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International Scholars Met in Goa Thirty-one scholars from Canada, Japan, Portugal, Germany, Italy and India came to Goa to attend the international conference on "Goa and Portugal: History and Development", from September 6 to 9. The conference was inaugurated by Lt Gen Jacob, Governor of Goa, and the concluding session was chaired by Francisco Sardinha, minister for Health. Some little-known but intellectually stimulating aspects came to light during the conference. The learned speakers presented papers on a wide array of interesting topics. The topics concerned village communities, mining, trade, industrialization, freedom struggle, typical Hindu rituals, trade and Goan intellectuals among others. The audience travelled in the "phantom ship" through the veil of secrecy that shrouded the Inquisition, ably captained by erudite Englebert Perrison from the Tokyo University. Later on they went on Alexander Dumas' treasure hunt in "The Count of Monte Cristo", through the lively discourse of Chirley dos Santos-Stubbe from the University of Damstadt in Germany. Santos-Stubbe knew Goa only through a novel. In a magnificent effort, she brought out the fictional Abbe in the novel as close as possible to the real Abbe from Goa. There was still more talk on Abbe Faria because Dr Hannes Stubbe, professor of psychology from the University of Cologne, did a comparative study with concepts from Abbe Faria, Freud and other psychologists. From Naples, the Italian delegate, based on a collection of letters from Goa, found in Italy, revealed the rich personality of Gerson da Cunha. The audience was treated to an excellent exhibition of colourful slides on the furniture of Goa by Percival Noronha, Hindu deities by Ms Archana Kakodkar and the possibility of agricultural production of Kenaf in Goa by Dr Augusto Rodrigues. The main business of the conference over, the participants were taken on a tour of the Old Goa complex, accompanied by expert Percival Noronha. The scholarly delegation also called on the Governor. The visit was followed by an enlightening interaction with history at the Raj Bhavan and a delightful tea party.
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POTPOURRI