Charismatic, youth conventions inaugurated in Pimpri Chinchwad

Charismatic, youth  conventions inaugurated in Pimpri Chinchwad

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Wednesday, 11 November 2015 AT 11:20 PM IST

    

16th national Catholic charismatic convention, ‘Kairos Youth Convention 2015

Pimpri: Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), has highlighted the plurality of the country and said it was sacred obligation of all people to cooperate with society, irrespective of language, caste or religion.

Cardinal Cleemis, head of the apex body of the Catholic church in the country, was speaking at the inauguration of the four-day long 16th national Catholic charismatic convention and ‘Kairos Youth Convention 2015’ at St Ursula School grounds in Nigdi on Wednesday morning.

Cardinal Cleemis said, “India is a sacred land having saints, martyrs and living saints of various communities and a land, which offers the world a plurality of divine.”

The CBCI chief urged the gathering not to be exclusive but to be inclusive to serve all who are created in the image of God.
The two national conventions are being attended by a large number of Catholics including priests and nuns from different parts of the country.

The charismatic convention is being held at St Ursula School while the youth convention is being held at St Andrew’s School in Chinchwad. This is the first time that the two-national level conventions are being held in the same city simultaneously.

In his address, Pune district Guardian Minister Girish Bapat who welcomed delegates from different states in the country said that true religion is the one, which preaches spreading love to everyone in the whole world. “All religious shrines, be it temple, church or Gurudwara, are dwellings of God. People should experience God who lives among the poor,” he said.

Archbishop Salvatore Pennachhio, the apostolic nuncio in India, Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre and Silven Miranda, chairman of the local service team, also spoke at the event. The inaugural ceremony was attended by MP Shrirang Barne, MLA Laxman Jagtap, Bishop emeritus Valerian D’Souza.
Shirish Sebastian was the coordinator for the two conventions.

Church will host youth, charismatic conventions in Pune

Church will host youth, charismatic convention

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Monday, 2 November 2015 AT 11:51 PM IST

    

Kairos National Youth Convention, 16th national Catholic Charismatic Convention

Pune: Over 7,000 delegates from all over India will attend the Kairos National Youth Convention and the 16th national Catholic Charismatic Convention to be held simultaneously at St Ursula School in Nigdi and St Andrew’s School in Chinchwad, from November 11 to 14.

The Vatican Ambassador to India, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, will inaugurate the two conventions in the presence of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre, Emeritus Bishop Valerian D’Souza and Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios.

“This is for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church in India that these two national events are organised simultaneously in one city,” said Meerut’s Bishop Francis Kalist, who is Episcopal Advisor to the two events. Few activities are common for both conventions and some are planned at the respective venues.

The delegates coming from various parts of the country will be accommodated at the residences of members of various Catholic parishes in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and also in institutions run by the Church.

Shirish Sebastian, co-ordinator for the two events, told Sakal Times that the local Catholics and the Church authorities have been planning for the two conventions for the past two years. 

Returning of awards has a tradition!

Returning of awards has a tradition!

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Thursday, 15 October 2015 AT 09:08 AM IST

    

Camil Parkhe, blog, Indira Gandhi, Operation Blue Star, Golden Temple, Khushwant Singh, Padma Shri, returning awards
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4913465897162652784&SectionId=4861338933482912746&SectionName=Blog&NewsTitle=Returning%20of%20awards%20has%20a%20tradition

When Indira Gandhi ordered Operation Blue Star to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple, senior editor and  die-hard loyalist Khushwant Singh returned his Padma Shri to protest against desecration of the Sikh shrine. I was then working in a Panaji-based newspaper and I remember we journalists had a heated discussion that evening on the issue whether the news merited  front page space. Most of us opined that Operation Blue Star was justified and there was no need to glorify Khushwant’s action.

However, the editor’s veto prevailed – he was trained under Khushwant Singh in the ‘Illustrated Weekly of India’ – and the news was carried on page one.

Khushwant Singh perhaps was the first person to return his Padma Shri. In early 1990s, anti-corruption crusader and social activist Anna Hazare had also threatened to return his Padma Shri to protest against the government policies.

Prior to Operation Blue Star, India had witnessed a dark period in the form of Emergency and yet at that time no one returned their awards instituted by the government or by bodies appointed by the government. At that time, Marathi writer and research scholar Durga Bhagwat had given a call to littérateurs not to share dais with the ruling politicians or shun government funds for hosting literary conferences as a sign of protest against the government.

The present spree of veteran writers in the country returning their literary and other laurels to protest against the increasing intolerance and the passive role of the government has once again brought the intelligentsia and the government face to face.

There is indeed a marked difference in the situation prevailing during the Emergency and now. The present government has been duly elected with popular support and it has mandate to rule for its full term.  During the era of pro and anti-Mandal agitations, the atmosphere in the country was charged with people fiercely supporting or opposing the quota rule. So much so that there was a spurt in youngsters attempting self-immolations to protest against the reservation system.

It would be easier to label the writers and others returning their Sahitya Akademi and other laurels as ‘anti-Modi’ or ‘pseudo-secular’ people and skirt the main issue. Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma has almost done that. But the government authorities need to take into consideration that some of these protesting members of intelligentsia may have supported Narendra Modi when he only spoke of ‘development’ in his Lok Sabha poll campaign. The people in the country had then not imagined the scenario they are experiencing now. Considering this, the government needs to seriously consider the concerns being expressed by the dissenting writers and immediately undertake the remedial measures.

Holy Angels Church centenary celebrations on Oct 11

Holy Angels Church centenary celebrations on Oct 11

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Wednesday, 7 October 2015 AT 10:55 PM IST

    

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=5627565244253972380&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsDate=20151007&NewsTitle=Holy%20Angels%20Church%20centenary%20celebrations%20on%20Oct%2011

Church of Holy Angels, renovation, centenary, celebration

Members of the church have arranged special programmes on the occasion

Pune: The Church of Holy Angels in Rasta Peth is wearing a new look after renovation to celebrate its centenary on Sunday, October 11.

The members of the 100-year-old church have arranged a special programme  to commemorate the occasion. Rt Rev Dr P C Singh, Moderator of the Church of North India (CNI) and CNI Pune Diocese Bishop Andrew Rathod will attend the celebrations.

A souvenir, highlighting history of the 100-year-old church, will be released at the function, said Madanmohan Thakore, Secretary of the church committee. 

The Church of Holy Angels, located near the Power House in  Rasta Peth, has nearly 300 member families. The church is included in the heritage structures list of the Pune Municipal Corporation.

Prior to 1915, Christian families from Rasta Peth used to attend religious services at the Church of Holy Name at Panch Howd. The land for building a church in Rasta Peth was acquired for a price of Rs 50 by a Christian teacher Bhikubai Dhuraji Bhalerao. Construction of the church was carried out from 1907 to 1915. Rev Vasant David led the prayers at the newly built church on October 10, 1915. Sushila, daughter of Bhagubai and Yakob Ohol, was also baptised at the church on this day.

The church conducts prayers at 6.30 am and 8 am on every Sunday. Rev Devdan Makasare is the present priest at church. The other members of the church committee include Deepa Khandagale, Joint Secretary; Vilas Borde, Treasurer; Ravindra Patole, Assistant Treasurer; and  Nalini Chandanshiv, President of women’s wing; and members Sarala Barse, Manali Salawi and Rajanikant Bankar. 

“Church of Holy Angels has records of  various sacraments like baptism, marriages and funerals taken place at the church during the last 100 years. The church was initially a part of Bombay Diocese and became a part of the Kolhapur Diocese in 1970. It joined the Pune Diocese after this diocese was created.”  
—Madanmohan Thakore,
Secretary of church committee

US, Cuba visit: Pope Francis brings fresh winds

Pope Francis brings fresh winds

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Thursday, 1 October 2015 AT 09:18 PM IST

    

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4963951844159374244&SectionId=4861338933482912746&SectionName=Blog&NewsTitle=Pope%20Francis%20brings%20fresh%20winds

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, India, Pope Francis, Cuba, Communist Cuba, USA, Camil Parkhe

Many world leaders including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington recently. Pope Francis was one of these leaders to whom US President Barack Obama played host and whose itinerary was well covered by the world media. The spiritual leader of over 1.2 billion Catholics in the world was also the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of US Congress. The pope utilised this tour to advocate for environment conservation, an issue on which he had recently issued a papal encyclical.

The visit of the pope to the USA was preceded by a tour of Communist Cuba. Both these tours were significant in several ways. First of all, the Argentina-born has been the first person outside Europe to be elected to the papacy, the first from the American continents and the first non-European pope after 1,300 years. He also described himself as a son of immigrants.

Pope John Paul II had played an important role in the silent political revolution in his native Poland nation. Pope Francis too has been instrumental in thawing the five decade-old bitter relations between the sworn enemies of Cuba and the USA. Pope Francis has consistently encouraged both Obama and Cuba’s Raul Castro to hold talks. That is why in his address, President Obama said, “Holy Father, we are grateful for your invaluable support of our new beginning with the Cuban people, which holds out the promise of better relations between our countries.”

There were speculations that the pope would also utilise this tour to shake hands with or exchange greetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping as both of them were on the USA tour almost in the same period. But this did not happen. The Holy See has been working hard to establish formal ties with China although the latter has not relaxed its curbs on churches or other religious institutions.

That was the reason the pontiff in an attempt not to antagonise the dragon power had avoided meeting the Dalai Lama when he was in Rome recently. In his media interview while returning Rome, the pope has expressed the confidence of having improved relations with China.

“We are moving forward. But for me, to have as a friend a great country like China, would be a joy,” he has said.

After taking over from his ailing predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis has indeed brought fresh winds in the Catholic Church. Like John Paul III, he has also been often on a tour of various nations, winning appreciation even from the non-Catholics as well as non-believers for his stance on various issues including human rights and environment.

He has emerged as a moral power to guide the nations on various humanitarian and social issues.

Comments

James Selvaraj - Sunday, 4 October 2015 AT 10:04 PM IST

The pope speaks from his heart ! His concerns are genuine.

 

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Joseph Pithekar - Sunday, 4 October 2015 AT 03:09 PM IST

The present Pope does not talk from high towers. He wants to dialogue with every section of humanity, especially the poor and neglected. he sends very powerful message for India too. This man goes beyond religion, but does not minimize values. now that our government is trying to impose their values and almost non acceptable values on every one he could be a model to follow. He thinks of the Church for the poor and of the poor. Could our country be for the poor and of the poor.

 

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Changing focus of news

Changing focus of news

Sakal Times Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Monday, 7 September 2015 AT 09:34 PM IST

    

news selection, criterias, news, focus, Camil Parkhe

Selection of the lead news for the page one of the newspaper has always been the most challenging job of the news editors. That is why often even the chief editors are also involved in this important task.

When I joined journalism profession in Goa, most newspapers were totally dependent on the two news agencies,the PTI and UNI. These news agencies transmitted their news through teleprinters installed in the newspaper offices. The news desk teams would then sort out the news, pin them together subjectwise and place them before the chief sub-editor for marking them on various pages. I remember, sometimes I used to accompany the newspaper's chief sub-editor in the jeep to the residence of the editor from Panaji to Miramar for selecting the lead news for page one and deciding their headings.

Sometimes, especially on Sundays and holidays, the days would be very dull newswise and it would be difficult to select the page one news or the lead news of that day.

In such circumstances, the editor had a permanent solution. He would then see what the then prime minister Indira Gandhi had said or done that day and tell us to use that as the lead news for the next day's newspaper. There is a famous dictum in journalism, “When in doubt, cut it out!” In a similar lines,his refrain was: “When in doubt, always use the PM's speech. You'll never be faulted for that.”

Before 1970s, political news always dominated the front pages of all newspapers in the country. For many years, the municipal corporators, legislators and parliamentarians obstructing the functioning of their respective Houses or running with the maces of the presiding officers to press for their demands were the favourite front page news for the news editors. It took many years for the newspaper editors to realise that these issues did not really deserve the front page slots and that the elected representatives were emboldened to stall house proceedings or create ruckus there only to hog limelight in the media.

Some years later almost all newspapers concluded that the politicians, ministers and elected representatives and – their speeches and actions – did not always merit front page space. This provided some space to humane interest stories,sports issues and local stories on the front page. Business matters which was in the past relegated to inside page of the newspapers also started appearing on the front page, thanks to the Harshad Mehta-led stock exchange scam and the increasing privatisation in the country's economy.

In the recent past, sensational celebrity crimes have been occupying the newspaper's front page space. A couple of years back, the issues related to the then Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, his wife Sunanda and a woman journalist from Pakistan were the matters of the front page newspaper coverage for many national and regional newspapers.

For the past fortnight, the issue involving Indrani Mukherjee, wife of Peter Mukherjee, former CEO of Star India, had dominated the front pages - and also inside pages - of several national and regional newspapers. At that time, some newspapers had only grudgingly allowed some space on the front page to the Patel community's massive agitation in Gujarat!

The other day, a senior citizen who is also a former bureaucrat questioned me why we mediapersons in newspapers and television channels were devoting so much space and time to the Indrani Mukherjee affair. I counter-questioned if whether he himself had not read or watched avidly all those details. His smile itself was his affirmative answer. “TRP is all what matters,isn't it...?” he said in exasperation.

Of course, I know it is a vicious circle. Neither the media or the readers are to be blamed in this regard. The focus of the media for news will always keep on changing. For good or bad.

 

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Comments

Tania Roy - Wednesday, 9 September 2015 AT 12:34 PM IST

Enjoyed your article. It's indeed a sad state of affairs for journalists and journalism. Media houses selecting stories based on TRPs cannot run the show for long. Intelligent readers will make sure that they aren't taken for a ride. For readers and the world there are far more pressing concerns like water crisis, refugee issues and so on.

Puneri Christians Pune Christians Marathi article

Quota politics

Quota politics
CAMIL PARKHE | Friday, 28 August 2015
Patel, Gujarat, riots, reservation, BJP, caste, Politics, Camil Parkhe, India, blog
The Patels from Gujarat are the latest community in the country to come on the streets to seek reservations for them. The massive agitation in the stronghold of the BJP has naturally unnerved the party, forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a fervent appeal to the community to maintain calm. The apex court in the country has already put restrictions on the percentage of quota that can be reserved for various castes and other communities. But that has not prevented politicians from playing to the gallery during the poll campaigns to assure quota to various communities. This has emboldened more and more communities in different parts of the country to seek reservations.
In Maharashtra, some leaders of the Maratha community had been demanding quota for their community. Knowing the legal positions, the Congress-NCP government during its 15-year-old consecutive rule in the state had ignored the demand. But the Prithviraj Chavan led government had announced quota for the Marathas and also for the Muslims just a few months before going to the assembly polls. As was expected, now the courts have struck down reservation for the Maratha caste while the BJP-Shiv Sena government has different views on the reservations for the minority Muslim community. As a part of the Lok sabha and Assembly polls campaign, the BJP had also assured reservations to the Dhangar community in Maharashtra. After coming to power both at the Centre and in the state, the party has not made any concrete moves in this regard.
The issue of quota has been controversial since the makers of the Constitution made provisions for the same in 1950s. The Sikhs, although not Hindus, were later included in the scheduled caste category to accommodate the dalits in this religious community. A few decades later even the dalits who had embraced Buddhism following in the footsteps of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar were included in the Scheduled Caste category by the government led by V P Singh. Since then many states have passed legislations to provide the benefits of the reservation facility to the communities having significant vote banks. The issue of religion-based reservations, that is reservations for dalit Christians or the backward Muslims has also always remained controversial.
As long as the quota facility is available to some communities, the other communities will be tempted to seek similar benefits for themselves too, irrespective of their social, economic or political status. The politicians too will continue to make tall promises to their vote banks to capture or to retain power. At the same time, due to political reasons, there is no possibility of scrapping the prevalent quota system although these reservations were meant to be only for some specific period. It is a piquant situation the country has landed in and there does not seem to be any solution to the issue.

St Anne’s: A church with unique architecture

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Saturday, 27 June 2015 AT 11:49 PM IST

    

St Anne’s Church, Solapur Bazaar, Gopuram

Solapur Bazaar: St Anne’s Church, located in Solapur Bazaar, is unique among the churches in the city. The facade of the church building has a Gopuram in the architectural style of temples in south India. The centre of the facade also has a lotus. Besides, a majority of the church’s parishioners are Tamil-speaking.
St Anne’s Church was established in the early 19th century as a small chapel to serve Goan officers in the Peshwa’s army. The present church was constructed in 1963. Veteran Jesuit Fr JB Hass looked after St Anne’s Church for many years when it was still part of the St Xavier’s Church in Pune Camp. An independent St Anne’s Parish was established only in 1983.
In early 20th century, the then British government had given a piece of land in Mule Lines to St Anne’s Chapel. The land was used for building St Vincent’s Poor Home and a school. In 1979, the Tamil medium school turned into English medium St Anthony’s Middle School. Parish priest Fr Simon Almeida is assisted by Fr S Dhiruviyam. 

Mass timings
Weekdays: 6.30 am and 6.30 pm
Sunday: 7.30am (Tamil) 9 am and 6.30 pm (English)
Jurisdiction
Solapur Bazaar, Salisbury Park, Bhavani Peth, Nalini Apartments upto Gultekdi

मल्याळम्‌ भाषक ख्रिस्ती बांधवांना मिळाली सुखद भेट new Syro-Malankara bishop

मल्याळम्‌ भाषक ख्रिस्ती बांधवांना मिळाली सुखद भेट
- कमिल पारखे मंगळवार, 2 जून 2015 - 12:30 AM IST
Tags: malayalam language, pune

मलांकारा सिरियन कॅथोलिक चर्चच्या नव्या "सेंट एफ्रेम खडकी-पुण‘े धर्मप्रांताचे शनिवार मे 30 रोजी उद्‌घाटन होत आहे. त्यानिमित्त... 
मलांकारा सिरियन कॅथोलिक चर्चच्या नव्या "सेंट एफ्रेम खडकी-पुण‘े धर्मप्रांताचे शनिवार मे 30 रोजी उद्‌घाटन होत आहे. थॉमस अन्थोनिओस यांची या धर्मप्रांताचे पहिले बिशप म्हणून या दिवशी दीक्षा होणार आहे. सिरो-मलांकारा कॅथोलिक चर्चच्या इतिहासात ही एक महत्त्वाची घटना आहे. या नव्या धर्मप्रांताची स्थापना करण्याची घोषणा पोप फ्रान्सिस यांनी व्हॅटिकन सिटीमध्ये 26 मार्च रोजी केली होती. मल्याळम मातृभाषा असणाऱ्या मलांकारा सिरियन कॅथोलिक चर्चच्या भाविकांच्या दृष्टीने ही एक आनंदाची घटना आहे.  

कॅथोलिक पंथात वेगळ्या प्रकारचे एकूण 21 राइट्‌स (उपासना विधी) आहेत आणि त्यापैकी भारतात लॅटीन राईट, सिरो-मलांकारा आणि सिरो-मलाबार असे तीन उपासनाप्रकार आहेत. पुण्यात लॅटिन राईटचे बिशप थॉमस डाबरे आहेत, नवीन धर्मप्रांताच्या स्थापनेने आता पुण्यात कॅथोलिक पंथीयांचे दोन बिशप असणार आहेत. संत थॉमसचे भारताच्या किनारपट्टीवर सन 52 मध्ये आगमन झाले होते, तेव्हापासून केरळमध्ये ख्रिस्ती धर्माची परंपरा आहे, असे केरळमधील कॅथोलिक आणि प्रोटेस्टंटपंथीयही मानतात. जगातील पहिले कॅथोलिकपंथीय असणारे केरळमधील ख्रिस्तीजन मुख्य कॅथोलिक प्रवाहातून अलग पडले आणि या मुख्य प्रवाहात 1930मध्ये पुन्हा सामील झाले. मलांकारा सिरियन कॅथोलिक चर्चचे सभासद सर्व जगभर आहेत आणि त्यांच्या चर्चमध्ये केरळच्या परंपरेनुसार आणि मल्याळम भाषेतच उपासना केली जाते, हे विशेष. या चर्चतर्फे जगभर शाळा-कॉलेजेस, दवाखाने आणि समाजसेवी संस्था चालविल्या जातात. 

खडकी-पुणे धर्मप्रांताची स्थापना करतानाच पोप फ्रान्सिस यांनी गुडगाव-दिल्ली येथेही या चर्चच्या उत्तर भारतासाठी नव्या धर्मप्रांताची घोषणा केली आहे. मलांकारा सिरियन कॅथोलिक चर्चला यामुळे केरळ राज्याबाहेर पहिल्यांदाच आपले स्वत:चे धर्मक्षेत्र मिळाले आहे. अशाप्रकारे या चर्चला अखिल भारतीय स्वरूप प्राप्त झाले आहे. 

नवे बिशप थॉमस अंथोनिओस यांनी पुण्यातील नगररोडवरील ज्ञानदीप विद्यापीठात धर्मगुरुपदाचे प्रशिक्षण घेतले आणि त्यानंतर पुण्यातील बेथानी आश्रमात अनेक वर्षे कार्य केले आहे. त्यांच्या नियुक्तीने आणि नव्या धर्मप्रांताच्या स्थापनेने दक्षिण भारतातील कॅथोलिक मल्याळी समाजाला एक सुखद भेट मिळाली आहे.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church attracts all

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Monday, 11 May 2015 AT 01:33 PM IST

    

Know Your Church series, Camil Parkhe, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church

Pune: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church located on Tadiwala Road enjoys a unique significance. It is one of the recently constructed churches in the city and attracts people from all over the city due to various socio-religious activities conducted on its premises.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church was built by then parish priest Fr Salvator Pinto and  inaugurated by then Pune Bishop Valerian D’Souza in 1990. The church is built in modern architectural style and therefore, the passersby rarely realise that the structure is a religious place.

Adjoining the church is the Nav Sadhana Diocesan Pastoral Centre where the Pune Catholic Diocese conducts marriage preparation courses for youths, seminars and other activities. People from various parishes in the city attend these functions. The congregation has a mixed population of Marathi-speaking, Konkani-speaking and Malayalam speaking p
arishioners.

The Goan Pao

Reminiscences of the Goan Pao

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Monday, 11 May 2015 AT 05:56 PM IST

    

Goa, Bread, Pao, Camil Parkhe, blog, India,
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4818806334451718027&SectionId=4861338933482912746&SectionName=Blog&NewsTitle=Reminiscences%20of%20the%20Goan%20Pao

In Goa, one wakes up early morning with the chirping of the birds and with the peculiar `pooi pooi’ horn blowing by the paowalla. Presently on a holiday at my sister’s home in Anjuna-Vagator, the sound of the peculiar horn made me jump from the bed to catch a glimpse of the bread vendor who sped fast on his cycle from the gate when there was no immediate response.  I knew he would be back within a few minutes after delivering the bread quota in the immediate neighbourhood.  I was not wrong.  The young vendor pedalled his cycle, climbing up the slope with little effort as I tried to click his photo.

Every morning, much before the sunrise, the bread vendors arrives on cycle at the Goan homes  to give them their daily quota of various types of bread, the pao, or loaves of bread, poee, undo and so on.  Each of these varieties has been popular at the Goan families for many decades.  Bread is an essential constituent of the Christian Goan kitchen just as much as milk, eggs and butter.  So much so that  when I was working as a staff reporter with a Goan newspaper ,  our editor M M Mudaliar always insisted that any news related to the shortage or hike in the prices of bread (and also of milk) must appear on the front page!

Incidentally, the word ‘pao’ in Konkani and Marathi has been borrowed from Portuguese. A variety of bread was our stable food when I was a higher secondary and college student at Miramar’s Dhempe College of Arts and Science in mid-1970s.  The paowalla would be at our gate early morning and since he had no patience to wait for our arrival, he would drop our daily quota of loaves of bread in the cotton bag kept hanging at the gate. We needed to be at the gate on his arrival in case there were was some change in the daily quota of loaves.  He would be back in the evening to deliver the Undo, the crisp round variety of loaves of bread, which we preferred to eat for the supper.  I remember every morning and evening, there would a few loaves of poee (a kind of flat and soft loaf of bread) especially ordered for one of the students who had contacted diabetes at a younger age.

It was only during the lunch that bread was missing at our dining table.  For lunch, we daily ate rice mixed with various kinds of beef or fish curry and dal once a week.  During those nearly one and half decades that I spent in Goa as a student and later as a journalist, I never ate wheat or rice chapatti in any of the meals. Therefore I did not miss much or felt homesick when I went to Russia and later Sofia in Bulgaria to complete my diploma in journalism.  I even tasted a larger variety of bread when recently along with my wife and daughter I toured Europe.  Even in Paris and Rome when I smelt the typical kind of aroma of bread while passing by the eateries, I was reminded of the aroma of the freshly baked bread in the basket of the Goan paowalla.

Recently I was on a visit to Goa along with some of my Pune journalist colleagues.  For breakfast, I took them walking from our Santa Inez residence to a café near the old secretariat to eat the typical Goan pao bhaji.  At all small eateries and snack joints in Goa, pao bhaji is a must menu, the potato, the patal (beans liquid curry) or the mixed bhaji should to be enjoyed with pao , undo  or other varieties of bread.  In my college days at Miramar, pao bhaji used to be the most favourite delicacies among the students.  Pao bhaji is equivalent to wada pao in Maharashtra, comparatively cheaper to the south Indian dishes, and also equally delicious.  Normally I avoid any kinds of bakery products in my meals. But when in Goa, pao and undo, with generous use of butter, are part of my breakfast.  With daily swimming at the nearby beach, I can afford to pamper my palate during these holidays.

Comments

Roy Abraham - Friday, 5 June 2015 AT 07:28 AM IST

Sir, loved the article . we too had similar pao experience and loved it . well written .. Cheers

Pimpri’s Catholic church unifies

Pimpri’s Catholic church unifies

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Sunday, 19 April 2015 AT 12:05 PM IST

    

Our Lady Consoler, Afflicted Church, Pimpri, Pune, Catholic church, church’s parish priest, Fr Roland Bendoamar, Know Your Church’ series, Sakal Times

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4629052079416050627&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsTitle=Pimpri%E2%80%99s%20Catholic%20church%20unifies

Pimpri: Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted Church in Pimpri caters to a variety of devotees belonging to diverse linguistic and regional groups. All the members of this Catholic church enthusiastically participate in the various religious and other activities organised throughout the year, says the Catholic church’s parish priest, Fr Roland Bendoamar.

Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted Church, located on Pimpri Station Road, has spacious premises to host weekly masses and other religious activities. It also has a hall for holding meetings. The church was established in 1976, bifurcating from Chinchwad’s St Francis Xavier’s Church, and the present church building was built subsequently.

Since 1978, the church has been administered by the Capuchin Fathers of the Holy Trinity. Presently, parish priest Fr Bendoamar is assisted by Fr Issac D’Souza.

There is also a church sub-centre at Bhosari where mass is celebrated every Thursday.

Fr Roland Bendoamar,
Parish priest

Our parish has a vast jurisdiction area as compared to other parishes. The parishioners run various associations like Vincent de Paul, youth group to provide various services to church members.     

Minin Mascarenhas, 
IT professional and vice-president of Parish Council

Our Church has 50 pc Marathi-speaking devotees, the rest are Goans, Tamils, Malayalees and others. Besides religious activities, we have many social and cultural activities and all parishioners enthusiastically participate in them.


ST Reader Service: 

Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted Church, Pimpri
-Location: Pimpri Station Road
-Sunday mass in English at 8 am, Marathi mass at 9.30 am. Anticipatory mass on Saturday at 6.30 pm
-Areas: Pimpri, Morwadi, Vallabhnagar, Kasarwadi, Bhosari, Moshi, Indrayaninagar, Thergaon, Kalewadi, Rahatani
-Parishioners: 900 families (Around 6,000 people)



Beginning this Sunday, Sakal Times is launching ‘Know Your Church’ series, featuring various prominent churches in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Each week, one church will be profiled, highlighting its history, jurisdiction areas, prayer timings and religious-social activities conducted by the congregation.

New Syro-Malankara Exarchate at Khadki

New Syro-Malankara Exarchate at Khadki 

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4682687039612375931&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsTitle=New%20Syro-Malankara%20Exarchate%20at%20Khadki

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Friday, 27 March 2015 AT 11:17 PM IST

  

Syro-Malankara Catholics, St Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church

Khadki: In a major decision, Pope Francis on Thursday has established a new Kirkee-Pune exarchate (vicariate) for Malayalam-speaking Syro-Malankara Catholics in south India having its cathedral at St Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church in Khadki.

Thomas Mar Anthonios Valiyavilayil will be the first bishop of the new exarchate.

With this Holy See announcement, Pune will now have two Roman Catholic bishops, the other being Latin Catholic rite Bishop Thomas Dabre.

Roman Catholic Church recognises 21 rites worldwide and three of them are in India, namely Latin rite, Syro-Malabar rite and Syro-Malankara rite.

Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios is at present in Australia to lead the Holy Week celebrations of the Syro-Malarkara community there.

Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios, belonging to the Order of the Imitation of Christ (OIC), was born in 1955 at Adoor. He was ordained a priest in 1980 and elected bishop of the curia in 2010. Apart from English and Malayalam, he speaks Italian, German, Hindi, Syriac and reads Greek and Latin.

The new Kirkee-Pune exarchate will be spread over six states in south India except Kerala. The states include Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and some parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The new exarchate will have  27 parishes. There are 21 priests dedicated to pastoral care, 13 convents of nuns and a dozen schools, including a college of higher education.
Fr Mathew Varikkattu, vicar of St Mary’s Malankara Church in Khadki, has expressed joy over the creation of the new  exarchate. The church has 80 families as parishioners.

On Thursday, Pope Francis also erected a new eparchy (diocese) of St John Chrysostom of Gurgaon with Jacob Mar Barnabas Aerath as the first eparchial bishop.

With this, the Vatican has granted the Syro-Malankara Church ecclesiastical authority for the whole territory in India.

Speaking to Sakal Times, Bishop Thomas Dabre welcomed establishment of the new exarchate in the city. “It is good news for the Catholics, especially the Syro-Malankara community in Maharashtra and other parts of south India,” he said.

Investiture ceremony

Thomas Mar Anthonios will be consecrated the first bishop of the new Kirkee-Pune exarchate at a ceremony to be held at the new cathedral in Khadki on Saturday, May 30. The ceremony will be attended by the Vatican  ambassador in India Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India president Cardinal Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos and Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre.

 

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शशिकांत बोर्डे - Friday, 3 April 2015 AT 06:37 PM IST

कमिलजी मराठी भाषेला थोडतरी महत्व द्या कारण आपण मराठी मातीतूनच शिकलो सावरलो बागडलो तेव्हा मराठीला विसरू नका /

 

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Mother Teresa : Conversion

Mother Teresa

Sakal Times
 CAMIL PARKHE | Thursday, 26 February 2015 AT 07:37 PM IST

    

Mother Teresa Home in Goa is located at an important junction in Panaji, connecting the 18th June Road and the road leading to St Inez. And yet, the existence of this typical Goan tiled house is hardly noticed just as the silent works of the nuns of Missionaries of Charity who reside there. St Don Bosco School located nearby is an ideal landmark to help a visitor to find the Home for the Aged and Destitute run by the Missionaries of Charity sisters. Many years back I was a frequent visitor to this institution when along with my college friends, I offered my services to the poor, disabled and senior citizens inmates there. 

On Sunday mornings, our group of three to four college youths used to arrive at the Mother Teresa Home equipped with aprons, pairs of scissors and razors, our mission being giving a new or somewhat civilised look to the male inmates who most often looked barbarian with their long dishevelled hair and unkempt beards. 

The sisters there, a majority of whom were Keralites or Bengalis, would entrust us with the inmates and get themselves busy catering to the large number of destitute women, children and elders living there. 
The next two to three hours, we would give the inmates haircut, shave their beards and also cut nails of their fingers and toes. One by one, the inmates would step into the chairs placed before us and by the time we finished our job, they would have a complete new look as they would get haircut and shaving done only once in three months. At that time, as a teenager I had not even started shaving myself on a regular basis and so as a precautionary measure I offered my services only for giving haircuts. 

During these visits, I saw how the Missionaries of Charity nuns tirelessly worked for the poor, destitute, abandoned elders and persons with chronic diseases. And yet, they always managed to retain smiles on their faces. After our visits back home, we used to cleanse ourselves thoroughly with soaps and disinfectants, lest we contact any diseases after spending time with the inmates of  home for the aged and destitute. However, like those nuns, none of us ever wanted to know about the religion or the caste of those whom we were helping. 

The last time I visited the Mother Teresa Home in Panaji was in mid-1980s when Mother Teresa arrived in Goa for the first time after she was conferred the Nobel award. At that time, I had gone there as a reporter of a local English daily. I shook hands with the Nobel laureate, spoke to her a few sentences and lingered around her for some time, hoping to get a good copy for my newspaper. But I was disappointed. The Living Saint spoke very little almost in a whispering voice, about loving everyone, especially those in need.  Next two days, I covered Mother Teresa's visits to Mapusa and other places in Goa and experienced the same. The short, old frail woman was most humble, always wore a smile on her face and often held hands of those who greeted her. 

The question now raised is whether this woman was serving the poor and the destitute with a motive to convert them to Christianity. The Mother spoke very little and let her actions and deeds speak for her. Her thoughts and actions for the destitute attracted the most powerful political leaders and personalities like Princes Diana towards her. The fresh controversy about her motive for social work has indeed revived memories of Mother Teresa and once again underlined her work for the poor and destitute.  

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed within this blog is personal opinion of the author. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the blog do not reflect the views of Sakal and Sakal does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.The author can be contacted at @camilpark on Twitter.

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Malcolm Sequeira - Friday, 27 February 2015 AT 09:48 AM IST

True and real picture of the Missionaries of the Charity. People should first experience the kind of work done by Mother Teresa and her Sisters and then talk. The shallow and wrong talks are coming out of mere prejudice and nothing more.

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Diago Almeida - Friday, 27 February 2015 AT 09:35 AM IST

Your writing should open the eyes of the people who pretend to sleep. God bless you for your yomen service to the Christian and also to the people at large

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Ani Chakra - Thursday, 26 February 2015 AT 11:07 PM IST

Respected Sir, Thanks for writing this. It is indeed a service to the great soul. Of Course, whether one writes good or bad, speaks well or ill of any great soul, ultimately he/she exposes his/her true self. In words of the Mother I would like to quote: “People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.” ― Mother Teresa On Abortion: “I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is 'Abortion', because it is a war against the child... A direct killing of the innocent child, 'Murder' by the mother herself... And if we can accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love... And we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts...” ― Mother Teresa Thank you Ani Chakra

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Kuruvilla SJ - Thursday, 26 February 2015 AT 09:40 PM IST

Truly great writeup. Mother was truly an inspiration for me