NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN!
AS the world gets competitive, tough times lie ahead with perseverance, self-determination and resilience becoming the key attributes required to move forward. One must confidently tread the path with confidence and resolve. Life for me has been an accumulation of tough challenges, all along with my two-year long battle for the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status being the most recent ordeal.
Midway through that ordeal, many including my close friends advised me to give up, as I appeared to be fighting a losing battle. However, I refused to give in and stayed put. As an advocate I had full faith in the Judiciary and was confident that I was on the right side of the law and was ready for whatever battle I had to face, to ensure that the government gave me the OCI that I was rightfully entitled to.
To be an advocate was always my childhood dream, which became a reality. Fortuitously, I had the rare privilege of appearing before the High Court of Bombay at Goa and even the Supreme Court of India as a student, long before commencing my law studies.
Because of COVID, most of the courts now have a facility for advocates to function through video-conferencing. Besides India, it is my desire to also practice law in Europe. To qualify for this, I am embarking on a task to study extensively European as well as International law. In doing this, the penning of my life’s memoirs takes a break and remains on hold.
The discipline required to be a student again at 65 is enormous, but for me it is going to be just another challenge, with the next two years being crucial to achieve my goal, albeit free from distractions and socialising, something that has been an integral part of my life.
However, where there is a will, there is always a way!
— Aires Rodrigues, London
BAD, SLIPPERY ROADS
THE Miramar-Dona Paula road is a straight road, but slippery as well. Two-wheeler riders may not ride in the middle of the road because of the speeding four-wheeler traffic, so we take side lanes to be safe but these sides tend to be slippery in the monsoon months. These sides are dirty, slimy and littered, broken, unkempt, even when slow and careful there is a tendency to slip. These side areas are not maintained at all and everything in the middle of the road gets swept here by CCP’s utility sweepers. Sometimes there is thick slimy grog in these side lanes. Here maximum riders go for a toss and seniors out for a walk slip while crossing over the road. Can’t our city fathers who collect all kinds of certificates for being cleanest city take stock of the real situation at ground level?
Please do inspection checks and especially the road from Taleigao market to Magsons, inside road of Taleigao Vadlem Bhat, Panaji which are in very bad shape. Why should so much digging up of the road by the Electricity department take place in the monsoon time, this leads to treacherous potholes and prove to be very risky for riders on two-wheelers and bicyclists. But who cares for these riders, only 4-wheelers may hog the road space and very often taking special pride in speeding through flooded road stretches and spraying those less privileged and safe.
During the monsoon time there are many cases of accidents due to indifferently maintained roads. Young and especially senior citizens should think twice or thrice before daring to venture out of the home even if they feel claustrophobia and need to go out for a walk to buy a few things for the home.
Just patching up potholes badly is not the solution for the potholes re-appear quickly. Traffic jams take place also on narrow inner roads and streets which are even worse off despite all the non-stop digging up going on to plague vehicular traffic and pedestrians. No ride out is a smooth experience, but only that of bumps and heaven help you if you slip on something you failed to see an upcoming sinking pothole…all I can say is beware if you’re stepping out of your house. It is safer to be at home rather than moving out of your house!
— Heena Qazi, Taleigao