O Land of legend

O Land of legend, my pearl of the Orient,
Born say some, of mythical arrow,
Which the Pandavs beheld in travel afar,
Whose river is sacred, even if shallow
Where the temple God rides his Chariot car

O Land of legend, my pearl of the Orient,
Where the Saint sleeps his Incorrupt Slumber,
Whose splendor did challenge Rome at par
For God’s churches grand, many did number
And whose Padre, Lanka failed to bar

O Land of legend, my pearl of the Orient,
Of Miranda’s sketch and Remo’s song,
Of Lata’s roots and Faria’s mystic art.
Where Bruno and Leander did so belong
From whose shores did many great men so part.

O Land of legend, my pearl of the Orient,
Where love of fish keeps men in amity
And chouris and Pork keep Catholics content
Where rice be enjoyed with wondrous curry
And on good drink need little money spent

O Land of legend, my pearl of the Orient,
Whose beaches of silver do strangers draw,
Whose fall of water is much of splendor
Whose forests give home to many a paw,
Whose buildings old show majesty, grandeur

O Land of legend, my pearl of the Orient,
Her every son, a song doth sing
To Caesar his share, to God his due
Whose farmer be content as King
And with warmth embrace a culture new

O Land of legend, my pearl of the Orient,
Blessed am I, to be born of thee
Thought I live far, my heart is not here
Your shores forever, prosperous be
And may I return to you who are dear

Welcome to a piece of Goan paradise...GiB

Goans in Bangalore or GiB in this acronym world is a community of Goenkars/Goans living in Bangalore, be it for work or study. This group on google is moderated by Kenelm, a real jovial & fun-spirited guy while there is also an orkut community managed by Bibiana, who as I recall, is the rib of GiB just as Kenelm is the backbone of this group. I got introduced to GiB about a month back by my friend, Vanessa and was really looking forward to the outings and activities they conduct. Initially, I was somewhat annoyed at the chains of conversations happening on my gmail but most of them were really humourous and gave a refreshing break during my work hours. As the days went by, I found Kenelm’s replies quite funny and he had an innate ability to play around with words. I was waiting to put a face to this Aramaic/Jewish name and that day came on 21st Feb’09 where he royally paraded as King Momo and proclaimed his decree of fun & frolic for the next 3 days at the KGA carnival grounds. How coincidental was that? A guy with a good sense of humour who lives up to his name of defending his kinsmen. God grant him the strength to manage us Goenkars of GiB aswell as the Karnataka Goans Association (KGA). A couple of weeks later, my roomie Lawrence & I got to attend our first GiB meeting at the Oasis mall and it was great to interact with all who attended or just passed by to say ‘Hello’. Was a pleasure to meet Bibiana, the other core member of GiB. It was amazing to feel a sense of fellowship among all the guys and gals present at the mall that day as truly I felt, being warm-hearted & hospitable is in the blood of Goans besides the love of Music, Fish Curry Rice and Football. Getting a chance to talk Konkani also helped in strengthening these bonds as all of us were so comfortable in sharing with complete strangers since we were all Goans. Frankly, I don’t speak Konkani much but I understand it well and want to talk in it more often. After a round of friendly banter over hot/cold drinks & snacks, we headed over to Ashley’s place where we had an impromptu jam session. Was impressed by Ashley’s skills on the electric guitar and his desire to form a band called Uzo (meaning fire). It inspired me and I’m sure many others to follow one’s dream, one’s desire and it will surely be a success with good perseverance and faith. Guess the movie “Rock On” had an influence aswell. Jessel and others came up with really neat logos for Uzo aswell as GiB. Loved the creativity in them, as I’ve been an inborn artist myself but haven’t honed it further. Still love all the colors and designs expressed in all forms as paintings, logos, sculptures, photos, etc. The singing continued in Ashley’s room and most of us had a chance to audition our voice. The band was being formed that day and talks were going on to have a separate ‘Cantaram’ group of Konkani singers. The evening went on well until sometimes it went off-track and I got somewhat bored as I felt the evening started to drag as we were not reaching a conclusive decision on the band or song group. But things worked out for the best as the next meetup at French Loaf, I learned that the Uzo band is in the making and there have been practice sessions in the past. So far, I haven’t gone out for any outing/activity with GiB though this was the main reason why I joined this fun group in the first place. So I’m still looking forward to the proposed outing at Wonder-La someday. All in all, I would like to compare the GiB group to the medieval fellowship of Knights but we have added Maidens in this age. We gather at an imaginary round table where all of us are equal and bonded on strong Goan values which touch humanitarian principles. We have respect and honour for each other and all of us contributes with our talents in one of way of the other. Some of us might lament that I just have weaknesses, but assuredly I say, your weakness can be converted to our group’s strength and for the Greater Good. Viva Goa! Viva GiB!