Dear members, I ordered this book from the link given in the review and within 8 days it had arrived in London. There is no reason at all for readers worldwide not to enjoy books published in Goa. TikTok reels may lie but the archives don’t. The truth has been right under our noses residing at the Historical Archives of Goa department, Panjim, which Pais investigates with great scholarly rigour. Right from the onset the Hindu brahmin hand is evident. As Afonso de Albuquerque, after laying siege to Calicut, nears Honavar, the Admiral of the Honavar fleet Timoja lies in wait—not to confront the aggressor but to present him with tribute. In the bounty he will lay at Albuquerque’s feet are “sheep, cows, chicken and refreshments”. Then Timoja soothingly assures Albuquerque that “he would lead him to a city that could easily be taken with the strength of his fleet.” These are not Pais’s words, they form part of a speech by Marquis of Vallad in 1873 exulting Timoja nearly two centuries later. Timoja had knowledge of Portuguese. He described himself as a brahmin and a “vassal of the King of Portugal”. The complicity is not restricted to Timoja, there were others involved, their names live on, perhaps not commonly known to us Goans because we like to bury inconvenient truths, but their names are evidenced in the archives as Malurau, Menaique, Mang, Dolvi, Raulu Camotim from Divar—all richly rewarded by the Portuguese with distinguished positions. The letters of Albuquerque reveal at least sixteen other upper-caste Hindu names who rendered invaluable service in the opening decades of Portugal’s imperial ambitions in Goa. Thereby began a dance between the Hindu elite and the Portuguese which endured through the centuries.
Read full review here:Religion, lies and videotape — Joao-Roque Literary Journal est. 2017 | | | | | | | | | | | Religion, lies and videotape — Joao-Roque Literary Journal est. 2017 Review by Selma Carvalho The tragedy of human societies is that we are only capable of accessing recent memory ... | | | Selma CarvalhoAuthor of Guts, Glory & Empire: The Epic Story of Goans in Zanzibar, 1865-1910, Sisterhood of Swans and Notes on a Marriage, all published by Speaking Tiger. -- *** 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/1074120316.3541555.1785135363099%40mail.yahoo.com.
