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September 25, 2026

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-Brian Mendonca

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'Sangati' by Bama

'Sangati' by Bama -Brian Mendonca Sangati (1994) by Bama Soosairaj (Born 1958) was originally written in Tamil. The English translation was made available a decade later. The title means 'events' in English. It prepares us for what is to follow. It is a telling of events as they happen - from the point of view of a Dalit Christian woman in Tamil Nadu, India. The novel is divided into 12 chapters divided into subsections. Here is a summary of the chapters with lines quoted from the text. Chapter 1: A Woman's Family (3-14) Pathima, a 13-year-old narrator, studying in Class 8, asserts agency over the narrative, 'When I was born . . . .' (3) The mother Sevathi, and grandmother are introduced. The grandmother, Vellaiyamma Kizhavi, is a...

The Heresy of Paraphrase

The Well-Wrought Urn -Brian Mendonca 'The Heresy of Paraphrase' (pgs. 192-214) by Cleanth Brooks is the 11th and last chapter of his book of essays titled The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry (1947). It is a short essay of 13 pages and is usually studied along with the first chapter in the volume titled, 'The Language of Paradox.' In the last chapter Brooks ends his observations on how to read poetry. He states that the meaning of a poem is to be found in itself - its literary devices, its meanderings, and its aporia (contradictions). The word 'heresy' comes from the Greek word ' heresia' which meant original thought, a way of thinking that was against accepted notions. Brooks invokes the disruptive nature of heresy and says that it is unimaginable that a poem be reduced to a paraphrase, i.e. trying to assemble its meaning in different words which are simpler. He begins by referring to the ten poems he has discussed earlier...

Brand Baboi

Signboard outside Baboi's place at Agassaim. Goan sausages basking in the sun. Fredy weighs the sausages. Fredy holding on to his lifeline. - Brian Mendonca I did not intend to land up here. After all, I was told there were no Goan sausages to be had. In a conversation I had on the way here at Verna, I was asked 'Have you ordered your sausages?' I replied in the negative lamely. Because of the Exposition at Old Goa (today was the last day) the demand was high, was the explanation offered.* The person then asked from where I was coming. I found that odd. Intrigued by the question I decided to take a chance and see for myself if I could salvage some sausages. The matter was urgent as there were guests expected for dinner tomorrow. I knew there was a shop selling sausages in Agassaim but I did not know exactly where. Today, being Saturday, I decided to find out. Queenie had shared the Google location of Baboi and I followed the d...

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