Padma Shri: A recipient’s story By Onlida Fernandes Noted author Maria Aurora Couto was recently honoured with the Padma Shri, the nation’s fourth highest civilian award. Onilda Fernandes speaks to the elegant lady about her contribution in the field of literature.
- When did you first become aware of your passion for literature? Sometime during my school days. And for this, I have to thank some really commendable teachers who taught me. Before long, I was an avid reader who particularly enjoyed devouring history. That’s why in college; I decided to major in both, English and French literature, taking pleasure in fiction and poetry by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, Marlowe and Ben Jonson. As I grew older, I began to appreciate modern, as well as Indian poetry in ranslation. - You received your Master’s degree from Dharwad University... Yes and what a literary delightful experience it was! I had Professor Armand Menezes and A. K. Ramanujan teaching me. Besides them, eminent musicians like Bhimsen Joshi and Mallikarjun Mansur hail from this place. So you see, although it was a small town, it was very rich, culturally. - What was your first stint after you completed your education? I started out as an English Literature teacher and then began to contribute to several literary periodicals in India and England. In the year 1986, I authored my first book, ‘Graham Greene: On the Frontier, Politics and Religion in the Novels’. - How did you come upon this topic for a story? For one, I really liked Graham Greene’s works, and the fact that he was always referred to as a Catholic novelist by most literary critics, was a phrase I found most unfair. To me, he was much more than just a Catholic novelist. I felt he was a political novelist! Why, he wrote about the world--geo politics, Africa, South America, Apartheid etc. Definitely, a man of his generation then, and being a child of the British Empire, I felt he excercised a kind of modern sensibility that didn’t seem to come across, atleast to the literary critics. So to set this record straight, I wrote ‘Graham Greene: On the Frontier, Politics and Religion in the Novels’. And a great achievement for me was when Harold Pinter, a fellow writer described Graham Greene as a great political writer as well! Of course, this statement was made much after my book was published. Nevertheless, the fact that this statement was made at all, by an English writer no less, was cause for happiness. - Which aspect of your research on Graham Greene was the most personally interesting for you? I believe the truly great are humble and Graham was an epitome of humility. He stayed with us for a week in 1963, when he came to research Goa after the liberation. I recall Graham as a gentleman who posessed an incurable intellectual curiosity and an even greater ability to listen and absorb whatever was told to him. - Do you spend a lot of your time reading, even today? Of course! I thoroughly enjoy reading history and politics and so, what I do really miss is a good library. Large metros like Chennai and Delhi have excellent libraries and probably the University library is as good but since I am not on their staff I do not have access to it. Apart from books, I also subscribe to the Times Literary Supplement, published in London and another book reviews supplement, published in New York. This way, I am at least aware of the kind of books that are published even if I cannot actually sit down and read these new books myself. Honestly, I hardly find time for reading today as most of that time is allocated for my research on various matter. - How would you describe your second book, Goa: A Daughter's Story? I would say it is an attempt at cultural history. There are several personal narratives in the book and many critics have gone as far as to say that there are elements of a novel in this book. All in all, I have received wonderful responses, some of them positively flattering. - What has been the strongest influence in your life? It would have to be my Goan identity. And this credit will go to my parents for keeping the native languages alive. After all, I left Goa for Dharwad when I was barely 7-8 years old, but today I am capable of even reading in Konkani, in the church. And one thing I know for sure, Goa: A Daughter's Story, is a better book because I could research in Konkani. Had it not been for my fluency in this language, several interviews would not have happened and an overall communication barrier would have existed. - How did you get selected for the prestigious Padma Shri? I am just lucky! There are so many people who have done lots of work but I think I was born under a lucky star. How else can you explain, me getting married to a Development Commissioner, coming to Goa consequently, etc. Also, I wasn’t even one of the six names on the list that was sent by the State. I suppose, the fact that I was chosen by the Centre only makes the recognition all the more wider. - What has been the reaction to your winning this award like? Oh, people have been so appreciative. I have been getting calls from my students all over the world and evenpeople from the village have dropped by to pass on their compliments. In fact only yesterday, when I attended the 7am mass in Church, the priest announced it and all of a sudden, I had a flood of people surrounding me, wishing me. One gentleman who possibly didn’t know what all the fuss was about, wished me a Happy Birthday. So you see, all kinds of crazy things have been happening! - Will you author another book in the future? I hope so. Unfortunately, compared to how I have lived in the rest of India, I have quite a public profile here and I don’t like it. Thus, I have never actually been able to write here. Even with Goa: A Daughter's Story, I started work on it in Chennai. You see, I require complete isolation if I have to write. I admire people who can write otherwise. ---------- The feature article above appeared in Gomantak Times dated 29th January 2010 =====
