Goa Liberation Day - Cherish The Day Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Viva our Goa,
our Goa so warm and lovely
our Goa so serene and splendid,
our Goa with coconut trees and swaying palms, everywhere;
our Goa with sea shores and golden sunsets, everyday;
our Goa with lush green fields, every monsoon
our Goa with Christmas bells every year-end.

Our Goa with Cathedrals and churches so white and huge;
our Goa with many temples and places of worship
our Goa with great religious attitude in every one;
our Goa with a sea coast so long and blue
our Goa with so many beaches for tourists to rest and relax.

Our Goa so festive as seasons come
our Goa so frantic as seasons go;
Our Goa so congested with traffic jams
our Goa so full of accidents and loss of lives;
our Goa so full of rich politicians and their promising speeches,
our Goa so full of common men running to work enthusiastically
and returning home every evening with fatigue and dust.

Our Goa so full of many schools
our Goa so full of teachers doing their duties
of imparting education seriously. academically
yet our Goans keep migrating abroad
for better pastures and secure future;
our Goa so full of hotels and industries providing jobs to anyone
while our Goan brothers have to toil on ships and in gulf countries.

Our Goa so full of attractiveness and glamour
that every year there is International film festival here.
Our Goa so full of Casinos with dancing and gambling every night,
Our Goa so full of boat cruises with no bruises
though people keep hurdling together to rock and sing;
our Goa so full of villages and cities,
our Goa so full of pubs and tandooris
Our Goa so full of rivers and sea
but our Goans get not much fresh-fish to relish.

Our Goa so full of migrant labourers
our Goa providing meager-rent rooms for poor workers
who come to Goa as helpless
and then go on to become prosperous settlers;
our Goa getting bigger in population
our Goa getting crowded by our Indian brothers
who happily buy apartments and adopt Goan identity
by learning to speak our Konkani language so fluently.

Our Goa getting new roads and traffic signals
our Goa getting strong bridges over our rivers
our Goa getting big strong bridges over our land
to help us take-off, drive and feel airborne;
our Goa so full of promises after political betrayals
our Goa so full of family love and unity in our own homes.
Our Goa so full of Portuguese culture and heritage;
our Goa so full of amity and ambiance.

Viva our Goa,
our Goa so warm and lovely
our Goa so serene and splendid
our Goa bestowed with fun and sunshine
our Goa liberated with gifts of freedom and friendship,
our Goa - our cherished possession of yesterday, today and forever.