Portal:Goa

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Introduction

Goa /ˈɡoʊ.ə/ ( listen) is a state in India within the coastal region known as the Konkan, in Western India. It is bounded by Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its Western coast. It is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Goa has the highest GDP per capita among all Indian states, that is two and a half times that of the country. It was ranked the 'best placed State' by the "Eleventh Finance Commission" for its infrastructure and ranked on top for the 'best quality of life' in India by the National Commission on Population based on the 12 Indicators.

Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is its largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants and conquered it soon thereafter. Goa is a former Portuguese province; the Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961.

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Goan literature

Goa was the first place in Asia to have a printing press, which was brought by the Portuguese in the 1550s; Goa's Portuguese colonial rulers also believed in meticulous record-keeping.

Goa has had a long love affair with the printed word, although growth has been slow, and punctuated by problems like linguistic breaks and censorship. Goans, with a long history of emigration and foreign rule, have adapted to writing in European languages like Portuguese and English. But there is also literature in Konkani and Marathi.

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Selected image

Mandovi river and Bridge shot from top of Ribandar

The Mandovi River is described as the lifeline of the state of Goa, India. The river has a length of 77 kilometres and originates from a cluster of 30 springs at Bhimgad in the Western Ghats. With its cerulean waters, Dudhsagar Falls, and Varapoha Falls it is also known as the Gomati in a few places. Mandovi and the Zuari River are the two primary rivers in the state of Goa. Read more...

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Selected biography

Remo Fernandes (born 8 May 1953) is a pop/rock/Indian fusion artist and playback singer from Goa. His musical work is a fusion of many different cultures and styles including Goan and Portuguese music, Sega music from Mauritius and Seychelles, African music, Latin music from Cuba and Nicaragua, the music of erstwhile European communist states, those of the dancehalls from Jamaica and Soca from Trinidad.His music, reflecting life and socio-political happenings in India which every Indian could identify with, became popular largely with the growing, English educated, Indian middle class. He now writes and sings his songs in five different languages, English, Hindi, French, Portuguese, and Konkani. He has performed with international artists like Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin.

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Selected bibliography

Sodh, a Konkani research bulletin. Published by the Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr, roughly twice in a year. TSKK, B B Borkar Road, Alto Porvorim. Usually focuses on research issues broadly related to Konkani.

Delights from Goa, by Aroona Reejhsinghani. Jaico Publishing www.jaicobooks.com ISBN 81-7224-078-3. Ninth impression, 2004. A cookery book.

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Did you know...

... that the Frente Popular got just 1.82% of polled votes in the first general elections in Goa because the Catholic church backed the United Goans Party against it.

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Goa news

Today is October 5, 2018

August 26, 2009: Goa's ten day Ganesh festival begins in Goa this weekend.
August 25, 2009: An injection scare haunts South Goa, with some citizens believing unidentified persons are pricking children with unknown substances.
August 24, 2009: Citizens' protest held against plans for garbage disposal plant in their vicinity, at Bainguinim.

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Quotes

The Jesuits own beautiful buildings and gardens in Salsette. They have got good lands. It is estimated that they own one-third of the land in Salsette. The Padres have a greater grip on the people than the government. -- Celebrated traveller Pietro Della Valle, who visited Goa in 1623-24, quoted in Saraswats: In Goa and Beyond (Murgaon Mutt Sankul Samiti, Vasco da Gama, Goa 1998)

Bigamy [in the seventeenth century] invited the death sentence (morte natural). A Christian having sexual intercourse with a Jew or Moor, knowing his or her religion, was liable to the death sentence.... sexual intercourse with an 'infidel' was considered a grave offence. -- Carmo D'Souza, in Concepts of Law: Understanding the Past, Analysing the Present And Visualising the Future (quoting Ordinations, Philippines, Livro 5, Titulo XIX and Livro 5, Titulo XIV) Published in 2004.

Having been under Portuguese rule for over 450 years, Goan food is a mixture of both eastern and western influences. Goan hospitality is proverbial and even the unwanted guest is made welcome with a tasty meal, prepared from resources available in the house at that time. -- Aroona Reejhsinghani in Delights From Goa, 2004 ISBN 81-7224-078-3

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Things you can do

Help to build more Goa-relevant pages. This place has a lot to be written about.
Improve Goa-linked pages in content and depth.
Persuade others to post articles about Goa in diverse Indian languages.
Recruit others in Goa or from the diaspora as contributors to the Wikipedia.
Contribute photos and (non-copyrighted) text to this page.
Help to categorise and locate all the scattered links related to Goa on the Wikipedia.