Apologies for the incorrect attachment in the previous email. This one has today's column -->
On Sat, Jul 15, 2023 at 8:14 AM V M <[email protected]> wrote: > https://www.heraldgoa.in/Cafe/Uday-Bhembre%E2%80%99s-Faith-on-Fire/207518 > > There is something certifiably miraculous about this cultural moment in > Goa, despite an ongoing brutalization of the social harmony and > many-layered heritage of India’s smallest state. Even as the body politic > is rendered by a thousand cuts, there’s an undeniable intellectual and > artistic renaissance – best illustrated by Damodar Mauzo winning the 2022 > Jnanpith Award - as well as an unprecedented re-evaluation, and more > profound collective understanding of Goan history. Uday Bhembre’s 2021 > novel *Vhodlem Ghar*, recently republished as *Faith on Fire* in > translation by Vidya Pai, is another important landmark in this beautiful > journey of understanding, truth and (potentially) reconciliation. > > Near centre-stage for many crucial episodes in the making of modern Goa, > Bhembre was born in Zambaulim in 1939 - just over a decade after Tristão de > Bragança Cunha founded the Goa National Congress - and grew up steeped in > the passions of the liberation movement, due to the involvement and > inspiration of his father, Laxmikant Bhembre (1906-1985). > > Here's what J. Clement Vaz writes about senior Bhembre in *Profiles of > Eminent Goans Past and Present*: “With the qualification of Matriculation > of the University of Bombay and the third year of Portuguese Lyceum, > Bhembre proved to be an impressive teacher much appreciated by the students > of Union High School as well as Popular High School in Margao, One of his > aims was to create political consciousness amongst the youth [and] he came > out openly with his strong patriotic views when he presided over the > historic meeting of the 18th of August 1946 at Londa [when all the > nationalists rallied to Bragança Cunha]. Later, he offered satyagraha in > Margao and was arrested, tried and sentenced to four year’s exile in > Portugal.” > > Less than a month after his son’s 8th birthday, Laxmikant Bhembre was > jailed in Peniche Fort but he "was not a person to remain idle even in > prison. He protested against non-segregation of political prisoners, and > about the food served to them. His demands were ultimately accepted [but] > even after he was out of jail he had to stay in Lisbon under police > surveillance for about eleven years. He utilized the time fruitfully by > practicing law, and conducting classes on the *Bhagvadgita* for > Portuguese enthusiasts. He also wrote regularly for Dudhsagar of Bombay and > Navjeevan of Belgaum.” > > Uday Bhembre was 22 when his father came home to Goa in 1962, following > Nehru’s mercifully swift decapitation of the 451-year-old Estado da Índia. > It is immensely moving to look back on the young man’s own idealistic > journey, starting from an influential anti-merger role in the 1967 Opinion > Poll, via his column *Bhramastra *in the Marathi newspaper *Rashtramat*. > Then, as a pillar of the language agitations that led to the stunning > achievement of Konkani being recognized in the Indian constitution. On that > stirring march to statehood, this multifaceted public intellectual – > lawyer, editor, legislator – even provided the lyrics to Channeache Rati, > the indelible anthem voiced by *Goem Shahir *Ulhas Buyao. > > Recently, the distinguished 83-year-old has reinvented *Bhramastra* in an > editorial video format that is passed around widely on social media. *Faith > on Fire *is best understood in this pedagogical context, as the author > admits up front in his excellent and useful introduction: “I became > convinced that it was the Inquisition that had created untold misery and > injustice in the 16th century and it was important that Konkani speakers > who regard Goa as their ancestral land should be made aware of this > history. I felt this was necessary as many people were ignorant about this > historical event. Others had wrong notions about it and some people > believed the Inquisition had not occurred at all.” > > Bhembre explains: “There were two avenues open to me to get information > about this event to Konkani speakers. I could write a historical tome > dealing with the Inquisition; or I could write a novel using the historical > events that occurred during that period as a backdrop. It struck me that > only those who were interested in history would read the historical tome, > but I could reach a wider readership if I took the literary route, so I > decided to write a novel. [However] I set myself a single rule at the > start…the novel I would write would be a literary exercise, but I would > take no liberties with history. [So] I had to be very careful. Whenever > history and creativity came face-to-face, it was creativity that stepped > aside letting history get the right of way.” > > Such integrity in action and intent is admirable, and readers of *Faith > on Fire* will appreciate the author’s diligent research in his detailed > descriptions of 16th century Old Goa. What is more, Bhembre demonstrates > admirable skill at evoking atmosphere and emotions in just a few words: > “The black stone walls gleamed golden in the evening sunlight as the > *Familiar*, with the guard and Caetano in tow, stood before the Big > House. Waves of apprehension lashed Caetano’s breast as the trio climbed > the large stone steps that took them to the threshold of an extensive hall.” > > Nonetheless, while there are many good things about *Faith on Fire*, this > book also sometimes struggles to soar as literature, which is > understandable from a first-time novelist. In this regard, I was very glad > to hear from Anwesha Singbal - the outstanding President of Konkani Bhasha > Mandal who helped with inputs for this review essay – that Bhembre has > already finished another novel on a different historical theme. These kinds > of books can be an invaluable means to get under the skin of dates and > facts about history and heritage, such as the more experienced Konkani > fiction writer Mahableshwar Sail’s *Age of Frenzy*, which is also about > 16th century religious violence (and also translated by Vidya Pai), and the > multifaceted Kannada litterateur Vasudhendra’s superb *Tejo Tunghabhadra*, > which tracks from Lisbon to Vijayanagara in that same era, translated by > Maithreyi Karnoor. > > Bhembre says that “while the characters and incidents in the novel are > representative of that period, all the rest is history. This is not an > exaggeration. The reader might suspect that some of the events in the > countryside as well as in the City of Goa are figments of my imagination, > but this is not so. They are all based on the accounts of Goa in the 16th > century, left behind by historians and travellers.” In particular he relied > minutely on Charles Dellon, who was imprisoned, tortured and released from > the Vhodlem Ghar, then returned home to France to write the sensational > *Relation > de l'Inquisition de Goa in 1687*, which became a best-seller of the times > across Europe. > > Unfortunately, this not a reliable text to build or claim historical > authority, and it is to be regretted that* Faith on Fire*’s bibliography > does not extend to more credible sources like the terrific Los > Angeles-based historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam (whose brother is India’s > current Minister of External Affairs) or, especially, Ângela Barreto > Xavier’s magisterial *Religion & Empire in Portuguese India: Conversion, > Resistance and the Making of Goa *which Subhramanyam accurately describes > as “the first detailed and sophisticated treatment” of the exact period > explored by Bhembre. That little extra depth of up-to-date research would > have added greatly to the impact and importance of this otherwise diligent > and impressive literary effort by one of Goa’s intellectual icons. > > > -- #2, Second Floor, Navelkar Trade Centre, Panjim, Goa Cellphone 9326140754
