http://www.navhindtimes.in/thoughts-to-ponder-on/
For many, the lockdown imposed on the state of Goa has provided ample time (when not worrying about grocery availability) for relaxation and indulging in hobbies like cooking, writing, and the like. The sombre situation around the country and indeed the world has also led to a lot of inner reflection much of which has been finding its way into poetry, essays, art, etc. And the many writers from Goa and of Goan origin, under the umbrella of the Goa Writers group, have also been deep in contemplation during this time, and have been sharing these varied musings as part of The Lockdown Journals. The Goa Writers group, which started in 2005 is a vibrant, diverse, creative community rooted and connected to the state, but with members scattered all over the world. It consists of 40 members so far, in five countries. Apart from conducting workshops in the past, the group also published the anthology ‘Inside Out: New Writing from Goa’, and also annually hosts the Goa Arts and Literature Festival in partnership with International Centre Goa. “We are very active online, where we share and discuss our writings in a supportive atmosphere (there are also monthly meetings),” says writer and member of the Goa Writers group, Vivek Menezes. Immediately after the lockdown began, says Menezes, it became clear that “there was a collective outpouring of poetry, stories and essays relevant to the experience we were all undergoing in our various settings”. “One of our members, Sheela Jaywant, suggested that we work towards an e-book. But the idea of immediacy also occurred– people all over Goa, India and the world are all sharing the same experience, and we thought our writings were worth sharing even as they came out, to reaffirm our common humanity, to express solidarity and empathy with everyone else,” says Menezes. And ranging from a heart wrenching tale from a hospital room to tales of humour-filled observations about cooking and shopping from groceries, the journals provide an interesting overview of myriad experiences that this lockdown has generated. There are insights into how the lockdown will affect the unprivileged children in their learning pursuits, the benefits of introversion, thoughts on working from home versus working from office, short stories, poetry, and much more, all of which will have you happily reading post after post, without break, and eagerly waiting for new entries. Some of the observations in the writings, you may relate to, others may be entirely new, but definitely enriching. While Menezes admits that his role has now become more of a mentoring one, the team in the forefront of the success of this series of writing consists of Israeli-American philosopher, presently living in Divar, Hune Margulies; college professor Alisha Souza; veteran journalist and school administrator, Sheela Jaywant; Kenya-born Goan editor now living in South Africa, Jeanne Hromnik; organisational and leadership consultant, Rachana Patni; and writer Ermelinda Makkimane. “The site has been built by Ermelinda’s teenaged son, and she maintains and updates it along with him. They live in Naroa, Divar,” says Menezes, adding that the site has so far been visited by thousands of people in over 30 countries already. “There’s something rather wonderful about this web publication being ‘published’ from the furthest-flung village on an exceedingly rustic river island without a bridge, in India’s smallest state,” says Menezes, while hinting that there may be a book of these writings in the future. “At the moment though it’s been extremely rewarding to get this publication up, running and rolling. There’s lots for Goa to be proud of in it, and a tremendous amount of excellent reading!” he says.
