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The following article on Bonaverture D'Pietro appeared in Goa's Weekly "Goan Observer" dated October 30 - November 5, 2004. I am reproducing it here as it is. It is written by well-known Vasco based Goan journalist Daniel F. De Souza who is not only a good writer but a very good Goa and Konkani lover. Besides 'English, Mr. Daniel is very good Roman script Konkani writer whose articles appears regularly in Gulab and elsewhere. He highlights on important issues and personalities. In this article he writes on the greatness and importance of Bonaventure D'Pietro who is the recipient of this years "Fr. Antonio Pereira Puroskar". I am sure Goanet readers will know who and what Bonaventure has done for the cause of Konkani which is the Mae Bhas of Goans.
A. Veronica Fernandes, Kuwait.
"D' PIETRO: WARRIOR FOR KONKANI
By DANIEL F DE SOUZA
FOR QUITE SOME time now I was contemplating to feature this unique personality in this column even though his association with the Konkani stage is comparatively minimal as compared to his immense literary contribution to the Konkani language itself. But of late he has been featured extensively by the local print media. The simple reason being, Bonaventure Peter Fernandes from Chinvar, Anjuna, better known to the Konkani literary field in and outside Goa as Bonaventure D'Pietro is the recipient of this year's �Antonio Pereira Konknni Puroskar 2004' instituted by the Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr, Porvorim.
D'Pietro was chosen for this year's honour for his invaluable contribution and selfless service to the mother tongue Konkani. The award which was established in 1989 is being awarded to a person who has rendered at least 15 years of valuable service to the cause of Konkani language, literature and culture in Goa. On 25th October 2004, the award was presented to D' Pietro at an impressive function at the Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr, by yet another great stalwart and protagonist of Konkani Fr. Casmiro D'Mello.
WINNER: Bonaventure D'Pietro, the recipient of 'Antonio Pereira Konknni Puroskar 2004'.
Ever since the name of the recipient was made public the general opinion among the roman script lovers has been that D'Pietro is the deserving candidate for such a prestigious honour. With his rich talent D'Pietro enriched the language helping it to gain respectability in literary circles silencing many critics. The love of Konkani literature even drove this die-hard disciple to the point of bankruptcy.
Speaking his heart out recently at the awards ceremony Pietro in an emotion packed voice said � It is easy to write an article or even a novel, but, publishing it is not so easy a task. Personally for me self-publishing my several novels has been an experience as that of a woman in throes of labour pains. It's like saying Oh no �never again' but writing and publishing books has been my second nature and that is what kept me going from one novel to the other irrespective of the labour pains I had to undergo in the final stages.
Many would consider me a mad fool for not learning any lessons despite burning my fingers. But, yes a fool I am, passionately in love with my mother tongue. There were times in my younger days when at crucial stages of publishing a book I had no money left to pay the printers for paper. This was the time when I was prompted to even sell off my personal belongings at half their value, so that my book could see the light on the stands and not languish in the press.�
Bonaventure's literary pursuits in Konkani began as early as in 1958 at a tender age of fifteen years when his first full length novel �Soitanacho Ghutt' was serialised and published by the then �O Herald O'. It was somewhere in the early sixty's that Bonaventure ventured outside Goa to closer �Bombaim' (Bombay) in search of greener pastures. Here he came in contact with Prof. Joaquim Anton Fernandes who egged him on to continue writing in Konkani while Bonaventure was employed with the Konkani paper �Goa Mail'. Prof. Joaquim was then with the Bombay Diocesan Weekly paper �Udentichem Neketr'. �Kallea Vistidachi Choli' was his second novel that he published in 1972 and that fetched him the Konknni Bhasha Mandal's award. He was the first catholic writer to have won such an award when there were other senior roman script writers like Felicio Cardozo too.
In the year 1974 came �Clara' which once again got him recognition and honours from the �Kirol Goans Association, Bombay'. It was the late Alfred Rose on reading the manuscript of this novel gave him the sobriquet �Goan James Hadley Chase' after the great American novelist known for his suspense thrillers.
�Mhojea Paicho Fondd' in 1974 also got him the Kala Akademi Award for that year. �From Goa With Love' followed next in 1975 and once again due to severe financial constraints the printing of this novel languished in the press for a considerable time, till Alfred Rose like a good Samaritan came forward and published the novel under the banner of Alfred Rose Publications. Soon thereafter in 1976 Pietro brought out a collection of short stories under the name �Tera Numbrachi Kottri'. �Mog vo Patok' was once again another short story collection.
His novel �Ek Bhett Mungllurchea Xarak' in 1977 was a sell out winning him two awards, one from the Konknni Bhasha Mandal and another from the Kala Akademi .
Speaking passionately about this novel, Pietro said �I hold this novel among the others very dear and it is the best novel of mine. The reasons are many, it was based on the story of re-incarnation besides many other scientific facts were highlighted in this novel, including the novelty of plastic surgery.� In the year 1984 �Mhaka Jieunk Zai' saw the light of day and the Konknni Kendr Mapusa presented him with their annual award. Two years down the line, came �Jimmy' which was also well received by the readers. Another novel that made a goodimpact on the readers was a suspense thriller �Tichea mornna Uprant' in 1990.
Shifting from his usual suspense thrillers, Bonaventure D'Pietro wrote a religious book on �Jesus of Nazareth' entitled �Nazaretkar' in the year 2000. This book was widely sold in Goa. Early this year Pietro published �Songit Doulot Goenkaranchi' a tribute to all Goan musicians who were the music Ambassadors to the world winning accolades not only to themselves but also bringing fame and honour to their motherland, Goa, by their excellence in music. This is a great compilation of past and present musicians and can be termed as a collector's item.
When asked to elaborate on what inspired him to undertake such a tedious task, Pietro replied �Frankly speaking the inspiration for this book came from the song �Music Doulot Goenkaranchi' composed and sung by none other then M. Boyer. In this song he speaks highly about the immense talents exhibited by renowned Goan musicians. I thought it would be only right for me as a journalist and writer to go a little deeper into the musical background of many of our musicians living and the dead. This work took me around three years of research besides two lengthy visits to Mumbai to collect the required information since most of our Goan musicians made it big in the Bombay music world.� �Songit Doulot Goenkaranchi written in a lucid style has a vast compilation of musicians besides devoting a separate section for tributes to Chris Perry and Alfred Rose.
The Dalgado Konkani Akademi will publish his next novel �Janya Celi' in December this year. Whereas, D'Pietro is seriously contemplating of bringing out his own autobiography giving more emphasis to the historical facts rather than his achievements as a roman script writer. �I want to document the past as I have seen right from my childhood and through the various stages of my life.This I intend, so that the present and future generations may get a glimpse of the Goa of the past. It is sad that many things that I grew up with as a young boy are no longer there. My autobiography will make an attempt to recreate Goa in its pristine past glory which has been lost to the present modernisation.�
D'Pietro also plays the Tenor, Alto and Soprano Saxaphone and presently with his sons Rabindra and Rajendra has formed a cultural troupe performing at the hotels in the northern belt. He has also staged three tiatrs �Dhunvor, Chitrokar and Potong'. Talking about the future of Goan bands, he regrets �It is painful to see the youngster no longer showing interest in wind instruments. I am afraid a time may come we may have no traditional musicians to play for our feasts in future.� When asked for a message for the budding young writers D'Pietro's face lit up and he said � Parents should encourage their children to take to Konkani writing. They should work hard and write in the language, which is readable and acceptable to the masses. This is one way to make the language popular. Our mother tongue Konkani is our only true identity, if we lose our identity everything is lost�.
At 61, this frail looking Konkani writer who has undergone a major by-pass surgery a few years ago and whose health is still precarious is raring to go further to serve his mother tongue. I wonder how many among us would have continued this task with such missionary zeal as exhibited by Bonaventure D'Pietro? He refuses to give up so easily. Lady luck has been playing a game of hide-and-seek with this man for far too long. It is sitting on the fence watching his every move. Will it now smile upon Pietro and enter inside with all the glory and fortune? I hope so. All the very best Pietro Bab!"
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