Her enthusiasm, her articulation and her activity confute her age. Eighty-five year-old Maria de Lourdes Filomena Figueiredo de Albuquerque would absolutely canyon off as addition a few decades younger. Amid embroidery, painting, abating ceramics works, affable and communicable up on some reading, this adolescent spirit additionally looks afterwards her 410-year-old ancestry abode in Loutolim, abreast Margao, and acts as a claimed adviser to guests and visitors who appointment the Casa Museu Vicente Joao de Figueiredo, a building of Indo-Portuguese artefacts set up in one addition of the abode which showcases art, furniture, chandeliers, cutlery and domiciliary items, all allotment of the family's legacy.
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Figueiredo additionally lays affirmation as the aftermost Goan to represent Goa, Daman and Diu in the Portuguese parliament, a accomplishment that she says 'came about', although she never harboured any political ambitions.
"I never had any ambition to become a affiliate of parliament, but was assertive to booty it up. There was an alternation amid Portuguese prime abbot Antonio de Oliveira Salazar with about eight Goans, including myself. Salazar was afflicted at the accident of Goa afterwards its takeover by the Indian Union," she says. "During that discussion, I batten out what I acquainted about assorted issues. It was alone a few canicule afterwards that my bedmate came home and abreast me that Salazar had asked me to represent Estado da India. I did not accede to it initially, but there were several others who abutting in and assertive me to booty up the job. Among them was Jose Antonio Ismael Gracias of Loutolim. He was the arch amends of the aerial court, who confused to Portugal afterwards the takeover of Goa. I assuredly gave in, and took up the job," she recalls.
Albuquerque, who additionally possesses a quick-witted faculty of humour, recounts. "I capital to abrasion a cape collar for t he aperture day of the Portuguese parliament, but, aback I begin out the cost, it was about according to my husband's account salary, so I absitively not to buy it," she chuckles.
The Portuguese assembly opened on November 25, 1965, and cape collar or not, Albuquerque says she did end up on the advanced pages of abounding Portuguese newspapers the afterward day. "It was a claimed appeal from Salazar that I should abrasion a saree on the aboriginal day to parliament, and I answerable by cutting a Benaras saree. The abutting day, the photograph was agitated by several newspapers," she recounts.
Her appellation concluded in 1969, and Albuquerque says she had no ambition of accepting addition assignment in parliament. "Marcelo Caetano, who succeeded Salazar, asked me to continue, but, I declined," she says.
Ask Albuquerque what she feels about December 19, 1961, and she replies: "Liberation was absolutely botheration. Liberation is a lie. It was a conquest, it was the addition of Goa. These are not my words, but the words acclimated by the Supreme Cloister of India, which is the truth."
An chestnut that Albuquerque recalls is the abrupt alliance of over 100 couples afterwards the Indian armed armament entered Goa. "There were some Portuguese men and Goan women who had advised on marrying anniversary other. Soon, afterwards the acquisition of Goa, they were ambiguous of what lay advanced in their future. I was complex in facilitating the alliance of about 100 such couples. Soon afterwards the marriage, they took their wives and larboard Goa immediately," she said.
She goes on, "Today, acreage are bottomward abroad from Goans. The way the administrative arrangement works; if you action a cloister case, a minimum of 20 years of your activity is absent angry in court. Government jobs are up for auction for lakhs of rupees. Reservation of jobs accept denied competent, admirable bodies from confined in the government."
Albuquerque say s that official history accounting for Goans misses out on several things. "Do abreast Goans apperceive that Goa would accept accomplished autonomy. There were Goans alive appear this cause. The eyes was to let Goa accept its own government and additionally adore acceptable relations with both India and Portugal. This could accept been accomplished by 1970. By 1961, about all jobs, including the aerial positions in the government and judiciary, were active by Goans. Goa was accepting to the point of actuality able to administer itself," she says.
Albuquerque was built-in to Vicente Joao de Figueiredo and Amalia Gomes e Figueiredo on November 18, 1929, in Ponda. She affiliated Antonio Figueiredo de Albuquerque in 1949.
The admirable old adult of Loutolim is a polyglot and speaks four languages —Konkani, Portuguese, English and French. She additionally formed in the announcement administration of the New York Times in Lisbon, and later, went on to run her own announcemen t and accessible relations close there.
Albuquerque describes herself as a workaholic, who alike at the age of 85 sleeps alone six hours a day. Ask her if she has accomplished whatever she capital to, and the acknowledgment comes back, "If I say that I accept accomplished whatever I capital in life, again there is annihilation added to alive for. There is no purpose larboard in living. Absolutely not, I accept lots added to do and I attending advanced to accomplishing it."
What would be her words of admonition to the adolescent bearing of Goans? "Save Goa. Goans charge affiliate themselves to absolve Goa of corruption. We charge accept abreast and honest bodies cardinal Goa and in government jobs. Special cachet is a charge to assure the acreage for the sons and daughters of the clay of Goa," says the octogenarian.
(With inputs from Isidore Domnick Mendis)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Lourdes Filomen a Figueiredo de Albuquerque,Lisbon,Isidore Domnick Mendis,daman and diu,Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
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