Goan literature

Goan literature is the literature pertaining to the state of Goa in India.

Contents

Small region

Goa has a population of around 1.4 million and an area of 3,700 sq. kilometres (1,430 sq. miles). For a small region, it has a significant amount of publication activity, possibly in part because its people write in a number of languages—as many as 13, according to one count—and also because of the large expatriate and diaspora population of Goans settled across the globe.

It was the first place in Asia to have a printing press, which was brought by the Portuguese in 1556; Goa's Portuguese colonial rulers also believed in meticulous record-keeping.

Early roots

Goa has had a long love affair with the printed word, although growth has been slow, and punctuated by problems like linguistic breaks and censorship.

Goans, with a long history of emigration and foreign-rule, seem to have also adapted, either out of necessity or choice, to writing in languages that had their origins in distant Europe, like Portuguese and English.

Writing by Goans in other languages

Professor Peter Nazareth points out that that Goans have written in thirteen languages, of which the chief are Konkani, Marathi, English and Portuguese. The first of these, is the mother tongue, being written in four different scripts. Nazareth is editor of an anthology of Goan writing[1], Professor of English and African-American World Studies and adviser to the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. He writes:

(By saying Goans are cultural brokers, I mean) Goans mediate between cultures, Goans live between different cultures, Goans are travelers from one part of the world to another. This, in my opinion, happened when East and West met in Goans under pressure with the Portuguese conquest. Since that time, our usefulness to the world, wherever we are, is that we can understand different cultures and help people from different cultures understand one another. The disadvantage is that if we don't work on it, we may end up not knowing who we are."

Edward D'Lima, who has done his PhD on the Goan writer Armando Menezes, argues that Goan writing in English goes back to the late nineteenth century, when Goans were migrating out of this Portuguese-controlled colony in favour of jobs in the growing English-speaking British-ruled colonial world. One early example was the writer from the village of Pilerne (in Bardez) named Joseph Furtado.

Dr. S. M. Tadkodkar [2], who was conferred Ph. D. degree by Goa University for his exhaustive research work on Prof. Anant Kaakaba Priolkar, contends that while the Kannadd language of Karnataka province was dominating the Goan culture, Marathi language and culture was embraced by Goans. Now, Marathi has embraced the Goans and would not leave them, willingly. Maximum literature is published in Marathi. There are 8 Marathi dailies published from Goa. Prominent among them are Dianik Gomantak, Tarun Bharat, Lokamat, Navaprabha, Pudhari, Goadoot, Sanatan Prabhat. Marathi daily Lokmat has the highest circulation (50000+) among all dailies.

Goans now read (and write) in different languages. English is probably the most influential. Marathi is another widely-read language. Konkani, the widely-spoken and official language of the region, is studied in schools.

Goan writers

Indo-Portuguese, Konkani writing

Besides English, Konkani and Marathi, Goans, particularly those of the past generation, have contributed significantly to writings in Portuguese.

Resources for and about Goan writers

Goa University Library: It has a large collections in the languages of Konkani, Marathi, English, Portuguese, French. It has old manuscripts, microfilms and prints of the 17th century in Goa.

Central Library, which is run by the Government of Goa is the oldest library in the South Asia. It is one of the largest depository of all printed volumes pertaining to Goan languages and literature since the 17th century.

Bibliography

Sources

^ "Goan Literature: A Modern Reader", Journal of South Asian Literature Winter-Spring 1983

^ Translated in Manohar Shetty's Ferry Crossing

See also

External links