Prutha Goa

When we look back on history, we are able to perceive the effect a particular era has had on the people living in that period to the extent of colouring the character and thought of individuals. Women are singular in the bearing history has had on their lives and the lack of acknowledgement of their recordings of their times. Women have written from the earliest years, but they have received no place in a male dominated world. Despite the presence of the Buddhist theris’ literary works thousands of years ago, they became accessible only in the 20th century. The Bhakti poets Mirabai, Bahinabai and Janabhai were stylistically unique but they wrote in the vernacular about the everyday routine of life and their devotion. For example, Bahinabai recounts having a low caste mentor in Tukaram, while she came from a Brahmin family, and the repercussions of the situation. Dalit Marathi poet Hira Bansode’s poem in the late 20th century, Yashodhara, brings back before us the travails of the abando

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