Prutha Goa

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

Being a writer is a hard work and anybody who has dabbled in writing, albeit occasionally, will bear testimony to the fact. Imagine having the gumption to carry on with it alongside your primary source of income, or even adopting it as your only means of livelihood. Only the madness and passion that fuels the tenacity of writers presents us with a plausible answer to why there are people who have chosen to enter into writing professionally. From Mind to Keyboard , edited by Sheela Jaywant and published by Goa, 1556, is a book of stories from different writers living in Goa about their journeys as writers: what set off the spark and what kept them going despite any odds that presented themselves against their choice. The contributors are not all of Goan origin, and so they provide us with an insight into a writing world and its struggles that goes beyond the narrow confines of our State. It is, nevertheless, heartening to acknowledge the number of prominent writers Goa has produced. The

Alcoholism has been a killer and destroyer of familial peace hiding in plain sight. This is because we chose to ignore it if it does not affect us directly. Many in society still have an attitude of disdain towards persons encumbered by this disease as it is seen as a sign of weakness. The stigma attached to it has led to deaths because alcoholics could not come to terms with their problem and families have been left devastated and in social, emotional and financial turmoil. Maria Viency Cardozo’s maiden venture as a writer has resulted in a book Diamonds Under My Feet that offers courage to all those families and individuals afflicted by this insidious malady. She says, ‘The book is all about a message of hope for families suffering because of the problem of alcoholism.’ Even though alcoholism is termed AUD or alcohol use disorder by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5), the awareness of the fact that it is a disease and that sufferers can avail of help

Rarely is such exuberance displayed for one’s art as evinced by Chandrakant Redican’s enthusiasm for spoken word poetry. Chandrakant and his sister Priyam have Indian-Irish parentage and together have started the Bullock Cart Cafe Spoken Word Project. They are part of the Pune Poetry Slam and endeavour to underscore the impact of performance poetry and encourage its permeation to all sections of society. While they have built their base in Pune, writing and performing original poems, organising poetry slams and workshops, they have furthermore extended their reach outside Pune by holding workshops and performances in Goa, Mumbai, Kharagpur, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. They are planning on having the first spoken word festival in the country too. Priyam was a qualified psychologist before she decided to resign from her job as a corporate trainer to write a book and finally devoted herself to performance poetry. Chandrakant is a self-confessed geek with a background in science but eventuall

Author Jessica Faleiro ’s maiden novel, Afterlife: Ghost Stories from Goa , was published in 2012. She remembers suppressing her latent talent as a writer for as long as she was a student and untill she had graduated in Environmental Policy as an environmental scientist. She worked in research and policy and as a lobbyist before engaging her desire to write as a hobby. Soon it became evident that writing was an intrinsic part of her being and she says, ‘I’m happiest when filling a blank page with words, and creating stories and poems generated by something deep within myself. …at some level within myself I did always want to be a writer.’ Born in Goa and brought up in Kuwait, Jessica is a globetrotter of sorts having lived in Goa, Mumbai, Miami, Paris and London, and travelled to Afghanistan, Haiti, the Philippines and other countries for work. Her many travels have naturally given her the impetus to write travel features. She also writes essays, poems and articles which have appeared

Samir Nazareth treats us to his personal brand of humour as he takes us along for the ride through his travelogue, journeying across various states of India. In conversation with Aniruddha Sengupta at the Literati Bookshop, Calangute, he revealed the inspiration behind his decision to traverse the Indian coastline from Gujarat to Sikkim and pen down his experiences in 1400 Bananas, 76 Towns and 1 Million People . The book explores people, how perspectives change when we witness alternative cultures first-hand and history and its implications in the present times. Sloughing off the responsibilities of a regular pencil pusher, Samir decided to take off on what he believed would be a redeeming experience and enable him to live out a dream that had enthralled him since his days as a postgraduate student. Back then it was a dream to escape his scholastic endeavours, but the lack of a bank balance did much to dampen his enthusiasm. In his mature years, the impetus was transmuted into the des

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

Kala Academy’s School of Drama brings us another gem from the playwright Pundalik Naik, performed by its students. Chaitanyak Matt Naa , which loosely translated means that one cannot contain consciousness or enthusiasm within an edifice, was written in 1989-90. The Konkani play, much along the lines of Naik’s novel Achhev ( Upheaval ), Chaitanyak Matt Naa serves us with a view of the consequences of our actions, or alternately, our inertia, and the impact of an awakened consciousness. This play was initially performed as an exercise in improvisational class with the first year students, and soon the possibility of performing it for an audience was envisioned. The ensemble play was appreciated for its potential to encompass students from all the three years of the drama school, giving them a chance to bond with each other, particularly the first year students. Padmashree Josalkar, the director of the School of Drama, says, ‘When you see them loading and unloading the sets from the bu

Good Luck, Bad luck, Who Knows? is a brand new play from The Mustard Seed Company, written by Isabel Santa Rita Vas and directed by Isabel Vas and Kiran Bhandari. The play was performed with much success, eliciting appreciation from the audience. The play explores how the changing condition of a particular street, called Rua de Mascate (Street of Hawkers), Good Luck Street or Bad Luck Street depending on its circumstances, transforms the people associated with it. This street is threatened by a garbage dump and the building of a parking lot. We are introduced to the play’s protagonists, whose lives are revealed to be deeply connected with this street.  Harsha, an older lady with dementia, has made her home in this street after being cast out by her own daughter. She responds to any given situation with a stream of appropriate Gandhian quotes despite the limited functionality of her brain.  Pranoy is an artist who has defied pressure from his brother to go into a mainstream profession

The Mustard Seed Company is a name well associated with quality English theatre and has evolved entirely in Goa, thanks to the efforts of Isabel de Santa Rita Vas. The amateur theatre company has in the past performed plays that make you stop and think about life, society, the world, and the role you have to play. The latest production of The Mustard Seed Art Company is called Good Luck, Bad Luck, Who Knows? , and it will transport its audience to a street in Goa. Why a street, you ask. Isabel Vas says, ‘This is where things happen, where people’s paths cross, where strangers make contact and for a moment become neighbourly.  Streets are pathways and footpaths, but they are far from being mere blank spaces between the point of departure and the point of arrival. Flanked by doorways and window sills, and verandahs and attics, the street is filled with sounds and smells and lights and shadows, presence and absence. It’s on a street that long lost friends bump into each other, where the f

Lights Out! by Manjula Padmanabhan finds new expression through Dnyanesh Moghe’s direction and his actors. The play, which was performed on the 10th of August 2019 at the Multipurpose Hall, Central Library, Panjim, was inspired by a true incident that took place in 1982 in Santa Cruz, Bombay, albeit with fictional characters recreating it. The play commences with an unnerving, unearthly cry, evoking a sense of trepidation and suspense. We are told that the protagonist Leela has been hearing these distressing cries for some time and been pressuring her husband Bhaskar to call the police. Although she is not certain of the reason for the cries, innate intuition does not allow her to dismiss them as anything but the result of a crime. Bhaskar, on the other hand, finds every excuse in the book to avoid calling the police. He deems it fit, however, to call his friend Mohan to watch the ‘spectacle’ that we learn he has been witness to. What follows is an inane justification of the clearly un

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.