Rich! Rich indeed! With every Goan (and other) Bamon falling over each other to show how they emphatise with the proles (aka subalterns) but they continue to discreetly mention... - We are not them.
On Wed, 1 May 2024 at 21:24, Frederick Noronha <[email protected]> wrote: > Books <https://www.outlookindia.com/books> > Book Review: 'Monsoon' By Vimala Devi > > In 'Monsoon', the narratives of the author, Vimala Devi, assume importance > in the societal moralities in which 'she' lives as it has a huge impact on > her writings. > Nikhil Sanjay-Rekha Adsule > Updated on: 12 November 2023 10:33 am > <https://www.outlookindia.com/author/nikhil-sanjay-rekha-adsule> > [image: follow on whatsapp] > <https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R> > [image: follow on google news] > <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMIHT8Aowuq27Ag?ceid=IN:en&oc=3> > > - [image: social] > > <https://www.outlookindia.com/books/book-review-monsoon-by-vimala-devi-weekender_story-330221#> > - [image: social] > > <https://www.outlookindia.com/books/book-review-monsoon-by-vimala-devi-weekender_story-330221#> > - [image: social] > > <https://www.outlookindia.com/books/book-review-monsoon-by-vimala-devi-weekender_story-330221#> > - [image: social] > > <https://www.outlookindia.com/books/book-review-monsoon-by-vimala-devi-weekender_story-330221#> > > San Cajetan Church, Old Goa, India > > *Monsoon* by Vimala Devi > > Introduction by Jason Keith Fernandes > > Translated by Paul Melo e Castro > > Published by Seagull Books, 2019 > > MRP: Rs 499.00 > Monsoon by Vimala Devi* Seagull Books* > > I have always believed that in this era of incredulity of meta-narratives, > the strongest perspectives and paradigms that stand out are those of beings > who have been relegated to margins. Among them, the construction of the > category of 'woman' is one of the most important ones. But, the 'making' > and 'unmaking' of woman itself goes through a complex intersectional > process with varied essentialist frames being imposed on her, which Simone > de Beauvoir has highlighted in her writings. 'Projected Essentialism' via a > phallocentric order is one of the ways that go into making a woman. > > A brief discussion of the above background is essential when I consider > the work of Vimala Devi titled 'Monsoon.' This is important as the work has > to be looked into in the specific timeframe when it was written. Also, the > narratives of the author assume importance in the societal moralities in > which 'she' lives as it has a huge impact on her writings. Starting with > her name, *Vimala Devi*, is a portrayal of her adherence to nationalist > rhetoric, as her baptismal name is *Teresa da Piedadebde Baptista Almeida*. > The work was originally written in Portuguese in 1963 and was titled > Moncao. Now, what appears in my hands is an English translation by Paul > Melo e Castro. This brilliant translation is accompanied by a superb yet > critical analysis of the stories by Jason Keith Fernandes and supplemented > with a rich glossary, which is a significant aid to understanding the > multiple subjectivities within the text. > > I took up this book accidentally after going through a list of 'Women in > Translation’ series suggested by a friend. This is how I encountered this > gem. I have to sincerely admit that the reading was tough, not akin to > pleasure reading for the sake of reading. Being a Maharashtrian myself, > which has cultural ties with Goa in the realms of culture, language, > region, religion and, most importantly, the caste-class praxis of Bombay > Modernity. These elements played an important role in the emergence of > strong anti-caste movements in Maharashtra. The reading was an educative > experience and a stark realisation of the post-structural framework while > thinking about intersectionalities and questions of women within. Though > the book looks slim, it is a treasure of ideas, 'her'stories, the > complexities of thoughts, actions and the slow disintegration of the > *quasi-feudal* society. > > To throw light on what I mean, let's refer to the first short story titled > *Nattak*. The story portrays fissures within the traditional Goan society > where there is a built-up tension pervading in the domains of language, > region, caste, religion and sexuality. I had to refer to Anjali Arondekar > to make sense of how sexuality could be understood in Goa when there are > varied elements of migrations, stigmatisation, and class-caste bias in the > inter and intra domains of religion. With all these forces acting on the > agency-lacking subject of *woman*, how to make sense of the society in > which they inhabit? > > In another story, *House Husband*, with the flow, what struck me was the > making of Vimala Devi herself. The mockery of Catholic customs by > portraying the actions of Catholic women as caricatures points to the > structural tensions pervading the society of which way to go, Catholic or > Indigenous? The story shows the obsession with catholic etiquettes as > farce, creating images that paint Catholic customs as devilish, which > subordinates natural human tendencies. Power dynamics is at play, along > with their dialectics at display in their ability to influence the writer's > opinion. Considering this story in the light of the Goa Liberation > Movement, with *de-nationalism* as the fulcrum and formation of the > *Tocquevillian* Public sphere as an upper caste, elite *bhadralok*, North > Indian based, it shows how the contemporary *Hindu, Hindi, Hindutva* politics > made inroads in today's Goa. The seeds were planted in the pre-independence > and early-independence period of Goa itself. > > The above line of thought continues in the character of 'Dhruva', who > appears in the three stories. She is a classic representation of an > essentialist Indian, Sanskari woman, which is desired and expected by > Manusmriti, Matsya Purana and Medhatithi discourses. Her husband, who > initially also aligns with these Sanatana traditions, is later swayed by > enlightenment and rational logic when he goes to study medicine in > Portugal. In fact, the roots of scientific temper penetrate deep in his > mind, which creates tension between the then prevalent Goan feudal order > and his liberal, rational humanistic outloook. It instigates him to > question the majoritarian patriarchal discourses and see them from the lens > of logic. The characters and the events projected in three stories – *Dhruva, > Fidelity and Returning* – are so powerful that they stay with you after > finishing the story. The shades of characters of Dhruva and Chandracanta > are interesting, as well as disturbing, but they are changing as well as > static too. > > The questions of the Annihilation of Caste and what way liberation is > still a mirage even in Goan society. The Ambedkarian pragmatic solutions > are not followed on the pretext of radicalism, but the point missed is that > his methodology shall create a pathway for a genderless society. This is > the most feared and, thus consequently, is abhorred by the heteronormative > and status-quoits order who don't want to disturb the non-pragmatic, > dogmatic, yet continued distribution of social and cultural capital. > Movements like *Bhakti* and philosophical approaches like *Maitree* have > been proposed as the new way, albeit a *protracted revolutionary *way, to > an egalitarian order. However, the feudal setup deters it from penetrating > the women's consciousness. This is prominently achieved in guarding the > sexuality and denial of choice to women, making them a subject of gendered > subjugation. These cathartic questions are asked and invoked in the story > titled *Padmini*. > > In all, there are sixteen stories and important permeating themes in these > stories are the dialectics of the declining *Mundacar-Bhatcar* system, a > quasi-feudal setup comparable to the *Jajmani system *of Northern India > and the* Balutedar system* of Maharashtra. The time span of these stories > shows that there is a distinct hyphenated cosmopolitanism forged by > Portuguese-British modernity. Yet the force of Indian nationalism stands as > a counter-current to that idea. Within these dialectical encounters, there > emerges a fetishism for *denationalisation* by leaders like T. B. Cunha, > who want to model Goa on the lines of *Bhartiya* culture and try to forge > organic connectivity with the Majoritarian yet Brahmanic conception of the > Indian National Movement. Thus, making a public sphere modelled on the > civic virtues based on *Tea and biscuits polite elitism*, as stated by > Partha Chatterjee. To make this work, a recourse to Orientalism was also > made. Hence, what is obtained is a *Hindu Public*, a syncretic mixture of > Hindu nationalism and neo-liberalism based on the foundation of gendered as > well as religious minority crushing. (curiously, there is no Muslim > character in any of the stories) > > A classic depiction of Caste is what appealed to me in these stories. > Caste operates differently in these stories. I would beg to differ from > Jason Keith Fernandes, who states that it is devoid of the notions of > purity and pollution in Goa. But, my reading and interpretation says that > it is already being played in the background and what is foregrounded as > Caste(s) is Nobility and Ancestry. In fact, there is social osmosis wherein > Caste(s) pervades Christianity, which is so evident in the writings of Bama > and Sujatha Gidla. However, the fact can't be negated that Catholicism > acted as balm across gender, caste and class praxis shown in the other > works of Charu Gupta, sociological analysis of conversions in *Ahmednagar* > (now > with a new sanitised name imposed to suit the contemporary rhetoric - > *Ahilyanagar*). This claim to the idea of 'being Brahmin' is evident in > claims of the Catholic elite, which is naturalised for Hindu Brahmin. The > writing, though written in the geographical proximity of Portugal, follows > the same Indianised discourse of *bahujans* lacking agency and always > being oppressed via class-caste praxis. This is disappointing but also > reflects a general Gandhian *harijanic* tendency, Bahujans lacking agency > and their conditions invoking sympathy. The stories show some deep > connections of language, religion, class and caste in the society of Goa, > with a million mutinies on the verge of explosion. In these circumstances > comes the annexation of Goa by India (1961), which overshadowed these > fissiparous tendencies under the broader category of Political Independence. > > The text is a timely translation to understand contemporary Goan society, > which is today modelled as a prime example of the Uniform Civil Code, which > conceptually is branded as the only panache for all ills of society in > India. In fact, understanding 'Vimala Devi', too, points to the backward > linkages for understanding the Political sphere of Goa. The translation by > *Paul > Melo e Castro* gives a distinct Goan flavour to the text, taking the > reader to the then times and generating images that illuminate and educate > the reader to foreground a neglected and much taken-for-granted territorial > part of India. The text dents the idea of Goa as a tourist and > materialistic hub but creates an image of complex cultural geography with > many discourses pervading the public and private spheres. Vimala Devi as an > author for me, though imbibed in the discourse of parochial Hindu > nationalism, is a great revelation for me, and I hope to read her other > works, which educate the 5G generation like me to understand the power(s) > of discourses emanating from multiple agencies and viewed from the > narrative of women rather than phallocentric 'his'tories. > > https://www.outlookindia.com/books/book-review-monsoon-by-vimala-devi-weekender_story-330221 > -- > > FN * +91-9822122436 * 784 Saligao 403511 Bardez Goa > > -- > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Goa Book Club" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CAMCR53KOVvsDJx367AWRKE0Vmdd5X4Oc%2BbinqaxO1fGEsBga7g%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CAMCR53KOVvsDJx367AWRKE0Vmdd5X4Oc%2BbinqaxO1fGEsBga7g%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. 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