Liberalism, Modernity, and the Nation: Empire, Identity, and India Book

This book seemed like an interesting read, but goodness gracious, it just dragged on and on! It was almost as if someone had googled Goa and brought together every single essay, article, poem, or memoir ever written on Goa. Like any anthology, this was a mixed bag for me. I loved a few, but sadly the vast majority of them were rather dry and tedious. The ones I did enjoy reading were William Dalrymple's At Donna Georgina's , Frederick Noronha's On the Abbe's Trail , Vivek Menezes' article on Francis Newton Souza (who claimed to have swallowed Goa whole), an excerpt taken from Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon (something I have marked to read when I travel back to Kerala in the monsoons, reserved for quiet afternoons watching the rain...) and Naresh Fernandes' quest to find a bone from the arm of St Francis Xavier.

What worked for me: Although rather tiresome, the book brought to light many interesting aspects about Goa to me. For example, Dalrymple's interview with Donna Georgina who still thinks about 'crossing the border to India', and who believes that the 'liberation' of Goa in 1961 was not really a liberation but more of a botheration,is an example of someone who still remains fiercely loyal to the Portuguese. On the other hand, there are essays which mention the cruelty of the Portuguese and the movement for liberation in the 1960s. Post independence, the focus shifts towards Konkani pride and the need to keep Goa separate from Maharashtra.

Another aspect of the book that I found compelling was the role of religion in Goan society. Maria Couto's essay Keeping the Faith , for instance, narrates how numerous families were separated in the wake of the Portuguese conquests. A few members fled the scene, and escaped down south in order to protect their faith, whilst the others stayed on and embraced Christianity. Although still related by bloodlines, they are now separated by religion. What fascinated me the most was the fact that despite having converted, many of them still maintain Hindu traditions, even going as far as worshiping in temples. In the same way, I found it interesting that one could certainly find Hindus among the mass of the faithful at Bom Jesus where the tomb of the 16th century Jesuit priest, St Francis Xavier, is located. (Interesting trivia- every ten years, St Francis' body is brought down from the altar for worship, and this is known as the Exposition. During one such ritual, a lady was so overcome with devotion that when she bent down to kiss the saint's feet, she bit off Xavier's big toe...and it began to gush blood!)

What I missed in this book: It's a book on Goa. Why wasn't there any mention of Mario Miranda and his wonderful work? George Menezes is one writer from Goa whom I have had the pleasure of reading before, and I do think he has written much better work than Where has all the culture gone? Unfortunately, none of those were included either, and if they were, I'm sure this would have been a more engaging read. Further, I must confess I chose this book because I had only recently discovered Jerry Pinto and was looking forward to reading him. With the exception of a poem and an old Goan folktale, there wasn't anything else penned by him. Oh well, looks like I'll have to wait to read Em and the Big Hoom instead.