SO, WHAT IS YOUR REAL NAME?

   K

REAL NAME

I sell my book ‘GOA—Memories of My Homeland’ at Canadian Arts & Craft Shows. My book is there, placed on a stand at the point of sale, so visitors to the show can see the publication.
Published in Canada: 2004 - ISBN 0-9735515-X

Here are some questions that visitors to our booth often ask me: Sometimes my silent replies of exasperation are in parenthesis below each question.

1.  Where is Goa? (You definitely need an Atlas! (Google it!)

2.  So, you wrote this book eh? (No, I got someone else to      write it for me)
2a. So, you really wrote this book? (Now, do you need me to pull my hair?)

3.  Whose Memories are these? (My grandfather's) (The book's title clearly state 'My Homeland', so why would the memories be someone else's, ignoramus?)

4.  So, what is Goa?  (A kind of a theory perhaps!) or (A state of mind, maybe?)
5. And who is Tony Fernandes? (He's got his name on the book)

6.  What is your real name? (Do you want me to whack you?)

7.  Why do you have a western name? (Because you are a moron)

8.  Are there any Christians in India? (Yes, long before they were in the west) Christianity was introduced in India by St.Thomas the Apostle in 52 AD. St.Thomas Mountain bears testimony to this. So that means Christianity in India is older than in many European countries!
9.  Oh, I see, so do you really celebrate Christmas in India?
  (you should go and see)
10. So, how come your wife's name is Edna? (Because you are a nincompoop!)
11. They smack their lips after tasting my wife's Edna's delicious relishes and often ask her: "So, are you really Edna?"
12.  Many times, upon seeing my singer/song-writer        daughter's CD which has English written all over it, I'm  often asked whether she sings in Hindi. Duh! Pure naiveté again! India is the country with the largest English-speaking population in the world.
13.  Was yours an arranged marriage?  (Why do you want to know? Are you a marriage counsellor? Anyway, no, it wasn't arranged. But even if it was, so what?)
14.  And did you receive a huge dowry? (If you are doing research on dowry, then you are in the wrong place.)
15.  But your English is so good. Where did you learn to speak and write such impeccable English.
  (Thank you - don't you know that there are English Schools in India? And they also learn to speak French, German, Portuguese, etc. and at least five other regional languages?)
16.  Customer: "Oh! Goa - Memories of my Homeland! So where is homeland?"
   (Me: Far away. Very far, far away. It'll be too far away for you to comprehend!)
17.  Customer: "Oh! Your English is so good, you speak so well!
   (Me: Perhaps you are not aware of the fact that the British were in India for more than 200 years!)
   Customer: "Oh! Really?"
   (Me: I have no further questions.)
18. Oh! I see yourbook is written in English! Did you have it translated from another language. (This is a classic - I have no further answers).

   At the Arts & Crafts Shows that my wife and I participate in, we automatically behave like self-appointed goodwill ambassadors, enlightening many visitors to the shows across Ontario. We are proud of our heritage and such frequently asked ignorant questions don't go unanswered. And a restrained due lecture is then somehow immediately called for. Some cannot digest the fact of my English delivery or are simply flabbergasted in disbelief. Accented it is. I do not pretend. Others embarrassingly thank me. Some have even apologized for their ignorance at the end of my lecture, and one expressed regret by email stating how sorry she was for asking a silly question.

So here are some

Brief Notes about Goa

Calm and Serene
Mandrem, North Goa

The magnificent Church of
Our Lady of Immaculate Conception
Panjim - Capital

Known around the world for its serene beauty, GOA is located south of Mumbai, India.

The poems published in my book were written by me over the last many years. They are memories of my childhood years as I grew up and studied in Goa during the rule of the erstwhile Portuguese, studied Segundo Grau Portuguese as a second language, served Mass in Latin as an altar boy, and graduated from an English speaking High school, run by the Order of the Franciscans Minor Capuchins. Anthony is my original given name and 'real' name. Fondly called Tony - given to me at birth, baptized and confirmed in a church-going Catholic family.

Christmas especially is celebrated big-time. New Year, Easter, All Saints Day, All Souls Day and all the feasts in the Catholic Calendar are also celebrated with great pomp and fervour side by side along with the Hindu compatriots and their festivals which the Catholics share and respect. 

Tony, which is my real name, has never been changed from another name. Many people have Christian names in India for the simple reason that there are so many Christians in various different denominations of Christianity in India - a fact that some people in the west do not know about. 

Known around the world for its serene beauty, Goa is located south of Mumbai, India. It gained full-fledged statehood 12th August 1987. Prior to that, it was a Union Territory for 26 years after four and a half centuries of Portuguese rule. Its highest point is 1,022 metres above sea-level, with milky-white water-falls 'Dudhsagar' (look it up - google it) with an area of 3700 sq.km. Goa has had western influence and Portuguese rule of nearly 450 years - a clear 350 years before the British domination in India. 

Goa's capital is Panaji.  Goa comprises of districts like Ilhas, Bardez, Salcette, Ponda, Marmagoa, Bicholim, Satari, Pernem, Quepem, Sanguem, and Canacona. Its captital is Panaji. Its other major cities are  Margao,  Mapsa and Vasco da Gama and Marmagoa which has a natural

harbour.

Abade Faria, or Abbe (Abbot) Jose Custodio de Faria,was born in Candolim, District of Bardez in Goa, Portuguese India, on May 31, 1746. He died in Paris on September 30, 1819.


Abade Faria was one of the pioneers in the scientific study of hypnotism. He introduced oriental hypnosis to Paris in the early 19th century. To read more about this fascinating man  please click on the link below:
http://tonferns.blogspot.ca/2012/08/abade-faria-great-goan-hypnotist_12.html

Statue of Abade Faria, Master of Hypnotism
Panjim

Goa’s  main rivers are the Zuari, Mandovi and Chapora. It has beautiful palm-fringed and scenic beaches like Colva, Candolim  Calangute, Vagator and Arambol with golden sands all along its western coast line. Spanning across the eastern part of Goa is the pristine and magnificent

mountain range called the Western Ghats. Nestled among those hills are the famous 3-tier water-falls called Dudsagar.

Tiracol River, North Goa

With a total population of approximately 1.2 million, it is bustling with activity. It is a world famous tourist destination with excellent air, sea, rail and interstate bus connections. Besides having the first lighthouse in Asia, and the first printing press in India (1556) established by the Jesuits, it has numerous archaeological sites like ancient forts for the connoisseur to study and explore besides ancient temples and churches.

Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa.

Goa is famous for its patron Saint Francis Xavier whose uncorrupted body lies in a casket in the Basilica of Bom Jesus at Old Goa. Goa is famous for its architectural grandeur – its ancient temples, churches and mosques. Goans are a peace-loving people with a strong sense of community, taking pride in their own distinct culture and heritage.

In 1983, the 7th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) began in New Delhi at Vigyan Bhavan, hosted by Indira Gandhi. Two days later, the visiting heads of government from 39 states packed up and moved South to sunny Goa, where the summit continued until November 29 as a “retreat” for the dignitaries, at the Fort Aguada Beach Resort, India’s first five star beach resort.

It came as no surprise that Goa offered the perfect scenario to host a curiously diverse group of world leaders, including the UK’s Margaret Thatcher, Canada’s Pierre Trudeau and Australia’s Bob Hawke from the Western camp; Zambia’s Kaunda, Tanzania’s Nyere and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe from the African camp; and also Sri Lanka’s Junius Jayawardene from the subcontinent. Goa, after all, must have had something right.

  

The Indian leaders must have certainly thought and considered about Goa's attributes - in its beauty, serenity, tranquility, culture, environment, heritage to show off to world's famous politicians and a period of relaxation for them after the Meeting in Delhi.

Goans like to dance, western style and Indian style. They can also sing English, Portuguese, Hindi and Konkani songs of all generations. They also play instruments like the violin, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, oboe, fife, clarinet, the trombone and the double bass, and are proficient both in classical Indian and western music. Goans are well-educated, have become engineers, architects, doctors, lawyers, writers, poets, artists and two priests awaiting canonization - namely Padre Agnel and Padre Jose Vaz.

In a modern cosmopolitan world, Goa has managed to preserve its old world charm.

On the other hand there are some folks from our own country who pretend they don't know us. They immediately look the other way if we accidentally make eye contact.

So you see it takes all sorts to make a world.