Sao Joao


Sao Joao (St. John’s feast) was celebrated yesterday, 24th June 09, in Damao (Daman) Portuguese style as usual with 'add-ons.'

I woke up around 7am to firecrackers in the churchyard as well as echoes from the various ‘bairos.’

The day was spent putting up effigies made by stuffing old suits with straw and firecrackers. An earthen toddy pot is used for the head which is also stuffed with straw and firecrackers. The effigies are usually of men.

I had a rather heavy lunch around noon - the traditional ‘vale nascido,' a dish made of sprouted beans garnished with salted cubes of pork fat.

After lunch, I packed my family into our car and headed for the beach. Damanenses don’t wear conventional swimwear. Men and boys wear Bermuda shorts and women and girls opt for slacks and Tees. Typically, Damanenses seldom protect their eyes with sunglasses. Very few actually swim, preferring to frolic in the waves near the shoreline.

We waded along the shoreline from Ferrieros to Badrapor but got back into the car and drove to Jampore beach around 4pm. Jampore was where the party was in full swing - Damanenses from Small Daman preferred crossing the creek over to Big Daman than partying on rocky, Devka beach. There were people in the water and in little groups on the shore under the needle pine trees, partying - eating, drinking canned beer, strolling, snapping pictures, cruising in cars.

There was more fun in store elsewhere later in the evening - the ‘Judas’ effigies were burnt all over town.

For those that missed all the fun or would like a replay on a smaller scale, there's always Sao Pedro (St. Peter’s feast) to look forward to on the 29th of June.

The first rain of the season

Daman had its first showers on Sunday afternoon, lasting over two hours.

When it stopped, the sun did come out again, to give Daman that clean-washed look and to release an earthy-scented vapor all evening.

Jampore beach in Big Daman was jam-packed with tourists and so was Devka beach in Small Daman.

San Joao (St. John's feast) is on Wednesday, the 24th of June - looking forward to photographing the glut of 'Val nacido' (sprouted beans) in the bazaar - it looks as if there's nothing else on display but 'Val nacido!' It's the same scene on Good Friday - but it's 'Bred' (green leafy veg) used for the devil's recipe, 'Aag sal de bred' to tempt those fasting to pig out at lunch.

And 'Val nacido' is no newborn's food either - you need a shard of 'Papri' (papad) as the only piece of cutlery, to scoop out a portion of the beans and garnishing of salted cubes of pork fat, and convey it into your mouth - you eat the 'papri too - each time!'
The next logical step is a swill of liqour. Some spoilsports swig beer. A few rounds of this and then you're ready for your first clumsy plump into a surf-n-sand roller.

Right - eat/drink, rinse and repeat! As easy as that!

By my calculations, high tide is around 5pm on San Joao and 9pm on San Pedro (29th June).

Oh, despite the 360 degree pollution (dirt, water/air pollution and corruption) in Daman, life is good in a secret place called, Damao.

Daman Fort loses battle, wins war!

It should have been a sad day for me and fellow Damanenses. The fort of Big Daman, one of the 27 nominations for the 7 Wonders of the Portuguese World, did not make it, while Goa and Diu did.

The winners:

* Basilica de Bom Jesus (Goa/India/Asia)

*Fortaleza de Diu (Diu/India/Asia)

* Igreja de Sao Paulo (Macau/China/Asia)

* Fortaleza de Mazagao (El Jadida/Marrocos/Africa)

* Cidade Velha de Santiago (Ilha de Santiago/Cabo Verde/Africa)

* Convento de Sao Francisco de Assis da Penitencia (Curo Preto/Brazil/South America)

* Convento de Sao Francisco e Ordem Terceira (Sao Salvador da Baia/Brazil/South America)

A team of journalists of RTP - Portugal, visited Daman and the fort in particular, over a month ago but apparently, weren't impressed. Who would? The clutter of ugly government quarters, rusting government vehicles along the roads, a proliferation of garages for government vehicles, the trash in the moat, the PWD tar dump near the convent, labourers staying in Bocage's house, etc., in the fort drown the efforts of the Archeological department to maintain structures of historical value. It was also reported that the RTP team were not granted permission to photograph the Se Cathedral in the fort.

Of all the ex-Portuguese colonies, Daman perhaps has the least to show today, almost 50 years after Liberation. Goa has its natural beauty and is a great tourist destination, is 'big,' is a state, has thousands of Goans not only in Goa, but all over India and in most countries of the world; Macau is beautiful, has the world's biggest casino, glittering hotels, an international airport, one of the biggest race courses in Asia... the list goes on. Diu is on the tourist map and has clean beaches with white sand.

But of the little rule-flouting Daman has, all it can flaunt is its Portuguese heritage - culture, monuments and language, even 50 years after Liberation. The only things to show visiting ministers and dignitaries are the Portuguese forts, the Portuguese churches and the Portuguese folk dances!

Our fort may not have made it into the elite seven but what's a monument without culture? It's culture that breathes life into monuments. And the Indo Portuguese culture of Daman is not endangered, far from it... it thrives without sponsored efforts of any institution. Not only that, the culture has spilled over to foreign shores and thrives there too. The resounding success of World Daman Day 2008 bears testimony to that.

No 'Wonder award' for us and no wonder Fundacao Oriente in Goa does nothing for Daman - there IS nothing to do!

Viva Damao!

Noel

World Daman Day gets a DotCom domain name!

I've bought the domain name, www.WorldDamanDay.com today, on World Environment
Day!

Now visitors needn't type, http://web.mac.com/noelgama/wdd09 into their browsers any
more to access the site.

Just type, www.worlddamanday.com and be sure to bookmark it!

Viva Damao!

URGENT! Vote For DAMAN!

"7 Maravilhas" is a project to identify the Seven Wonders of the Portuguese world out of 27 nominations one of which is Daman!

1. Log in to www.7maravilhas.pt and click on Votar (that's 'vote' in P'guese:)

2. Click on any one of the 27 images - it will ask you for your name and e-mail Id. Fill in those.

3. Click on DAMAN.

4. You have to click on six other images to complete the survey. I clicked on both the images pertaining to Goa and one for Diu. I also clicked on Macau where we have a number of Damanenses living.

5. Click on the 'Confirm' button and you're done.

Go on, cast your vote - here's your best chance to take Daman to the top of the world!

Then, pass on this message to EVERYONE you know - ANYONE can vote; it's not only for Damanenses. All you need is an email ID.

Results will be declared on the 10th of June - Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas.

Viva Damao!