Further to my review of the meeting last week held in Panjim at Tiatr Academy Auditorium, at 4.00 PM, organised by DKA to mark the 103rdbirthday of the late Reginaldo Fernandes, the well – known Romansi writer from Siolim, I must appreciate the main speaker Daniel D’Souza who gave a very good researched account of Reginald Fernandes highlighting every aspect of his life.
However, I like to add something more too which was not mentioned by any of the speakers. Reginaldo Fernandes was an employee of Emmisora de Goa – Panjim during the Portuguese rule along with Jacinto Vaz, Young Menezes, M. Dod de Verna, Baldinho Araujo, Allen D’Costa, Jony Sylvester, Diogonho D’Mello, Ismenia D’Mello, Ansu Rodrigues, Georgina Jacques, Maestro Antoninho D’Souza and others. His job was to write Tiatros to be aired thrice a week, Sundays – Tuesdays – Thursdays, the duration of each Tiatro was 30 minutes and the Sunday’s Tiatro at 7.00 PM used to be very popular.
Besides, REginaldo Fernandes was preparing on every Saturday at 7.00 pm one especial programme called “Antu Babachi Gozal” where all the participating artistes used to act and release venom and fire on Bharat Serkar for trying to rob our golden Goa. In this programme, while vomiting venom against Bharat serkar for preparing to invade Goa, the greatness of Goa was highlighted very loudly and how this greatness will disappear from Goan soil if Goa is invaded by the invaders Bharat Serkar. And after so many years of invasion of Goa what we see now in Goa? What Reginaldo Fernandes prophesied 60 years back is now came into reality.
Goa is losing everything what belonged to it because of degoanisation process of Goa that began on 19th December 1961. And now it is in full swing because the bastardisation of Goan politics is going on with sprinting pace. Good that he and many like him are dead and gone otherwise they would not be able to see with their own eyes that Goa is reaching to such a low ebb. In a few years time Goa will remain as Goa geographically but the core and original ingredients of Goa will disappear from Goa. Non Goans will make the destiny of Goa with the introduction of their harsh culture and tradition, languages, folksongs and folk tales etc. The greatness of Goa will remain only in the history books for the few historians to harp on. Thinking of this period I feel like crying. God alone can save us from that likely calamity.
Immediately after the invasion of Goa, Reginaldo Fernandes along with Young Menezes in Candolim and others too in their respective villages lived in fear of being attacked not by the Indian military in retaliation for their criticism of Bharat Serkar but more by the local Goans who were calling themselves as pseudo nationalists. These people thought that they were more Bharatis in Goa than others. It is these barberians in the garb of Freedom Fighters came with Guns to kill Dr. Gustavo Monteiro in Candolim and Fr. Mendonca at Arpora School immediately a few hours after Goa was forcibly invaded by Nehru’s Bharat without taking Goans into confidence as if Goa was Nehru’s “Paichem Bens”.
All the above Tiatrist artistes of Emmisora de Goa were not paid their 3 months salaries prior to the invasion of Goa by the Portuguese Serkar. This responsibility should have been on the shoulders of invaders who in the beginning assured that all the obligations of the previous government will be fulfilled by the new government. But because the Emmisora de Goa’s artistes were heavily criticizing the Bharat serkar during the Portuguese rule, they were denied their 3 months salary.
Then when Jacinto Vaz started a heavy campaign from the Stage against Bharat Serkar for its failure to pay their 3 months salary, thru his songs especially composed to highlight this topic, the All India Radio Panjim put a ban on airing of Jacinto Vaz songs from All India Radio Panjim. One of the artiste employees of Emmissora de Goa whose salary Bharat serkar had to pay was that of Reginaldo Fernandes.
Writers like Reginaldo Fernandes were not only writers but they were like schools from whom innumerable people learnt Konkani in Roman script. It is these writers who kept the flame of Konkani lighted. The Nagriwadis who downgrade the contribution of writers like Reginaldo Fernandes are “CHORS” who are robbing the importance of the work they did in Konkani thru Roman script. Today and yesterday all the awards meant for Konkani literature should have gone to Reginaldo Fernandes and Damaciano Caridade only but, no, they are side stepped by the Nagriwadis because they own the monopoly of these Awards which they distribute among themselves as Bokxis.
Many people are calling Reginaldo Fernades as the Patxai and also as Pai of Romansi boroinarancho. I disagree with this view of calling Reginaldo Fernandes as Patxai and Pai of Romanxi boroinarancho. This title should rightly go to that genius Romansi writer Damaciano Caridade from Aldona whose writings were based on hard concrete evidence and not on abstract episodes. But that does mean Reginald Fernandes is a small writer of Roman Script Konkani Romansi, he was the great writer and being so, I bow my head down to him. May his soul rest in peace and may Goa produce more and more such Reginaldo Fernandes.
A.Veronica Fernandes.