panaji jammu kashmir chief minister omar abdullahs presence at the goa arts and literary festival 2012 not just met expectations but even exceeded them several attendees chose to park their vehicles kilometres away from the venue at kala academy in anticipation of unreasonable security arrangements but there were none arts and literature lovers paced the length and breadth of the auditorium expecting a late entry but were instead caught offguard when the young chief minister landed on stage on schedule and when he began his speech it was clear that the festival would start off on the right note it is after all focusing on the northernmost state at its third edition both our stateskashmir and goaare victims of being typecast the first thing that springs to most peoples minds when they think of goa is the carnival and beaches not art or literature at least nine out of ten will speak about violence when asked about kashmir this is inherently unfair for both states said abdullah he continued yes goa has carnival and beaches but that is not what goa is all about it boasts of a unique culture and has a rich history and the same is also true of kashmir the outspoken politician said kashmir is also secular and is home to diverse cultures it is not just a place for problems it is one of the most diverse states elaborating he said as it was placed near the ancient silk route it was a melting pot of cultures since a very long time it has its sprinkling of buddhists christians sikhs and every region from jammu to kashmir to ladakh has its own way of speaking cuisine dance and there are further subregions within these regions goan writers damodar mauzo and vishnu wagh described the visit of abdullah and the kashmiri delegation of artists and writers at the festival as a meeting of the snowclad mountains with the mandovi i am almost feeling guilty for not having brought some snow with me to goa abdullah replied drawing laughter from the small but involved audience the keynote speakers writers mridula garg and eunice de souza too continued their romance with goa in keeping with the mood of the occasion goa has done what it is known to do bestmake the other its own that is why i say goa is just like literature goa has changed like all other places around the world but it is also the same and has resisted the urge to become obsessive or delirious goa does not deceive it is a paradox of frantic mining and deep concern for the environment hindi writer garg said de souza said goa has given birth to artists poets writers and musicians in numbers which are disproportionate to its small size while chief minister manohar parrikar skipped the festival inaugural for his birthday celebrations abdullah made up for the absence with his graciousness as he took in the overwhelming experience of world renowned soprano of