Pilgrims146; progress

John Pinto looks like any other Goan youngster, down to the pencil thin beard that8217;s the latest trend. But, at the rave party he attend...

John Pinto looks like any other Goan youngster, down to the pencil thin beard that8217;s the latest trend. But, at the rave party he attended last night, in a black full-sleeves shirt and black jeans, the 22-year-old felt 8216;8216;overdressed8217;8217;. 8216;8216;When we go partying in Pakistan,8217;8217; says the office administrator, 8216;8216;we dress up8217;8217;. The shorts-and-tee attire he encountered, he says, was an 8216;8216;unforgettable experience8217;8217;.

On November 28, 180 Pakistanis of Goan origin arrived in the state to participate in the ongoing decennial celebrations of St Francis Xavier, at Old Goa. For many, like Pinto, the pilgrimage meant a chance to visit the birthplace of their forefathers and the country they call neighbour for the first time.

8216;8216;I8217;ve been trying to arrange this pilgrimage for a long time,8217;8217; says Fr Robert D8217;Silva, parish priest of St Lawrence Church, Karachi, over telephone. Severe visa restrictions, he says, meant he could bring just 10 to 15 Goan Catholics annually for the St Francis Xavier feast on December 3. With 20,000 Goan Catholics settled in Pakistan, most in Karachi, the peace talks between India and Pakistan have 8216;8216;definitely helped8217;8217;, adds D8217;Silva, who was born in Pakistan but studies theology in Shillong in 1934.

8216;8216;Both sides embassies were extremely cooperative about the pilgrimage,8217;8217; he says. And visas to 8216;8216;400 eager pilgrims8217;8217; 8211; the pilgrimage was advertised in the community mouthpiece Christian Voice 8211; were issued within 15 days in August. While Pakistan International Airlines offered a 8216;8216;concession8217;8217; on the tickets, 8216;8216;the Indian side made the flight arrangements.8217;8217;

Accommodation was the only hitch, says Fr D8217;Silva. 8216;8216;Not really,8217;8217; says Hilary Telis 63 unwinding on a wooden bench in his grandfather8217;s century-old home by the Mandovi river in Brittona village. He8217;s come to Goa 8216;8216;four to five times since 19498217;8217; and 8216;8216;loves8217;8217; staying at his ancestral home, 8216;8216;since I get to be with relatives.8217;8217;

For first cousin, retired bank employee Jane Francis 63, whose father Francis Xavier named after the saint settled in Pakistan in the 19308217;s 8216;8216;because he couldn8217;t get a job in Goa8217;8217;, the trip 8212; her fourth one 8211; is all about the pilgrimage. Blue rosary around her neck, she lets a smile break through the solemnity, 8216;8216;and yes, the peace and quiet of this lovely state.8217;8217;