It was in Goa that Indian musicians first began to compose in Western musical forms, incorporating them into motifs and nuances of their own immemorial tradition. Goans not only initiated the Westernisation of Indian music, but, from the late 19th century, also pioneered an Indian ethno-musicology, providing a model for preserving and interpreting India's rich folk music. Undra Muja Mama: Scores, lyrics and translation of one of Goa's most popular song-form, the Dulpods that follow the Mando on the dance-floor. Set in six-eight time, of quick rhythm, dulpods are typically descriptive of life in traditional Goa, especially the life of the Christians. This is a companion volume to the Song of Goa which focuses on the mando. Both books have done well and are popular with musicians, music enthusiasts and just about anyone who would like to more about the Konkani songs that are still so popular in the Goa of our times.

After tracing the tracks of parish priests and the parishes of Bardez and Tiswadi, the Margao-based Catholic priest and compiler of the religious history of the Goa Church Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas has released a book on Salcete and Mormugao. Follow Me, Volume 3 author Fr Nascimento says that as Christianity gained ground in the Goa of past centuries, churches multiplied across the area and were planned by the Portuguese who left the elaboration of details to local builders. Early churches were planned and built by the famous architect of the times, Fr. Joao de Faria. Jesuit Brother Francisco Aranha, an equally well-known architect, built the Cortalim Church in 1579. These structures tended to overwhelm people by their grandeur and majesty. Local folklore ranked the "Paulistas" (Jesuits) with the Pandavas as magical builders, and they were believed by the lore to being able to huge structures literally in a single night, says the author of the new book.

The tiatr has been called on of the most vibrant forms of modern Indian theatre. It is known to strike a chord with its audiences, and also remain viable. Where do its origins lie? How did it get its legacy of music and song? What role did the city of Bombay play in promoting the tiatr? Who pioneered this drama form? What challenges does it now face? These are some of the issues tackled in this book. This work -- by an associate professor at the Goa University's Department of English -- traces the growth of the tiatr (or tiatro) right from its diverse, overlooked, roots in the zagor and the khell. It unearths references to the earliest Portuguese plays in Goa. It also helps understand theatre in Goa, and the region's cultural history, besides the role of diaspora communities in keeping the Konkani language live and vibrant. The book is an extensive documentation of the history and growth of tiatr. It also has interviews of senior tiatrists and speaks at length about the future of tiatr. The book which took six years of research documents in a systematic way the roots of tiatr. It speaks of its music and analyses the tiatrs of veteran tiatrists. Dr Fernandes who was present said that the future of tiatr is bright but there was always room for improvement. Mr Cardozo said that the book will especially benefit those interested in earning more about tiatr.

Who is a Goan? What goes into shaping the Goan identity? This is an American look at the work of Goan fiction writers and scholars, and how their understanding shapes their views on identity. Novels, plays, short stories, and pamphlets reveal many aspects of Goan life -- especially about social status, race, political and social issues. This book presents an analysis of relevant literature. It also studies periodicals, interviews, internet sites, and bulletin boards, to provide a panoramic view of issues from Goa. Mirror to Goa is Tucson, Arizona-based translator, writer and researcher Donna J. Young's work on Goan writing (done as part of her graduate degree in South Asian History at Georgia State). Check out the listing of Goa in creative writing (mainly featuring works in English) as an appendix to the book.

The year is 1961, the month of May. In Portuguese Goa, in the village of Loutolim, on the west coast of India, Dona Isabella prepares for the unexpected return of her eldest and favourite son, Paulo, who is studying law in Coimbra, Portugal. On the very day of his return to Goa, Paulo barely escapes being killed by a group of masked guerrillas, seeking to overthrow the colonial Portuguese regime. Paulo's life and that of his rich and traditional family, takes a tragic turn with the military takeover of Goa after 451 years of Portuguese rule... This well-crafted story unfolds like a canvas, suffused with a profound sensibility, and a sense of foreboding. Forty eight years later Goans are still sorting out the tangled web of their identities and allegiances, particularly those of the Catholic heritage. In this... novel The Sting of Peppercorns, Antonio Gomes, an esteemed cardiologist within the medical community, brilliantly illuminates complex strands of a citizenry, unsettled by various forces foreign and domestic.

An early, fascinating view of Goan writing, brought together by Peter Nazareth. First published in the 1980s, but only now available for the first time in Goa. It contains extracts from novels, essays, poems, short-stories (from 'the outside', and 'local' settings), stories of return, essays on home and exile, a one-act play, and bibliography and notes on contributors. Till now, this volume has been very rare and difficult to find in Goa, coming from far (Oakland University in Michigan). The single-most important volume that could help one understand the writing of 20th century Goa (and some earlier phases) in a nutshell. Prof. Nazareth's anthology was the first to present an amazing range of Goan and diaspora writing. Peter Nazareth (born 1940) was born in Uganda of Goan and Malaysian ancestry, and was educated at Makerere University (Uganda) and at the universities of London and Leeds in England. While residing in Africa, he simultaneously served as senior finance officer in Idi Amin's finance ministry until 1973, when he accepted a fellowship at Yale University (United States) and emigrated from Uganda.

This is the unusual story of a Goan who fell in love with coconut craft. This man from a traditional goldsmith's family picked up and perfected the art of carving the coconut, its shell and its wood, into unexpectedly artistic designs. Special tips on how to take to this craft, elaborate information on the coconut and its many uses, and an insight into the master craftsman's work and love for his art. Some interesting facts from this book: There are sixteen classes of words to describe different types of coconuts in Konkani, the spoken language of Goa. Seven words describe leaf-related terms, five for the kernel, and a few more for the shell and husk. Lotlikar's book also points out to the large number of uses that coconut is put to, both in Goa and beyond. Collating information from diverse sources, Lotlikar notes that coconut is used in food products -- as coconut 'meat', in dessicated farm, coconut water, coconut milk, cream, spray-dried powder, coconut chips, copra, oil, toddy, and more.

Essays in this book focus on Goan migration, the land-grab going on in today's Goa, mining and how it despoils Goa, and the unearthing of the Sea Harriers scam which saw 16 out of 31 aircrafts crash (mostly around Goa) without taking part in a single war. From discussions of unusual food outlets in Goa, to a no-punches-pulled evaluation of the impact of mass tourism on Goa, and the author's encounter with the noted artist of Goan origin F.N. Souza ... all gets covered in this book.

Souza's PhD thesis, now re-published as Medieval Goa. It challenges the view that Portuguese rule in South Asia resulted in a period of golden rule in Goa in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The author sees Golden Goa as an expression popularised by art historians with reference to baroque church architecture of the early centuries of the Portuguese rule. After a first century of nearly undisputed mastery over the western Indian ocean, and after a sufficiently long spell of prosperity, misfortunes began falling thick and fast upon the Portuguese Empire. In 1580, Portugal lost its independence and the crowns of Spain and Portugal were united in the person of Philip II of Spain, who assumed the title of Philip I of Portugal. True, Portuguese administration and trade were left in the hands of Portuguese nationals, but the royal authority in Spain showed little concern for the growing difficulties of the Portuguese in the East.

Essays penned by alumni of the Mapusa-based St Mary's Convent, a prominent six decade old institution from North Goa. The network that contributed to this book emerged from a virtual community built in cyberspace, and an electronic mailing-list called ChilliesNet. Twenty-nine essays dealing with various aspects of school life, focussing mainly on the Goa of the 1970s. From the conditions of the times (wood floors, leaing roofs) to the success stories of alumni who grew from sneaking a read of Archie comics during class-hours to becoming professors at the University themselves. Other themes include school day sports, romance and love, favourite teachers, finding their way from nearby villages to Mapusa, nostalgia of growing-up years, the charms and challenges of boarding life, networking alumni, multiple roles (pupil, teacher... grandmom) at a prominent local institution, meeting up after years and decades... in Toronto, and more. Eight pages of photographs picked from carefully-preserved albums give us a hint of what life was in Goa of another day. Anyone who lived through the Mapusa of the yesteryears would be able to identify these images and words.

Goa is often subsumed in media-driven cliches of being a beach-sun-and-fun place. This dominant projection sidetracks a range of other issues. Social activist Kalanand Mani and journalist Frederick Noronha focus on concerns emerging from the farm and field, and tell the story of a Goa often overlooked. They track down other work focussing on the concerns of the poor, in a way that seeks to build a closer understanding of Goa's heartland. In 12 chapters, it focuses on issues of rural displacement, poor health that still harms many in Goa, the impact of alcoholism, and casteism in Goa. It also touches on the impact of mining, mismanagement of Goa's huge water potential, the promise and perils of panchayati raj here, concerns of rural and poor women, and the reality that hides behind Goa's claims to be one of India's best States. The book takes a close look at the reality emerging from official figures too. It points to these figures to show too, to show that the reality can be far from what is usually officially projected.

An elaborate analysis of many aspects of the post-1961 media in Goa. This book covers over four decades of Goa's newspaper scene. It offers colourful -- if highly personalised and often critical -- stories of those who saw the media and how it works from the frontlines. Essays on the media in the first Assembly elections of 1963, attempts in the 1970s to build alternatives to the monopoly media, journalism in rural Goa... An analysis of Konkani journalism in Goa, crime reporting, free-sheeters, and more. Through the essays of diverse scribes, an insightful picture is created of the post-1961 media in Goa, particularly the English-language and Konkani media. The essays are chronologically arranged, starting with the first English-language newspaper The Navhind Times, which began in 1963.

It was this book that started off all of Goa,1556's publication activities.... Six decades or two generations ago, a little-known chapter of the history of Goans opened up in Burma, which was at that time a part of the British Empire. Goan migrants from the then Portuguese colony got caught up in the real-life drama and Japanese bombings of the city of Rangoon (now Yangon), and other parts of the country. The stories in this book, told by survivors of that war, recall in vivid detail how peaceful lives were shattered and the subsequent scrmble that occurred to evacuate to India. Some even walked home. These narratives of grit and determination in the face of fast-changing fortunes, have been collected by the editor, who wished to put down in print the incredible accounts she had often herself heard as a young girl growing up in post-independent Burma. The book, when first published, was met with surprise as many in Goa were then not aware of this chapter of Goan migration history.

Domnic Fernandes was working in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, when he discovered Goan networks in cyberspace, and started to share his writings there. The rest just fell in place. Scores of readers wrote back to appreciate his memories of another day. So much so, that he decided to write and entire book. And this is the result. This book tells you about the Goa that was... and how things existed some five to six decades ago. In thirty-one chapters, author Domnic Fernandes takes you through a nostalgic tour along yesterday's Goa. The topics he handles include the Goan coast of the yesteryears, entertainment in the Goa of yore, coping with the monsoons, forms of transport then, religiosity, early migration to the Gulf, simple luxuries in a child's life then, radio of the times, death rituals, alcohol in the Goa of the past, relatives, culinary science of the Goa we knew, wells, fruit, holidays and more. Among the most engrossing chapters are the one on social change in Anjuna, cinema theatres and the stereotyping of the Goan landlord in the local tiatr (theatre). Domnic is no academic, he's just telling the story as he knew it. We see and experience life in its totality because Domnic enjoys life above all and has a sense of humor rather than being judgemental about the way people behave (although he believes that anything in excess is destructive). But he reinforces what he knows not only through study but also through practical experimentation. For example, he not only tells us how the ghumott is made: he takes lessons in playing traditional music and plays it in a band, even though he loves and describes international forms of music such as by Johnson and his Jolly Boys.... Domnic describes food; fruit (see the brilliant chapter, "Goa's guest from Brazil: the cashew"); travel; religion (inevitably including St. Francis Xavier); music; liquor (and its role in the community); the making and use of wells ("the water of life"); clothing; the importance of animals (cows, pigs, etc.); the importance of cow-dung to houses; love; marriage; family relationships; the seasons; the importance of sewing skills; the church painter; tiatr; the connections between Catholics and Hindus; the different classes and castes; and funerals. -- Peter Nazareth, Professor of English, University of Iowa, USA.