'It's a sad story' Condor pulling out of Goa

‘It’s a sad story’ 

Herald Review December 28, 2014

Uwe Balser, Managing Director Condor talks to Herald Review about pulling out his last Frankfurt- Goa flight this season. This will be the first year the airline- which brought in approximately 25,000 tourists during a single season and has been operating for over three decades- will not be coming to the State.

LISA ANN MONTEIRO

What was the reason for pulling out of Goa?

We go to a destination to earn money. Condor just didn’t make a profit on this route anymore. The airport fees are too high, higher than any other airport worldwide that we are presently flying to including Frankfurt. We also wanted to park the aircraft at the airport which was not possible. We’ve been asked to take our aircraft out overnight which means we had to get our crew and aircraft out of the country to Sharjah or any other place and come back the next morning to take the passengers back. If we were given the allowance to park in one corner in the airport for a few hours, then we wouldn’t have had additional fuel costs and crew costs. This made it much more expensive for us. The passengers we were getting to Goa were no more the ones who were willing to pay a decent amount of money to compensate for these high costs.

Can you tell us about the profile of tourists Condor brought in?

 We would bring in approximately 25,000 tourists in one season. The Germans are normally not only interested in the beach and sun but are also interested in culture, heritage, ayurvedic medicines and nature. Those who are only interested in the beach and sun go to the Caribbean or Domonican Republic. Nature is a very big part for Germans. They want to see some kind of diversity that the country offers and India has a big advantage over other countries and States. For example if you go to places in Africa or Dominican Republic you have a hotel complex, a huge wall around it and people don’t walk out. India is still a very safe and relaxed place. The elderly people in Germany are very fit and strong and they maintain their health and like to see things. They may stay near the beach but they always do day trips to spice gardens, go on nature walks. They are also interested in how things work and how things developed and how people lived in the past. That’s typical German I would say. We also brought in students and people who wanted to have a relaxed atmosphere at clubs. It was always a mixed group.

Where are these tourists going now?

There are new places coming up further East like Kuala Lumpur and Vietnam. Thailand is still very strong and like India offers many things including the beach and good food and it’s safe too. Goa is still unique within India. You will have people going to Delhi, Rajasthan and Kerala but these are the ones who are only interested in specialties in culture or health. Goa has the sun and beach and all the rest and is still the best place to go to when you want to have a holiday.

How has pulling out of Goa affected your profits?

That’s the sad story. Taking our flights out of Goa has increased our income because we sent these aircrafts to other destinations where we could earn more money. We always calculate route profitability and start with the best destinations with all our 41 aircrafts. Last year we opened up Cape Town and this year Fortaleza in Brazil besides a few destinations in US and Canada and they are all more profitable than our routes to India. In the end we have to earn money in order to keep jobs, it’s not social work what we’re doing. I love India, my wife is Indian and I would do everything to keep the aircraft here but I can’t.

How will this affect Goa?

It’s as if you’re in the dessert and the water has been taken out. It’s very difficult to get it back. To open up a new route and getting traffic rights is a cumbersome process. Whatever you initialize requires lots of energy in order to get something out of it. To maintain something is much easier. There must be marketing funds but I haven’t seen Goa being promoted in Germany for a long time now.

What deters the Germans from coming to the State?

Don’t get me wrong, I love India but what hurts me is to see beautiful nature getting spoilt by garbage and this is something that really takes German tourists away. Just as you leave the airport you see piles of garbage. Germans are all nature oriented. We come from a time where we were in the same situation when we didn’t treat our garbage and all our rivers were dirty but overtime we have developed something to sustain in a small little country like ours where the garbage is easily visible. India is so vast you always think it will digest anything. But it will not and after a while it will spit out all the dirt again.

Have there been problems with obtaining visas in the past?

What’s important for passengers is to have a simple process for entering the country. An easier process manned immigration places where you don’t have to line up for two hours after a long flight. The visa is quite high and it takes an effort in Germany. Elderly people find it difficult to do it on the internet. So the visa on arrival just introduced is something good which will have a big advantage.

Goa has been hit this year with Russian tourists too not visiting.

What I miss and what I feel is that the diversity of tourists coming to Goa has changed a lot. I would always say it’s better to go for diversity when it comes to the tourists you’re attracting in order to keep your eggs in many baskets. If the Russians aren’t coming like they used to at least you have others. Perhaps it was political I don’t know but they were happy about the increase in tourists but they never figured they were all coming from one destination and now they’re in trouble and suddenly screaming what has happened, as if it wasn’t clear from the beginning. I would suggest go back and see what diversity you can offer and promote it again to those tourists you would like to have in your State.

What does Goa need to do to improve?

There’s not much to do. I’ll start with what I like. I enjoy the nature and the old city. Walking in Old Goa feels like I’m walking in Lisbon in history. It’s much easier compared to other countries as you already have everything. You just have to offer it in a proper way and maintain the old things you’ve got. For example Benaulim is one of the nicest villages I know but close to the beach there are these typical one bedroom flats coming up in a horrible way and these ruin the surroundings. In streets near the beach there are already places where you can’t see nature anymore. Maintain what you have and put things in which will not destroy this beauty. That’s the idea behind it. Don’t build huge roads through nature. One good route north- south is enough and leave the charm of the beach roads. You already have all these attractions. Not building on the beach is a fantastic idea so keep it that way. You may attract a couple of people for a while by further reducing prices and making them stay there but after a while they will get bored because all they see is concrete. I’m completely against this way of ruining your own nature and culture. Other things that get on my nerves are that I constantly have to show my driver’s license when traffic cops stop me because I have a different number plate. Or when I go to a restaurant when the name and menu is only in Russian. It’s a bit like they’re welcome and others are not. This is completely different from the nature of the India I know where people are welcoming. There are so many places where you feel insecure like Africa and Brazil where you cannot leave your compound. India is still safe and lovely.

Are the Germans still interested in coming to Goa? What will it take for Condor to restart operations here?

Of course there are many Germans still interested in coming to Goa. We have to attract them again and go in for diverse tourists from all over Germany who are able to spend and want to spend money so that the airlines can earn more. At the same time we would need support by reducing the costs through initiatives where perhaps the government says no landing fees for the first season if you come back in the next three- four seasons, just to attract us back. That would straight away reduce our costs and allow us to begin earning money and as soon as we can earn money we can come back. We can start with one flight a week and then increase the number if it attracts more people. We can always restart if we get the necessary support. But you have to be more attractive than other destinations because I cannot go to two destinations with one aircraft.

Review Bureau

link:http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=10162&boxid=174254875&uid=&dat=12/28/2014  

Is 'Goa' dead?

Is Goa dead?

Herald Review December 28, 2014

The State government’s mismanagement and lack of foresight in attracting a broad base of tourists has resulted in one of the worst tourism seasons ever.  

LISA ANN MONTEIRO

Reality has hit home and stake holders in the tourism industry have little reason to celebrate this festive season with the no show of tourists. Stakeholders are angry and inconsolable.

The Goa tourism department instead of consulting stakeholders thought it fit to hire a brand consultant to work on a new brand strategy for Goa. This resulted in the rebranding of Goa’s tourism, a new logo of Goa Tourism and a new tagline Kenna fast, kenna slow, kenna short kenna long, kenna this kenna that …’, thought to be a definitive expression of the Goa brand.

All the branding has done the State little good as tourism stakeholders struggle to get through the season they call the worst ever. Even recession was better, one hotelier remarked.

The problem is not so much that of the falling value of the Russian rouble, but one of total mismanagement and lack of foresight of the tourism department, putting all its eggs into one basket and banking on the Russian and other CIS tourists alone, while doing nothing to attract the UK, German and other high spending tourists back to the State.

“Going in for one market is completely the wrong thing to do. They should have maintained a balancing act. What’s worse is that the Russians are a deterrent to all other tourists and they monopolise Goa which is a dangerous thing. The European tourists simply don’t want to go where they go. The government should have gone to other countries and marketed Goa there and brought down the number of tourists from Russia,” one hotelier said.

Managing Director Condor, Uwe Balser says many tourists come to the State who don’t speak English but there isn’t any signage in their language.

He can’t understand why this preferential treatment towards tourists from one country. “ It’s a bit like they’re welcome and others are not. This is completely different from the nature and hospitality of the India I know.” This priority given to Russian tourists at the expense of the Germans, British and others makes Graeme Reid, UK national who has been visiting Goa for the past 16 years, want to choose another holiday destination.

Susie Davison finds that the influx of Russian tourists mar her holiday.

“Many of them are rude, mean and cause arguments and are insensitive to local customs and ways.” Restorer and proprietor Goa Chitra, Victor Hugo Gomes says the tourists from Scandinavian countries and Europe have a wholesome view of the State while Russians don’t move out beyond the beach. When the Scandinavian crowd was leaving, instead of solving the issue, the government banked on the Russians. “This is a wakeup call. Goa was sold too cheaply and for the wrong reasons. A major rebranding of Goa is needed and it will be quite an effort to attract these tourists again.”

Why market a low budget experience, Bruno Gomindes, MD Travco Holidays, asks. “The Russians want to control our own tourism activity and don’t want to avail of facilities offered by the locals. We should have been very busy during this time of the year. The situation is bad.”

Many believe the low spending tourists wouldn’t be encouraged to come if there were no illegal constructions along the beach especially along the Morjim- Arambol belt which offer accommodation at unbelievably low rates. Illegal constructions cater to tourists of the worst kind with the State not earning great value from them as many of them only deal in cash. The illegal rooms and unauthorized guest houses they stay in often don’t have permissions and hence don’t declare their income and don’t pay tax. “No one’s checking on these things and it is only the good people who get stung paying all the required taxes. Instead of boasting of a large number of tourists, the Chief Minister, they say should boast of fewer tourists who spend more in the State,” one hotelier says.

Visa blues

Other deterrents that cause endless stress to UK tourists are the complicated procedures to obtain a visa. Many complain about the cost too.

Barbara Millns says the visa situation puts off a lot of people. “Why can’t it be a simple process of pay on arrival and stamp passport like most tourist destinations? The price is also detrimental to people staying just two or three weeks.” John K Pemberton, UK national says the visa application process is a nightmare and really should be brought into the 21st century. The application process gets more difficult every year and information requested seems to be completely pointless. “It takes around three hours to fill the application forms online.” 

Vivien Baptiste a UK national who has been visiting for more than a decade finds the visa cost and process has ruined the two week package.

“Using VFS for the visa application takes a long time to complete. Visas are often returned without being processed for very minor points. Requests for multiple entry are often sent back as one entry only. This is annoying and costly.”

Rip off attitude

Inflated prices are also driving away tourists. Biryani priced at Rs 300, Steaks at Rs 500 Beer at Rs 140, water at Rs 40 are the going rates on the Candolim belt. “I’m sorry but you can’t compensate less tourists with higher prices. That is against every rule of economy and a big plus on Goa was cheap prices. Of course it is still cheap but there are other places in the world which are cheap too and the gap is not big enough anymore. People are getting greedy and tourists feel that. The national sport in India is not cricket it is cheating. If sellers price their products at ten times the market price then that puts people off. The cost of four and five star hotels are far too high for the standard offered. In Thailand I can get rooms in better hotels for half the price,” Florian Eydner says.

The rip off attitude also puts off Pemberton and deters him from buying from outside permanent stores. “When a tourist comes to our state we should treat him as our guest and honour him. Instead we want to strip him and this makes him feel insecure and he will tell others not to come,” Gomindes says.

Taxi tantrums

The State government not taking the taxi drivers head on, allowing them to operate with no meter system, is not a plus point for tourism. Other states all have their meter systems running. Only in Goa does the government want to please this lobby and maintain their vote bank.

Five star hotels too are all controlled by their taxi associations where local taxi drivers aren’t allowed to enter and ferry their guests. “If I’m in a new place and can’t speak the language I would feel very insecure about getting into a taxi where I have no idea how much they will charge me,” a local commented.

Garbage holiday Holiday makers don’t enjoy a holiday in garbage. Goa didn’t smell 20 years ago but it does today. “What most of us want is a regular clean up. We do NOT want shopping malls, golf courses, private beaches or huge hotels. We want Goa to be Goa which is unique, not a copy of the West Indies or Thailand,” Baptiste says.

Balser says it pains him to see garbage strewn around Goa. If he had his way he says he wouldn’t allow plastic to be sold. “Why not go back to the old times were you put everything in paper. Within a year the whole place would be clean. Wherever you go nobody cares. You get a plastic bag for one item and another one for another item. It’s as if you can be proud to have ten plastic bags. I really hate it and I always take my own bag with me to the store. But that thinking is not there. The oceans today are completely polluted with plastic.”

Proprietor InnGoa.com, Jonathan Vaz says people in Kerala are attracting quality tourists while our State is bringing in the riffraff. “Kerala is managing their tourism and we’re only attracting whoever wants to come in large numbers. Kerala promotes itself very well. Stakeholders should be taken into consideration and basic infrastructure of toilets, changing rooms, pathways to the beach and basic signage should be put in place by the government.” Plenty of rooms he says are available this season even on December 31, something never seen in the past. “This is the season people in the tourism sector mint money but this has been the worst month and worst season ever.” Review Bureau 

Tourists’ woes

Corrupt and helpless

“The apparent corruption of the police and their violence towards the beach sellers in front of visitors to the country is very distressing. They hit them with sticks in front of whoever happens to be there. The police are only interested in lining their own pockets. I and my family have personal experiences of reporting lost items and trying to obtain a report for insurance companies  and have been met with basic contempt by the local police who were only interested in a backhander to release a report.”

-Mary Martin  

I had a burglars in my Apartment at 3 am and the Police did not want to come at this time. I had a bike accident and called the police because the young guy was running off and the police begged me not to report it after calling them to Report it. I can live with it but it scares people in the world if they hear how the police is working and don’t feel protected or the facto of Self Justice. 

-Florian Eydner   

Under promoted

Goa is not promoted in the UK. Very few people know anything about it . Personally I love Goa the way it was before the roads were paved and the beach sellers were banned, it all added to the personality of Goa , but progress is inevitable. To attract more tourists the visa needs to be reasonable and the UK public need to know Goa exists through TV, advertising, just let people know Goa is open to business.

- Ian Hall

Bad impression

On December 23 we witnessed an illegal shack next door to the one we frequent on the beach being hacked to the ground as they hadn’t paid the large license fee. The band of about 28 police stood around watching the carnage with their batons as local workers hacked etc the unit down. The group of police and officials then moved on down the beach to the legal shack owners, checking their licenses and then pointlessly sawing wooden sun beds in half as they had exceeded their license allowance and had put out 30 beds instead of only 15 as per their license.

We all know that shack owners tempt diners in by offering free sun beds and people stay all day. For new arrivals who witnessed this, their impression of Goa is not good. My friend and others were in tears at observing such needless destruction. Young British children witnessing this were terrified and families were running off the beach. Why is there not a regular, fair inspection system put in place and fines incurred with re inspections to ensure things remain legal and not based on backhanders?

- Susie Davison

Internet speed

The speed of the internet is a joke especially for younger generations. I pay Rs 4000 monthly to BSNL for a speed up to 2mbps but outside by apartment you get may be 50 kbps provided from restaurants, shacks and hotels. We are in 2014 and tourists want a running system. Many pensioners from Britain come to Goa for the full season but you may lose out on the next generation because of this.

- Florian Eydner 

link: http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=10160&boxid=174015968&uid=&dat=12/28/2014

Taking Art to the People

TAKING ART TO THE PEOPLE 

Herald Review December 14, 2014 

In its inaugural edition in February, Goa Photo 2015 a public art photography festival will celebrate photography outside the gallery, on the streets of Panjim.


LISA ANN MONTEIRO 

After playing host to India’s first science meets art festival, the State’s picturesque capital will once again provide the setting for a public art intervention titled Goa Photo. The inaugural edition of this annual international photography exhibition will take place from February 25 till March 7, 2015 with the aim of showcasing photography from around the world in a democratic non elitist fashion.

Over 180 photographs will be displayed on a stunning scale mounted on special installations and divided into three main clusters in streets, parks and open institutional spaces to facilitate the discovery of photography and Panjim’s architectural heritage.

A curated event, each edition of the festivals will revolve around a specific theme. Frank Kalero founder OjodePez in Barcelona and co founder Punctum magazine ( Delhi) who has also curated three editions of the GetxoPhoto Festival ( Bilbao) will be the curator for the first edition of the festival. The theme chosen is ‘ The Other’ where the focus will be on the interpretations of portraiture.

The artists will include 14 international photographers and four Indian photographers.

Mexican photographer Alinka Echeverria’s series ‘ The Road to Tepeyac ( 2010)’ featuring the six million faithful who make the annual pilgrimage to Tepeyac in Mexico City to mark the anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe, will adorn the stairs leading to Immaculate Conception Church and serve as the postal image of the festival.

Another selected photo essay is Gauri Gill’s ‘ Balika Mela II ( 2010)’ where she created a photo studio in a tent at a fair for girls in a local town in Rajasthan. She returned seven years later to find many of the same girls she had photographed earlier. She shot in colour this time.

Sebastian Cortes gained access to the veiled Bohra community and captured the people and the unique architecture of their homes in his photo essay ‘ Sidhpur ( 2014)’. Alexia Webster created free outdoor photo studios on street corners around South Africa inviting people to pose free of cost. ‘ Street Portraits- A South African Family Album ( 2011- ongoing)’ will be displayed at the festival where she will also experiment with a similar travelling studio on the streets of Panijm.

Swiss photographer Joel Tettamanti’s essay ‘ Kobo ( 2013)’ focused on the Basotho people of Lesotho, South Africa who under colonial rule switched from wearing traditional skins and furs to covers manufactured in Europe.

Sheetal Mallar’s series ‘Dabolim (2014)’ is a photo essay on the workings of naval officers at otherwise restricted military facility at Dabolim Naval base.

A number of workshops, seminars and presentations by the participating photographers will also form part of the festival.

One of the highlights and a first for Goa will be the Magnum Workshop Goa where Magnum Photos, the prestigious photographic cooperative will partner with Goa Photo 2015 for a four day program beginning February 25 to guide photographers in various aspects of documentary storytelling. The second initiative by Magnum Photos in India, the workshop will be held at the State Central Library for selected photographers for a fee. Scholarships will be offered to two Indian photographers to participate for free. A Goan photographer under the age of 25 will be offered one of the scholarships.

Participants will be guided by Stuart Franklin - who won the World Press Photo Award for his photo of a man defying a tank in Tiananmen Square - and Richard Kalvar who has served as president Magnum Photos.

Goa Photo 2015 is being conceptualised by Frank Kalero, Ishan Tankha, Lola Mac Dougall and Nikhil Padgaonkar, all specialists in cultural management and photography.

Lola Mac Dougall, director of the festival who has served as cultural adviser for the Embassy of Spain in India says the event will appeal to people because it is not a classic photography exhibition with its focus on Western photographers. A lot of non European photography will form part of the festival. “ It will be a very unconventional photography festival where all art will be displayed on the street, easily accessible to everyone interesting in interacting with it.” The inaugural festival will be simple she says but will grow and make a name for itself with each passing edition. “ We want to make this an annual event for photography and art lovers. Panjim is one of the most beautiful and walkable cities in the country that has the potential to grow into a cultural hub. We want to build on Panjim heritage with this initiative.” Review Bureau  

link: http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9871&boxid=174141609&uid=&dat=12/14/2014

The Man Who 'Shot' Kasab

The Man Who ‘shot’ Kasab 

December 7, 2014 

Photojournalist Sebastian D'Souza risked his life to capture Ajmal Kasab and Anu Ismail in action during the November 26 attacks in Mumbai 2008. His iconic picture of Kasab mid step, wielding an AK-47 was carried by press around the world. 


LISA ANN MONTEIRO

Before the police, the ambulance, and even reporters reach the scene of a crime, it is often the news photographers who arrive, quickly assess the situation and tactfully go about their job, many times risking it all.

Sebastian D’Souza, photographer and photo editor at Mumbai Mirror found himself in a precarious situation when he arrived at CST station on the evening of November 26, 2008 when terrorists descended on the city of Mumbai. He was lucky enough to enter the station just before it was cordoned off. He heard faint gun shots and followed the sound to see where it was coming from.

Assistant Sub inspector GRP, Sudam Pandarkar and Constable Ambadas Pawar were hiding at the exit of Platform No 6. D’Souza captures Pandarkar in action as he fires at Ajmal Kasab, but misses.

Alerted, Kasab fires back to the corner and when Pandarkar ducks, a book stall owner who very unperturbedly was shutting shop, was struck.

With years of experience behind him in covering the worst of riots, bomb blasts and gang wars in the country, D’- Souza realised they were standing at a dangerous position and should the terrorists turn a corner, they would be finished.

He advised the two cops to enter a train compartment instead from where they would be in a better position to follow the movements of the terrorists.

“They didn't listen and there was a voice from inside that told me to run and not look back,” D’Souza says.

What he predicted happened. The attackers shot at the two cops. Pandarkar survived as the bullet went through and through his shoulder. Pawar on the other hand wasn’t as lucky. On seeing the book stall owner still struggling for life, one of the terrorists returned to put yet another bullet into his head.

D’Souza entered the train compartment and it was from there with his Nikon D 200 that he shot Kasab in action. Only later would he realize that he had exclusive pictures of Kasab and Ismail.

When he reached the spot where Railway police inspector Shashank Shinde was shot, he would see that he was still alive. “ I wanted to take the gun from his pocket and shoot at the terrorists but it was only a revolver and I would have to be very close to them to shoot,” he says.

He recalls the gory scene with all details, as if it happened yesterday. “ The terrorists were in no hurry. They were walking and not running. They was no spray of bullets. Kasab shot from the waist and each shot was a sure shot.

The cops on the other hand were jittery, unprepared and ill- equipped.” He also recalls Kasab not opening fire on a bystander and a tribal woman who nonchalantly strolled past him Once D’Souza saw that the terrorists were out of sight, he came out and continued taking pictures. The cops and public followed his lead and came out of hiding and began moving the bodies and clearing the station of the bloodshed. In all 58 people were killed with over a hundred injured.

D’Souza rushed back to office to download the pictures before he set out on duty again. His phone was switched off the entire night as his wife Rosy tried unsuccessfully to call him. “ When he called up the next morning, he was puzzled and said he had been receiving calls with people congratulating him and he couldn’t figure why. I then told him that his pictures were exclusive and were all over the news,” Rosy says.

D’Souza shared the photographs with the news agency Associated Press after which they went viral internationally. Everyone except him, he says made money from the photographs. One official from the Railways approached him for the photos and ended up selling them to a tabloid for lakhs of Rupees.

His photographs that evening won him the prestigious ‘ Honorable Mention in the Category Spot News Stories at the 52nd World Press Photo Contest’. Ask him about his feat and he says he admits it wasn’t an evening he has favourable memories of. “ It wasn’t a joyful event. It was just killing and killing,” he says.

The international media he says have been more appreciative of his efforts.

The Maharashtra government he says has done nothing for him and he was still struggling to live on rent in Mumbai until recently, before he packed his bags and decided to stay in Goa. “ I was allotted a flat by the government but it turned out to be under dispute. It is in complete disarray today and I haven’t got possession of it yet.” D’Souza shared the 100 odd pictures he had taken that night and this helped the government’s case against Kasab when he faced trial. The real commendation for his work came from the Supreme Court who praised him for his daring that night.

Before his stint with Mumbai Mirror, D’Souza worked for Agence France- Presse capturing riots, bomb blasts and crime throughout the country.

His images of the burnt Godhra train and the riots that followed also became iconic. The one of Ashok Mochi donning a saffron band and rod in hand became popular. Allegations surfaced that it was a posed photograph. “ Does anyone pose during a riot,” D’Souza questions.

He has picked up valuable lessons from his thirty years of experience.

“In a riot you don’t just take out your camera and shoot. You assess the situation; talk to the rioters and when they calm down you begin to shoot.

It’s common sense- either you get it right or they stab you.” News photographers he says take the maximum risk and but receive the least respect. “ At least give them proper equipment. Otherwise they will just work for the sake of working.” Exclusiveness is over for photographers today, he says. “ Before you reach the spot someone will have already captured the image on their mobile phone. You will always be late.” A self taught photographer, D’Souza designed pages, shot table tops, created ceramic items and designed story boards before he got into photojournalism.

Today he is settled down in Goa and although retired hardly rests, as he prepares to set up his photo studio cum store with religious pictures all designed by him. Review Bureau

link: http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9727&boxid=175938281&uid=&dat=12/07/2014

Celebrating the Margins

Celebrating The Margins 

December 7, 2014 

The Goa Arts and Literary Festival has been celebrating the margins ever since it began in 2010. The homegrown festival pays special attention to poetry, translations, graphic novels and most recently food bloggers. It also encourages contingents from Kashmir, the North East, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Singapore and Australia.

A number of books have also had their exclusive ( worldwide) launches at GALF. Bilal Tanweer’s ‘ The Scatter Here is too Great’, Ranjit Hoskote’s translations of Lal Ded, Naresh Fernandes’ ‘ Taj Mahal Foxtrot’, Amruta Patil’s ‘ Parva’ and Maria Aurora Couto’s ‘ Filomena’s Journey’ among others.

Writer Samar Halarnkar says the warmth and space for alternative voices makes him want to return to the festival.

At the festival one encounters many unexpected people rather than the big commercial names. Poet, cultural theorist and curator Ranjit Hoskote says the festival is an opportunity for him to connect with fellow writers from around the world in a warm and relaxed atmosphere “ even while it is profoundly serious about the practice of the literary arts.” Author Dilip D’Souza says the special scale of the festival allows more intimate sessions and isn’t like other festivals he has attended where there are hundreds of people in the audience. “ Writers like to have lots of people listening but here you can have intimate chats with people who truly appreciate your work.” This year’s festival saw exclusive book launches by Rajdeep Sardesai, Damodar Mauzo and Mamand Dai among others.

One of the highlights of this festival was a contingent of indigenous writers from Australia. Ellen Van Neerven, Jared Thomas and Nicole Watson shared their literary work and interacted with participants at the event.

Australia’s Aboriginal people make up 2.5 percent of the population and Ellen says she often feels like an outsider in her own land and that she shouldn’t speak about certain things. She finds a lot of ‘ othering’ in books written on indigenous people by non indigenous people.

In one of her books Heat and Light her characters are part plant and part people. “ Like mangroves they have roots and the ability to speak the language that comes from the country. Human characters are constantly trying to interrupt and destroy them,” she says.

Nicole says she wants people to have knowledge of the history of her place and brings this out in her book The Boundary which is set in Brisbane town.

“Twenty first century people don’t know that an actual boundary existed and the

curfew was strictly enforced where Aboriginals weren’t allowed to cross at night.” Her books have a strong connection to land and land theft sets the background to her stories.

Jared says the health status of Australia’s Indigenous population is poor by world standards. “ It is a first world country with third world diseases. More than twice as many Indigenous babies suffer low to extremely low birth- weight and are twice as likely to be hospitalized for infectious diseases”. While the Australian government provides support for artistic projects and indigenous art this respect doesn’t always reflect in policies of the government.

“ Unfortunately the focus of the media is not on the positive but the negatives which in turn acts to legitimize paternalism which benefits the government, providing opportunity to acquire land.

The poor health and education outcomes are a result of the marginalization and grief deriving from earlier colonial practices.

It is imperative that Aboriginal Australia exercises self determination and further develops agency to improve life outcomes in partnership with other Australians,” Jared says.

If there’s something Aboriginal people are good at it is waiting, Nicole says.

“We just have to have a 500 year plan and I’m fighting not only for my generation but for the future generations and for the past generations too.” The festival this year not only focused on the margins from outside the state but looked within too.

Goan advocate, agriculturist and social activist from the Gavdda community Joao Fernandes spoke about how the Church in the village of Quepem was destroying the culture of his community.

“The Christian gavdas in Quepem are the most backward and are being exploited educationally and socially. Religious institutions think we don’ have the right to preserve our culture and should follow western culture.” He spoke of how there were nine maands in his village which were systematically destroyed from 1993- 1997. Should this continue the community would be wiped out from the map of Goa, he says.

Today the financially well off and well qualified are slowly moving away from their culture and trying to hide their identities, he explained. The problem he said arose because dignity of labour was nonexistent in the State. “ The education system doesn’t inculcate dignity of labour. Unless this happens, people will not take pride in their culture and favorably take up jobs in agriculture.” Another activist Seby Rodrigues pointed out how most industries in the State today were situated on tribal land. The tribes in the State he says are still struggling to organise themselves.

“What is needed is genuine solidarity with the people and an alternate architecture of resistance to protect the original inhabitants of the State.” He said he is still waiting for an apology from the ex Chief Minister and now Defense Minister who had called him a ‘ Naxalite’. Another writer and activist from Gaodongri in Cotigao, Devidas Gaonkar says the tribal community was promised land if they agreed to convert. Once they did, they realized that they had been betrayed and nothing was given to them.

The Australian Indigenous writers will be interacting and exploring connections with Indigenous writers in Goa and those in other states in the country through a special initiative called the Literary Commons.

Damodar Mauzo and Vivek Menezes never expected the festival to grow to the scale it has today. They say the festival will continue to celebrate the margins. Review Bureau

LISA ANN MONTEIRO 

link: http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9726&boxid=175832187&uid=&dat=12/07/2014

At the Cost of the Coast

At the cost of the coast 

Herald Review November 30, 2014 

The inspections, show cause notices and demolition orders by the GCZMA all fail to stop constructions within the No Development Zone along the Pernem coastal belt. 


LISA ANN MONTEIRO

In September this year the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) dropped show cause notices issue to three parties and disposed of complaints of illegal construction against three parties on the Pernem coastal belt.

The show cause notices were issued to all three parties on September 18 last year followed by demolition orders issued early this year. These were challenged by the parties before the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi.

The GCZMA deliberately made their case weak, it appears, to benefit the parties and in all three cases before the NGT admitted to the court that they hadn’t complied with principles of natural justice.

At the July 11 hearing before the NGT, Jai Karan Juneja (proprietor Micassa) v/ s the GCZMA, the counsel representing the GCZMA stated that “ no personal hearing was granted to the Applicant and the Authority is willing to grant personal hearing to the Applicant and pass appropriate orders.” In view of this statement, the NGT set aside the order dated 19th March 2014 (demolition order) and remanded the matter back to the GCZMA. 

At the July 11 hearing before the NGT, Jaydeep Rajebonsle (proprietor Marbela Beach Resort) v/ s GCZMA, the counsel for the GCZMA submitted that the authority “ doesn’t wish to content the Appeal for the reason that admittedly neither proper hearing was granted to him nor the copy of the inspection reply was supplied to the Appellant.

Therefore he does not press for sustaining Order dated 8th April 2014 and would pass a fresh order after giving opportunity to the Appellant of being heard and upon providing him with the copy of the inspection report.” In view of the GCZMA’s statement, the NGT set aside the order dated 8th April 2014 (demolition order) and directed the Respondent to give hearing to the Applicant within two weeks.

In yet another case before the NGT, on July 21, Mandela (Mandala) Resort v/ s GCZMA, the counsel for GCZMA took a “ decision to withdraw the impugned order passed against the Appellant for want of compliance to the principles of natural justice and pass a fresh order in accordance with law.” In view of this the NGT yet again set aside the demolition order.

All three parties were granted personal hearings by the GCZMA following which the show cause notices were dropped.

In the case of Micassa at Ashwem, Mandrem, the show cause notice on September 18, 2013 states that the “ hotel exists in the intertidal zone and is further on an elevation. Whole area in the NDZ. A swimming pool also exists on the elevation. Hotel extends into the sea.” 

The GCZMA’s technical officer on re-inspecting the site observed that the swimming pool was removed, eight temporary seasonal structures were removed, the base of concrete on which the temporary structure is put is under demolition, the steps leading to the beach and steps leading to the hotel are under demolition but the three permanent structures have not been removed. The party submitted documents including license issued by the Village Panchayat in the year 1989 and permission for “ reconstruction of existing agriculture store room” in 1986 obtained by Arjun Vinayak Shetgaonkar.

The party also said the structures had been issued house numbers by the panchayat. GCZMA dropped the complaint and disposed of the matter.

In the case of Marbela beach Resort in Morjim, the Show Cause notice issued by the GCZMA on September 18 last year states that “ whole resort + garden including a spa and restaurant + individual rooms built to appear as huts have concrete floors and have not been removed in the off season. Majority of the structures are partly concretized especially the floor and are not temporary structure.

The whole area of Marbela Beach Club lies in the NDZ and the border wall falls within the intertidal area. M/ S Marbela Beach Club is located in close proximity (between 1 to 2 km) of the turtle nesting site of Morjim beach.Resort exists on sand dunes which imply destruction of sand dunes for the development of the garden, bar and restaurant, massage centre etc.” The party submitted that they had removed temporary seasonal structures and the retaining wall and produced documents to show that the two permanent structures were existing before 19- 02- 1991. GCZMA dropped the show cause notice and disposed of the complaint against the party.

In the case of Mandala in Junaswada Mandrem, the show cause notice states that there “ exists a huge concrete ground plus two structure with five ground plus one huts and that the huts made up of bamboo sheets woven, however all floors plus bathrooms are concrete and that presently all five huts covered with plastic sheets. That three more structures exists in garden area and the resort goes up to seaward side surrounded by mangroves lined by a concrete wall and that the area looks to a khazan land filled- up with laterite soil which falls into the No Development Zone.” 

When the first demolition order was only partly complied with, the GCZMA issued yet another which was challenged before the NGT. At a personal hearing before the GCZMA after the NGT disposed off the matter, the party submitted that all temporary structures were demolished and the ground plus two structure was in existence prior to the enforcement of the CRZ Notifications 2011. The party produced documents including Form 1 & IV, permissions issued by the village panchayat of Mandrem for erection of building, occupancy certificate granted by the panchayat, permission to start restaurants and house tax receipts. The GCMZA then dropped the show cause notice.

Earlier this year there were reports that over 70 percent of commercial projects in Morjim that had come up since 2009 did so based on fake licenses.

Goa Foundation’s Dr Claude Alvares who has been fighting to protect the last stretch of coast left in North Goa says false permissions are given to anyone who is willing to pay. “ Most structures on this belt came up during the past five years and fall in the No Development Zone. The violators are largely Delhi parties who move the NGT and get stays. They keep approaching the NGT, Delhi which they find more convenient rather than the Pune bench. If one of these buildings collapses tomorrow with foreigners inside it will be international news and all authorities will be condemned for being corrupt.” People along this stretch are undermining their own tourism business and destroying they own income potential, he feels.

GCZMA member secretary Srinet Kothwale says the GCZMA is only a quasi- judicial authority and has to follow proper procedure and cannot instantaneously demolish structures.

“There needs to be a better enforcement mechanism,” he says. He blames the panchayat bodies too. “The structures don't come up overnight. No constructions can come up without the panchayat being aware of them.The panchayat is the enforcing authority and they need to stop illegal constructions in the initial stage as this is the best time to tackle them.” 

Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai who has been vocal in the Assembly about CRZ violations on this stretch says the Pernem coastal belt is like a wild country and has the most favoured beach status where the most CRZ violations can be found.The alibi that these structures promote tourism in the State is only an eyewash he says.“The only people benefitting are the politicians and the perpetrators with money from outside the State. The locals are not benefitting.” 

The epicenter of all illegalities he says are in this belt where a nexus exists between political power and the perpetrators.“It is not possible to build huge concrete structures on the beach without political patronage. If the Chief Minister is not policing them then is he so weak that he cannot take action?” Review Bureau 

link: http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9574&boxid=16344437&uid=&dat=11/30/2014

Life as she knows it

Life as she knows it

Herald Review November 23, 2014 

‘After the Fall: A Breath of Life’ documents Shilpa Raju’s journey through two cancers and a double lung transplant and hopes to dispel existing myths about organ donation among the South Asian community.

LISA ANN MONTEIRO

The past seven years have been tumultuous for 28 year old Shilpa Raju, born and raised in Canada.

She was forced to keep her plans and dreams on hold as she battled for life, multiple times. At 21 and in her final year of an undergraduate degree in life sciences, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system.

Chemotherapy therapy sessions followed and proved successful. However when she began to get short of breath, she found she had pulmonary fibrosis, a side effect from the cancer treatment, where her lungs were badly scarred.

During her first cancer and treatment, she managed to lead a fairly normal life, finishing school, dancing and travelling.

Once the pulmonary fibrosis set in and her breathing started to get affected, the illness began to more noticeably impact the quality of her life.

Her lungs deteriorated to a point where she needed to use oxygen. She got a double lung transplant done and then contracted Post Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder, a potentially fatal form of cancer obtained after solid organ transplant. She was caught off guard. “ Every time things seemed to improve a little, I would end up experiencing another setback - I guess it was like I couldn't catch a break. But suddenly, after a terrible couple of months, my body just started to get better, and things improved. And once things started to turn around, it just became easier to keep pushing to get better and better,” Shilpa says.

Her mother who had seen her suffer time and again wasn’t convinced she should go through with the double lung transplant. She was told Shilpa would need to be on medication for life to prevent her body from rejecting the transplant, which also had their own extensive list of possible side effects and serious complications. “ My mother saw it as me again trading one problem for a whole bunch of others.

She wasn’t willing to accept that this may have been the best option I had.

She was hoping I would just get better, through faith, and alternative, natural forms of healing only.” Eventually she came around and has begun to accept the transplant especially when she sees how good things are for Shilpa right now. “ She can appreciate that while transplant is not a perfect solution, it has its merits and when it works it can be pretty amazing.” Shilpa says.

She has turned into an advocate for organ donation today and believes transplants can provide hope. “ By becoming a donor, even as you die you have the potential to give a gift that might help someone else live. You can give someone hope and change their life,” she believes.

To further her cause and inspired by her story, her friends Rose D’Souza and Pam Sethi decided to make a documentary ‘ After the Fall: A Breath of Life’ . The short documentary on the journey that Shilpa and her family went through details her illnesses, discusses her mother’s hesitation to see Shilpa receive the transplant and explores the different support systems the family had.

The last part of the documentary focuses on Shilpa’s experience of coming to terms with death. “ This is really the most interesting part of the documentary because most people don't talk about death or dying with their family members until they actually experience death.

And, from my South Asian experience, we certainly aren't openly talking about illness and death in my family,” says Rose D’Souza, Bombay- born, Torontoraised director of the film.

While working on the documentary the team learnt that that the South Asian community in Ontario has the lowest rates of signing up as donors.

The issue of organ transplants too isn’t publicly discussed in the community.

“ We learnt many myths about organ donation prevailing amongst ethnic communities in Toronto one of which is that if you sign up to be an organ donor, doctors are less likely to try and save your life if you are in an accident.

This isn’t true and I hope Shilpa’s story inspires not just the South Asian community but many others and sparks a change in conversation for how families talk about organ donation and death.

The documentary is also an emotional journey to see such a young, beautiful woman talk about the many times she was close to dying because of cancer and complications from the double lung transplant,” Rose says. Shilpa’s life has been all about adapting to the changing circumstances in her life. At every step when things haven’t worked out according to plan, she has had to modify her plan to work with her limitations.

Her supportive network of friends has helped her get through difficult times.

There’s a place for both faith and science in healing and health, she believes.

“ We all deal with things differently and seek support in different ways, but one of the best things we can do is to be informed.” The film premiered on November 15 at Revue Cinema, Toronto. Review Bureau

link: http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9433&boxid=172733703&uid=&dat=11/23/2014 

Larger than Life

Larger than Life

Herald Review November 16, 2014 

Andrej Boleslavsky an independent and new media artist from Czech Republic will allow people to appreciate the beauty in microorganisms through his Archibio project at the Story of Light Festival.

Science and art will come alive early January in the city of Panjim at India’s first science- meets art festival- The Story of Light Festival. Over 40 artists and scientists from 14 countries have confirmed their participation and will be descending on Goa to transform the city into a magical learning playground for UN’s International Year of Light 2015.

One of the largest interactive public installations at the festival ‘ Archibio’ will be set up by independent artists from Czech Republic Andrej Boleslavsky and Maria Judova. The experimental and contemplative project uses video mapping to explore the beauty of minuscule and microscopic life forms from bacteria, plants or an ant colony which otherwise remain invisible.

Video mapping is a projection technique that can turn surfaces into dynamic video displays.

The beauty of these organisms can then be appreciated as the project will magnify and project them onto a large scale public space- a building façade or a blank wall.

Andrej centres his project around the idea that DNA is the best software and began searching for ways to express this claim. His project comprises three scenes, all of them live streams from a microscope and two capture chambers. In the first chamber he will capture ants running in a small 3D printed model of the building and in the second one he will be making a time- lapse capture of growing plants.

The images will then be processed by computer so the projection precisely fits the building. The process, called warping takes some hours to set right and Andrej will be carrying the microscope, cameras, chambers and computer.

Since one of the projected scenes is a live stream from a microscope, the audience will be participating, changing microscopic slides with samples. “ In the Czech Republic I was projecting growing trees, climbing ants and microscopic samples. It would be great if I can find some suitable life forms in India and adapt the project,” he said. The organizers are trying to find the best location for the project evaluating feasibility and architectural quality of the building which will be mapped. Video mapping gets tricky when it comes to production cost and projectors rental price. It goes exponential with the size of the building.

Andrej’s fascination for art and technology began in his childhood. “ My grandfather was a watchmaker and both my parents worked with art. I see both art and technology as platforms to share interesting ideas and materislise them. I guess I’m addicted to complexity.” He created his first video- mapping project in 2010 and hasn’t stopped experimenting since with new media since. One doesn’t always need big buildings and large budgets to create interesting video- mappings he says. Instead he tries to bring something new to this medium each time.

He will be visiting India for the first time and says the project will be open for everyone to interact.

Along with Archibio he will also setting up a light-painting workshop where he will engage the public in creating long exposure photography with programmed light sources.

The festival will be an educational experience for participants and passersby as various installations and workshops will be scattered along the promenade overlooking River Mandovi. Screenings, dance performances, installations, photography workshops, live projections, panel discussions will all form part of the festival.

The five day festival beginning January 14 seeks to dispel myths about science and bring fascinating concepts to life by allowing people to better understand them through interactive methods.Review Bureau

http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9287&boxid=184756593&uid=&dat=11/16/2014

A new genre of Chick-Lit

A New Genre of Chick-Lit 

Herald Review  November 16, 2014

Dr Anita Heiss was the first to introduce Koori chick- lit in Australia. She will be visiting next month to talk about her work. 

LISA ANN MONTEIRO 

Australian Aboriginal author and activist Dr Anita Heiss engineers social change through her writing.She writes to bring communities together.

The indigenous population in Australia hardly found representation in mainstream literature. Heiss, a proud member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales decided this needed to change. It was time to begin putting her people on the Australian identity radar.

Chick lit - often dismissed by literary critics- she finds, is the most accessible literary style that allows her to engage with an audience that is not otherwise engaging with indigenous Australians.

She doesn’t believe history can only be learnt from non- fiction books and text books.

The protagonists in her books are young indigenous urban women who juggle romance and careers. Her books Not Meeting Mr Right, Avoiding Mr Right, Manhattan Dreaming and Paris Dreaming have all the elements of a chick lit book but with something more- an Aboriginal’s perspective.

Heiss writes about relationships that connect women and also touches on issues and politics that are important to her. Her novels discuss black deaths in police custody the stolen generations, the Northern Territory Emergency Response intervention, indigenous intellectual property and copyright, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture around the country and issues of identity.

They also have references to indigenous artists, film makers and writers. In Manhattan Dreaming, Lauren a Wiradjuri woman is a curator at the National Aboriginal Gallery ( fictitious) in Canberra.

She is passionate about indigenous art and smitten with Adam, the star forward for the Canberra Cockatoos. He is quite the player and when she applies for her dream job at the Smithsonian, her dream comes true. She is then torn between Man and Manhattan and has to make a decision.

Heiss says she uses chick lit as a tool to reach women who may never have met, worked with or thought about.

“ We talk a lot about what makes us different in Australia - to the point of instilling a fear of difference in each other.

I like to talk about what makes us the same as human beings – particularly the emotions we experience; love, fear of rejection, sympathy, empathy and so on.

If we consider what makes us the same in terms of being women, then it's much easier to talk about what makes us different and then we can start to really get to know each other, to engage on a meaningful level and even find a sense of peace in an otherwise chaotic world,” she told Herald Review.

Heiss was the first Aboriginal student to graduate with a PhD in Communications and Media from the University of Western Sydney. She is also among the first women of colour to write into commercial women’s fiction in the country.

Heiss’ mother was born on Erambie Mission Cowra in Wiradjuri country while her father was Austrian from Salzburg. She says her grandmother was among the stolen generations of indigenous Australians taken away from their families and placed with a foster family, part of a government policy to try to assimilate Aboriginal children into white families. She also wrote Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney, 1937, a fictional diary of a young aboriginal girl from the stolen generation.

In 2009 Heiss along with eight other Aboriginal people took columnist and political commentator Andrew Bolt to court for two articles ‘ It’s so hip to be black’ and ‘ White fellas in the black’ published in the Herald and Weekly Times. His column implied that lightskinned people identified as Aboriginal only for personal gain. His articles Heiss said discredited her professionally and insulted and humiliated many others.

Bolt mentioned Heiss made a decision to be Aboriginal…’ which ‘ was lucky, given how its helped her career’ also stating that she won jobs reserved for Aborigines. In 2011 the Federal Court ruled that Bolt had breached the Racial Discrimination Act. Bolt outside the court described the verdict as ‘ a terrible day for free speech in this country’. At the time Heiss was penning the book ‘ Am I Black enough for you?’ She was 43 and people said she was too young to write a memoir. She felt the story of her identity wasn’t something that was going to change as she got older. The need for it to be told had proved more necessary in recent years.

The book just like her novels is a statement that “regardless of where we live we are strong in our identity, and it is one of the few things that can never be taken from us- unlike governments taking away our children, our rights, land and most recently the rights to manage our own incomes in the Northern Territory.” “ Through my book I wanted to demonstrate that we as Aboriginal people have our own forms of self- identification and self- representation. My book offers alternate realities of being Aboriginal today- in all it’s positive, successful, loving glory,” Heiss says.

Heiss along with Cathy Craigie who has worked extensively in Aboriginal arts and media, Ellen van Neerven writer and editor, Dr Jared Thomas, an arts development officer and Nicole Watson, an author and former lawyer and columnist, all from Australia will be participating in the Goa Arts and Literary Festival next month. Review Bureau 

http://epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9287&boxid=184833171&uid=&dat=11/16/2014