Prutha Goa

Memoirs take us back into the past, into a history that may be erased and its valuable essence lost if it is not preserved through documentation. Aloysius D’Souza’s Homeward Bound is a happy example of keeping memories of the past intact and available to future generations. Aloysius, who spent part of his childhood in Burma, recalls lively anecdotes of his life there and in Goa that prove to be a delightful learning experience. The opening pages of the book take us right into the Japanese attack on Burma in December 1941. The fear and commotion of the proceedings is told through the eyes of a young Aloysius, in very much the innocent candour of a young boy, but without negating the urgency of the situation. ‘As far as we youngsters were concerned this was a wonderful holiday. During the days, we investigated the neighbourhood, discovering Chinese market gardeners… ‘Most of these refugees, probably a million or more, trekked out through the jungles and hills of upper Burma into north e

Dr Themistocles D’Silva has a long list of credentials. An alumnus of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Dr D’Silva has a doctorate in organic chemistry and has worked as a research scientist in the United States. There are 70 American patents and numerous scientific publications that stand as evidence to his academic prowess. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr D’Silva, has written about the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and given objective insight into it by disclosing little known facts about the actual cause of the gas leak. The book is called The Black Box of Bhopal: A Closer Look at the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster . His recently released book Unravelling History , is a revised edition of a previously written book Beyond the Beach: The Village of Arossim, Goa, in Historical Perspective . Environment Minister Alina Saldanha went on to praise Dr D’Silva for the vital role he played during the Anti Meta Strips agitation by supplying information about the deleterious effects o

Soaring Spirit is Valmiki Faleiro’s second individual venture in writing a book. His collaborative works have been many. One of them is In Black and White . Here he contributed two stories to a collection of insider experiences penned by various other journalists. But his much praised pièce de résistance remains Patriotism in Action , the first book authored by him. A well-known former working journalist, Valmiki Faleiro was employed by the defunct West Coast Times and was the Goa correspondent for national newspapers such as the Indian Express . He has contributed as a freelance journalist to The Navhind Times , Goa Today and other publications too. Feeling disillusioned by prevailing conditions in the field of journalism, he started a successful business of real estate, and from 1985 to 1987 was the municipal president of Margão. He returned to writing in 2005, with his Sunday column 'All n Sundry' in   oHeraldo . In 2009, he decided to take up full-time writing. To unde

As dramatic and over the top as tiatr can be, it cannot be denied that it is quintessentially Goan and has proven time and again to be a vehicle of social, political and cultural messages. There is a certain section of Goans who attempt to distance themselves from tiatr, believing themselves to be culturally superior to individuals who are a frequent audience. I remember my English professor at Carmel College declaring that Shakespeare’s plays were nothing but the tiatr of his times. It is indeed ironical that even today we have Goans studying Shakespeare in detail and disdaining this Goan form of theatre. Tiatr has existed in Goa for over 125 years and has historically played a part in the preservation of the Konkani language and culture during the Portuguese rule. The tiatr is divided into parts called pordhe (the singular is pordho ). Between two pordhe there will be two or three kantaram (songs) where the singers are accompanied by a live band using Western musical instruments.

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

  Xavier Centre of Historical Research launched an innovative venture in the world of cyberspace journalism on September 20, 2014. This endeavour, which is the brainchild of international consultant and MD of the NGO, Volunteering Goa Ltd., Mr. Richard Lees, is meant to function as an online resource that will tangibly create an environment of selflessness and generosity through inspiring stories and articles. The website, named Prutha (Goa), meaning 'daughter of the earth', will carry articles on a range of topics from the arts, the environment, culture, scientific breakthroughs to conventional social work.  The formal launch of Prutha Goa took place at Xavier Centre of Historical Research, beginning with an introduction by Fr. Savio Abreu SJ, the director of Xavier Centre of Historical Research. Fr. Savio Abreu spoke of the value of acting on new ideas that would lead to the betterment of society. He said, ‘Xavier Centre of Historical Research may be associated with history b