Hi everyone, Untouchable Goa is part of the Non-Fiction Reading Circle for May at Bookworm <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0VKNnMJ55owmdeEZvwIY0KxpeVUFSrzwdKAcHrevjtksyKg/viewform>. We meet every Thursday and discuss the book. Please do join. Also, the book is available for purchase at Bookworm (Mob: 9823222665)
best, *Niju* On Sun, May 10, 2026 at 7:25 PM Frederick Noronha < [email protected]> wrote: > > Chennai > <https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai> > Untouchable Goa: Dadu Mandrekar’s writings return in translation > A spring festival turns grotesque. Corpses exhumed. Women are punished > even in death. Dadu Mandrekar’s essays rip open Goa’s postcard image to > reveal caste, cruelty and resilience. > [image: Untouchable Goa: Dadu Mandrekar’s writings return in translation] > Diya Maria George > <https://www.newindianexpress.com/author/diya-maria-george> > Updated on: > 17 Jul 2025, 6:00 am > 4 min read > > - > > <https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation> > - > > <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation&text=Untouchable%20Goa%3A%20Dadu%20Mandrekar%E2%80%99s%20writings%20return%20in%20translation&hashtags=> > - > > <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation> > - > > <https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation&title=Untouchable%20Goa%3A%20Dadu%20Mandrekar%E2%80%99s%20writings%20return%20in%20translation> > - > > <?subject=Untouchable%20Goa%3A%20Dadu%20Mandrekar%E2%80%99s%20writings%20return%20in%20translation&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation> > - > > Add TNIE As A Trusted Source > > <https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.newindianexpress.com/> > > Every year, in parts of Goa, the Shigmo festival turns villages into > carnivals of music, dance, and colour. In most places, it’s a celebration > of spring’s arrival, smeared in joy. But in the villages of Amone, Sal, > Kudne, Karapur, Pilgao, and Bicholim, Shigmo in the 1990s, the festival > took a grotesque turn. Here, the dead are not left to rest. Graves are > exhumed. Bones, tied to sticks, are paraded before the village deity in a > dance of desecration. > > This detail appears in ‘Untouchable Goa’, a collection of essays by the > late journalist and writer Dadu Mandrekar. The book, now available in > English through a translation by Nikhil Baisane, published by Panther’s Paw > Publication, urges us to look beyond the postcard image of Goa — to look at > its stories of caste violence, erasure, and resilience. > > “What you see in this text is only a fraction of what I experienced and > recorded,” Dadu Mandrekar writes. “Objectivity is the foundation of this > work. I have tried to avoid exaggeration.” > The New Indian Express > <https://www.youtube.com/@thenewindianxpress/videos?sub_confirmation=1&feature=subscribe-embed-click> > Error loading media > Citadel S2 delivers style; Daadi Ki Shaadi lacks spark _ RoughCut _ > Kaveree Bamzai > Copy video url > Play / Pause > Mute / Unmute > Report a problem > Language > Share > Vidverto Player > > <https://vidverto.io/?utm_source=vidverto.io_branding&&utm_medium=www.newindianexpress.com> > <https://vidverto.io/> > > Translating horror & humanity > > It’s the commitment to truth-telling that gives the book its raw, cutting > power. “The book has a raw and angry voice, but at the same time, it is not > brash,” says the translator. “It is a mixture of rawness with composure, > frustration with beauty, and with all the ugliness that is caste. I wanted > to keep all of this alive and tried hard to do so by revisiting his work > and my translation multiple times.” > > In one striking description, Dadu describes how Mahars, who eat mutton and > chicken proudly in their kitchens, treat fish as a pollutant. He asks, if > gods could take the form of a fish (Matsya avatar), why is the actual fish > suddenly dirty? Nikhil, who stayed close to Dadu’s tone, shares, “I think a > lesser writer, or even a ‘lesser human being’ would have found it > impossible to maintain the balance between horror and humour in such > contexts. It is easy to laugh at the expense of others, but these people > weren’t ‘others’ for Dadu, nor are they ‘others’ for me.” You see this > balance most clearly in how the rituals for the dead are described: women’s > corpses buried face-down, surrounded by torn clothes and seeds, so their > spirits, if they rise, stay busy stitching or harvesting instead of > haunting the living. > > The writer also shows how women are punished, not just for being born, but > for bleeding, for giving birth, for dying in the “wrong” house. A > menstruating woman or a woman postpartum is forced into isolation, her > utensils marked, her touch feared. But if she dies during that time, the > cruelty multiplies. Her body is buried in secret, turned away from the sky, > with needles and shredded clothes meant to trap her spirit. Dadu recalls > how a woman who died in her maternal home was hastily buried by her family > (so that her spirit wouldn’t claim on the living and their possessions), > only for dogs to later unearth and ‘devour’ her body. For Dadu, this > brutality reflects a culture where women are molested in life, mutilated in > death, and treated as worthless once married. > > Advertisement > > “The constant reminders of subtle caste violence do leave you feeling > troubled,” shares Nikhil. “Dadu has also described the violence of old age > and has dived deep into the violence towards women. Each of them had me > take breaks, calm down, and think about them. Dadu has written about a > period that’s at least a couple of decades old, but I could connect the > incidents that he has mentioned or the violence that he talks about with my > surroundings, with the current state of the world. This continuation of the > same violence was scarring and scary for me, not as a translator, but just > as a human being.” > > Through 18 essays, the book delves into the unseen and unheard traditions. > For Nikhil, bringing these words into English was an entry into the reality > he had never fully grappled with before. “While I was aware that caste > existed in Goa (as it does almost everywhere) I had not really thought > about it. This book however, allowed me to think about it, engage with it, > and ignited my curiosity to learn more about it,” he admits. The translator > was particularly surprised “how Goa seemed to have stayed away from the > anti-caste movement of Maharashtra and North Karnataka,” and suggested that > Portuguese colonialism played a role, among other factors. > > This English translation gives Dadu’s powerful voice a crucial second > life. At the Goa launch, Nikhil met Dadu’s Marathi-speaking friends. Though > they didn’t read English, they were “extremely happy” the book was > translated, hoping “Dadu reaches far and wide across the nation.” Nikhil > firmly believes “there is no ideal reader for this work because it is > something that everyone should read.” > > Advertisement > > So, what next for a moved reader? Nikhil offers clear steps: “Try to find > out more about Dadu and engage with his other works. Also read more about > caste in contemporary India, especially Goa. Check out @casteingoa on > Instagram. Check out other titles by Panther’s Paw, which will surely help > you to understand caste further.” > > The book is a call to learn and act. Because, as Dadu writes, the fight > requires more than knowledge. “Awareness alone does not move Indians. To > bring about true transformation, long struggles, revolutions, and movements > are required. Anyone who challenges societal norms must tread a difficult > path — one riddled with resistance and hardship.” ‘Untouchable Goa’ is the > vital spark for that long, necessary struggle. > Chennai > <https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai> > Untouchable Goa: Dadu Mandrekar’s writings return in translation > A spring festival turns grotesque. Corpses exhumed. Women are punished > even in death. Dadu Mandrekar’s essays rip open Goa’s postcard image to > reveal caste, cruelty and resilience. > [image: Untouchable Goa: Dadu Mandrekar’s writings return in translation] > Diya Maria George > <https://www.newindianexpress.com/author/diya-maria-george> > Updated on: > 17 Jul 2025, 6:00 am > 4 min read > > - > > <https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation> > - > > <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation&text=Untouchable%20Goa%3A%20Dadu%20Mandrekar%E2%80%99s%20writings%20return%20in%20translation&hashtags=> > - > > <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation> > - > > <https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation&title=Untouchable%20Goa%3A%20Dadu%20Mandrekar%E2%80%99s%20writings%20return%20in%20translation> > - > > <?subject=Untouchable%20Goa%3A%20Dadu%20Mandrekar%E2%80%99s%20writings%20return%20in%20translation&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newindianexpress.com%2Fcities%2Fchennai%2F2025%2FJul%2F17%2Funtouchable-goa-dadu-mandrekars-writings-return-in-translation> > - > > Add TNIE As A Trusted Source > > <https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.newindianexpress.com/> > > Every year, in parts of Goa, the Shigmo festival turns villages into > carnivals of music, dance, and colour. In most places, it’s a celebration > of spring’s arrival, smeared in joy. But in the villages of Amone, Sal, > Kudne, Karapur, Pilgao, and Bicholim, Shigmo in the 1990s, the festival > took a grotesque turn. Here, the dead are not left to rest. Graves are > exhumed. Bones, tied to sticks, are paraded before the village deity in a > dance of desecration. > > This detail appears in ‘Untouchable Goa’, a collection of essays by the > late journalist and writer Dadu Mandrekar. The book, now available in > English through a translation by Nikhil Baisane, published by Panther’s Paw > Publication, urges us to look beyond the postcard image of Goa — to look at > its stories of caste violence, erasure, and resilience. > > “What you see in this text is only a fraction of what I experienced and > recorded,” Dadu Mandrekar writes. “Objectivity is the foundation of this > work. I have tried to avoid exaggeration.” > The New Indian Express > <https://www.youtube.com/@thenewindianxpress/videos?sub_confirmation=1&feature=subscribe-embed-click> > Error loading media > Citadel S2 delivers style; Daadi Ki Shaadi lacks spark _ RoughCut _ > Kaveree Bamzai > Copy video url > Play / Pause > Mute / Unmute > Report a problem > Language > Share > Vidverto Player > > <https://vidverto.io/?utm_source=vidverto.io_branding&&utm_medium=www.newindianexpress.com> > <https://vidverto.io/> > > Translating horror & humanity > > It’s the commitment to truth-telling that gives the book its raw, cutting > power. “The book has a raw and angry voice, but at the same time, it is not > brash,” says the translator. “It is a mixture of rawness with composure, > frustration with beauty, and with all the ugliness that is caste. I wanted > to keep all of this alive and tried hard to do so by revisiting his work > and my translation multiple times.” > > In one striking description, Dadu describes how Mahars, who eat mutton and > chicken proudly in their kitchens, treat fish as a pollutant. He asks, if > gods could take the form of a fish (Matsya avatar), why is the actual fish > suddenly dirty? Nikhil, who stayed close to Dadu’s tone, shares, “I think a > lesser writer, or even a ‘lesser human being’ would have found it > impossible to maintain the balance between horror and humour in such > contexts. It is easy to laugh at the expense of others, but these people > weren’t ‘others’ for Dadu, nor are they ‘others’ for me.” You see this > balance most clearly in how the rituals for the dead are described: women’s > corpses buried face-down, surrounded by torn clothes and seeds, so their > spirits, if they rise, stay busy stitching or harvesting instead of > haunting the living. > > The writer also shows how women are punished, not just for being born, but > for bleeding, for giving birth, for dying in the “wrong” house. A > menstruating woman or a woman postpartum is forced into isolation, her > utensils marked, her touch feared. But if she dies during that time, the > cruelty multiplies. Her body is buried in secret, turned away from the sky, > with needles and shredded clothes meant to trap her spirit. Dadu recalls > how a woman who died in her maternal home was hastily buried by her family > (so that her spirit wouldn’t claim on the living and their possessions), > only for dogs to later unearth and ‘devour’ her body. For Dadu, this > brutality reflects a culture where women are molested in life, mutilated in > death, and treated as worthless once married. > > Advertisement > > “The constant reminders of subtle caste violence do leave you feeling > troubled,” shares Nikhil. “Dadu has also described the violence of old age > and has dived deep into the violence towards women. Each of them had me > take breaks, calm down, and think about them. Dadu has written about a > period that’s at least a couple of decades old, but I could connect the > incidents that he has mentioned or the violence that he talks about with my > surroundings, with the current state of the world. This continuation of the > same violence was scarring and scary for me, not as a translator, but just > as a human being.” > > Through 18 essays, the book delves into the unseen and unheard traditions. > For Nikhil, bringing these words into English was an entry into the reality > he had never fully grappled with before. “While I was aware that caste > existed in Goa (as it does almost everywhere) I had not really thought > about it. This book however, allowed me to think about it, engage with it, > and ignited my curiosity to learn more about it,” he admits. The translator > was particularly surprised “how Goa seemed to have stayed away from the > anti-caste movement of Maharashtra and North Karnataka,” and suggested that > Portuguese colonialism played a role, among other factors. > > This English translation gives Dadu’s powerful voice a crucial second > life. At the Goa launch, Nikhil met Dadu’s Marathi-speaking friends. Though > they didn’t read English, they were “extremely happy” the book was > translated, hoping “Dadu reaches far and wide across the nation.” Nikhil > firmly believes “there is no ideal reader for this work because it is > something that everyone should read.” > > Advertisement > > So, what next for a moved reader? Nikhil offers clear steps: “Try to find > out more about Dadu and engage with his other works. Also read more about > caste in contemporary India, especially Goa. Check out @casteingoa on > Instagram. Check out other titles by Panther’s Paw, which will surely help > you to understand caste further.” > > The book is a call to learn and act. Because, as Dadu writes, the fight > requires more than knowledge. “Awareness alone does not move Indians. To > bring about true transformation, long struggles, revolutions, and movements > are required. Anyone who challenges societal norms must tread a difficult > path — one riddled with resistance and hardship.” ‘Untouchable Goa’ is the > vital spark for that long, necessary struggle. > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > _/ Frederick Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا > _/ AUDIO https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha > _/ http://goa1556.in +91-9822122436 784 Saligao Goa > _/ Goanet :: 30 years of discussions. [email protected] > _/ http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > > -- > *** 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, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CA%2Bmqab9OB%3DOtd33iKk%3D19pe49dw9U-9xdoGkQokCjf_F4QEVbg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CA%2Bmqab9OB%3DOtd33iKk%3D19pe49dw9U-9xdoGkQokCjf_F4QEVbg%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. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CAFfg2yP2o6MPcjNTAUMbK8u47h9wdSsoyiTsR8pu1XcJHwbbjg%40mail.gmail.com.
