One look around Goa and the message is clear—there is a need for redemption. The question is how to achieve it, or rather, what will bring us redemption? On Good Friday, it's time to ponder seriously.
Let's admit that we, Goans, are in the grip of an evil that is of our own making. Go north, east, south or west, we are confronted with harsh man-made realities: vanishing hillslopes, unchecked construction, mounting garbage crisis, loss of our environment and biodiversity; the list is endless.
We never fail to invoke Goemkarponn (Goanness) at every turn and corner, where plastic is choking our rivers and other water bodies, and the stench of garbage on the roadsides is all-pervading. These actually define who we are, and what we stand for.
If there is anything that can be said about us, it is that we are like lost sheep, grazing in no man's land, breaking every rule and law to claim what doesn't belong to us. There isn't even an iota of self-awareness among us when it comes to our present reality.
If there is anything that can be said about us, it is that we are like lost sheep, grazing in no man's land, breaking every rule and law to claim what doesn't belong to us.
Our leaders make statements for the sake of making, but what they speak in the house atop hardly reflects on the ground. The gap between talk and action is like a chasm in which people are trapped, witnessing the deterioration of their land and lives.
At every step, accountability is failing and honest leadership is lacking. On Good Friday, the message is clear: redemption comes through accountability and responsibility. If there is anyone who should shoulder the burden of failure, it is our leaders, and then, we.
Is there still hope? Yes, there is, but each one of us has to step up and commit to Goa's betterment; but first, we must admit that we are failing. If we are part of the problem, we can also be part of the solution. All this while, what we thought was right is wrong; so let us open our eyes and start walking straight.
Good Friday is a time for reflection and renewal. It's time to pause and look back and examine every step and decision we took, and analyse where Goa is headed. Are we ready to make amends? There are things we have to let go of for the greater good of the State.
It's time for restraint over many things that we think are possible. We can't keep sacrificing our hills on the altar of construction. It is like betraying your land for a few pennies, the way Judas betrayed Jesus for a few silver coins.
It's time for restraint over many things that we think are possible. We can't keep sacrificing our hills on the altar of construction. It is like betraying your land for a few pennies, the way Judas betrayed Jesus for a few silver coins.
The coins you accrue may glow momentarily, but Goa will be lost forever. The road ahead will demand courage to say 'no' to many things, the first of which is unchecked construction. Secondly, it would be good for us to embrace sustainable living and hold on to our ancestral wisdom.
It is this ancestral wisdom that has shaped the course of our lives—from how we built our houses to how we tilled our fields and celebrated our festivals by paying obeisance to nature. The same nature is calling out to us now.
Many hold Goa in admiration for what it has, and there are others who envy it. As Goans, this should make us proud for we have what many don't. We still have the right balance of nature and the susegad way of life, which money can't buy, and many can only long for.
If you are impressed by the manicured lawns and tall glass towers of the cities, Goa is not the place for you. And, please don't try to reinvent it. It's fine just the way it is.
And, as we mark Good Friday, let our minds think beyond the church walls. If you think resurrection is only for you, think again. It is not only for souls, but every living being, including trees, grass and even the weeds that form part of the ecosystem we live in.
What is written above is not an obituary, it is a sincere plea for Goans to wake up and reclaim what truly belongs to them. And, as this article mentions at the beginning, the time for redemption is now.