The Cry Of The Kingfisher
Dr. Belinda Viegas
Photos: http://bit.ly/TheCryoftheKingfisher
An inspiring story of three Goan women bravely embarking on a quest for
happiness, out of the problems life has dealt them.
Date: Saturday, April 16, 2011
Time: 5:15pm
Location: Goa Chitra Amphitheatre
Goa Chitra
House No. 498, Pulwaddo, Benaulim, Goa
http://www.goachitra.com/
Program: The book launch will be preceded by a panel discussion about
hope, despair, and fulfilment and the forces of life that influences us
by Dr. Maria Aurora Couto, Dr. Savia Viegas, Dr. Deepa Correa Afonso,
Dr. Belinda Viegas and moderated by Frederick Noronha.
The discussion shall be followed with the screening of the movie by
Saxtti Films, “The Hours”, directed by Stephen Daldry with actors,
Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep & Julianne Moore.
** Brief about the Book **
Set mainly in the verdant, sunshiny land of Goa, ‘The cry of the
kingfisher’ is a warm and inspiring tale of hope and courage. It deals
with the inner and outer forces in life that break, and make, three
different women.
Mayola’s sheltered, duty bound life is ripped apart when her gorgeous,
tempestuous older sister, Zarella, in whose shadow she has grown, is
mysteriously found drowned. All her training in medicine and psychiatry
cannot help her as she grapples with the sudden emptiness of her life.
Angry despair spurs her on a quest for meaning which brings her in
contact with Donna and Succorina.
Succorina is a village girl, born to superstition, ignorance and the
disaster of being the fourth daughter instead of the long awaited son.
Her attempts to break out of her poverty-stricken existence take her as
a housemaid to Kuwait, through a distressing abortion and a failed
marriage. No longer able to deal with the cruel twists and turns her
life has taken, her mind begins to crack.
Donna is the proverbial ‘poor little rich girl’, brought up in England,
showered with everything except love. She turns punk, sinking deeper
into chaos and bewilderment as her hopes of finding love and acceptance
start crumbling under an explosion of fears that threaten her very
existence.
Yet, when Mayola’s path intersects with these two kindred souls, they
embark on a journey of self-realisation, unraveling the painfully
tangled strands of fears – and dreams waiting to be realized. She
watches in admiring delight as they bravely set out to uproot the
malediction – and hope gushes out.
** About the author **
Dr. Belinda Viegas is a practising psychiatrist based in Goa. Born in
Nairobi, Kenya, she recalls a wonderful childhood there -- filled with
picnics, fishing and trips into the wild-life sanctuaries. On returning
to India, she completed her schooling in Belgaum and joined St. John’s
Medical College in Bangalore for her M.B.B.S. She won the Gundu Rao Gold
Medal for Preventive and Social Medicine from the Bangalore University
and the Major Dr. K. Padmanabha Menon Prize in Community Medicine. She
did her M.D. in Psychiatry from NIMHANS, the National Institute of
Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, at Bangalore. While there, she got
introduced to rock-climbing and trekking and even did a course with the
Uttarkashi School of Mountaineering. She re-joined St. John’s Medical
College as a lecturer in Psychiatry and continued to organise treks for
the students and staff. While doing the Mt. Everest Base Camp trek in
Nepal she met her husband Richard. Marriage took her to Germany, where
her children were born and where she also started writing. Their young
family returned to Goa, and she began practice in Varca. They had a
brief stint in Australia, to bring back happy memories, such as their
first experience of scuba-diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Now its back
to practicing psychiatry, child-rearing and -- to break the monotony --
cycling, sailing and occasional trekking trips.
Source: Victor Gomes
Goanet A-C-E!
Arts ~ Culture ~ Entertainment
