the goan I network
PANAJI
Accompanied by a brass band, as well as a guided tour in Portuguese by local researcher Maria Lourdes Bravo da Costa Rodrigues, Costa was greeted by banners, Portuguese flags and cheering residents, many of whom were only too eager to recall the past and the final days of the Portuguese empire. However, it was Costa who struck a different note.
“We must not only look back to our shared history but also look ahead and create newer ties,” he said while speaking at a function organised at Fundação Oriente in Fontainhas, Panaji where he culminated his visit.
Costa paid tributes to late Paulo Varela Gomes, a historian and former director of Fundação Oriente, and posthumously awarded him with a Cultural Merit Medal which was accepted by Gomes’ wife Patricia Vieira. “His works led to the rediscovery of various aspects of Goa, India, and as a result, of Portugal itself. Fontainhas is best example of how Paulo crafted a cultural synthesis which he had seen around him, a culture which is truly Goan,” Costa said.
Referring to well-known Goan architect, Charles Correa’s contribution to creating iconic landmark in Portugal, he spoke of how cultural exchanges between Goa and Portugal should be encouraged in order to create a brighter future.
