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September 1, 2010 - The
GOANS OF PAKISTAN (www.goansofpakistan.org) project is a year old! I am
happy that it has gone places and brought smiles, whispers and reminisces
that have stretched across the miles! It has confirmed my feelings – after
having noted all the FAM (Feedback, Appreciation & Memoirs) – that there
will always be a little Pakistan in our hearts (as I said in my lead-story
‘Footprints on the Sands of time” one year ago). But I dread to say today,
that this specie called the ‘Pakistani Goan’ is all but extinct in a
country that we so loving call or called ‘home’. September 28, 2012 – I am a Sister of Jesus and Mary residing and working in Murree and a Goan. I would like to congratulate you on the wonderful work of the history of Goans in Pakistan and all that you have written on the subject. Roland de Souza sent this to me (a good family friend of ours) and I must say I have enjoyed reading it. Thank you for this great achievement. God bless you and your family. Sr. Marian Saldanha, RJM - Murree August 21, 2012 – Hope you are fine. I would like to know the name of the wife of Mayor Manuel Misquita, mother of Noel and Alan Misquita. The lady donated a lot of property to build Misquita Gardens and it would be nice to mention her name and the surname of her father so that she can be remembered, thank you, I have been following your sites and blogs, you are doing a great job Zelia de Sa Miranda – USA Zelia, her name was MRS. MARY MISQUITA and they lived at 107 Depot Lines. I got this information from Freddie Nazareth, as they lived next door at 108 Depot Lines. Menin) August 6, 2012 – Menin, who is Cyril Almeida, would we know him? I was just curious. Now the only Cyril Almeida I knew back in our time was the Police Officer who happened to also be the father of Dolla/Frank etc., Almeida. Is Cyril any relative? Please let me know when you get a chance. I am just curious and all I would say, someone else we may know. Take care and have a great day. Marilyn Correa - Canada Cyril and his brother Norbert are the two boys of NORBERT (Late) & PATRICIA ALMEIDA. Patricia is the sister of Walter Fernandes (Late) and their other siblings (the Mendes clan). Patricia's mother and the wife of SP Cyril Almeida (Police) were sisters. I hope that helps, Menin). August 4, 2012 - 'Goans of Pakistan' is an extremely interesting read - kudos to each and every one. Congratulations to you for the time, hard work and effort put in to compile such a keepsake. If I may add to the List of Teachers: Mrs. Esther Pecus, St. Patrick's School; Ms. Margaret Pecus, Math teacher; St. Joseph's Convent School; Mrs. Emery Dean, St. Joseph's convent School; Mr. Julius Correa, Math teacher, St. Patrick's School; Mrs. Sylvia Pecus, St. Patrick's School. Hope to have been of help. Beryl de Souza – Canada July 18, 2012 – Thank you very much for sending me one of my fondest memories, would you believe me if I told you it’s the first picture I have of the play although I had seen a few at the time but in those days people hardly shared pictures or should I say made extra copies to give away. I am sure a lot of people might still have in their archive boxes or albums, wish I could see and get hold of them. It was the highest collection for charity ever in the Goan community. Thank you again very much. You are a super star. Bobby Frederick – USA (Played lead role in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ 1976 Karachi) July 14, 2012 – I got your address from a website for Goans of Pakistan. I am researching the Anglo Indian community and I would like to know if you can help. I am totally fascinated by them and I have a couple of hypothesis that I would like to present in regard to this community. For example, we are continually bombarded with how English is not our language, also we feel as if the Anglo Indians are not a part of our culture. I want to negate both these ideas. One of the things I feel is that maybe the railways are in this state today because the Railway jobs are no more with this community. It’s not as if I am stereotyping them, but I do feel that their railway expertise was not passed on to the present railway employee. All of this is just conjecture, and if you can offer any help, I would be absolutely glad. Qudsia Sajjad – Pakistan June 14, 2012 – Reference your website. I work in advertising and for one of our international brands we use doctors to drive credibility. We produce commercials for this brand not just for Pakistan but also for Mexico, Philippines and China. At the moment we are working on such a project and would like to cast doctors for the Mexico film from Pakistan ideally from the Goan community. Would you know any female doctors, aged between 35-45 but young looking, smart, pleasant looking, confident and expressive; and of course willing to appear in a commercial. They need to have valid doctors’ certificates and be practicing general practitioners or child specialists. If you know anyone who fits the bill, please do let me know as soon as possible. I would really appreciate it. Rashna Siddiqa Abdi - Pakistan May 6 - 9, 2012 – I found the website you manage "Goans in Pakistan" interesting and illuminating. I'd be interested to know if there were post-partition constraints in travelling between India and Pakistan, up to about 1960. Was it easier to access Goa which till 1961 was a Portuguese colony? Would be much obliged to receive this info. Giselle Mehta (Author), Mumbai, India May 7, 2012: I am assuming that there were no constraints because 'Pilgrimages' from Karachi to Goa on large passenger ships were organized in the 1950s. May 8, 2012: I much appreciate your prompt response. Any idea of the most exclusive residential location of pre-partition Karachi, accessible to Indian Christians? I mean like Sadar, (was that its pre-Pakistan name?) Cincinnatus Town etc., which emerge as residential localities on some websites, were these elite locations? You mention Mansfield Street on your website in respect of Cardinal Gracias. My interest is a literary one, for purposes of a setting. But I guess I'm taking you out of your way, beyond your zone of primary focus. Giselle Mehta (Author), Mumbai, India May 9, 2012: Right...Yes, Saddar was the focal point for upscale activity. Most houses were in this area, the roads in the Saddar area included Clarke Street (with St. Patrick's Cathedral on its East end), and bisected by Mansfield Street, Napier Street, Frere Street, Sommerset Street, Elphinstone Street and Victoria Road (named after Queen Victoria rode through it). Elphinstone (or popularly known as 'Elphy') was the most fashionable precinct of Saddar, as a matter of fact, the entire city. All restaurants, some made so famous by poets, writers and story-tellers were all here. The best cinema houses, namely Paradise, Capitol, Palace, Bambino, Lyric, Godeon, Odeon, Naz, Nishat, Rex and Rio, were all within a radius of a mile. The best and oldest schools were also in this area, and so were the biggest hospitals, and also the main bus and tramcar junctions - so Saddar in essence was the epicenter of what Karachi was then, as a city. Cincinnatus Town (now called Garden East) was the first well-planned township in the city, envisioned entirely by nine Catholic families. It was named after 'Mr. Cincinnatus D'Abreo' a Collector of Customs and recorded as one of the 10 City Founders of Karachi. He was the initiator of the scheme. The beautiful houses in Cincinnatus Town were typically Portuguese in design, lots of open space on the plot, fruit trees and play areas. It was an affluent township. I hope this will help! Feel free to ask more. May 9, 2012 – Thanks a million; that was a most informative response, Mr. Menin. You do have a passion for your city and its history! It appears from your account that life in Karachi for Goans was more vibrant than even in Bombay or Calcutta. Since you've so generously offered, I will touch you for details from time to time since this is a completely new but very interesting area for me. I will of course acknowledge your erudite and generous input when the work is done, as is my practice. It's still a matter of interest as to why the migrations from Pakistan to greener pastures elsewhere took place when your website indicates internal opportunities were good. Giselle Mehta (Author), Mumbai, India May 9, 2012: Giselle, there are approx 6.2 million Christians in Pakistan, of which there are about 15,000 Goans only. This number of Goans, more or less, has been a constant, and never before or after Partition, this number has increased or decreased in a big way. Goans started to immigrate firstly to England, Canada, USA and Australia (in that order) sometime in the mid-50s. First it was a trickle, then in the 60s and 70 it was an exodus. The ones who left earlier were the crème de la crème of the community, the latter lot simply followed, mostly to Canada. The younger Goans then (latter half of 70s, 80s and 90s), who completed their education in Pakistan, spoke Urdu freely and mixed with mainstream groups at work and play, found opportunities here and chose to stay back. Anyone with good education, job skills and fluent communications can get very good jobs in bigger cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Goans are mainly in Karachi. Having said that, Goans (then) were influential (in education, medicine, music, sports and social sectors) but Goans (today) are relegated to almost non-entities, having taken the back seat because of multi-ethnicity. April 26, 2012 – Hello! I am Claire from DAWN.COM . We are currently working on a video that will be focusing on the Goan community in Karachi. I read about you on the Goans of Pakistan website and think that you will be able to contribute significantly to our video. The main objective of the video is to create awareness on the culture and lifestyle of the Goan community in Karachi. My supervisor for this project is Sara Faruqi. Your help would be greatly appreciated. I do hope to hear from you soon. Cheers. Claire (JingYi) – Nanyang Technological University Wee Kim Wee School of Information and Communication, Class of 2013 April 17, 2012 – Thank you very much for giving details of Goans in Pakistan especially during the initial years. From what I read in the newspapers there is persecution of minorities and forceful conversion of girls/women to Islam. Also I understand that minorities are the poorest of the families in Pakistan and most jobs are given to Muslims. Since some Hindus are coming back to India - I'm confused why Goans don't come back to their ancestral land - Goa. How about some group in Pakistan visiting Goa or having cultural link with Goan people or they prefer to visit or migrate to western countries. I think you forgot to mention about Cricketer Yousef Yohanna (now converted to Islam). I read about him, how his family survived in small hut like house beside the railways. His mother Alice worked as a sweeper and all siblings living in poverty. I was not happy what Yohanna did in his later years - but I believe only God knows why he did that - forced or willingly. Maybe you have not mentioned much about people who have gone astray? I believe those who migrated during the Portuguese rule in Goa to different places/countries were the best minds as those who were left couldn't decide or were lazy. I'm from South Goa, Salcette presently working in the Gulf. History is my favorite subject and I passed out with History Major (Bombay University). Do you know presently how many Goans Catholic are living in Pakistan and are there other Christian groups non-catholic? Are marriages between Christian and non- Christian prevailing in Pakistan. Thanks again, and I hope to hear from you. Rudy Fernandes – Middle East April 17, 2012: Thank you for your feedback. Please go to the Home-Page of www.goansofpakistan.org and in the right top-box, go to 'Articles & Profiles' - in this section go to the article of Dec 20, 2003, and read it - some of your questions will be answered there! Here is an excerpt from the same article about Yousuf Youhana (now Mohammad Yousuf): We have been somewhat lucky with having our test cricketer Yousuf Youhana—with merit personified—in the Pakistan cricket team. His bold display of making the Sign of the Cross upon reaching a 50 or a 100 is, probably, the only sign of Christians being in Pakistan for the millions of masses who follow the game of cricket like their second religion. Two Goans have played test cricket for Pakistan in the late fifties, the late Wallis Mathais and Antao D'Souza. (Note: Youhana is now known as Mohammad Yousuf since his conversion to Islam two years ago). The Goan community in Pakistan is predominantly from Karachi - as this is where they sailed into in the early 1800s. They came here for change and economic (jobs) reasons; when they came here they found 'good education' too for their children, so they chose to stay back, when Pakistan came into being. They held responsible positions in government, city and corporate sectors, they were among the 'best teachers', 'best doctors' and 'best administrators' for a new country - they were treated well, respected and held in high esteem. These were the reasons Goans never thought of going back to Goa, as many had found a 'new home' in a new country. Today, Goans still live here, approx 15,000 in all, hold decent jobs and basically quite happy. This does not mean, there is no immigration, there is, it started in late 1950, the 60s and 70s were big, and later in 80s and 90s too many left, most to Canada, Australia, USA and a few to England. The fact, however, is that the Goan community in Pakistan was never any bigger than 15-20,000. My cousins are from Colva Beach and I visited them in 2009 and 2011 for Christmas. April 14, 2012 – I was amazed to know there are Goans in Pakistan and you still make an effort to showcase that who you are (Goan) I’m a bit curious now since you'll leave in Pakistan what language do you'll speak with other Goans there in Pakistan, do you'll have churches to pray, do you'll enjoy the freedom of religion, do you'll visit Goa. have many question in my mind but hope you respond to these first. Ram Pednekar – Goa, India Hello Ram Pednekar! – Yes, there are about 15,000 Goans still living, happily, in Pakistan! Our community is held in high esteem by those who know the contributions made by Goans in the early days of Pakistan and continue to do so even today. Most Goans live in Karachi and are fluent in Urdu (the National language), English and of course our Mother tongue 'Konkani' - some families speak Konkani at homes, most speak in English. Pakistan has more than 400 majestic Catholic and Protestant churches built by the missionaries and the British many, many years ago, some as old at 150+ years! The total Christian population of Pakistan is approx 6.2 million! There is complete freedom for Christians in Pakistan for practicing our Faith, albeit, a few isolated cases of concern. A group of about 100 Goans visit GOA every year since the past 20 years during the months of Nov-Dec, for the feast of St. Francis Xavier and to meet relatives. Most Goans in Pakistan have relatives in Goa and it is a great feeling to come together at Christmas time! Please feel free to ask as many questions... March 28, 2012 – Dear MENIN, Good morning, it's drizzling, GLIMPSES from my young days, BLAZE, he worked for Police Intelligence, I remember the office was in the new ILACO House, I heard that they were looking for an assistant, I tried, but did not succeed, I suppose, Blaze got in. ILACO was a Goan institution and all our boys got a job there and were happy as they could go home for lunch, no travel by bus. Returning to Blaze, I lived at the corner of Elphi and Dundas streets; it was a building owned by a Parsi lady, it provided some income for her. Her brother managed it. There was sanitation and water problem, but this problem was Municipality’s and not hers; in any case in 1970 she decided to sell the property. These were one room row houses with a kitchen; my house being a corner house on the first floor had two rooms and a kitchen and faced Dundas Street. One jeweler and a tailor were on the ground floor. The jeweler bought the property for Rs, 60,000, and then he made three or four workers sit at the back entrance of his shop. It so happened that a Goan family (MARY) also lived on the ground floor, next to the jeweler’s shop, so she had entrance problem to her house because of the workers. She complained, so the new landlord made a case against her for eviction. Of course eviction was difficult, so he started harassing her somehow or the other. I didn’t know whether she knew Blaze, but he started visiting her once or twice a month, when the landlord came to know that she had support, he stopped harassing her but the case continued. The landlord died of Cancer within two years, his son was a quiet guy but the case continued. Then the lady's son grew up and was getting married and issued an invite listing his new address, the landlord's son got hold of it and told the court that she has another house, on which ground she lost the case, after 20 years. The landlord also made a case for eviction against me but I had a lawyer from Hyderabad Deccan, known to me officially. He put off my case every time, claiming he had another case in another court; then the time came for me to leave for Canada, but his son was good to me and paid me PUGREE money. Oh I forgot, his father made a complaint to Artillery Maidan Police Station that I was a trouble maker, one evening they came to my house and asked to me to come to the station, innocently I went with my wife. When I entered the PS, they started beating me, my wife started crying, they told her to go home, they kept me in detention for an hour or so. When I came home people said I should file a case, but as there were no visible marks on my body, I decided not to….I don’t want to lose this piece, it happens, so I will continue later… Hilario Pinto, Ottawa, Canada March 18 2012 – Dear Menin, I want to complete my job before I go, I have not called the hearse yet, I don't need one, my apartment is located next to Our Lady of Lourdes cemetery, the cemetery is like a garden, plenty of trees and flowers and only a headstone, on second thought, I'd like to be shot to another planet in a spacecraft, but that will be expensive, forget it. Jokes aside, I must now get down to work, Quaid-e-Azam's Estate, first of all, I was an employee of MM ISPAHANI LTD, black tea growers and distributors in Calcutta, after Partition they moved to Dacca, two younger brothers moved to Karachi, MAH Ispahani joined Jinnah in their fight to throw the British out, so on Independence, he was appointed the first Ambassador to the USA where he remained for five years and then appointed High Commissioner to UK where he remained for two years, after that he came to Karachi, he started doing public service, in which capacity he was appointed as one of the Administrators of Quaid-e-Azam's estate, which included cash in lakhs which was invested with MCB and Habib, Mohatta Palace, Flagstaff House; I was assigned to help him in administration, which included attending meetings and keeping contact with Mohtarma Shirin Jinnah, another Administrator, an old lady, not active, living in one room at Mohatta Palace with her son Akbar Jinnah, the third Administrator being Hassanally Abdur Rahman, criminal lawyer, and father of Sherry Rahman, the present Pakistani Ambassador in Washington. Ispahani's youngest grand-daughter tried to keep up the family name and married Haqqani, former Ambassador to the US and father of the Memogate scandal. Farahnaz lived in Washington in the house which was occupied by her grandfather 65 years ago. She is an American citizen. FLAGSTAFF HOUSE was the main topic of discussion, having received offers of lakhs of rupees from textile mill owners to open a cloth market, and another one to build a FIVE STAR Hotel. Both were rejected in favour of a MUSEUM, Jinnah also had land in Hawkesbay and BHULEJI where the fishermen refused to budge. I wonder if anything has happened there now. I enjoyed the hospitality of the fishermen who provided me with a hut whenever my family, friends and relatives went for an overnight singsong picnic. One of the huts was owned by the AGA KHAN. We often saw turtles laying eggs on the beach at night. Incidentally, I have to thank my wife, she won a 50cc YAMAHA motorcycle at St. John's Red Cross BINGO which helped me to carry out my errands. Mr. Ispahani was living at 2 Reay Road, beside an Arab who had built a residential fortress; his other old neighbour was NUSSERWANJEE. I will end here now as I don’t want to lose this piece and get back to you again, enjoy the day. Hilario Pinto, Ottawa, Canada March 4, 2012 – I must get back to you regarding Quetta, when we went to Goa in May 1935, my village being CANCA, TIVIM. The Cancecares Club, present home of ROTTI PRESS was the Club’s own property. As you may know, ROTTI Press was located near Old Haji Camp, and my uncle, Fr. Tony's dad, worked there for many years. My father breathed his last in the club in August 1976, before my departure. It was a thriving club his young days, the club had a second floor for poor family members in emergency. Like all old houses, there was lot of wood work. Under present renovation, I think they got rid of the first floor and the wood work. I passed by it in 2000 when I visited Karachi. Turning back to Quetta, we returned to Karachi at the end of May and my father was getting ready to return when the earthquake took place, so we were luckily saved from death, as well as witnessing the disaster. I visited Quetta in 1951 just on holidays. In Karachi, we lived at the corner of Church Street and Mansfield Street. There were only 8 to 10 small houses there with a big open ground. My elder uncle, Fr Tony's uncle lived there until Partition. We stayed there until my mother's death, after that we lived a nomadic life, but mostly in SIRSAIMCARES Club with Janu Vaz and others. We chose SIRSAIMCARES Club because it was close to our old house. The Club came down I think in the 1970s, luckily they did not have many members, only one young guy and he was at work. Now turning to Mules Mansion, here are the names of ladies who worked as wireless operators, Rose Cabral (Lobo) now living in Toronto, _______Quadros (Saldanha) was living in Calgary, Maggie Menezes (D’Mello), her father was a Concanim branch active member, Effie Blackwell (Castellino), and a Parsi girl. There were two Jews living next to SPEECHLY, Elphinstone Street. We used to play badminton there. One of the girls married Lenny Fernandes, living nearby; he died some years ago in San Francisco. Regarding Major Quadros, a guy named Joseph Quadros was in my class and lived next to REGAL Cinema, another Quadros married to a Saldanha was in Calgary. Did you get any info, re Major Quadros? That's it for the moment, until next time and as they say in Canada, HAVE A NICE DAY, thanks for doing good work with no financial consideration. Hilario Pinto, Ottawa, Canada It's lovely hearing from you again - always a pleasure to relish on those great memories. I am still on the 'Major Quodros' trail and would like to find out who this noble gentleman was...to have donated the Statue of the Christ the King atop the Christ The King Monument in Karachi as well as one that was sent to a village in Goa. You have mentioned about the 'Clubs' in Karachi - known as koors right? Would you be able to recall the 'Names' of the all the Koors in the city then and where they were located? You have noted two of them, knowing about more would be great - I want to put this on record. Thank you; by the way, which Fr. Tony are you referring to...? March 4, 2012 – Good morning, I mentioned before that the late Fr. Anthony D'Cruz was my first cousin, meaning to say that his father and my mother were brothers and sisters, Thomas and Maria D’Cruz of Calgary and Vicki and Roque Pereira of Houston are my first cousins, as also Ursula and _________.They were residents of Depot Lines, as I said after my mother's death we became nomads and lost contact, it was late Fr Tony before going for priesthood visited us and renewed the relationship, I think but I am not sure, you lived in the vicinity of Depot Lines where Nazareths, Lobos, Mirandas, (my teachers) Gonsalves, Cordeiros (friends of Vicky), lived in my school days. I miss Karachi, I have a brother-in-law Noel Vaz who refused to leave Pakistan, he works for Hoshang Dinshaw on RA Lines, now he has completed 100 years there, I mean he and his late father. I worked for MM Ispahani for 10 years where I held an important portfolio for Pakistan, about which I shall write to you sooner than later, and in Ottawa for the Turkish Embassy for 25 years, happy to share memories, be of good cheer, I know this is difficult in Pakistan. Hilario Pinto, Ottawa, Canada February 15, 2012 - You have been doing us Pakistani born Goans proud with the website you have created. In fact when I attended the Goan Convention in London, your congratulatory message was conveyed to all present. Well, Menin, you will recall that I had written to your website informing of my interest in preserving family connections and to try and connect families separated due to partition, relocation, emigration etc. This has been of great success and I am constantly on the lookout for information. I was wondering how things stand at the Parish House at St Patrick’s. I am aware that before the creation of the various Parishes all baptisms were carried out at the Cathedral. I obtained my father’s birth certificate from there. Malcolm Mascarenhas told me that during a visit in 2001, he found that some of the old information was being stored electronically. Is that the case? Would it be possible to access this information as it would be crucial for genealogical research? I don’t know if you are aware but the Church of the Latter Day Saints had obtained all church records from Goa Parishes for the period 1914 to 1989. These have all been microfilmed and stored and can be ordered in some of the major cities of the world. There is also another matter which I would like to find out. Is there a way to find out the names of the Parents of the (Goan) Priests and Nuns ordained in Pakistan? I have a book in my possession which has such records from Goa for the period 1759 to 1927 and was wondering if we could collate an exhaustive list which would include Priests/Nuns ordained in the general diapora. I would like to hear from you on this. Faust Desa, London, UK Dear Faust: All well at this end, there's excitement of all kinds in Pakistan so we are forever entertained! 1. Baptismal Records at St. Patrick's - You have may to write to the Parish Priest at khidio@cyber.net.pk 2. Names of Parents of Priests Ordained in Karachi - Will work this out where possible and send when done (Most of these are listed on my website (www.goansofpakistan.org) under 'Religious' February 15, 2012 – Thank you very much for your prompt response. Yes, Pakistan always seems to be in the news for all the wrong reasons. I have to iterate and reiterate that the Pakistan I Iived in was not such a bad place, but most probably look at me cynically. I still recall the good old days there and will never forget my place of Birth even though it has started to affect me badly with regards to the current Indian Visa requirements. I don’t know if you are aware that my wife is from Goa and I tended to go there every year until December 2009 – when you were there. Sadly, I only learnt of it the day there was a talk given by you in Panjim and which happened to be on the same day as my in-laws wedding anniversary. I have not applied since then owing to the fact that a lot of people I know in this part of the world and who are Pakistan born are being issued visas after three months, so one has to plan months in advance. I tried mobilizing people in the US and Canada but most are more interested in traveling to the Caribbean or South America. But I did bring it out in the Forum at the Goan Convention and it was noted. Well, Menin, thank you for the email address. I will certainly write to them. But before that could you send me the name of the current Parish Priest at St Pats. I am totally out of sync with who is posted at the various Parishes. Also, Menin, I do recall reading in one of your articles that you were overwhelmed with meeting your relatives in Colva, Goa and in the time there were able to make a family tree. Would you mind sharing this with me? You see, I have for the last two to three years spent a lot of my time in my genealogical pursuits. Through Research, books both new and old as well as family trees, I have been able to create a large global Goan tree, which keeps growing day by day. It is possible that I might have come across your relatives and it would be nice to attach them to others I have come across. I have managed to locate many people now living across the globe and have got them connected and in contact with their relatives. If there is someone in Karachi trying to ascertain their roots in Goa, please do give them my email address as I may be able to assist them. I cannot make a promise but would try my very best. Faust Desa, London, UK February 6, 2012 – Here’s my first work place in Keamari, 1944 (Mules Mansion) issuing petrol coupons to NAVY wireless operators, (WRIN) mostly Goan girls, one or two of them are in Canada, interesting to read chronology of milestones on your Website, especially JANU VAZ, we were room-mates in a club at the corner of Mansfield and Clarke Streets. Also Manuel Mendes since I am a survivor of the Quetta earthquake on May 31, 1935, my father was an employee of the LOURDES HOTEL. The Concanim song, MAIACHE ETISAR SOCALIM TIN VORAR..., is a perennial reminder. Bernard Mscarenhas, was my neighbour, I have a write up on him in the newspaper, I will send it to you sometime. Hilario Pinto, Ottawa, Canada February 5, 2012 – Dear Menin, nice to hear from you and the good work you are doing, keep up the good work, and of course I would be interested to hear from you from time to time. I learn that St. Anthony's Parish is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee and Fr Melito Dias, my classmate, is the Parish priest. I am happy as I was there as a kid, it was in a small bungalow, happy memories. As I told you, late Fr. Tony D’Cruz was my first cousin and I am in touch with his family in Vancouver and Houston. St. Anthony bless you. Hilario Pinto, Ottawa, Canada
February 3, 2012 - You have to be
really proud of the work you are doing on behalf of not only Goans but of
the Catholic community of Pakistan. I have come across your website by
accident as I am doing a research into my wife's background and even as I
write this I realize that even though my wife always thought of her having
East Indian background i.e. her mother was born in India, I have now found
out that her father Wilson James Caldeira was actually born in Karachi and
his father was in the construction business and Wilson would have gone on
trips to Bombay at the time where I suspect he married Martha my mother in
law. They made their home in Karachi. I met and married in Bahrain where
Wilson would have worked. It is very fascinating to try and find out who
we truly are. At the moment I have just emailed my wife's nephew whom I
have never met, a young man called Ashley Caldeira - I suspect he will be
able to collate and I hope keep this precious memory in store but alive. I
am very, very happy to have come across your website. I did know the last
president of Pakistan was a St Patrick's ex student - but when I picked up
that bit you wrote "that he had a reunion with his mentors" - I noticed a
hint of human emotion. We all have this or you would not have created the
website. Thank you and congratulations. God Bless January 15, 2012 – Hello Mr. Menin, Dev Bore Korum...I am a Goan and my parents settled in the neigbouring Sawantwadi in Maharashtra. I am impressed by the way Goans have kept alive the Konkani language and Goan way of living in Karachi. I stumbled upon your website goansofpakistan.org accidentally. It contains a lot of info regarding Goans in Karachi. I will pray to Lord Jesus to shower his blessings upon you all. Again Dev Bore Korum (God Bless You) Boney Sharaon, Maharashtra, India
January 14, 2012 - Just to introduce
myself briefly, I am a Goan, 73 years old, hailing from Chorão, Ilhas, Goa.
Started my work career in Bombay in early 1960s and then worked for over
30 years in the Middle East - Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, retiring in
2004. I can understand how busy you are with diverse activities, as
observed from your webpage, but sincerely hope you will find time to read
my email and hopefully respond positively at your earliest. I am
researching the history of the statue of Christ the King we have in Chorão,
erected on a hilltop, away from our parish – St. Bartolomeu’s Church. This
statue was supposedly brought to Chorão from Karachi by a Goan/our
villager in the 1930's in a casket which was lying in St Bartholomeu
Church premises for some years. Then in 1936 it was formerly placed on a
huge pedestal with a surrounding compound on the top of a hill in the
village. Other than finding that one Mr. Esperdião Matias Quadros
was in the forefront for collecting donations and carrying out the work,
there is no other official record in the Church or the village connected
with the statue's arrival in Chorão or its establishment on the hilltop.
From my researches I have found that one Major Quadros gifted the
statue of Christ the King that is erected in front of St. Patrick's
Cathedral in Karachi. Do you happen know if Major Quadros was a Karachi
Goan and if so, can you or anyone furnish me more details on him. He is
not in any lists of prominent Karachi Goans though. I have also found that
Major Quadros was staying at the Cicinnatus Town developed by Cincinnatus
Fabian D’Abreo, whose ancestors are from Saligão, like several other
prominent Karachi Goans. So my surmise is that Major Quadros was also a
Goan and perhaps from Chorão. I wonder if his full name is Esperdiao
Matias Quadros or they were related in some way, for nowhere on the
internet can I find Major Quadros' full name, if he was a major in the
army nor full details of his precious gift of the statue to St. Patrick’s
Cathedral. Every webpage just mentions …”Gifted by Major Quadros of
Cincinnatus Town…”.
January 10, 2012 – Dear Menin, It is a
pleasure to be in contact with a Goan from Karachi. First of all I
apologize for my poor English; it is not so good as yours. Here in
Portugal we speak Portuguese, so I cannot improve my English. I have
studied Portuguese in high school here. I am a retired bank employee and
now write articles for a Goan magazine Ecos do Oriente (in
Portuguese)…Echoes of the Orient. Soon I shall send you some questions
about Karachi and roots of my father who died in 2006 here in Portugal.
Your website is very interesting. My best regards
January 10, 2012 - Hi Menin, I was
surprised to know that Karachi had a thriving Goan community. I was aware
only of Cyril Almeida but unaware that there were distinguished people of
Goan descent. What is the language spoken by Goans in Karachi? Is Konkani
spoken among them? Congratulations on your website and all the best for
the future. Regards, January 7, 2012 - Dear Mr. Menin, First of thank you very much for hosting such a wonderful website. It was my first visit to your website and I felt the good old memories of Karachi in the 60s & 70s when I used to have parties with my Goan friends. I wish and pray you are able to achieve your goal of a Diocesan Museum though there are always difficulties in such a task. God Bless you. Mohammad Akram Butt – Doha, QATAR
January 4, 2012 - Hi Menin! First of
all I would like to wish you Happy New Year 2012. I had great pleasure
reading about the Goans in Pakistan and their contribution to the country.
It is indeed an awesome effort on your part to research the vast areas in
which Goans have made a contribution and to honour them by making mention
of their names on your site. My email in particular refers to the section
music and bands as I have made note of a few discrepancies that I came
across. My aim is for you to have the correct information irrespective of
whether it gets corrected or not. Firstly, that my good friend the late
Alex Rodrigues a great musician was never associated with either Alamgir
or Sheikhi. I first started playing with Alamgir in the early 70's and
featured regularly on PTV's Sunday Ke Sunday and Jhankar. Later on I
decided to play for Sheikhi too on a regular basis helping him out with a
few compositions. If you would like to confirm that fact I would be more
than happy to provide you with the contact numbers of both those artists.
Secondly, the late Felix Carvalho also a good friend of mine and a
brilliant musician was never associated with Alamgir. The fact of the
matter is that Felix who also played in my band was not into eastern
music. For your information I was the first Goan to be employed full time
by Radio Pakistan as Music Director ( worked for 35 years ) and Pakistan
Television as a sessions musician as I am well versed in both Western and
Eastern music. I was also the first Goan to appear in a feature film "
Dhamaka" in 1974 (opening scene with band on stage) starring Javed Sheikh.
I also had the pleasure of playing along with Paul Gonsalves and The Duke
Elington Band and Dave Brubeck Quartet. This was also misreported in
Kaleem Omar's article (Nobody in Karachi whistles anymore) published in
2006. I was employed by Metropole Hotel at the time. I am now 84 years old
and my memory is as good as ever. I migrated to Australia in 2005 and was
a bit disappointed when I read that article online. I have tried to get
the contact details of Kaleem Omar but have been unsuccessful. If by any
chance you have his contact details please forward that to me so that I
can clarify the matter. I still play the sax with the U3A(University of
the Third Age) in Melbourne and jammed up with Don Burrows in Sydney a few
years ago. I hope the information that I have provided you gives you more
insight into the musical history of Pakistan. If I can be of any help and
if you need further clarification on the above matters please don't
hestitate to contact me via email or Facebook (Don Gonsalves) or
telephonic contact 0061-3-97007791. God Bless.
January 4, 2012 - Good evening! Salaam
sahib, I am from Mangalore Karnataka India. I was shocked to hear that
there are Konkans in Karachi! Good to hear about it that we aren't present
in one nation but beside our great lost nation Pakistan!!!!
January 1, 2012 - Hi Menin! I came
across your website while looking for Goan associations to join. Are there
any Goan groups from Karachi here in London? It'll be great to talk to
you. Happy New Year.
December 28, 2011 - Hello Mr.
Rodrigues, I am a proud ex-student of St. Paul's High School Karachi. I
did my Matriculation from this wonderful school in 1967 with distinction
in six subjects. I am well settled in Canada now, but I still remember the
good old days of 1960-1967 when I was a student there. Currently one of my
nephews is a student of this school. Please include some history of my
'Alma Mater' on your web page and make me and my fellow ex-students proud.
Thanks and regards
December 16, 2011 - Dear Menin, It is
so good to have the above on record. A lot of hard work must have gone
into collating it. I would like to mention one point in connection with
the staging of the Mikado - this was also staged in Dec 1956 to celebrate
70 yrs of the KGA. I have the programme with me, as my husband, Tiburtius
and I took part in it. I do not recall the performance of 1954. The above
may be of interest to you. Kind regards.
December 9, 2011 - I would like to
congratulate you on the commendable work done by Goans in Karachi. It is
my deepest interest to know more about your community. A question I would
like to put forward to you is that why didn’t you migrate to India after
partition? Why did you choose an Islamic country over a secular country? I
know we in India are also not 100% free of anti Christian riots, but we
are treated with great respect. Is there a sense of regret in your
community in not being in India? I hope my questions do not offend you.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Thanking you October 28, 2011 - Hello Menin, My name is Mario. We have not met but i came upon your website and wanted to ask you a question. I read recently that folks that were born in Pakistan and are of Goan heritage are now being allowed long term visa's to India. After 9/11 it became increasing difficult to obtain a visa to visit India. I am a US Citizen was born in Pakistan and both my parents were born in Goa. If you could shed some light, that would be greatly appreciated.
Much Peace! August 16, 2011 - Hi Menin! Just by fluke I read your articles on your site about Goans of Pakistan/Karachi. Wow man what a great site - it really brought back great memories to me of all the famous names of the people, places, schools, events, situations, buildings, acts and so forth. To tell you the truth it made me as if I was there in place, in person, myself back in the late 60s and 70s. I really loved enjoying reading it and I am sure I will go through it a lot of times to swallow the whole nostalgic round trip you so nicely have put in your story telling and writing. Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to some more writings from you. I myself with my family used to live at Fazal Manzil, besides SM Dias furniture shop and near Lawrence Bakery. Take care and God Bless.
Sincerely Yours,
June 30, 2011 - On behalfof the Board
of Directors of the Goan Association (UK), I thank you for yourvery kind
message - sent to the email address of our Chairman,Flavio Gracias. We
areextremely grateful for your support and would encourage you, your
fellowdirectors and members to introduce yourselves to us should you visit
the UK- whether when attending our Convention and Festival or at any
othertime. We have a vibrant and active calendar too during the year -
dovisit our website for more info. A Convention website will also be up
andrunning soon. Yourwebsite is certainly one of the most vibrant and
informative we have everseen and we note that a lot of good work is done
for yourmembers and community. May it long continue. With bestwishes.
December 5, 2010: My name is Hubert
D'Mello and I now live in Toronto, Canada but was born in Karachi. I want
to commend and thank for your wonderful site about the Karachi Goans. It
is really
Thank you
- Rodolfo de Sousa, Frankfurt, Germany.
- Rodolfo de Sousa, Frankfurt, Germany.
- R. Benedito Ferrao, Mombasa, Kenya (Author: Goan Kenyans and the Crisis
of Identity)
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This site is owned and operated by Menin Rodrigues, Karachi, Pakistan. For feedback, please write to: menin100@gmail.com |
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