PALASH VOLVOIKAR

Goa is a state that has been pushed as a hippie hub, a party state, a place where everybody goes to drink cheap liquor and piss off the edge of the world. However, for those of us that live here, things are quite different. Over the last year, every article I’ve written for The Neutral View that had anything to do with Goa, I have tried to make this point: Goa is much more than the sum of its (most noticeable) parts. However the cynics among us, myself often included, tend to believe that the very fact might be a truth that’s quickly eroding. The buzzword that is being tossed around a lot these days in Goemkarponn, and it seems like the word now has some newfound power. Read on!
Let’s talk about what has been happening in Goa lately. Starting off, there is a row over the nationalisation of rivers and its potential dangers to Mhadei. Secondly is the taxi owners strike, which is pretty much demanding that, the Government not criminalize extortion. Many other small issues bug the state, ranging from the divide over opinion poll among certain sections of the society, to the issue over coconuts. So why is it that I’m here with a positive spin on Goem, and Goemkarponn?
Starting off, let me clarify that when I say Goemkarponn, I’m referring to the politics-free originally intended meaning of the word. I recently attended the 23rd Goa Yuva Mahotsav, held at Mashem, Canacona, and I’m happy to report back that Goemkarponn is well and alive and on the rise. The purpose behind Goa Yuva Mahotsav has been to awaken the Goan youth to help this land keep its identity and for 23 years it has been doing the job perfectly well. In the recent years, despite the fact that we have been cynical about where our little homeland is headed, we have had, what seems like, a reactionary rise in the spirit of Goemkarponn.
Let’s get a perspective on how things have been working out in the last few years. The first thing to remember about change is that it begins with discourse. Goans might be divided over a lot of issues facing the state but as long as we’re talking about them with each other, we’re on the road to progress and the attention to discussions about all things, Goem has increased quite a lot in the recent years. Goa Yuva Mahotsav is a prime example of how young Goans get together, every year, and have a healthy discussion about Goa. Over the years, everything from Mhadei, to coconuts has been discussed and the youth have been quite vocal about their concerns.
The scope of such discussions has started to extend beyond just one festival in the recent times. Multiple new festivals have spawned off, thanks to efforts by youngsters that are products of the Goa Yuva Mahotsav itself. We now have festivals like Urba, Daayz etc. that do a great job at carrying forward the discourse that starts with Yuva Mahotsav. That’s not all, the schools and organizations that take part in Yuva Mahotsav, spend the rest of the year on various other activities that ensure that the purpose of these large festivals doesn’t get defeated.
I have experienced this happening first hand. I’m currently the vice-president of Antruz Ghudyo, an organisation that works along the same lines and over the last seven years that I have been a part of this organization, I have seen the response that our activities get and the positive discussions that follow.
There is much more to this as well. Facebook groups like Goa Speaks are active forums where people come together to talk about these issues. Just to give one more example, there was a recent row over the inauguration of the Opinion Poll Square at Margao, which was done by a few citizens themselves ahead of the intended inauguration at the hand of officials. The fact that there is still such a reaction from the Goan public is a testament that we are not so “sushegaad,” after all.
So here’s what I feel: As long as there is a Yuva Mahotsav every year, as long as those that love with all their heart, such an event and build their own events and activities to keep the Goenkar in us, wide awake, as long as we are still talking about the things that encircle and endanger us, as long as there is a dialogue about what being a Goenkar stands for, Goemkarponn, will live on…
…and if you disagree, let’s talk about it.

Aspiring writer