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| Mhozo Tallo Aikat |
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| Spellbee finals |
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| Academic Audit |
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| Spellbee Competition |
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| Carers of the Soil. |
Last week was hectic. There were many things I did and many things I learnt.
Monday began with a visit to my alma mater, St. Xavier's College, Mapusa. It was a great joy to be back on the campus that raised me as a college kid. As I glanced at the grounds where a match was in progress, I could hear Sir Tharakan's voice booming in the background. He was our sports-in-charge who taught us discipline. I was in Xavier's for an academic audit of the Department of English. As I leafed through the files, I saw a Department that had grown over the years to meet the challenges of today.
The Carers of the Soil activity in Nuvem village was planned for Tuesday, but was postponed to Wednesday. This was a collab with Carmel College and the Village Panchayat of Nuvem. Students enjoyed handling the mud and removing the plastic pods around the saplings. The highpoint was reading the poem 'Digging' by Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Ms. Frida D'Sa, Sarpanch of Nuvem, selected the site and was present during the planting.
Thursday, we went to see the Almodovar movie Volver (2006) in Spanish starring Penelope Cruz. at Maquinez Palace, Panjim for their weekly film show. I have seen Cruz in Woman on Top (2000) and she is quite a treat to watch. She first came to my attention with Amenabar's Abre los Ojos (1997) at a Spanish film festival organized by the Spanish Department while I was still at CIEFL, Hyderabad pursuing my PhD.
Planet J and the Navhind Times in association with Dempo College, Cujira invited me to be a judge at Spell Bee 0.5 on Friday. Students put in lot of effort to spell the words which included 'zephyr,' 'antithetical' and 'sesquipedalian' (fond of using long words). I had to be careful to pronounce the word in IPA script with the correct stress. I also rectified my pronunciation of 'bougainvillea'.
Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest, but it was anything by that. In the morning we met Santan, a differently-abled person from Taleigao who repairs old rattan chairs. We stepped in for a meal served on a banana leaf at Southern Basil - which specializes in food from South India - at Fidalgo's, Panjim for lunch. Liveried attendants danced around serving items. One of them had a limp but she managed with great grace. We always hear their ad on FM 91.9 on our way to school. Now we have been there.
The piece de resistance was the finals of Mhozo Tallo Aikat 2026 - a competition for vocalists in Konkani. The event was in the evening at Institute Menezes Braganza, Panjim, and the results were declared around 9 p.m. Queenie and myself enjoyed the evening thanks to Dr. Glenis Mendonca who invited us for the show and emerged a winner in the senior category. The live brass band which performed was a treat to watch. Songs from yesteryears like Chris Perry, Lorna and Alfred Rose held the crowd spellbound. Dinner was at a quiet place called Nays Treeat, near Holy Family school, Porvorim. The hot Goan soup with macaroni, with the rain beating on the rafters, reminded me of mum;s soup when we were kids.
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Academic Audit with Sunita, Dr. Prema, Shirlene, Dr. Claudette, Aaron, Giann, and others, St. Xavier's College, Mapusa, 17/8/26; Carers of the soil, Nuvem village, with students (l to r) Saraiah, Ruth, Sohni, Ann, Joselyn, Shreya and Abigail, 19/8/26; Spellbee, Dempo College, Cujira, 21/8/26; Rishona at Mhozo Tallo Aikat, IMB, Panjim, Sunday 23/8/26. Updated 24/9/26.
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