The Goan Diaspora in Burma
By Vidyadhar Gadgil
The Goan diaspora, which has over the years spread out to every part of
India and the world, has contributed much to Goan writing in English.
Various diasporic writers have written about Goa, both in fictional and
non-fictional genres - Victor Rangel Ribeiro's 'Tivolem' is probably the
best-known in the former category, while the recently published 'Dominic's
Goa' by Dominic Fernandes has proven to be a runaway success in the
non-fiction category.
Unfortunately, there is a rich mine of experience in the Goan diaspora that
has been inadequately explored - the experiences of Goans in the various
lands to which they migrated. 'Songs of the Survivors' edited by Yvonne Vaz
Ezdani thus fills an important gap, and, documenting the experiences of
Goans in Burma, also brings to light a hitherto little-known aspect of the
Goan diaspora.
Consisting of 25 pieces by various authors (including the editor), the book
focuses on the experiences of Goans in Burma during the invasion of Burma by
the Japanese in 1942. It documents the Great Trek, in which 400,000
refugees, mostly of Indian origin, struggled to safety through the dense
forests of Upper Burma, Manipur and Assam. In the absence of any proper
evacuation plan, and proceeding through largely unmapped terrain, the entire
trek was a saga of hardship. Thousands perished along the way, which makes
the title 'Songs of the Survivors' particularly appropriate.
While the Japanese invasion and the Great Trek were definitely the most
dramatic events in the experience of the Goan diaspora in Burma, one wishes
that this had not become the almost exclusive focus of the book, converting
it into a war memoir of sorts. What was day-to-day life like in Burma for
Goans, in the midst of a different culture, far away from their native land?
The book would have benefited tremendously if we could have had an account
of the social interactions of the Goan community in Burma, as well as some
information about their lives at work; this would have enabled us to know
better what they gained from and what they contributed to the encounter. The
few snippets that we get in the introduction and in scattered glimpses in
the various articles only whet our appetite for more.
Another gap is the complete absence of any experiences of subaltern Goans in
Burma. All the articles are by elite and middle-class Goans, as is evident
from the various accounts, which talk of large houses and 4-5 servants. But
this is something that plagues much of diaspora writing. Also, some of the
articles are very short and could easily have been dropped; the quality is
patchy, with some excellent pieces by Eric Menezes and Gerald Lobo sharing
space with jerky personal accounts.
But these are relatively unimportant flaws in what is a fascinating and
heart-warming account of an unknown aspect of the Goan diaspora experience.
The book benefits from excellent production values. The first book by a new
Goan publisher, Goa 1556, it promises much in terms of what is to come. The
increasing popularity of self-publishing, as well as the arrival of new
publishers in Goa - for example, Abbe Faria Productions, which published
'Dominic's Goa' - bodes well for the growth of Goan writing in English.
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=021039
Goanet A&E
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