Time, may not wait around for man. Indeed, memories may gradually fade, but a photograph never truly allows a moment to completely slip away. In fact, the legendary fashion designer Karl Legerfeld once said, 'What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that's gone forever'. And the Memorias da India Portuguesa Facebook page is one such delightful collection of long gone moments from days of yore. Indeed, these pictorial vignettes of life during the time of Portuguese India have been evoking feelings of nostalgia among the older generation while giving the younger folk a chance to experience the interesting tales that their older family members narrated to them while growing up.
Founded in June 2014, the page, that was interestingly started by a Portuguese national Mario Guinapo Ferreira, who has no Indian ancestry, was born out of sheer fascination of Portuguese history and Portuguese India. "Since a very young age I used to watch Indian cinema which was very popular in Portugal in the late 1970´s and early 80´s and was completely amazed by the colours, songs, music and dances. Later I met some old people who lived in the former Portuguese territories in Africa but were natives of Portuguese India. Listening to their stories and seeing the women wearing sarees was such an amazing thing for me," recounts the 41 year old assistant nurse who works at the Hospital Nossa Senhora do Rosário Hospital,in Barreiro. "Also, in school we only learn about the Age of Discoveries. Every time people talk about Portuguese India, it was only about the Inquisition and the Church. But I knew that there was more than that. My curiosity made me buy some books about the Portuguese Empire - several about Africa ,Timor, Macau and of course India Potuguesa. The photos and postcards were amazing, showing that there was more indeed, than what I was told in school.With the multiplication of sites and blogs on the internet I started to collect photos from there and from books and some archives."
The idea of creating the page however came while he was browsing through similar pages on Facebook. "I thought 'Why not share the hundreds of photos I have about Portuguese India'? It never crossed my mind that this page would invite much interest apart from a few curious people," reveals Ferreira, who has yet to visit Goa, Damão or Diu.
The vintage photographs of Goa, Damam and Diu provide a glimpse into life during the Portuguese rule and how the scenery has changed over the years. Apart from his own collection, Ferreira also gets a lot of contributions from people especially those who lived in these regions pre Liberation, enthusiastic to be a part of this journey into yester years. "I have had some amazing contributions from the great grand child of the Governor-General Fernado Quintanilha who sent me a lot of photos from his family albums regarding his ancestor's stay in India. Others have come from some soldiers that were stationed there, discloses Ferreira. "All the photos have a story to tell and for me they are all historical documents."
And the response has been mostly positive. "Many people send me messages of support and tell me that they have learnt that Portuguese India was a different place and they can see through these visual documents the stories told by the elderly members of their family," says Ferreira. "Of course a couple of people have made rude comments against Portugal and the Portuguese, but this is only the reflection of some prejudice and most of all a deep political intoxication. And I have had the support of many Goans against them."
This treasure trove of memories has also proven to be more than just a visual treat with some people discovering pictures of their own houses as they were in the old days or photos of some members of their family that have already passed away. "In one instance, a young woman recognised her grandmother in a photo of a garden-party where she was invited, at the Governor-General´s Palace in 1957," reveals Ferreira, adding that it incidents like these that make him continue the page.
Ferreira also stresses that there is an urgenf need to preserve all these photographic treasures. "It's the basis of a common history of two people - Portuguese and Indians. Despite all the bad things that happened in the past, the history of mankind is made of that," he says. Elaborating further on the common links between the history of the two regions he illustrates, "One of the most important oftalmological hospitals in Portugal was named after Dr Gama Pinto, a Goan born man. Today, our Secretary of State of Culture is of Goan descent Jorge Barreto Xavier,so as you can see this reflects even in our days.This is the most amazing thing “ You don't see this in Britain or France although those nations were present in India for many centuries."
