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Panjim: Goa Writers,
a group of disparate individuals, has launched a book which draws
together a wide range of experiences and ideas, and gives a hint
of the melting pot called Goa. "Inside/Out: New writing from Goa"
is the first anthology of the Goa Writers group, which includes
some of the best-known writers in the state, alongside those
working to improve their writing skills and learn from group
mentoring exercise.
"Inside/Out" features exclusive, original work from noted novelist
and Aldona resident Amitav Ghosh, as well as previously
unpublished contributions from more than 20 other prominent
writers.
In his essay Anthony Vaz, Ghosh writes: "I have long been
fascinated by nautical dictionaries, especially those that relate
to Asian seafarers (or 'lascars' as they were once known)."
Other contributors to the volume include Ben Antao, Himanshu Burte,
Xavier Cota, Vidyadhar Gadgil, Aimee Ginsburg, Veena Gomes-Patwardhan,
Fatima da Silva Gracias, Sheela Jaywant, Jose Lourenco, Damodar
Mauzo, Pamela D'Mello, Rosalyn D'Mello and Helene Derkin Menezes.
Photos from Vivek Menezes set in Moira village, and verses from
Mafalda Mimoso, Isabel de Santa Rita Vas and Mario Coelho are also
part of the book.
It also features Frederick Noronha, Cecil Pinto, Sucheta Potnis,
Melinda Coutinho Powell, Prava Rai, Victor Rangel-Ribeiro, Wendell
Rodricks, Tony de Sa, Kornelia Santoro, Aniruddha Sen Gupta and
Savia Viegas.
The 236-page paperback, priced at Rs.195, has been co-published by
Goa, 1556 and Goa Writers. It is available in major bookshops in
Goa, and via mail-order through goa1556@gmail.com. It is slated to
be in bookstores all over India soon, and available for sale
online as well.
It is to be formally launched March 23, with Ghosh to release the
book, and other literary heavyweights due to make an appearance.
Weeks before its launch, and barely a fortnight since printed
copies became available, some 650 copies of the book have already
been sold.
From recollections of the Goa of seven decades ago, through
tracing family roots via an age-old photograph, to the travails of
a young and upcoming designer in the fashion capital of the world,
the book contains a many-splendoured bouquet of memories.
Short stories such as engineer-turned-writer Jose Lourenco's The
Fever have the potential to intrigue and entertain. An excerpt of
Damodar Mauzo's Tsunami Simon, translated by Xavier Cota, a
foreigner's eye-view of life in Goa and beyond, a look at a Goan
boy's life in East Africa last century are some of the other
vignettes that add charm to the pages.
"We all thought the theme was broad enough to express our thoughts
on Goa," says Lourenco, one of the two editors of this volume.
Co-editor, Helene Derkin Menezes describes the book as an
"eclectic mix of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and essays all
united by their connection to Goa".
An interesting sidelight of this project is, barring the printing,
the entire process - compilation and editing, design and layout,
finance, marketing and distribution - has been handled by the
group's multi-faceted members.
This release adds another feather to the cap of the Goa Writers
group, which was set up six years. It also recently co-hosted the
first Goa Arts and Literary Festival in December 2010, in
association with the Sahitya Akademi and the International Centre
Goa.
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