2009/3/28 Frederick [FN] Noronha * फ्रेडरिक न <[email protected]>
> > Check the Saligao link here, even if slender. FN > > An Ode to Joseph Furtado > > By Augusto Pinto > [email protected] > > There is no statue to mark the memory of Joseph > Furtado. A pity; for his patrician looks and his > long flowing beard would have made a fine figure. > The house in Pilerne where he passed his childhood > is in ruins. Only a few of the oldest residents > have any recollection of him and fewer are aware > that he was one of the finest Indian English poets > of his time. We are fortunate that many of his > poems still survive -- though they only just > survive in a few slim volumes in Central Library's > rare book section. > > It is curious that a boy coming from a literary back-land > could turn out to be a poet -- and that too in English. > > Philip Furtado, his son, in a biographical note in the 1983 > Journal of South Asian Literature's Special Issue on Goan > Literature, wrote that after passing the primeiro grau [the > Portuguese primary school exam] and apart from a year at a > Latin school in Saligao, his early education was conducted > mainly at home. > > Perhaps this was a good thing, for Joseph was known to be a > sensitive child and the aesthetic tastes he was to develop > may well have been crushed by the drudgery of a mechanical > schooling. > > Incidentally Furtado was also to write poetry in Portuguese. > > Later Furtado was to make a switch to a third language, when > he was enrolled at the English medium St. Francis of Sales > School in Nagpur for two years followed by an eight month > stint at Sir J. J. School of Art in Bombay. In 1890, he > joined the Great Indian Peninsular Railway at Jubbulpore [as > it was spelt then] and went on to become a draughts-man in the > Engineer's office, a fairly important position. It was during > this period that he began to read the classics of world > literature and subsequently began writing. > > He published his first collection of poems in 1910 > and by 1927, when A Goan Fiddler was published in > England, he already had four volumes of poems to > his credit. A Goan Fiddler had a preface by Sir > Edmund Gosse, the most influential critic in > England at that time, and the book received warm > reviews. Furtado, then published The Desterrado > (1929); Songs of Exile (1938) and Selected Poems > (1939) besides a historical novel Golden Goa > (1938). > > For a man to whom it was not even a second but a third > language, Furtado had a remarkable ear for the sounds of > English. In this he is unlike most Indian poets, who prefer > to work with images; and only a Sarojini Naidu can come close > to match him this respect. > > Listen to the music of 'At Break of Day': > > At break of day > In pleasant spring > When on each spray > The blithe birds sing > While half awake > In bed you lie > And one kiss take > Of her close by ... > > Only a master of rhyme, rhythm and meter could be so > felicitous and using this gift, Furtado was capable of > transcribing the sounds emanating from his Indian environment > into his verses. In 'The Brahmin Girl' for instance, he > observes: > > Mohini sweet, Mohini neat > So maddening to behold > With *kinning chinning* round her feet > And *fas fis* of the fold. > [emphasis added] > > Keki N. Daruwalla in his 'Introduction' to the influential > anthology of Indian English poetry, Ten Twentieth Century > Indian Poets, points out that Furtado was the first to see > the potential of using 'Indian' English in poetry. > > When using a pidgin or a patois there is always the > risk that the poet may end up sounding like an > English-educated snob sniggering away at less > fortunate people struggling to make their way in > the world using an alien language. Even Nissim > Ezekiel, the doyen of Indian English poets fell > into this trap in his well known 'Farewell to Miss > Pushpa T.' or in the following lines from 'The > Professor'. > > If you are coming again this side by chance > Visit please my humble residence also > I am living just on opposite house's backside. > > Furtado avoids sounding condescending because of his ability > to get under the skin of his dramatis personae often using a > technique called the dramatic monologue. In 'The Old Irani' > the speaker is ranting at his milk vendor who waters down the > milk: > > Sly rogue, the old Irani > Has made a lakh they say > A lakh in land and money > By mixing milk and pani > > What if she bolt away > The young Madame Irani > With all the fellow's money > Beware now Abdul Gani > Beware of Kala Pani > And meddle not with money > > Like many a Goan, Furtado had to seek his fortune far away > from the land of his birth and his work in the Railways took > him to Nagpur, Calcutta and Bombay among other places. But > Mother Goa was always close to his heart, leading Prof. Lucio > Rodrigues to call him 'the Poet of Exile'. > > Gosse in his 'Introduction' to A Goan Fiddler wrote,"I do not > know where else to look for an expression of the landscape, > the habits and the sentiments of that little known country > Portuguese India." > > Certainly the poet writes of the sights, sounds and > smell of his childhood with love. Figures like > Pedro the cowherd, Ruzai the tailor and Vishnulal > the goldsmith come alive in his verses. But these > sketches do not seem parochial or sentimental > because of the poet's ability to see the essence of > humanness in his subjects. > > His verses also shed critical light on the society of his > times. The irony of The Presentation gives the lie to the > much romanticized institution of the faithful family retainer > in his age. The poem depicts a mother depositing her young > son with a landlady where he is destined to remain a servant. > Her pleas to the bhatkarni to be considerate to her son, tell > how the landowners held sway over the lives of the lower > classes during Portuguese times. > > There's the child, dear Mother, near > He comes not, lest Thou chide him, > He loves Thee all the same. > And gladly left off play > And came here all the way; > Poor boy, and none to guide him > None to shelter, but do Thee > A little corner give him > A child with gentle ways, > He will not trouble Thee > And naught will trouble me > Dear Mother, when I leave him. > > Many of his poems have an autobiographical ring about them. > > In the 1920s, he came to Goa to settle down, but got > embroiled in a dispute over a village creek where he > championed the cause of the villagers of Pilerne. This made > him the target of a brutal assault by some influential > persons. However none of his neighbours came to his aid and > in disgust he left his village for good. > > This perhaps accounts for the undercurrent of bitterness in > The Desterrado and Songs of Exile In 'Birds and Neighbours' > he writes in an epigrammatic style that would have made > Robert Frost proud: > > When I was young and went all day > Bird-nesting, oft would neighbours say > "Those birds will be his ruin" > 'Tis not with age my hair is grey > And well might birds now turn and say > "'Tis all his neighbours' doin'." > > The poet had a sharp eye for for recording the ways of the > world in an apparently naive manner. 'First Love' takes a > quiet but sarcastic swipe at the snobbery of society as it > depicts a man who wants to see, once again, a girl he was > infatuated with when he was young. But not to get married, > for he now realises she is lower down the social ladder: > > I could not but desire > To see for once the maid who could > A love so deep inspire > Not that I wished to wed her now > Such changes time had wrought > In me I durst not link my name > To one with such a blot > Since well I knew unheralded were > The riches of her house, > Her mother's sister had besides > Profaned her marriage vows. > > Furtado was especially critical, although often in a sly or > humorous way of patriarchal norms and the restrictions > different communities placed on their women, in poems such as > 'The Brahmin Girl' 'The Mullah's Daughter' and 'The Pariah > Girl'. 'Kismet' tells the story of a prostitute resigned to > her fate while 'The Neglected Wife' explores the frustrations > of a young wife is left at home by a husband who has to seek > employment in a far off land -- a phenomenon that occurs in > Goa even today. > > While his social concerns are apparent in his > poetry although he is never too preachy, it is in > his only novel Golden Goa that his social vision > and political views become quite overt. The plot > revolves around a love affair between a Christian > and a Hindu during the decadent Portuguese rule of > the 16th century. The story contrasts the good > works of the Jesuit missionary and later saint, > Francis Xavier, on the one hand with the horrors of > the Inquisition [which incidentally St. Francis > Xavier himself invited] on the other. > > In this book, Furtado takes a series of pot shots against the > foreign rulers. At one time, quoting Robert Sewell he writes, > "The Europeans seemed to think they had a divine right to the > pillage, robbery and massacre of the natives of India. Not to > mince matters their whole record is one of a series of > atrocities." He continues, "If humanity be a proof of > civilisation Indians at that time were more civilized than > the Portuguese." > > It would be a pity if the memory of this distinguished > literary artist from Goa were to disappear without a trace. > > One way of honouring Joseph Furtado would be to erect a > statue to him. But the poet himself would surely have > appreciated it more if a fresh collection of his best works > were brought out and bought by every lover of Goa. > > However, who will pay the printer? > > Augusto Pinto is a book review, translator (from Konkani to > English) and lecturer in English. 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