Out of a blue, on a sultry summer day in May, I received a gift. It was a book: 'Soil and Soul and Konkani Folk Tales' by Lucio Rodrigues. And it was sent to me by Jerry Pinto the writer, who isn't related to me, but belongs to my village of Moira and who lives in Bombay. Google for him and see among other things his website: http://www.jerrypinto.com.
I was especially touched by Jerry's gesture as I have never met him in person and so the only reason he had for sending the book to me was because I had drooled over it publicly and had whined that it was so sad that this little masterpiece was out of print. Re-reading the book after many years I was as impressed as ever by Prof. Lucio Rodrigues's essays and the tales he collected. Incidentally the book was published posthumously in 1974 and has a foreword by Frank D'Souza. The essays that comprise the first part of the book include 'Say it with crackers'; 'The Tale of O Senhor Doutor'; 'To Konna'lo'; 'Mando: A Look Before and After'; 'All About the Ladainha'; 'They Come and Go'; 'Pink and Green'; and 'The Chapel on the Hill' Each of these essays will give an insight into the Goan and especially the Goan Catholic culture and ethos. The essay I particularly treasure is 'To Konna'lo' - a delightfully rummy examination of the Goan trait of classifying other people using caste-tinted spectacles. It was only after I read this essay that I understood the meaning of the seemingly innocuous questions that people asked me about my village and vaddo and who I was related to. The folk tales that are collected in Part II of the book are also a delight. No doubt they are structurally similar to folk tales from any part of India and indeed all parts of the world, yet they also expose the peculiarity of the Konkani speaking Goan character. Of course I cannot help mentioning that Prof. Rodrigues has also collected the quixotic tales of the Moidekars of Goa: 'The Wise Fools of Moira'. I hope that Mr. Frederick Noronha and his Goa 1556 publishing set-up takes it into his head to do a reprint of this book much in the way he did Teotonio D'Sousa's 'Medieval Goa' and the Peter Nazareth 'Modern Goan Literature' anthology. Before I end, I'd like to point out that the 'Of Soil and Soul ...' book was supposed to be the first part of a Lucio Rodrigues Memorial publication. More volumes had been planned: 1- 'The Lucio Rodrigues Memorial Volume II consisting of the Folk Songs of Goa (with music and English renderings) - mandos, durpods, daknis, ladainhas, ovis and devotional songs and explanatory essays by the compiler; 2- Collection of Konkani proverbs with a translation into English; and 3 - Articles and miscellaneous writings, including translations in English and Konkani. I wish that someone checks out from his estate as to whether these manuscripts are still available for I am pretty certain that these works will be eminently publishable and readable. The address of Prof. Rodrigues's wife, Laura D'Souza Rodrigues, who published 'Of Soil and Soul ...' in 1974 was 18, Girdhar Niwas, Colaba Bombay, 400005. Augusto Pinto -- Augusto Pinto 40, Novo Portugal, Moira, Bardez, Goa, India E [email protected] or [email protected] P 0832-2470336 M 9881126350
