The 2020 Goa Book Covers Campaign
Day 7: Book 7 #2020GBCC <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/2020gbcc?__eep__=6&source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG> *Karmelin **b**y Damodar Mauzo* *Translated from Konkani to English by Vidya Pai* The author presents a sensitive character study in his much acclaimed Konkani novel *Karmelin* (1981), aptly named after its protagonist. The novel chronicles the life of Karmelin, a lower middle class Goan from childhood to womanhood, tracing her relationships with the various men in her life. He subtly interweaves explorations of the grey areas of sexuality, femininity, and patriarchy in the narrative. When published, Mauzo’s novel was like a breath of fresh air in a culture that suppressed liberating discourse and treated sex as taboo. While society has progressed, patriarchy has remained constant to a certain degree. Thus, in the character of Karmelin, we find a microcosm of the experiences of women across the country. *Karmelin *won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for Konkani literature in 1983. Since then, it has been translated to English and multiple Indian languages. Maria Fatima Pais New Delhi