-Brian Mendonça
Every year around this time, when the weather is perfect,
holidays are around the corner, and the year-end is nigh, I come home with a
stack of books. This serves almost as a kind of reproach for all the reading I
could/should have done during the year and didn’t do.
Leading the pack this year was The Lost Generation: Chronicling India’s Dying Professions by Nidhi
Kundalia. With India hurtling through change, what becomes of the water bearers
of Calcutta or the street dentists of Baroda? In this age of a conspiracy of
silence comes Words Matter: Writings
Against Silence. Featured are
writings of Kalburgi, Pansari and Dabholkar – all killed for their views.
Edited and introduced by the poet K. Satchidanandan, these essays seek to
awaken the atrophy of the nation.
From the soil of Goa, the cover with its timbres of ochre,
the book The Salt of the Earth: Stories
form Rustic Goa beckons you. Engendered in Konkani by Jayanti Naik and
translated by Augusto Pinto the eleven stories have the tribals, the toddy tappers
and the fisher-folk of Goa as their canvas.
Morpakham:
Bhurgeam Kannio is a slim book in Romi Konkani by Vincy
Quadros. These stories for children
entice with their large print and pictures. This is a brave venture by Snows
Akademi, Raia to publish local content for a local readership – something which
we don’t see as much as we would like to.
Given the wider market base of English, Vincy has nevertheless preferred
to bring out the book in amchi bhas.
Helping to discover Goa is Bookworm’s Cholta Cholta: Walking Tours of Panjim. The ten walks give the
seeker much to do while basking in the melange of history and sight-seeing. The
charming sketches by Pritha Sardessai in mauvish-brown provide the perfect
companian for this endeavour.
And then there is The
Lovers and the Leavers by Abeer Hoque. This is a medley of photography,
poetry and prose. All the twelve stories are linked, the events transiting
through India, Bangladesh, America and Europe.
A picture book for my son Dwayne! Our Incredible Cow was lying there waiting to be lapped up.
Originally in Bengali by Mahasweta Devi, this story of Nyadosh the cow with an
insatiable appetite is part of a Tulika project ‘to build a rich and varied
collection of literary writing for young readers.’ Ruchir Shah illustrates this
book replete with vivid photo collages and doodles.
All the books were picked up from the book exhibition at the
Goa Arts and Literature Festival held at International Centre, Donapaula, Goa
from 9-11 December 2016. For the three days the place is transformed into a
literary hub where the who’s who of the literary firmament descend to showcase
where work. On view is the latest writing across the country and its
neighbours, and often overseas.
The beautiful drapes of Delhi, by Mayank Austen Soofi swayed into your consciousness as you strode
purposefooly to the Abolim, Zuari or Mandovi halls. In a few days it would all be over – and the
lovers would be leavers.
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Published in Gomantak Times Weekender , St. Inez, Goa on Sunday, 18 December 2016. Pix courtesy amazon.in
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