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Entrepreneurs of the smaller
Martyr 'Marshal' Mayenkar
Hailing from Sada in Vasco, Mayenkar was an exceptionally gallant soldier, who earned promotion by dint of hard work and dedication. His colleagues always found him cheerful, even in the face of danger and difficulties. He had already excelled himself at the tough task of tackling the ULFA militants in Assam. His very name terrified them and they had nicknamed him 'Marshal'. On February 26, Lt Mayenkar, a part of 'Operation Rhino', was leading a search party between beyond Gauwahati. They located the house in which they militants had holed up, but they would not surrender despite being advised to do so. So, asking his men to give him covering fire, Mayenkar stormed the house all by himself. While he was searching each room cautiously, when a militant suddenly sprang up and fired two rounds in his stomach from point blank range. Despite being shot, he continued boosting the morale of his soldiers, and killed two militants in a face to face encounter. Large crowds gathered to pay homage to this gallant Goan officer at Vasco. The entire Army top brass was their to pay their respects to their courageous colleague. The buglers sounded the last post and self-loading rifles roared in the air to salute the martyr of the country, while the funeral pyre was being lit. Says his patriotic father, Atmaram Mayenkar, "I am proud of my son for laying his life fighting for the country." Narendra, who had studied at Vasco Municipal School, is the eldest in the family of two brothers and two sisters. He leaves behind his grief-stricken wife Neha and his two-year-old daughter Nidi.
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PEOPLE...
FLOAT
KING FANQUITO Talk of float parades--either during the Republic Day
parade or Carnival time--and it's the name of "Fanquito" Francisco Martins
which instantly comes to mind. He has been responsible to add colour
to Goa's modern Carnival, which is otherwise devoid of all the spirit
and fun which it was filled with once. The relief comes from the creativity
of Francisco Martins, who has been bagging prizes for the Carnival floats
since 1974. Gradually he shifted his attention to the Republic Day parade
and there too he bagged the first prize right on his debut in 1981,
followed by 1987 and 2000, for the floats designed by him for the State
government.
I
had met ANAND V.B. for the first
time nearly 10 years ago at the Dudhsagar Falls, while he was searching
for the best angle to capture Goa's milky white glory. Most of the times
I met him again, the suave photographer from Chennai was marking a new
set of glorious Goan scenes on the picture postcards, which soon became
a rage all over India. Anand has lost count of the number of viewcards
he has published of virtually every State in India. But his main quest
has been to picture the glory of the country in the most suitable colours
and climes. Last week when I met him at the Kala Academy in Panjim,
the soft-spoken photographer said, "Poverty is never permanent",
while talking about India. So much optimism he possesses about his motherland.
Goa's
quaint markets and bazaars have been the favourite haunts of visitors.
Besides the Friday Bazaar at Mapusa, the Wednesday Bazaar in Siolim, the
Flea Market every Wednesday in Anjuna during the tourist season, this
year the tourists have one more bazaar--the Saturday Bazaar by the banks
of the Arpora river in Bardez. It begins in the evening and goes on quite
late in the night but the band obediently stops at regulation time. All
sorts of things are found in that Bardez but mostly being sold by Rajastha
nis,
Kashmiris and Europeans. Among the handful of Goans doing business there
is EDWIN PINTO, who designs some of
the most fantastic shoes for your lovely feet. He designs in various colours,
in leather, canvas, silk...and every pair is so very inviting.
Coming all the way and selling parasols and solar hats, is what MARGARET
& KEITH MOSS, an English couples have been engaged in Goa.
The colourful parasols, made out of rice paper and painted with handmade
vegetable dyes, sell well in Goa, particularly for the star resorts. They
have been selling at Madame Butterfly in Panjim and Casa Goa in Baga too.
The Moss couple, who live in Arpora, claim that housewives simply love
the parasols, because they serve a dual purpose--to shield the sun during
summer and as lampshades at night. They were also selling a solar cap,
which had a small fan to cool the head, powered by the sun's energy.
Several
craftsmen were selling a variety of handmade items at the recently held
craft mela at the Kala Academy campus. While visiting the various stalls,
I came across a young girl with an array of ceramic figurines. I saw her
doing some sketches on paper and asked her whether she was the artist.
Yes. Ms. 2 of Mudda vaddo in Saligao,
she was. She works in clay since the last 5 years, after having learnt
the ropes from master terracota artist Verodina Ferrao. After completing
SSC, Vidhya went to Verodiana to learn the art. She now owns her own kiln,
has trained her sisters, and retails her work at various outlets, particularly
at the hotels and curio shops.
Goa salutes 36-year-old
Lt Narendra Mayenkar, a brave Indian soldier, who died fighting for
his motherland, on February 26, in faraway Assam.