----------------------- THE PRINTED WORD ----------------------- A tale of two cartoonists
Cartoonists, and careers, in this week's review of books from Goa by FREDERICK FN NORONHA. Goan tiatr was born, ironical though it may seem, in Bombay. So seems to be the case also with the cartoon. At least till this point of time, some of the big names in Goan cartooning have come out of the Big City some 600 kms from here. By some coincidence, over the past few weeks, a couple of books dedicated to two cartoonists made their way to the bookshop. Both have strong Bombay, rather than Mumbai, links. 'Mario de Miranda' is a large-sized, impressive, fairly steeply priced tribute to one of India's best known cartoonist, who probably hasn't been sufficiently celebrated back in his own home. The other, also shrink-wrapped, is by Alexyz, the pen-name of Alex Raphael Fernandes. As GT readers would surely know, Alexyz is a Siolim-based cartoonist who has made his presence felt in Goa since the early 1980s with various Goan publications. Specially with a number of fiery cartoons during the language agitation in the then Rajan Narayan-edited Herald. Prominent architect Gerard da Cunha, known for his deep interest in things Goan notwithstanding the occasional controversy over a fort restorations, has done a fine job in bringing together the contributions of Loutolim-based Mario de Miranda. Sketches of a young Mario talk of another Goa, and are worth seeing specially for this aspect. Strangely, an artist as prolific as Mario has just three books prior to this. These are: 'A Little World of Humour', 'Goa With Love' and 'Laugh It Off'. Of course, he has collaborated in the creation of nine other books. But then, most of his major exhibitions have been held all over the world, rather than in Goa itself. Mario has a Padma Shree and a Padma Bushan by way of national awards, but just one Government of Goa award! It was smart of a creative architect to note the gap and fill it with this comprehensive tribute to a much-appreciated artist. Mario's earlier work, in particular, gives an interesting insight into the Goa that was. Even if, perhaps specially, because it comes from the perspective of an elite which has seen fortunes change more than once in the past generation. His biography by Manohar Malgonkar is particularly interesting. One nugget is the story of how Mario copes with the end of Portuguese rule in Goa, in 1961. "It was with some trepidation that he called at the India Office and applied for an Indian passport. He was both surprised and delighted when, after no more than a routine delay, they gave him a passport.... The old house stood just as he remembered it, dignified and welcoming. But he found its door firmly shut. It turned out that an Army unit was in occupation. They were polite but firm. He could not go in." For more of the story, check the book itself. Priced somewhat steep at Rs 2700 (hard-bound, large size). This 2008-published 284-page work is edited by Bevinda Collaco and Gerard da Cunha. is published by Architecture Autonomous, JSW and Art India. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Miranda and http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=mario%20miranda&w=17364099%40N00 GOAING? 'Goa... Goan... Goaing... Gone...?' is the 189-page hard-bound book by Alexyz, my former colleague in the Herald. He then had a stint with the Navhind and is currently with the Gomantak Times. To understand Alexyz's work, one needs to know the person. He was a college student in the Bombay of the 1960s, a generation that saw the Urbs Prima In Indis grow cancerously. >From being an impressive city into a crowded, concretised, slum-ridden centre ruled by gangsters, communal armies, land mafias and politicians expert at manipulating and making crores out of changing a few digits of the FSI (floor-space index) and related scams. Together with some friends (like Dr Claude and Norma Alvares, journalist Valentino Fernandes, lawyer Jos Peter D'Souza), Alexyz returned to the homeland earlier generations had migrated out from. While returning expat Goans have undoubtedly contributed a great deal to the Goa of today, the fact is that their perspective is, well, their perspective. To be honest, this reviewer is also one of them! When Alexyz sees signs of Goa going the Bombay way, he is understandably alarmed. But his book is full of warnings, focussing on how mismanaged things are in Goa currently, and how crooked our politicians are. All this is undeniably true. But focussing excessively on the negatives, as our media often does, can lead one into being pessimistic or gloomy. Blaming the politician alone absolves us of our own guilt. This seems to be precisely the affliction which a wide section of (middle class, particularly) Goans today suffer from. Yes, it is important to preserve what we have. But it is also crucial to also build for tomorrow. To remain optimistic. To have faith that there are also people with good intentions, who can and do work towards positive change, even while their actions are remain invisible. The returned Goan is rightly worried that "Goa's hills and valleys, rivers and fields have been raped and polluted, by this so-called 'development'" (Page viii). But can we overlook the Goan who is fighting the lack of infrastructure and transport and jobs, and who has worries of another kind. This is not to suggest that promoting the wrong kind of industries or encouraging a land-grab or concretising the coast with hotels, is either sustainable or going to end up providing 'development' and suitable jobs. Alexyz's book, also released during a convention of expats in Canada, is "dedicated to non-resident Goans, with a hope that they will return to their roots". Will they? Do they want to? Can they? And would their contribution be positive, even if they did? Alexyz's focus is around themes like "pelfish" politicians, communalism, environmental degradation, "turbulent tourism", NRGs or non-resident Goans, the "final invasion", etc. At the end of the book is a listing of non-governmental organisations, and a few comments. There are two pages of background about Alexyz aka Alex Raphael Fernandes: born 1944, Antonio da Silva's at Dadar, sports, Xavier's, Social Service League, All India Catholic Universities Federation, shop assistant, storekeeper, steno, copywriter, art teacher and cartoonist. As the cover says, the book (priced Rs 290, UKP 20, 28 Euro or $38) offers "cartoons terse, satirical verse". Alexyz has authored five other books -- Sportoons, Hawzzat, Goa Paradise Lost, O Humor Goes, and A Girl In 1978. Careers for you Former journalist Ilidio de Noronha, one of the team behind the initial Weekender publication of the Gomantak Times, has re-invented himself to emerge as a publisher. Ilidio's latest publication is 'Careers: The Complete Guide 2008'. This is a 176-page publication priced at a reasonable Rs 150 ($6) and peppered with a whole lot of advertisements that obviously help the viability of the book. It promises to cover "over 400 career avenues, new and innovative courses, entrance exams, study abroad (information), NRI/PIO student admission, scholarship and funding, resumes, entrepreneurship, entrance exam schedules, and a career directory". At the outset, the book starts with having a road map for the right career (Lucette Virgincar). Kshipra Vora talks about scientific testing as the answer to a right career choice. "Soft skills are essentially people-skills, the non-technical skills that determine your strengths as a leader, listener, communicator, negotiator," writes Joyce Gracias. This book's second part is focussed on schooling -- the 'right' school, open school, residential school, home school, international school, Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sainik School, Military School. One wonders, for instance, how many parents in Goa are aware of admissions to the Navodaya Vidyalaya navodaya.nic.in, which offer a quality education at highly-subsidised rates for children between 9 to 13. The advert of the Government of Goa's State Directorate of Craftsmen Training offers a whole lot of information about trade courses available. But is entry available to all who have the talent and interest? In a Goa suffering from the lack of technical skills, isn't it sad to see students fighting a lack of admission capacity, and 'influence', to even get admission into the ITIs? Check out the neatly tabulated listing of over 400 careers, on page 36 to 56. But maybe it is still confusing for a school-leaver to follow, what with the adverts in between making diverse (and tall) claims about what is on offer. But, then, that is the price one has to pay for a book subsidised by the advertiser. In the field of 'New Age career' this book lists gems and jewellery, petroleum and energy, animation, construction and real estate, internet commerce, genetics, cyber-security, contact centre manager, travel and tourism, mass communication, wealth management, investment banking analysts, retail management, etc. But are all these "New Age"? There are hazards of falling for the hype surrounding certain careers. This could mean not just fitting into an inappropriate slot, but wasting both time and money to embark on a wrong road which takes further time to reverse out of. Some links scattered across the book are useful, for instance, the one pointing to fraud institutions. See www.ugc.ac.in/inside/fakealerts.html Who would have guessed that institutions with names like United Nations University of Delhi, Maithili University in Bihar, and St. John's University of Kishanattam in Kerala are termed as fakes on the UGC list? The other pages of this book are of interest too. But it would depend on how younger readers -- who could actually use this information -- relate to such a book. One feels it deserves to be in all college and high-school libraries, not just sitting there, but read by students in an increasingly (and sometimes unhealthily) competitive world. There is a whole team involved in this book, as the credits (page 3) indicate. This looks like the kind of useful book that more in Goa could gain from, specially since our state faces an acute mismatch between ambition and opportunity, skills available and openings needed. It is widely available in bookshops over Goa or from the publishers Plus Publications, E2, S2, Martins Enclave, Caranzalem, 403002 Ph 2464687 or 9422058131 Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] BOOKSHOPS Thanks to the above book 'Careers...' one came across a listing of some online bookstores. For instance, flipkart.com, granth.com, landmarkonthenet.com, oxfordbookstore.com, books.rediff.com, sapnaonline.com, sterlingbookhouse.com and strandbookstrall.com In Goa, of course, we have otherindiabookstore.com and goabooks.com, among others. Some which have a lot of choice include firstandsecond.com while indiaplaza.in also sells books. More on these later... -- Feedback welcome: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 2409490 or 9970157402 (after 1 pm) or via [EMAIL PROTECTED]