Prutha Goa

Tishani Doshi has quite an impressive oeuvre as a poet, author, journalist, and dancer. The Madras-born Tishani has written essays, poems and short stories that are part of anthologies. Her first novel, titled The Pleasure Seekers , was shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the Johns Hopkins University, USA. Countries of the Body , her maiden collection of poems, won the Forward Prize (Best First Collection) in 2006, while ‘The Day we went to the Sea’ from the same book won the 2005 British Council-supported All India Poetry Competition. As a dancer, Tishani was mentored by the late, famed choreographer Chandralekha and was part of her dancing troupe till her death in 2006. The release of Tishani’s new collection of poems Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods will be held at The Cube Gallery in Moira, Goa, at 7pm, with a reading of her poems and a performance of experimental dance by Tishani. It was at the age of twenty that Tishani became en

Yesterday in Paradise , published by Goa, 1556, brings us the memoirs of Cyprian Fernandes, a journalist of note who is of Goan origin. The book opens to us the world that Cyprian was witness to from 1950 to 1974 in Kenya. He was born in Nairobi in 1943 into a family that was far from being an ideal one. This novel gives rich insight into the cultural attributes of the Goan diaspora in East Africa, and Kenya in particular. The political history of Kenya as retold by Cyprian Fernandes is gripping and extremely informative. Cyprian Fernandes is an anomaly in that his professional career began on the premise of a lie, but it was completely justified by proven merit. A graduate of the school of hard knocks, Cyprian, although a bright student with immense potential, left school at thirteen after a row with Fr Hannan, the headmaster. Ensuing a trail of jobs (once as a probation officer), Cyprian landed his first job as a reporter with the Nation at the age of sixteen. Gumption and his skill

There is an insidious disease that plagues members of Indian society – apathy towards any problem that does not particularly apply to oneself and the unwillingness to battle with the powers that be to right an injustice done to a fellow human being. Ratna Vira’s new book It’s Not About You addresses the issue of bullying, a rampant problem in our society that Indians are apt to sweep under the rug. Ratna is the author of the national bestseller Daughter by Court Order , another socially evocative novel that forces us to face upfront the injustice meted out to women in India. It’s Not About You tells the poignant tale of 16 year old Aksh and his single mother Samaira taking on the school authorities and the bullies who leave Aksh battered and bruised. Bullying comes in many forms. At times it takes place within families or it could be bullying by colleagues, schoolmates, etc. The main aim of this book it to motivate the listless Indian public to recognise this averse behaviour for wha

Reading Shorty Gomes: Vintage Crime Stories immediately transported me to a black and white TV era, where detectives were gritty and unafraid of gore. He is quite unalike Christie’s Poirot and, as his creator Ahmed Bunglowala will attest, ‘I perceive the British school of crime writing as too passive and plot-heavy. I write in the American school of hardboiled fiction, made famous by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.’ Bunglowala recommends the reading of Chandler’s essay, "The Simple Art of Murder", to connoisseurs of the crime genre. The stories in the book consist of three long-short stories that appeared previously as The Days and Nights of Shorty Gomes , published by Rupa &Co, whereas the fourth short story, 'Nagpada Blues', was published by HarperCollins India in the crime anthology Mumbai Noir in 2012. The stories, titled 'The Dark Side of Diamonds', 'The House on St Peter’s Street', 'Long Shadows of the North', and 'Nagpad

On rare occasions you chance upon a personality who has the resilience and tenacity to make such a startling impact on you that you are forced to rethink your priorities and curb those pity parties you indulge in. Frederika Menezes is one such person. She amazes and stupefies you with her positivity in the face of what others would consider an incapacitating physical disability. Frederika has cerebral palsy, and remains in a wheelchair for the most part but her mind is razor sharp. Her parents, Angela and Jose are retired GPs and dote on Frederika. In some families this condition may have been deemed burdensome but it was not so for Frederika. She asserts she was not treated as a person with a disability as a child. She says, ‘I wasn't aware of what I could do or be so I just enjoyed the attention. To be honest, I was never treated different. Not really.’ Her alma mater is People’s High School, Panaji. She stresses the fact she attended regular school as there is also the School fo

Social activism and speaking out for the voiceless runs prominently in her family, so it is not surprising that Ratna Vira would follow along those very same lines. The beginnings of the blueprint for her novel seem to have been drawn up in her childhood. Ratna Vira is the daughter of journalist Nalini Singh, who is best known for her programme 'Aankhon Dekhi'; she is the niece of Arun Shourie, one of India’s most renowned journalists; and the granddaughter of Hari Dev Shourie, well-known for his consumer activism. Ergo,  Daughter by Court Order , published by Fingerprint, is a novel that attacks the hypocritical idea of family izzat (honour) that runs rampant in our country, talks about mother-daughter relations and stresses on the question of identity. Ms. Vira describes herself as, ‘…a soft spoken and enigmatic woman with many facets. A contemporary woman who juggles a successful corporate career with her writing and love of art; weaves stories with her words and her paint

She describes herself as ‘nobody special’, saying, ‘I am simply me…Yasmeen.’ Yet Yasmeen Premji has achieved much in her life. This unassuming woman has rarely made herself known in the media though she is the wife of one of India’s leading businessmen, Azim Premji. Her husband may be chairman of the Wipro company and renowned for his philanthropy, but Ms. Premji holds her own as a woman of substance. Always a brilliant student, Ms. Premji managed to top St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, obtaining the highest marks in psychology at Bombay University. She then completed her Master of Arts degree from Smith College, U.S.A., on a scholarship. But her proficiency was not limited to academics. Ms. Premji has been an avid sportsperson. At her school, Queen Mary’s, she participated in basketball, athletics, table-tennis, chess and hockey, and was appointed games captain too. It is not surprising that hockey remains high on her list as she has represented her college and state in this sport. M

Eccentric scholars do not abound in Goa and most recently she lost one of her most enigmatic sons. Tenacious in his pursuit of refined scholarship, José Pereira formed the fourth member of an intellectual group (Mario Miranda, Alban Couto and Eusebio Rodrigues) that had sworn to resurrect intellectual endeavours so dominant in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but perhaps hindered by the censorship imposed by Portuguese dictator, Salazar. He passed away after completing 84 years of age, on the 26th of January in the USA. Though a native of Curtorim, Goa, José Pereira was born in Mumbai and spent much of his life outside the realm of his ancestry. His literary contribution is vast, amounting to 145 articles and 24 books. His knowledge spanned a range of subjects, including theology, architecture, literature and ethnomusicology. Some of his books are Hindu Theology and Golden Goa’s Art . José Pereira’s illustrious academic career began with an honours degree in Sanskrit from Sidda

Savia Viegas, the accidental artist, for whom painting has been an escape, a respite from the pressures and routine of life, brings us a collection of vibrant paintings under the title of Mementos. As an academic she has had an enviable career, having graduated from Elphinstone College, received a PhD in Satavahana Sculptural Art from the University of Mumbai and awarded the Senior Fulbright Fellowship (2003-2004), which earned her a residency at George Washington University and the Smithsonion. She is also the author of Tales from the Attic , Let me tell you about Quinta , Abha Nama, and Eddi and Diddi . The latter two are graphic fiction works and a testament to the balanced integration of her pictorial depiction and her textual narrative. The lack of training in fine arts has been advantageous rather than a hindrance as it allows her free flowing expression and innovations in her paintings. Savia says, ‘I paint images I cannot express textually.’ She alternates between writing and

Famous for his movies and serials, Saeed Akhtar Mirza has been successful in his career move to authoring books too. The director of National Award winning films Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984) and Naseem (1995) has also highly acclaimed serials Nukkad and Intezaar to his credit. He embarked on his career in films after working in the advertising industry for a while. He later became part of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, India, and graduated from the institute in 1976. Having made a start with documentaries, his foray into parallel cinema was made with Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), which immediately thrust him into the echelons of the most talented filmmakers in India. By Satdeep Gill - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52943784 Following the filming of Naseem , Mirza chose to divert his ideas into books such as Ammi: Letter to a Democratic Mother and The Monk, the Moor & Moses Ben Jalloun . Presently, he i

There are times when non-fiction books read like fiction, only because of the incredible events that unfold in them. The House at 43, Hill Road , written by Brenda Rodrigues, is one such book that hits home with its forthright and visceral description of matters. It offers insight into the abyss of corruption that prevents India from progressing in any way. In Goa, it is difficult to find anyone who is not embroiled in a legal case dealing with property. As commonplace as property disputes are, the level of corruption exposed in The House at 43, Hill Road is astonishing and unspeakable. Brenda reveals an insidious rot within our legal system and the nexus between builders, the police and politicians without mincing her words. The first part, ‘Early Days’, takes us back to the history of the house at 43, Hill Road and traces the ancestry of Brenda’s husband, Joe Rodrigues, with family stories thrown in. The plot (number 36) that was originally purchased by the prosperous Braz R