ss correspondent who finds herself deposited
in Goa, without the benefit of an immediate
acquaintance with Peter's (St Inez), Joao's (opposite
the now notorious Hotel Neptune), or Martin's (whose
staff has long since relapsed into slumber). Given the
dismal state of the print media in India today, the
days of the full-time state correspondent seem to be
distant memories (my friend and comrade Prakash Kamat
has on the other hand proven to be remarkably resilient!).

The simple truth is that the "Goan culture" that is so
venally peddled aboard the tourist boats that
shamelessly and noisily ply the Mandovi off Panaji (how
I wish they would cease) is far from easily definable.
Cultures never do remain isolated or static, and
certainly not the seaborne cultures of which Goa,
Govapuri, Gopakapatnam, became a part.

And it is indeed true that the mechanism which
supported the 'Estado de India' nourished a very unique
place, one which internalised the life-affirming
concept behind a word redolent of the very essence of
Goan-ness, a word that resounds with wisdom -- sussegado.

Chapter 17:
Why Konkani failed its readers...

Raju NayakRaju Nayak, one of the home-grown products in
journalism that Goa can take pride in, has worked on
the newsdesks of mainstream Marathi newspapers in the
media-capital of Mumbai, has edited the Sunaparant in a
tumultous period (as this essays shows) and today tells
the story through the Indian Express to the ire of
politicians who would like a more flattering image to
be put out. Together with Devika Sequeira, he is behind
the recently launched and yet-unnamed forum that meets
monthly to discuss issues of relevance and concern to
the media profession.

If I am told to evaluate Marathi and Konkani journalism
in Goa, I would surely rank the Marathi media ahead of
its Konkani counterparts.

Despite of it being accused of creating a rift between
Hindu and Catholic masses over the issue of Goa's
merger with Maharashtra in the 1960s and 1970s, the
Marathi press has managed better to maintain the
standards of journalism. The Marathi media in Goa has
all along borne the torch of social activism, by
backing the cause of the 'bahujan samaj' or the
backward communities, and also fought hard to expose
corruption in Goa's polity.

In comparison, the Konkani press hopelessly failed to
live up to people's expectations. The only Konkani
daily, Sunaparant failed to instill journalistic values
in