VIVENCIAS PARTILHADAS or LIVES SHARED By Dr. Helga do Rosario Gomes*
“Goan Identity” and the Goan way of life, both much debated and variedly interpreted are the central and common denominators in Goans’ opposition to mega housing projects, SEZs and rampant open cast mining in Goa’s villages. The current turmoil manifests a realization that the identity of Goans and their way of life is under grave threat – and that it needs to be protected and preserved. If there is an argument to be made in favor of preserving this Goan way of life, especially at a time when it faces relentless assault, it lies in ‘Vivências Partilhadas’ (Lives Shared), a compilation of finely crafted short stories by the late Profa. Maria Elsa da Rocha. The book is published by Oscar Jose Noronha for Third Millennium, Goa (2005, 148 pp., Rs. 250, ISBN 81-903648-6-3). Profa. Rocha’s were stories that were dear to the listeners of All India Radio’s Portuguese language program, ‘Renascença.’ Those days, families gobbled their dinner before she came on the air, so that the clank of crockery and cutlery would not mar Profa. Rocha’s powerful narration. For, when she uttered a passionate ‘Avoi ghe’ or ‘Deva’, listeners were transported to the woods as Anusaya and her mother braved wild beasts to flee a life of bonded labor in “Anusaya, a Salva de Floresta” (Anusaya, Delivered from the Forest). Or felt the calloused hands of Pulquéria as she caressed the pox ridden and burning face of her son Santana, lying ill and spent, in a cudd in Bombay in “Nem Só de Pão” (Not by Bread Alone.) Offering a wave of ‘saudades’ to Goans, and a delight to Portuguese readers worldwide, ‘Vivências Partilhadas’ was destined to spring from the sharp, observant mind of a young Profa. Rocha whose dusks were spent lounging in spacious balçoes, her ears tingling with tall tales narrated by ingenious uncles. What could curb the imagination of a girl reared in a Goa, when tolling church bells told you the time and a friend’s visit could stretch for a month? In “Dom Teotonio,” based on a narrative by her maternal uncle, she describes a world of opulence, of luxurious palanquins, brilliant chandeliers and panu-baju of Zardosi at the wedding of Dom Teotonio, all of which allows him to hide his meanness and bigotry. However, his true nature surfaces from the skin-deep sheen when the artisan Raiu fails to deliver the tiara that his bride will wear at their wedding. As a young woman, Profa. Rocha joined the legions of teachers of the Escola Primária, serving in distant and seemingly quiet villages of Birondem, Macasana and even Diu. During those long and often lonely evenings in the villages of her posting, she wove her enchanting short stories. Now shared with us again, in print form, in ‘Vivências Partilhadas’ is the dark and sensual story of “Manilheiro” (The Bangle Vendor), where she spins us in a kaleidoscopic vortex of brilliant and colorful bangles slipped onto the hands of a young bride by the manilheiro. The bangle vendor’s attraction for the bride’s widowed mother makes him almost delirious and the reader dizzy in the undercurrents of their passion. Who could thwart such an inappropriate alliance but the powerful local witch Pintin? Profa. Rocha’s beautiful prose transports us to varied settings such as the charming villages of Bardez, streaked with slow moving and elegant rivers, which form the backdrop of romance between a young boatman Suriá and his regular passenger Vatsol during the tumultuous pre-1961 period. In “Na Estrada de Junagar” (The Road to Junagar) she takes us along the dark and bandit ridden roads to Diu, Goa’s erstwhile overland pocket on the Gujarat coast in story of two young lawyers (one of who was her father) and their families’ pursuit of a plump assignment and a bit of adventure. With ‘Vivências Partilhadas’ Profa. Rocha shares with you a smorgasbord of lives well lived in a time of hidden pots of gold and saints that could make or break you. To the young Goan, who may be oblivious of the life and times of that bygone era, and to nostalgic seniors, Profa. Rocha’s ‘Vivências Partilhadas’ is a captivating journey through a Goa that no five star resort brochure can offer. For wider exposure and for the sake of Goa, let us hope that some Goaphile will soon offer us a version in English. * Dr. Helga do Rosario Gomes is an Ocean Scientist who lives in Maine, USA and survives the cold winters of New England, with warm thoughts of Goa. (ENDS) ======================================================================= The above article appeared in the September 14, 2008 edition of the Herald, Goa
