35, ten languages, and the 'son of the consul'

AT 35, PEDRO CABRAL ADAO has an almost boyish-look about him. But, in fact, he's Portugal's new Consul General in Goa, the tiny region along the west coast of India which once was the headquarters of the Portuguese empire in the east. "When I saw the Consul, I thought he must be the son of the Consul," said the lady-director of a Goa government department, speaking only half in jest at a function this week. Barely a fortnight into his new post, the Consul knows ten languages and comes in with a rather colourful background. He is an expert in international law, was a journalist with Renacensa and the Semanario weekly, and has been a lecturer in international politics and Portuguese history. He has served in Iran, the UN, East Timor, Moldovia, and was last the deputy head of Lisbon's mission in Sweden. Speaking in fluent English, not always the mark of Portuguese officials Goa has known, the young diplomat said with undisguised modesty, after he was introduced as a chief-guest at one function here: "It's not a very impressive biodata at all." And he added: "I'm just doing my best for my country ... to bridge the gap. It's a honour to be in Goa." As people he encountered almost rubbed-in his youthfulness, the Consul advised, in return: "I am young, so take advantage of that. Take advantage of me being young and my energies to get things done." So, let's go about digging up some links that might be useful. Was having some problems in locating the website of the Portuguese Consulate in Goa, though there's this link to Lisbon's envoys in many other parts of the globe.Incidentally the email address of the Consulate General in Goa is cgport1 at sancharnet.in And this is a link where somebody's complaining about attestation of documentation in Goa This might not be directly related, but this URL has some useful information about scholarships for Indian students in Portugal -- offered by the Camoes Institute (Portuguese language and culture, research scholarships, summer courses, Lusofonia Program, Pessoa Program, Vieira Program, Fernao Mendes Pinto Program, and the program to teach the Portuguese language). There are also openings via the Institute Camoes, the Embassy of Portugal in Delhi's Cultural Centre, and the Consulate in Goa. Here's another portal with many Portuguese links And my favourite Wikipedia ends with this quirky story: "On December 19 1961 India, under pressure from public opinion, and foreign pressure from the rest of the third world to oppose colonialism, moved into Goa. Twenty Indians and 17 Portuguese were killed in the fighting, which lasted twenty-six hours. A famous telegram was sent to a newspaper correspondent at the time - the single word "Goa?". He replied, "Gone". "