मिरामार बीचवर फुटबॉल -- फुटबाँलवेडा गोवा

(Siridao beach photo by Willy Goes)

समोरचे ते लांबवर पसरलेले पाणी पाहून मी अगदी थक्क झालो होतो. काही ठिकाणी तर दुसरा किनाराही नजरेस पडत नव्हता. इतके पाणी मी केवळ हिंदी चित्रपटांत एखादे गाणे चालू असताना गंगामैया किंवा यमुना नदीचा प्रवाह दाखवतात तेव्हाच पाहिले होते.

माझी उत्फुर्त प्रतिक्रिया होती ; अरे बापरे, किती मोठी नदी आहे ही !

नदी? ही नदी नाही, समुद्र आहे, अरबी समुद्र ! आमच्या दौऱ्याचे प्रमुख असलेले फादर किस्स पटकन म्हणाले.

त्या उत्तराने आता माझ्या तोंडाचा आ अधिकच वासला होता. आपण काय पाहत आहोत यावर माझा विश्वासच बसत नव्हता.

ही घटना आहे १९७८ ची. गोवा पुणे बेळगाव येशूसंघीय प्रांताने दहावी आणि अकरावीची परीक्षा दिलेल्या पंधरासोळा मुलांची आपल्या प्रांतातील मिशनकेंद्रांची व्होकेशनल टूर किंवा दैवी पाचारण दौरा आयोजित केला होता. अहमदनगर जिल्ह्यातील श्रीरामपूरहून मी एकटा या दौऱ्यात सामील झालो होतो. दौऱ्याच्या शेवटी पणजीला आल्यावर मिरामार बीचवर हा प्रसंग घडला होता.

एका बाजूला म्हणजे आमच्यासमोरच पणजी आणि कंपालकडून येणारे मांडवी नदीचे विशाल पात्र त्या अथांग सागरात विलीन होत होते आणि दुसऱ्या टोकाला निळ्याभोर आकाशापर्यंत भिडणारे ते पाणी म्हणजेच अरबी समुद्र होता !

माझी तर मती एकदम गुंग झाली होती. शालेय पुस्तकांत समुद्राविषयी कितीही शिकलो होतो तरी समुद्र प्रत्यक्ष पाहण्याचा माझा हा पहिलाच प्रसंग होता.

मिरामार समुद्रकिनाऱ्यावर उभे राहण्याची, तेथून तो समुद्र पाहाण्याची ही माझी पहिलीच वेळ. या मिरामार समुद्रकिनाऱ्यापाशीच आणि नंतर सान्त इनेजशेजारच्या ताळगावात मी माझ्या आयुष्याची यापुढील तब्बल चौदा वर्षे घालवणार आहे याची तेव्हा मला साधी कल्पनाही नव्हती !

त्यानंतर एक महिन्यानंतर येशूसंघीयांतर्फे नव्यानेच उघडलेल्या लोयोला प्री-नोव्हिशिएट किंवा पूर्वसेमिनरीत मी दाखल झालो. अशाप्रकारे बीए होईपर्यंत म्हणजे चार वर्षे माझे समुद्रकिनारी वास्तव्य होते.

जून महिन्यात मी मिरामार बीचपाशी राहायला आलो. त्या पहिल्या पावसाळ्यात समोरच्या समुद्राने धारण केलेल्या रुद्र रुपाने खूप भीती वाटायची. खवळलेल्या समुद्राच्या पाण्याच्या लाटांची उंची खूप असायची आणि भरतीच्या वेळी समुद्राचे पाणी तर अगदी रस्त्यापाशी आलेले असायचे. रात्री खवळलेल्या समुद्राच्या लाटांचा घोघो आवाज झोप उडवायचा.

नंतर काही दिवसातच या समुद्राची भिती गेली, समुद्राचे पाणी कोठे किती खोल, कुठे कमी खोल हे कळायला लागले आणि सुरक्षित ठिकाणी पोहोण्याचीं सवय आणि आवड निर्माण झाली.

धेम्पे कॉलेजातच माझे हायर सेकंडरी, पदवीचे आणि पदव्युत्तर शिक्षण झाले. बॉंबे युनिव्हर्सिटीची गोव्यातील आमची शेवटची बॅच. त्यानंतर गोवा युनिव्हर्सिटी स्थापन झाली.

धेम्पे कॉलेजासमोरच आमचे हॉस्टेल होते. पावसाळ्याचे दिवस वगळता वर्षभर दर दिवशी संध्याकाळी साडेचार ते साडेपाच वाजेपर्यंत आम्ही मुले मिरामार बीचवर फुटबॉल खेळायचो.

तेथील स्वच्छ आणि सफेद मऊ वाळूत हा खेळ खेळताना पायात बूट घालायची गरज भासली नाही. एका बाजूला माजी मुख्यमंत्री दयानंद बांदोडकरांची समाधी आणि दुसऱ्या बाजूला पाईन वृक्षांचे दाट जंगल यामध्ये असलेल्या समुद्र किनाऱ्यावर फुटबॉल खेळण्याची मजा काही औरच होती.

त्या मऊ वाळूत पळणे, फुटबॉल खेळवणे किंवा डॉज करणे, प्रतिस्पर्धी संघातील खेळाडूला मार्क करणे आणि गोलकिपरने चेंडू अडविणे वगैरे सर्वकाही त्या खेळातील नियमांप्रमाणे होई. खेळतांना खाली पडले तरी वाळूमुळे अंग खरचटण्याचे, रक्त येण्याचे प्रमाण वा मोठी जखमा होण्याचे प्रमाण खूप कमी असायचे.

१९७०च्या दशकांत गोव्यात पर्यटकांची संख्या आजच्या इतकी नव्हती. त्यामुळे या समुद्रकिनाऱ्यावर कुठल्याही अडथळ्याविना किंवा इतरांना त्रास ना होता दररोज एक तासाचा खेळ होई. फुटबॉल समुद्रात गेला तर तो आणणारा येताना पाण्यात एका डुबकीही घेऊन होई. फुटबॉलची मॅच चालू असताना पाऊस सुरू झाला तर खेळण्याची मजा काही औरच असायची.

युरो फ़ुटबाँल स्पर्धेमुळे पुढील काही दिवसांत फुटबॉल फीवर सर्वत्र चढत जाणार आहे अर्थात गोव्यासारख्या छोट्याशा राज्यातील फुटबॉलप्रेम यापुरते मर्यादित नाही. ते गोमंतकीय संस्कृतीत खोलवर रुजलेले आहे.

गोव्यातील शालेय किंवा महाविद्यालयीन जीवनात कधीही फुटबॉल खेळली नाही अशी व्यक्ती सहसा सापडणार नाही. अनेक घरांत गिटार वाजविणारी तरुण मुले आणि मुली आणि ज्येष्ठ नागरिकही असतात, त्याचप्रमाणे या छोटयाशा राज्यात घराघरांत फुटबाँलही असतो. गोवा ही चारशे वर्षांहून अधिक काळ पोर्तुगीजांची वसाहत होती, त्याचा हा एक परिणाम.

पावसाळा संपला आणि मोकळ्या मैदानांवरचे पाणी जमिनीत जिरले, भाताची शेते मोकळी झाली की मग तेथे सकाळी आणि संध्याकाळी शाळकरी मुले आपल्या कोचसह फुटबॉल खेळू लागतात.

फुटबॉलचा हा सराव कधी आंतरशालेय स्पर्धांसाठी असतो, कधी कुठल्या स्पोर्टस क्लबने आयोजित केलेल्या टुर्नामेंटसाठी असतो. मात्र हे दृश्य तुम्हाला पणजी, म्हापशासारख्या शहरात दिसेल तसेच अंजुना समुद्रकिनाऱ्यापाशी दिसेल किंवा सांता एस्तेव्ह सारख्या बेटावरही दिसते (आता या गावाला काही बाजूंनी पुलाने जोडले गेले असल्याने बेट असण्याचे नावीन्य राहिले नाही).

भाताची कापणी होऊन एखादे शेत मोकळे झाले कि मग मुले फुटबॉल खेळण्यासाठी त्याचा ताबा घेतात. शाळेच्या मैदानांवर तर त्यांचा वर्षभर हक्क असतोच.

कधीकधी ही मुले फुटबॉल शूज, लांब मोजे घालून आलेली असतात तर कधी बूटमोज्याविनाही सराव करताना आढळतात. फुटबॉल डॉज करण्यासाठी, वेडीवाकडी वळणे घेत फुटबॉलशी खेळता यावे यासाठी सरावाची साधने घेऊन आली असतात. त्यांना कोचिंग करणारा तरुण किंवा मध्यमवयीन व्यक्ती त्यांच्या शाळेतले क्रीडाशिक्षक असतात किंवा स्थानिक स्पोर्टस क्लबचे सदस्य असतात.

गोव्यात माझ्या बहिणीकडे गेलो की या शाळेच्या मैदानात किंवा एखादया मोकळ्या झालेल्या पॅडी फिल्डवर मुलांचा फुटबॉलचा सराव पाहणे, कधी एखादा अटीतटीचा सामना पाहणे यात चांगला वेळ जातो. एकूण फुटबॉल हा खेळ अनेक गोमंतकीयांची पॅशन आहे.

पणजी येथील कम्पाला ग्राउंडवर तुम्ही गेलात तर तेथे अनेक जण क्रिकेट आणि फुटबॉल खेळतांना तुम्हाला हमखास सापडतील. गोव्याचे पहिले मुख्यमंत्री दयानंद बांदोडकर यांनी दूरदृष्टी राखून पणजीतील मांडवी नदीच्या तीरावरील मिरामारपर्यंतचा लांबवरचा पट्टा विविध कला, क्रीडा आणि संस्कृती क्षेत्रांसाठी राखून ठेवला.

त्यामुळे या क्षेत्रांत रस असणाऱ्या गोमंतकीय आणि इतरांचीही खूप सोय झाली. गोव्याची कला अकादमी येथेच आहे.

विशेष म्हणजे कला, क्रीडा आणि संस्कृती या विषयाला वाहिलेल्या अनेक संस्था आणि स्पोर्टस क्लब्स गोव्यात गावोगावी सापडतात. फुटबॉल हा या स्पोर्टस क्लबचा प्रमुख आणि सर्वाधिक लोकप्रिय खेळ असतो. यापैकी अनेक स्पोर्टस क्लब्सना खूप वर्षांचा वारसा आहे. त्यापैकी काही पोर्तुगीज जमान्यातील आहेत.

काही क्लब्सना स्वतःच्या मालकीचे स्पोर्टस ग्राउंड्स आहेत, इमारती आणि कार्यालये आहेत, ग्राउंडवर फुटबॉल, हॉकी किंवा क्रिकेट खेळले जाते आणि इमारतीत विविध इन-डोअर गेम्स खेळले जातात.

गोव्यात घरी सकाळी वृत्तपत्र आले की पहिल्यांदा अगदी शेवटचे म्हणजे क्रीडा पान वाचणारे माझे अनेक मित्र आहेत. गोमंतकीयांसारखे इतके क्रीडाप्रेम भारताच्या काही मोजक्याच राज्यांत आढळेल.

गोव्याच्या या लोकप्रिय खेळास प्रमुख स्थानिक उद्योग कंपन्यांनी, दानशूर व्यक्तींनी आणि धनवानांनी गेली अनेक वर्षे आर्थिक पाठबळ पुरविले आहे. डेम्पो स्पोर्टस क्लब, साळगावकर स्पोर्ट्स क्लब, माजी मुख्यमंत्री चर्चिल आलेमाव यांचा चर्चिल ब्रदर्स वगैरे नामांकित स्पोर्टस क्लब्स गोव्यात आहेत.

या क्लब्ससाठी गोव्यातील फुटबॉलपटू खेळात असतात. त्यामुळे या फुटबॉलपटूंना बिदागी मिळतेच, त्याशिवाय या खेळास आर्थिक पाठबळ मिळून नवी पिढीही या खेळाकडे आकर्षित होते.

गोव्यातील वृत्तपत्रांत फुटबॉलची माहिती असणारा स्पोर्टस रिपोर्टर असणे आवश्यक असते, कारण क्रीडापानांवरील प्रमुख बातम्या या फुटबॉलच्या असतात.

तसे पाहू गेल्यास फुटबॉल हा खेळ जगातील सर्वाधिक देशात सर्वाधिक खेळला जाणारा आणि प्रत्यक्ष मैदानावर वा टीव्हीवर पाहिला जाणारा खेळ आहे. त्या तुलनेने क्रिकेट, हॉकी किंवा टेनिस हे खेळ काही ठराविक देशांतच लोकप्रिय आहे. या क्रीडाप्रकारांत प्रावीण्य मिळालेले पेले आणि डायगो मॅराडोना यासारखे अनेक खेळाडू त्यांच्या हयातीतच दंतकथा बनले आहेत.

मात्र भारताच्या बाबतीत बोलायचे झाल्यास भारतात काही अगदी मोजक्याच राज्यांत फुटबॉल हा लोकप्रिय खेळ आहे आणि त्या राज्यांमध्ये गोव्याचा समावेश होतो. इतर राज्यांमध्ये केरळ, पंजाब, पश्चिम बंगाल आणि ईशान्य राज्यांचा समावेश होतो.

संतोष ट्रॉफी हा या खेळातील देशातील सर्वात मानाचा चषक. तो चषक केवळ या मोजक्या राज्यांत वर्षानुवर्षे फिरत राहिला आहे. त्यांत नव्या राज्यांची भर पडलेली दिसत नाही.

ब्रह्मानंद संकवाळकर यांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली गोव्याच्या संघाने संतोष ट्रॉफी पहिल्यांदा १९८३ साली जिंकली. ट्रॉफी जिंकून गोव्यात आल्यानंतर ब्रह्मानंद आणि त्यांच्या संघातील खेळाडूंची पणजीत ट्रकमधून मिरवणूक काढली होती. मला आठवते लोक मोठया संख्येने या फुटबॉलपटूंचे स्वागत करण्यास आले होते. ब्रह्मानंद संकवाळकर यांना नंतर देशातील क्रीडाक्षेत्रातील सर्वोच्च अर्जुन पुरस्काराने सन्मानित करण्यात आले.

भारतात गोवा, केरळ, पश्चिम बंगाल आणि ईशान्य राज्यांत फुटबॉलची इतकी क्रेझ असूनही आपला देश आंतराष्ट्रीय स्तरावर या खेळात खूप मागे आहे. जगाच्या नकाशावर टिंबाएव्हढे अस्तित्व असणारे छोटेछोटे देश सध्या चालू असलेल्या फुटबॉलच्या जागतिक कप स्पर्धेत हिरीरीने भाग घेत आहेत.

फुटबॉल वर्ल्ड कप स्पर्धेत पहिल्यांदाच पदार्पण करणारे काही देश तर या स्पर्धेच्या चषकाचे दावेदार असणाऱ्या देशांनाच आव्हान देताना दिसत आहेत.

यापैकी अनेक देशांची नावे प्रेक्षक पहिल्यांदाच ऐकत असतील. गेली अनेक वर्षे भारत मात्र या महत्त्वाच्या स्पर्धेत पात्रताफेरीतच बाद होतो,

युरो फुटबॉल कप आज रात्री 12.30 पासून सुरू

आता पुढील काही दिवस मी फ़ुटबाँल मॅचेस पाहणार आहे.

A case of news story on ragging in Goa college

A case of news story on ragging in Goa college

 ‘There is a complaint of a ragging case in Goa Dental College (DMC). The victim girl is ready to speak. Rush to Mapusa along with a photographer.’ Bikram Vohra, Editor of The Navhind Times, said this to me as soon I entered the newspaper office. I immediately left Panjim for Mapusa.

I had joined as a reporter for Panjim-based The Navhind Times in 1981. Later I registered for the M. A. (Philosophy) course of the Bombay University. (Goa University was founded a couple of years later.) Since I was still a student, the editor had allotted to me the beat of a campus reporter along with the crime-court beats.

That was the reason the newspaper editor had sent me to the girl's house in Mapusa to report on the ragging case at the dental college.

Forty years after this incident, now I faintly recall that the complainant girl's house was located at the foot of Altinho (a hillock in Portuguese) in Mapusa. When I reached her home, the girl's father received me. After casting a glance at the living room, I realised that the family was pretty rich.

As soon as I handed over my visiting card, the girl's father introduced himself and gave me his own visiting card. Petkar, a lawyer, was a standing counsel for the Central Government. He immediately explained to me that he was authorised to represent as a lawyer the Union government in cases involving the Union government.

Although I regularly attended hearings at the Panjim bench of the Bombay High Court as a Crime and Court reporter, I was hearing of this designation for the first time. I now knew that the thick volumes of books in the built-in wall cupboards in the living hall were law books.

Petkar briefed me on the case until the tea and biscuits arrived at the table. He said his daughter, who was in her first year at the Goa Dental College in Bambolim, located eight to 10 km from Panjim, was being ragged by her seniors for the past few days and that the girl was ready to talk to me about it. As a lawyer, he was careful about all the legal issues in the case, he explained to me. Soon after, his daughter came out of the inner room and sat on the sofa next to her father in front of me.

My interview as a reporter now began. My questions started pouring in.

Who were the persons involved in ragging? What were the methods of ragging and how many days was this trouble going on? Has she reported the matter to the teachers or the college authorities?

This incident dates back to the 1980s when there were no separate laws or regulations related to ragging. Till that day, I had never heard of ragging complaints or newspaper reports related to ragging cases. Nonetheless, I was asking my questions from the perspective of a crime reporter –crime and court were the additional twin beats I covered.

While answering the questions, the girl often stumbled and kept on looking at her father for help. Her lawyer father would come to the rescue of his daughter, and just as she was completing half the sentences herself, he was providing additional information. I was directing my questions back to the girl and Petkar, as a seasoned lawyer, would strengthen his daughter’s position by providing more details about the ragging.

When I arrived at The Navhind Times office with details of the ragging as given by the girl and her father, the editor immediately summoned me to his cabin. Instinctively, I knew that the ragging case would be a major story in our newspaper’s next edition (the term ‘Breaking news’ was not common during those days).

‘Yes Camil, tell me what’s the story?’ Editor Vohra asked me as he drew with his left hand pictures of aeroplanes on the notepad on his desk. During those years, Vohra was one of the expert aviation journalists in the country. Drawing aeroplanes pictures on papers and notepads was his habit.

Although only 28 years old, Bikram Vohra was a seasoned journalist. He had learnt journalism lessons under the tutelage of Khushwant Singh, editor of the most widely circulated English weekly, The Illustrated Weekly Of India. Moreover, he had also appeared as a 'quiz master' on ‘Doordarshan’ television channel even before the small box had reached all households in the country.

I started briefing the editor about the ragging story. A large number of students in her class and also senior students in the dental college were ragging that girl in various ways. The modus operandi of the ragging was, of course, not as severe as reported on college campuses in later years.

Materials like plaster of Paris used for molds made in dentistry at the dental college were being stuffed in her mouth. She was isolated everywhere in class, college campus and no one was allowed to talk to her. While the students travelled from Panjim to Bambolim and back, the girl student was not allowed a seat and she was deliberately pushed when the college bus was moving. There were many complaints of this nature.

I would have typed this news slowly on a typewriter, then the sub-editor or the chief deputy editor would correct the spellings in that news copy. The editor did not have the patience.

He quickly pulled the notepad forward, lifted a pen from the pen stand, tilted his neck, and began to write the story with his left hand. In between, he sought from me some details of the story. He wrote the one-and-half page news in 15 minutes and placed it before me.

I did not find any factual or other error in the copy except for the wrong spelling of 'Parke' instead of 'Parkhe' as my surname in the story byline.

‘Done?’ Vohra asked me and as soon as I said `yes’, he got up from the chair, lit a cigarette and went to the balcony of his cabin.

The Navhind Times and (Marathi Navprabha) offices were then located in a tiny one-storeyed bungalow-type building with a tiled roof. From the balconies, we reporters could see the Mandovi river and the Dayanand Bandodkar road, connecting Miramar and Panjim.

The story handwritten by the editor was typed by his personal assistant and then handed over to the news desk. The news desk did not have to do any work on that story, which appeared as the anchor story on page one the next day. As was his wont with all the stories he cleared, the editor had also given the headline for the story.

The news was carried on Sunday. Despite being the capital of Goa, Panjim is very quiet on Sundays. The editor, chief reporter, and other senior journalists were on weekly off on that day. I stayed at home in Taleigaon on Monday, my weekly off. So I had absolutely no idea what was going on in our newspaper office in my absence that day.

I learnt on Tuesday morning that two buses of the Goa Dental College had arrived at The Navhind Times office on Monday morning. Students wearing white aprons got out of it and stormed into the newspaper office. During those days, there were no security guards at newspapers or any other offices. A delegation of the agitated students met Editor Vohra to express their objections against the ragging case story in the newspaper.

The news of the ragging incident that we had published was not true at all, the students claimed. There was no ragging of that girl or anyone else, the students said, claiming that the news had defamed the Goa Dental College and its students.

I have no idea how Editor Bikram Vohra pacified those angry students. The next day, in Tuesday’s edition, The Navhind Times carried a corrigendum at the bottom of the third page. Quoting the students, it said that no ragging had taken place at the dental college. The editor had also apologised for the agony the news had caused to the students and others.

After seeing this corrigendum in Tuesday's issue and then talking to other colleagues, I realized what had taken place in the office a day earlier in my absence.

Before writing this sensational report of ragging, I and my editor had not followed the basic principle of talking to all involved parties, in this case the Goa Dental College dean as well as the students against whom the ragging charges were levelled.

However, after talking to the students, the newspaper editor had accepted his mistake and immediately followed the other convention in journalism, of issuing a corrigendum. Mind you, issuing a corrigendum is not easy for any editor – it is always issued in the name of the editor, no matter who is responsible for the blunder. Corrigendum reflects and affects the credibility of any newspaper.

Most surprisingly, no one in the newspaper held me responsible for such a major blunder. That was mainly because the editor himself had written the news story on ragging. And those days, fresh from my college days, I was too small in the newspaper hierarchy to be held responsible.

Fortunately the Goa Dental College students were also satisfied with the tendered apology.

Neither the allegedly ragged 'victim' nor her father, a reputed lawyer, contacted me or our newspaper to defend their charges.

The college girl student had obviously levelled baseless ragging allegations for some reasons I never leant. Her lawyer father too had apparently fallen prey to the bogus charges of his lone daughter. I, also a crime and court reporter, had also unwittingly been a victim in this case.

Such unforgivable human mistakes can happen in journalism or any business or field. Often they are not intentional. Therefore, it is wise to accept those mistakes in time, and control the situation by controlling the damage. Editor Bikram Vohra withdrew the issue without making it a matter of prestige and the issue was immediately dropped.

Within a year or two, Bikram Vohra travelled to the Gulf countries for better prospects, where he worked for three decades as an editor for the Gulf News and the Gulf Times. His quirky style articles are occasionally published in The Times of India.

During this period, the office of the newly established Goa University was temporarily opened at Bambolim in a building adjacent to the Dental College. Although the DMC students and I never met face to face in this case, I did not have the courage to go to the Goa University office for news after this controversial news. After that apology, the matter was settled on the same day in the eyes of all those involved.

I have kept hundreds of cuttings with my printed name or byline since 1974. There is of course, no scrap of this controversial news that appeared at the top of page one.

In my long career in English-language journalism, I have had many other instances of misinformation, inadvertently, or careless. However, the news of ragging not happening and the students' march on our daily is a big incident. After a period of three-and-half decades, this unjust and easily avoidable phenomenon in journalism still lingers in my mind.

A tiff with police officer Kiran Bedi in Goa

I was well settled into the shoes of a crime reporter in The Navhind Times when Kiran Bedi was transferred from Delhi to Goa as superintendent of police (traffic). The year was early 1983. In those days, Goa had very little vehicular movement. Portuguese-built Pato Bridge was the only spot in Panjim where a traffic constable allowed alternate one way traffic on either directions of the bridge while waving a green ‘Go’ and red ‘stop’ signal. The traffic constable surfaced at the centre of the bridge only in morning and evening during the so-called traffic peak hours.

And yet - although traffic movement was insignificant in Goa-, the new traffic SP Kiran Bedi was on an important assignment to this tiny territory. She was sent to Goa on a high profile mission: To coordinate traffic arrangements during the ensuing retreat of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) in Goa. Altogether 39 heads of various nations in the Commonwealth including Commonwealth head Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Australian Prime Minister Robert (Bob) Hawke, Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe were to attend a Commonwealth conference in New Delhi and a subsequent retreat in Goa. Of course, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as the hostess of this Commonwealth summit would be the most important dignitary, next only to the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth was however slated to return to London soon after attending the New Delhi leg of the meet.
All heads of the Commonwealth states were later scheduled to arrive in Goa for an informal retreat, to hold consultations among each others and possibly arrive at a consensus and also announce a joint declaration. Bedi’s mission was to supervise traffic movements in Goa during the four-day CHOGM retreat.
Our newspaper, The Navhind Times, then had only three reporters -- chief reporter, a senior reporter and I, the junior reporter . Crime was one of the many beats I handled. As a crime reporter, there was never an occasion for me in the past to meet the traffic head in Goa police headquarters in Panjim. After Bedi’s arrival and in view of her assignment, frequencies of my visits to her cabin on the first floor of the Goa Police headquarters increased. She had only a few months for preparing for the prestigious CHOGM retreat.
The first woman to join the Indian Police Service, Bedi had efficiently handled her responsibility in the traffic department during the Ninth Asian Games in Delhi. During the preparations for this prestigious event, Bedi had earned the nickname Crane Bedi as she had towed away vehicles of the mighty, including an official attached to the office of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, from no-parking zones.
But I who was then still studying for my postgraduate degree and was only 23 did not know who Bedi was or her career background. Nor did I care. To be frank, I did not realise that I was in company with an extraordinary, albeit a very junior then, government official. Therefore I was not at all awed by her personality or career background. For me, a reporter of a leading and the only English daily in Goa, she was just another government officer. Bedi who was then in her early 40s called me by my first name and treated me with respect due to a journalist.
I was used to interact with young, probationer officers of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) who were appointed as directors of various government departments in Goa, Daman and Diu Union Territory. I found these young officers were sharp, talented and innovative. A young officer J.P. Singh with whom I interacted often as he was Goa Education Director had recently taken over as Goa District Collector. (A few years back, he retired as Goa State Chief Secretary.) I looked at Bedi just one of such bright UPSC officers, not great or very extraordinary… Soon I found that she was a no-nonsense officer and totally committed to her work. And she would not tolerate anyone's dereliction of duty.
As the dates for the retreat started approaching, Bedi started conducting drills for the VVIP event. The heads of the states were to arrive from Delhi at Dabolim airport and from there, a few of them were to be flown by helicopters to the newly established Fort Aquada Taj Village, the venue of the CHOHM retreat. Many other heads of the states were to travel by roads to the venue. And this was most crucial. Bedi had started making meticulous arrangement for smooth traffic movement from Dabolim airport to Fort Aquada Taj Village. The route of the VVIP motorcades was to include Dabolim, Cortalim, Agassaim, Pilar, Merces, Santa Cruz, Rua de Ourem along the Pato creek, Pato Bridge and then towards Fort Aquada Taj Village.
By the way, this small 400 year-old-Pato bridge of not more 300 meters length and constructed by the Portuguese was then the only link connecting north Goa to Panjim. All vehicles crossing the lone Nehru bridge (which collapsed a couple of years after) over Mandovi river and those arriving from Ribandar-Old Goa had to cross this small Pato bridge to enter Panjim.
Soon I started accompanying Kiran Bedi in her new white Gypsy as she conducted a recce of the traffic movement from Dabolim airport to Fort Aquada Taj Village. Bedi used to sit on the front seat near the jeep driver while I, along with a traffic police constable with a heavy walkie talkie machine set, used to sit behind. While on the move, with the walkie talkie instrument in her hands, Bedi used to be constantly issuing instructions: “This is Charlie One to Charlie Two.. …. Charlie Three Move ahead…Turn right…Charlie One Over…’’
The CHOGM summit being a very high security event, government offices, schools and colleges all over Goa were ordered to be closed for three days to minimise people's presence on any streets. The crime and special branches of Goa Police increased vigilance on the VVIP route. As a crime reporter, I was regularly handed over press notes issued by the Goa Police regarding instructions and restrictions to be followed during those four-day VVIP retreat.
The construction of a bridge over Zuari river connecting Agassaim from Panjim side and Cortalim from Margao-Vasco sides was completed by this time. One morning, people in Goa realized that the bridge over Zuari was thrown open to vehicular movement, sans any formal inauguration by a VIP. One had to thank Goa Deputy Superintendent (Traffic) Kiran Bedi for this ! That is the reason why this bridge, the only link connecting north and south Goa, is rightly named after Zuari river, and not after a political leader. Until the opening of the Zuari Bridge, all people travelling from Panjim to Margao and Vasco or vice versa in buses or private vehicles had to alight from their vehicles at either Agassaim or Cortalim and get into waiting ferryboats along with their vehicles to cross over to the other bank of Zuari river. The opening of Zuari bridge had eliminated a major traffic problem for Kiran Bedi at the Cortalim junction. Now she could arrange uninterrupted movement of the VVIP motorcades straight from Dabolim airport to Fort Aquada Taj Village.
And one day, Kiran Bedi gave me a press note regarding traffic restrictions and changes in Goa during the Commonwealth retreat. As a routine affair, I published the press note. The next day when I met Bedi at her cabin, she asked me to repeat the same press note on the next two consecutive days. I just laughed at her suggestion and told her that newspapers never publish the same press note twice. I told her the same press note can appear umpteen number of times but only as an advertisement.
Bedi pondered for a minute and said.. ‘ Camil, in that case, I’d like to have a word with Bikram..” Again I laughed. The `Bikram’ she was referring to was obviously Bikram Vohra, my boss and editor of The Navhind Times. Having spent nearly three years in the profession , I knew no newspaper in the world would ever publish the same press note or news item three consecutive days. Unless there were some changes or corrections. But Bedi was adamant. ‘Camil, let’s go to your newspaper office right now. Come..” Despite my protests, she grabbed my arm and led me to climb down the red carpet-laden wooden stairs of the police headquarters. I had no option but to get into her Gypsy which straightaway headed towards our newspaper office – located near the Panjim Market and hardly 400 meters away from the police headquarters.
Everyone in the newspaper office stared at the smart woman police officer in uniform with a baton in her hand walked confidently on the wooden floor of the one storeyed tiled-roof newspaper office. I walked hesitantly along with her. There was no need to introduce her, people in Goa by now knew Police Officer Kiran Bedi. A former national tennis player, Bedi, mother of a daughter, had maintained herself well.
'Ki Khabar ?,' was our editor Bikram Vohra’s elated greeting to her as he immediately rose from his seat to welcome Kiran Bedi. I was left astonished when both of them started speaking in Punjabi mixed with English. Although in a very prominent position, editor Vohra was just a few years older to me and had not yet crossed his 30s and was thus was 10 years younger to Bedi. I should have foreseen this, they knew each other so well, I cursed myself. But now it was too late. I realised I was going to lose this battle. I was sure that the editor will now let me down and let Kiran Bedi have her way.
I was left sulking when as expected, editor Vohra without any hesitation agreed to Bedi’s request. “Okay, done ! Camil, repeat that copy next two days and ensure with the desk to carry it on top of the page three…” After this, Vohra and Bedi continued talking on other subjects as I quietly sneaked into the reporters room. Some time later, the editor came to see off Bedi till the staircase and from there, as a courtesy I accompanied her climbing down the steps and upto her jeep on the road. My face had fallen but Bedi did not exhibit any signs of victory.
Crestfallen, I then approached the editor to register my protests. But he was very kind and jovial when he replied to me. "Come on, Cami. Be a sport, have a heart!,” that was typical Bikram Vohra when he tried to persuade someone with his viewpoint. “Camil, take a note of what I am saying.. It's not very often that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, British Premier Margaret Thatcher, Bob Hawke and several other presidents, premiers and statesmen come for a retreat in Goa. It is an international event and as an exception, we need to repeat the same news for security and other reasons. It is a very high profile and VVIPs event in Goa and mind you, you are very lucky, privileged to cover it and you'll remember it in your career. Besides, in your journalist career, you would very, very rarely come across an officer as charismatic as Kiran Bedi. She’s doing a great job, Camil. Let's give her some concessions! Have a heart, young man ! Camil, be a sport !”
The CHOGM summit was over successfully. Soon Kiran Bedi left Goa to join a new posting in other part of the country. The nation has since then watched her career graph to this date with a keen interest. A couple of years later, Bikram Vohra left for a journalism career in the Gulf where he continues to be even today. Later I too left Goa and pursued a career in English national newspapers.
Nearly four decades after the CHOGM incident, I have to admit that my first editor was very right in his statement as also his judgment.

When in Goa, dig into Goan Pav Bhaji!

When in Goa, dig into Goan Pav Bhaji!

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Tuesday, 5 January 2016 AT 08:11 PM IST

    

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4833843097527707162&SectionId=5131376722999570563&SectionName=Features&NewsTitle=When%20in%20Goa,%20dig%20into%20Goan%20Pav%20Bhaji

Goa, Camil Parkhe, Goan Pav Bhaji, Panjim-Miramar riverfront, food, Mandavi river

When I am in Goa, there are some things I would not miss: a walk along the Panjim-Miramar riverfront, and on my way back digging into authentic Goan Pav Bhaji!

Early morning, I slip into my walking shoes and head from the Palace (Old Secretariat building) to Miramar beach, a four-km long stretch along the banks of the Mandavi river.

On one side, there are old one-storeyed buildings and bungalows (especially in Campala area) and on the other bank is the Mandavi river surging to merge into the Arabian Sea.

From Kala Academy complex, there is a long stretch of open land till Miramar beach which has been especially reserved for sports and cultural activities. Here we can spot sportspersons — footballers, cricketers, athletes — perfecting their skills on the ground. Not much has changed along this stretch since I was a student at Dhempe College of Arts and Science.

After spending sometime at the Miramar beach, I head back in the opposite direction. But this time in a local bus to a local joint to grab a bite of Goan Pav Bhaji. This is what I look forward to most when I’m holidaying in the beach state!  I usually order a Patal Bhaji, my first preference. The Batata or Potato Bhaji is my second choice. In Goa, we can choose from a variety of breads to eat the Bhaji with. There is the common variety of soft Pav which is also available outside Goa, then there is Undo, a square-sized crisp variety of loaf, or the Poi, the flat and round variety.

Coming back to Patal Bhaji, it is not liquid as the name suggests. It is a thick gravy of well-cooked green or white peas. Potato Bhaji, as compared to Patal, is liquid with tomatoes added to it. The third variety, called Mixed Bhaji, combines the two variants.

One has to visit the restaurants or hotels run by the Goenkars if you want to savour the Goan varieties of Pav Bhaji.  The best part is that the dish tastes the same at any joint in Panjim, Mapusa or anyother part of the state – provided it’s run by the local populace and not by the migrants settled in Goa. In the Udupi joints, the taste will be different and the ingredients too may differ. Therefore I prefer to walk a few extra meters to search for the authentic food joints to enjoy a good breakfast.

If you have a good appetite, along with Pav Bhaji, you may also order other local delicacies of Batata Wada, Green Chilli Bhajji (pakodas), which might sustain you till afternoon.

A good swim at a nearby beach may help you to lose the extra calories, if you are a diet conscious person. However, I would suggest that the issue of calories should be ignored if you are holidaying in Goa. 

See also

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/CricketCarnival/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4818806334451718027&SectionId=4861338933482912746&SectionName=Blog&NewsDate=20150511&Provider=CAMIL%20PARKHE&NewsTitle=Reminiscences%20of%20the%20Goan%20Pao