Senior citizens turn to pen and paper at unique handwriting contest during Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias centenary celebrations 

Goa Khabar : In a fast-paced age when people are increasingly accustomed to tapping mobile screens to communicate, over 90 Goan senior citizens converged at the iconic Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias to put pen to paper and revisit the discipline of handwriting. The competition drew participants from across Goa, reaffirming the enduring relevance of the written word.

The unique contest for senior citizens, featured participants aged between 60 and 93, including 93-year-old Romda De Souza, who was the oldest registered participant. The event brought together individuals who have witnessed changing modes of communication in the course of their long lives and yet continue to value the tactile and reflective nature of writing by hand.

Adolf Fernandes from Campal, a senior citizen participant, reflected on the role of handwriting in shaping communication. “Writing by hand has shaped my life and helped me communicate better with people. Younger people should get rid of their phones, and instead, use their pen and paper to share their messages across, because there is more love in that than the electronic platforms,” he said.

The competition was judged by artist Suhas Shilker, architect Prita Sardesai and emcee and club member Allan Pinto. Reflecting on the experience of participating in a handwriting contest, participant Marie Azavedo, who is in her early 90s, said, “I was very excited to take part in this competition. Handwriting is important, as it can tell you a lot about the character of a person.”

The oldest participants at the contest who were felicitated are Sebastiao Fernandes (90) in the male category and Romda De Souza (93) in the female category. Participants were also assessed on the content of their writing, with Yeshwant Kapdi and Sheela Kadam winning prizes for the quality of their content. A special jury award was presented to Caetano Francisco Colaco.

Speaking about the event, chairman of the centenary celebration committee Sanjeev Sardessai described it as a fitting conclusion to the club’s 100-year milestone. “The motivation behind this event was to get the seniors out here and to try and record all their memories of the past. They are seniors, but I could see the spirit of youth in all of them,” he said.

In the event’s competition categories, Cecilia Pinto and Satish Shetye, former National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) director, emerged as winners in the super senior (above 75 years) Roman script category, while well-known journalist Frederick Noronha and Maureen D’Souza secured top honours in the senior Roman script category. Asha Nayak won in the super senior Devanagari category, while Maya Prabhudesai and Deepak Gad claimed prizes in the senior Devanagari category.

Allan Pinto, who also served as a judge, noted that the competition was structured across senior and super senior categories in both Devanagari and Roman scripts. “The prizes were given for the handwriting as well as for the content. It was a fantastic experience to especially see people come in as early as 9 am and wait right up to the prize distribution and have fun,” he said.