.
Though
I feel great pride in telling people I was born in St. Cruz, Goa, I’m equally
proud of all the struggles my parents had to undergo on my account. My dad
began on a hunt for jobs which ended when he set up shop in Goa in 1983. Naturally being born and raised in Goa, I love Goa to the core. My
background naturally meant I have a different surname which led to massive
problems in my family triggered by a section of Goans. The problems raged on
throughout my childhood slicing through a huge chunk of my adolescence.
A
sense of Identity crisis dominated my recent past, The sense of confusion and
turmoil was permanently laid to rest after several years of an internal battle,
I got to hear bits and pieces about my lineage. My mind was finally made up
that I was partly a Goan as well as a Keralite.
Learning
Konkani is not a mountain to climb as my love for Goa introduced me to Konkani
only in 11th standard before which I spoke only English, and Hindi.
I initially kept myself apart from relatives as I thought they wouldn’t
understand me but over the years many things have forced me to re-think my
stance on many things.
Today I am trying my best to make amends in
the way I know. Just like a person can benefit from his history, so can a
state. While historical events like 'Operation Vijay' usually seems to divide
Goans, others like 'Opinion Poll' should be the anchor to unite Goans. 'Opinion
Poll' should gain greater significance in 21st century Goa.
As
the government focuses on trivial matters like Hindi, which may seem logical at
surface level but if pondered deeply, one will come to the realization that
‘India’ is made up of individual states, all of which have a past and enforcing
‘Hindi’ would undermine it all, stripping away the history and culture of each
and every individual state of India.
May
the opinion poll remind Goans what should be our focus. Reliving the past will
open many wounds but lessons from the past should remind us of what we are
fighting for. In an era when people claim to fight for Goans and end up dividing
people, going backwards is the only way to go forward
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