Seminars on Goan Heritage held at Fr. Agnel College, Pilar

Report on the one-day seminar held on 29th August, 2011 on "Goan Heritage" organized by Goa Sudharop Community Development Inc. USA in association with Fr. Agnel College, Pilar, Goa

A seminar on Goan Heritage was jointly organised by Goa Sudharop Community Development Inc. and Fr. Agnel College, Pilar, on 29th August, 2011, with more than 100 students from different colleges attending the seminar. These included teachers and students from People's Higher Secondary, Mala, Panaji, P.E.S. College, Farmagudi, Dhempe College of Arts and Science, Panjim, Our Lady of the Rosary Higher Secondary School, Dona Paula, MES College of Arts and Commerce, Zuarinagar besides students from Fr. Agnel College, Pilar. Prof. Soraya Rebelo of the host college, co-ordinated the event. In his address, Mr Ibonio D'Souza, Exec. Director, Goa Sudharop explained that the organisation has been working to contribute in all areas of Goa's development, through its annual theme-based awareness and empowerment programmes and other philanthrophic activities. He said that Goa Sudharop observes 2011 as the "Year of Goan Heritage", and that several seminars on Goan heritage, along with other similar programs have been planned for the year to promote Goan heritage. The purpose of these programs was to provide, to the students' community in particular, an opportunity to explore the uniqueness of our rich Goan cultural, traditional and environmental heritage.

During the first session, Prajal Sakhardande spoke on 'History through heritage Goa; Pre-historic times to yesterday'. He talked about our ancient past, and about various traditional customs, practices and the rich natural and built legacy that we have inherited and which we need to understand, protect and preserve.

The next session was conducted by Bernadette Gomes on the topic 'Tribal life and communal harmony in Goa'. She spoke about how some communities are recognised the world over as original settlers. The heritage that our Kunbi, Velip and Goude communities bring is that of a harmonious relationship with nature. They also shared a reciprocal relationship with other communities. Another unique feature seen in Goa is that of the traditional communal harmony among all communities of Goa that is best viewed through their shared festivals, language and common practices.

The third session was by Jose Lourenco on 'Goan Architecture'. Speaking on the topic 'Goan Architecture", he described Goan heritage as a "legacy of art, architecture and food, threaded together by Goan identity". He spoke of the evolution of different architectural styles over the years, of the different materials used over time, even while praising the ingenuity of the early builders.

In the last session before the lunch break, Mrs. Maria Lourdes Bravo da Costa Rodrigues spoke on 'Traditional Goan food'. Elaborating on how Goan food has evolved through the ages, she spoke about the different traditional food items like polle, bakhri, pez, ambil, etc.

After lunch, Cosma Fernandes spoke on the topic 'Konkani literature and Goan Music' which he said are inter-related. Speaking of Shenoy Goembab as the Father of modern Konkani literature who wrote in both the Devnagiri and Romi scripts, he listed out several milestones in Konkani literature like the first novel, the first epic, the first periodical, and the first newspaper in Konkani. Calling music an integral part of our culture, he traced the history of Goan music, adding that Goan musicians often found a sound means of employment in professional orchestras.

Rajendra Kerkar then gave a very interesting and informative talk on ‘Environmental heritage, Bio diversity and Eco festivals' saying that, "the future of Goa can be protected only if you protect the forests". He spoke of the many songs sung by our tribal communities that refer to the environment and said that "when we do something without understanding the ecological significance of our actions, it could result in utter devastation". The last session was by Prajal Sakhardande who spoke on the topic 'Modern Goan Identity'. He elaborated on the need to protect our heritage and our Konkani language, adding that while we should not be separatist or parochial, we need to protect our heritage and preserve our Goan identity which is a part of our Indian identity.

A brief summary of the proceedings was read out and the program ended with certificates being presented to all the participants

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