THE PRINTED WORD ----------------------------------------------------------
Short essays, on a mum, math and more I've known Mukesh Thali as a writer and All India Radio news reader for a long time. Our careers in the media kind of overlapped. A phone call from him the other day drew my attention to his new book 'Haunsadhwani', his second. This is a collection of 22 short Konkani essays, released in March. They deal with topics such as how difficult it is to write in a simple style, writing and writers, character sketches (of a mother, grandmum and an intelligent principal who groomed the writer in his teens). Also included are autobiographical essays. These cover Thaly's math-teaching experience, his stint as a Goa University researcher, and news-desk experiences at the AIR. In a lighter vein, he looks at Goa's jam-packed buses, the price of listening to dull speeches, what the overuse of mobile phones can result in, and more. Mukesh earlier was a research assistant at the GU's Konkani Encyclopaedia Section (1988-93), and his first collection of essays 'Vollesor' was published a couple of years ago. Now, it is a text for GU's first year BA students. He is a co-compiler of the Konkani-English dictionary, and has translated 33 short stories from Konkani to English. In case you were wondering, 'Haunsadhwani' is a 'raag' from Hindustani classical that is the writer's favourite. One essay is also dedicated to it. RTI... AND GOA Anil A. Parulekar has recently authored this book on the Right to Information Act, published by the Panjim-based Broadway Book Centre. The first edition was out in March 2007 and the second revised one came out two months ago. Priced at Rs 250, the book is authored by a resident of Margao's Housing Board Colony. It contains the act itself, rules framed (in Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra), the Official Secrets Act, case law, and "a word of advice for the designated authorities..." Towards the end of the book are formats in which information is required to be kept. This is a book which could be of use to both the citizen and the government official, working with the RTI. But I'm still wondering how one counters the claim that information is simply "not available" or has got lost, when one approaches some government authority which is supposed to be holding on to the same. Even if RTI-related stories don't regularly emerge, there seems to be a growing interest in the subject in Goa too. Books like this can build awareness about a potent tool, which many of us seem to be under-rating or taking for granted. Had this book included a few more details, about the law and its utility -- beyond the bare legalese -- it might have helped. To check out more about the RTI in Goa, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goarti and sign-up there if you wish. JOKES, IN KONKANI Fausto V. Da Costa is a one-man prolific publishing venture, who keeps on quietly, and without much ado, bringing out many publications from his base at Modi-street in Mumbai. While going through my book collection recently, I came across this reasonably-priced (Rs 20 only), 1999-published book titled 'Hanskutleo'. It's a joke-book in Konkani. Available from The Goan Review, 14 Nafees Chamber, 1st Floor, 121/123 Modi Street, Fort, Mumbai 400001 Phone 265 4974. WRITER FEEDBACK Most books overlook the potential that writer feedback can have on an author. Yvonne Vaz-Ezdani, editor of 'Songs of the Survivors', was recently mentioning about the feedback received from readers in Hyderabad and Germany, and in diverse parts of Goa too. The book is about Goans who lived in Burma during the Second World War. The country is in the news again, for all the wrong reasons -- the cyclone that struck there recently. Writers from small places like Goa deserve some way of know who's reading their book, and how it's getting appreciated (or critiqued). One wishes more of this happens over time. GOANS AND MUMBAI Talking about writers, I recently ran once again across Dr Teresa Albuquerque book 'To Love Is To Serve: Catholics of Bombay'. It's an interesting book, that covers a wide range of achievers -- quite a few Goan -- in that big city. The Telegraph (Kolkata) feature writer Reena Martins is currently working on a book on the stories of Goans in Bombay. Or Mumbai. If you know someone with a story to tell, and a Bombay link, put them in touch with Reena, currently in Goa at 2773512 or via mobile 98207 83290. LAWYERS ET AL This booklet isn't about Goa. But considering how litigation-conscious we Goans are, it might be a relevant title to check out. In its bare 17 pages, the ISI (a Jesuit-run institution in New Delhi) published title talks about the Advocates Act 1961, the State Bar Council, the Bar Council of India, admission and enrolment of advocates, senior advocates, duties of an advocate towards his client, professional misconduct, and punishment of advocates for misconduct. If you have plans to get involved in litigation, or are already there, check out if you could locate a copy. Try www.isidelhi.org.in AT RS 3500 Victor Rangel-Ribeiro is an amazing writer. For one, he take so much pain over each word he crafts (even if it's an email message!) Besides being enthusiastic about his work, this octogenarian writer is also caring and prone to sharing. I've knew few others, let alone at his level of attainments (he's a senior journalist, musicologist, author and more) and seniority, who are willing to mentor youngsters entering the field. Sometime back, he has held workshops at the Fundacao Oriente, to share his craft and teach others the tricks of the writing trade. One result of this is the GoaWriters network [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goawriters] which meets regularly in Panjim. VRR, as I like calling him, brought in some great books on writing, and is willing to pass it around via the GoaWriters network too. Recently, he announced details about a soon-to-be-released (May 13) book he edited. Called "Goa: Aparanta, Land Beyond the End", the book covers, in VRR's words, "a large array of topics and eras". Besides a publisher's introduction, its contents are grouped into eight sections -- history, literature and language, architecture, the arts, costumes and jewellery, gastronomy, flora and fauna, Goan identity and diaspora. Two highlights: * Teotonio R. de Souza, former director of the Xavier Centre for Historical Research in Goa and now professor of history in Lisbon, points out that the lasting imprint of four-and-a-half centuries of troubled Luso-Goan relations is precisely what earned Goa its statehood. * Former civil servant Alban Couto takes us behind the scenes during the transitional months that followed Liberation, when he played a crucial role. Vissu Pai Panandikar, looking to the future, sees the need for Goa to develop a knowledge-based economy. Another essay one would like to delve into is librarian Maria Lilia de Souza's "capsule notes on 350 eminent Goans". The price? Don't gasp -- Rs 3500 a copy for its 250 "oversized pages". ENDS