Saturday, July 22, 2006

Herman Carneiro... that's who


Herman Carneiro...
Originally uploaded by fredericknoronha.
This guy looks familiar... I thought to myself. After a short while, the context made it clear. It's Herman Carneiro, who set up Goanet in 1994 (when 17 years old) and with whom I've been working for the last 12 years almost. Cyber-collaboration means we've met on just 4-5 occasions... and hence have hardly been interacting in person! Just to remind me if I forget again.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Nurses, Goa and migration

Talking about migration by nurses, here's one link. Wonder how Goa is taking to this field... if at all. This is from Trends In International Nurse Migration by Linda H. Aiken, James Buchan, Julie Sochalski, Barbara Nichols and Mary Powell. Its abstract reads: Predicted shortages and recruitment targets for nurses in developed countries threaten to deplete nurse supply and undermine global health initiatives in developing countries. A twofold approach is required, involving greater diligence by developing countries in creating a largely sustainable domestic nurse workforce and their greater investment through international aid in building nursing education capacity in the less developed countries that supply them with nurses.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

The Pravasi Bharatiya , a publication produced by IANS for the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (also overseasindian.in) is now in Volume 1 Issue No 6. An article caught my eye: it said the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram (in Kerala) is to undertake a study of Indian international migration, supported by the MOIA.

Rs 14.7 million has been given as a grant for the study, and Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said Kerala accounted for 55 per cent of the total outflow of migrants from India to the Middle East. Available figures being cited say "more than two million Keralites currently work outside the country, close to 90 per cent of them in the Gulf."

There was talk about the need to learn "foreign language skills apart from English", and this new research unit is to be headed by S Irudayarajan who is credited, with the CDS, of having "done pioneering workon the impact of migration from India.

"In the next five years, the unit would conduct studies on migration, similar to what we did in Kerala, in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra -- the states that send people abroad," Irudayarajan is quoted saying. Not a Goa in sight....

Some work proposed includes analysing recommendations of the Global Commission on International Migration... analysing the role of the International Organisation for Migration... preparing country briefs on major labour-importing countries (importing? these are people not goods!) ... countrywise analysis of emerging opportunities... state-wise analysis of major sourcing states of nature and type of emigration ... analysis of emigration data maintained by the eight Protector of Emigrants (PoE) offices across India ... and initiating a pilot study on "replacement migration".

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Under renovation


Under renovation
Originally uploaded by fredericknoronha.
Dabolim is currently in a state of renovation.

Like other airports across the country (including Delhi), Goa's seems
to be in a perpetual state of renovation. Is this a good sign? Is it a
mark that our expansion plans are all so short-sighted, and it's the
contractors who gain the most with this perpetual break-and-rebuild
policy? Is air travel really booming, now with the (somewhat) low-cost
players coming in? Even if this is true, what happens to global
warming? Can Indians, South Asians and Chinese ever dream to begin consuming like North Americans and West Europeans? Wouldn't that send the planet on a tail-spin, as they say?

PS: Goa must be one of the few airports in the world which lacks decent public transport to its airport. Either you add further to pollution levels, or opt for the slow-moving bus.

Some links from cyberGoa

Some links stumbled across in cyberspace -- Psytrance/Goa page.... rather neat photo of "rice paddy" (i.e. paddy fields) in Goa which seems to be around Cortalim... the Konkani Catholics blog with a posting about a copy of the recently-published Konkani bible accompanying a petition to the President of India... a link about a poverty "decline" in Goa which says "following adoption of new yardsticks by the Planning Commission for identifying people below poverty line (BPL), Goa has witnessed a big drop in the number of BPL families" (see here)...

Also: Anil P's lyrical description titled Though Goa by Konkan Railway ... and Kusum Rohra's four day account of a holiday in Goa Get Away at Goa.

A quote: "Have you guys ever wondered how can anyone be as silly as I am, well honeys its all in my genes. I called up mom and asked her what she would want from Goa, and she in a very eager voice tells me “'Er I want a kashmiri kaach ka kaam kiya hua Salwaar kurta'.I just couldn’t stop laughing and I was like 'MOM! This is Goa, I can get bikini, skirts, trousers,hats, shell artefacts et al for you, you don’t get any salwar kurta here'."

And another: "The food at the shacks like I mentioned was too greasy, we tried food at three shacks, and mind you the food in all the shacks tastes same, food at Titos and Britto was good if not great. The desserts at Britto were amazing, a must try. A very dear friend tells me (albeit a little late ) that food at Al Cove, at vagator beach is yum n yum, its on a height, overlooking the beach."

Another nice photo of Vagator. Monsoons?

This is Time Out Mumbai assistant editor Iain Ball who has this interesting take on two very diverse kinds of football supporters he encountered in Goa.

Goa night in Singapore? Check this out. Quote: "Regardless of their age, Goans are amazingly chilled-out people. Even though my friends and I had brought down the average age of that party by a little, some of the people there effortlessly outdid us in terms of energy and dancing skills. When I looked at this 40-something couple dancing, I could see that it was not just the band's music that kept them going, it was the music in their spirit which made them so lively. And I'd seen that music in the spirit in every Goan I'd encountered during my Goa trip in 2004."

Michael Comglas on Intercontinental the Grand Resort Goa One of the Most Exquisite on Talpone (sic) River. Advertising? Exquisite indeed. Sure the fishermen and villagers fenced out woudl agree!

Mixed feelings about this blog entry. Quote: "Let me be frank for one moment – I’ve never been too excited by Goa. It was always, yeah, okay. It’s got a great culture to soak in, particularly the old buildings and the Portuguese influence – the beaches are nice, though not fantastic. I’m partial to the pristine Thai beaches that take ages to get to, but the opportunity to sleep in a nice beach shack (with attached bathroom, of course) right by the beach, hear the waves crashing while you try to sleep, and to be in a bikini 24 hours a day, is always welcome. Whether it’s Koh Phi Phi or Palolem...."

Here's yet another tourist blog. Yaaaaaaaaawn.

Finally a reminder about a new Jazz Goa site, that can be visited here at jazzgoa.com.

Stumbled across this website of the International Cruise Victims Organization and thought of the many Goans working on these vessels.

The GoanVoice, UK e-newsletter brought out the University College London former engineering librarian Eddie Fernandes of the UK continues to have a number of interesting Goa/Goan-related stories amidst its bytes.

Including: links to a 2000 interview with former Goan beauty queen Reita Faria (videoclip) and photographs of her.

GoanVoice said: "When contacted this week, Reita Faria Powell confirmed that she was born in Bombay and that her ancestral village is Tivim, Goa. She also revealed that she and David are extremely proud of their 5 grandchildren and enjoy every minute of the time spent with them."

There are also stories about Fiona Dias, CMO of Circuit City Stores, Inc; two Goans whose names got caught up in a terrorism trial; career coach Joseph D'Cruz in Canada (see profile here; a story about the Gama Rose business family and corruption charges in Kenya; Leander Paes in Wimbledon, and a lot of other stories...

There's even a story of a Goan, Steven Anthony DeSouza, accused of murder in Australia. Check out more details here. Warren Noronha has meanwhile been named the creative director of Milla (a clothing brand founded by the brothers Paul and Barry Dass in 2003, to "create a conceptual contemporary collection that featured subtle elements from their vast wealth of Indian craft and culture").

Monday, July 03, 2006

Dry in Delhi, pouring in Mumbai, 30deg and just a few drizzles in Goa

It was dry in Delhi in early July, though the monsoons were expected there by June 29. But there was a deluge in Mumbai on Monday morning. In Goa, it was 30deg, with just a few drizzles ;-) 2248 copylefted photos from Goa: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/