THE PRINTED WORD ------------------------------------------------------ Looking at Pilar, looking out from Pilar
FREDERICK NORONHA (FN) on two books with a Pilar link, and an evening devoted to paper-and-print in Panjim recently. GUIDE ... TO PILAR I would have missed coming across this book if I hadn't to run into Fr Jose Cosme Costa sfx at another book release function. 'Pilar A Guide Book' has a longish subtitle. Once you read it, you get a gist of what it's all about -- "Gopakapattana, Govapuri, Sandabur, Pilar ... A Journey in History, Culture, Spirituality'. Unpretentious, printed in colour, and reasonably-priced, the 64-page all-colour book is priced at Rs 75. It focuses on a range of aspects of the "tiny hillock" located some 800 metres from the national highway. Packed into its pages are introductions to the 17 institutions run out of Pilar -- from a press, to a minor seminary, a theological college and a music school, and more. It might surprise you to know that there's even a agri research farm there. As one is told, this book "leads you into the history of Pilar in four phases -- the pre-Portuguese era, the Portuguese era before the Society of Pilar, the Society of Pilar till its recognition and the present Society of Pilar." Says this slim book: "Rock engravings near Rivona and other places attest to very early settlements in Goa. They were followed in ca. 4000 BC by the Kharvas (fisherfolk). The Gawdas-Kulawadis (Kunbis) emerged ca 3000 BC. The first group of Aryans could have come by sea from Sumeria. From early tribal society they moved towards cultivation and settlements. The Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, the Kshatriyas (Chaddos) and the Kurade Brahmins were the last to settle in Goa." Okay, looks like scope for some contestations here. After hurriedly seeing through the Pilar museum, this book seems to add value to understanding the past, as understood and depicted (in the exhibits) there. Some interesting photos are included too -- priests on cycles, horseback and even on camels! These priests have done some amazing work by spreading even engineering education in places like Bandra, Bombay. Some photos are of amazing stuff -- coins going back to 185 BC, a silver coin of Shah Jahan, the 17th century of the Taj Mahal, and more. This book is compiled and edited by Frs. Cosme Jose Costa sfx and Seby Mascarenhas sfx, and is available from the Society of Pilar (Ph 2218553 or at Porvorim 2416933). FREEDOM ET AL Goa's Freedom Struggle is a slim, 72-page-book by Soraya Rebelo and Milind Mhamal. There's a Pilar connection here too, with the authors being affiliated to the college there. Some interesting info and informative profiles. It is priced at Rs 100 and is published by Fr Agnel College at Pilar (Ph 2218673). [EMAIL PROTECTED] TWO MORE Two more in-colour guides to Goa. Coming in from publishers in Delhi (Rupa & Co and Prakash Books), these offer an interesting getup, printing and layout. Valerie Rodrigues' 'Goa: Of Sun 'n Sand' is priced at Rs 300 and available at Broadways and other outlets. It has artistic photographs by Sondeep Shankar and Baud & Eliot Postma, and the eight chapters focus on Goa's history, the region, the "tourist trail", sacred places, Goan homes, food, festivities and the wild. The nice spread of the photographs add to the focus of the text. For some reason, the prices of both books is not mentioned on the cover. With quality and reasonably-priced printing available in and around Delhi, one can expect more books to be coming out sometime soon. WIDER ISSUES Cartoonist Alexyz "e os amigos" paid a tribute to the printed word -- and those who contribute to it in Goa -- in the past week. As part of their week-long cultural and music festival at the Fundacao Oriente, they devoted a full day to Goa-related books. So, are books from Goa finally getting their place in the sun? In fact, these days one can see a growing number of reviews of local books in the local press too. Alexyz and team need a thank you from all interested in preserving and building Goa's still quite poor reading habit. Quite a few authors were present at the event. Other India Bookstore's Norma Alvares and Central Library's Rare Book Section's Lourdes Bravo da Costa Rodrigues spoke. Some authors introduced their books. But are we still missing out the big picture? Going beyond our work, there are other issues that stare us in the face. Goa's books still badly suffer from inadequate visibility. The number of publishing houses committed to publishing Goa-related books is miniscule. Distribution and printing challenges are still to be surmounted. Norma Alvares was right in saying there is now a plethora of Goa-related books coming out each month. But are the other related services keeping pace to cope with the writer's needs? Fundacao Oriente has also played its role in promoting books in Goa. It has been offering smallish subsidies (covering part of the costs) to books linked to the region. Contrary to the general belief, a book doesn't need to be linked to a Portuguese theme to qualify for such a grant. -- Feedback welcome: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 2409490 or 9970157402 (after 1 pm)