GULF-GOANS e-NEWSLETTER (since 1994)
Songs of the Survivors http://broadwaybooksgoa.com NEW BOOK TELLS OF THE UNTOLD STORY OF GOANS IN BURMA Goan overseas migration has been studied and written on fairly extensively, yet some aspects of it still await to be adequately understood, suggests a new book on the subject. The 289-page just-published book looks at migration by Goans to an unusual part of the planet -- in Burma. It focuses on a dramatic point in history, the World War II Japanese invasion of the land now known as Myanmar, and the tumultuous impact this had on lives of the Goans settled there. 'Songs of the Survivors' is edited by ex-teacher Yvonne Vaz Ezdani, who herself lived in Burma till the early 1980s, along with a large extended family from Saligao that has largely since resettled here. Ezdani keeps busy with counselling students, and her two daughters Shannon and Rachel are settled in Australia. Writes editor Ezdani, "In an instant (during the War in 1942), the Goans' comfortable and serene lives were shattered and they were plunged into chaos and fear." Many trekked back to India, through jungles and mountains and streams, and the stories of this generation, slowly fading away with age and memory, is recorded in this book. But some Goans even decided to stay on during Japanese occupation. When one reads their stories, the perils of migration and its impact become all that more stark, a reality we often forget here. It is priced Rs 295 and its sole distributor is the 18th June Road (Panjim)-based Broadway. This book, edited by Vaz-Ezdani, is collaboratively written by two dozen contributors (besides herself). Some 20 contributors were born and grew up in British-ruled Burma. She writes: "This book may be about Goans in Burma, but it also seeks to record tales of determination and survival that are relevant to the human spirit everywhere." The Japanese occupation years contrast drastically with the enviable lifestyle lived by Goan expats in the "enchanting country of wide rivers, green, rain-washed paddy fields, pagodas... and a thousand hills". What makes this text an unusual one is that it has brought together the small-but-connected community of 'Burma Goans', and could also help link up more who were connected to that distant part of East Asia because of migration. In pre-release comments, author Dr Maria Aurora Couto said these "memoirs illuminate the pioneering spirit, humanity, courage and faith that have sustained Goa through the ages." Sanskrit scholar and specialist in Indian drama Dr Pramod Kale called this, "A piece of oral history that documents poignantly the travails and suffering imposed on the ordinary people by wars. It reminds one of Brecht's Saga of Mother Courage and Her Children." To be released on December 29, 2007 by NRI Commissioner Eduardo Faleiro at 4.30 pm at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research, Alto Porvorim, the book is published by Goa 1556, a venture of journalist Frederick Noronha. ENDS WHAT THE OTHERS SAY ... Heartwarming and inspirational. These memoirs illuminate the pioneering spirit, humanity, courage and faith that have sustained Goa through the ages. -- Dr. Maria Aurora Couto, author of Goa: A Daughter's Story (Viking/Penguin 2004) couto.aurora at gmail.com A piece of oral history that documents poignantly the travails and suffering imposed on the ordinary people by wars. It reminds one of Brecht's Saga of Mother Courage and Her Children. -- Pramod Kale, Ph.D., (Univ of Wisconsin) Sanskrit, Marathi and Hindi scholar specialising in Indian drama. pram203 at yahoo.com Vivid recollections of an exodus, hardships and determination. -- Dr Délio de Mendonça, director, Xavier Centre of Historical Research. deliom at dataone.in I had no idea of the experiences or extant of the (Goan) community in Burma.... A brilliant portrayal of the experiences of the Goan diaspora in Burma during the Second World War, for which we clearly have to acknowledge all contributions and fine editing by Yvonne Vaz. -- Cliff Pereira FRGS, Historical Geographer, London. cliffjpereira at hotmail.com `Songs of the Survivors' brings to the world the difficult experience of the Goan diaspora in Burma during WW II, but also illustrates a little-remembered chapter in human history.... a valuable addition to Goan Studies as well as to the history of that period in Asia . -- Dr Robert S Newman, anthropologist and author of Of Umbrellas Godesses and Dreams kachhua2 at hotmail.com `Songs of the Survivors' sheds much-needed light on a little known facet of Goan diasporan history, and will take a treasured place in my library. Victor Rangel-Ribeiro, author of `Tivolem', Milkweed National Fiction Prize, and ``one of the twenty notable first novels'' of 1997-98 by Booklist, journal of the American Library Association vrangelrib at yahoo .com CO CONTACT THE EDITOR ... Yvonne Vaz Ezdani, 892 D'Mello Vaddo, Saligao Bardez Gao 403511 India yvonne....@gmail.com Phone +91-832-2409519 BUY THE BOOK... Sole distributor: Broadway Book Centre, Ashirwad Building, First Floor, Near Caculo Traffic Island, 18th June Road, Panjim 403001 Goa Phone / fax +91-832-6647038 http://broadwaybooksgoa.com For bulk purchases get in touch. OTHER CREDITS... Cover design by Shannon Ezdani D'Souza and Cecil Pinto. Printed and bound in India, by Rama Harmalkar (Panjim). Typeset using LyX, http://www.lyx.org, the Free Software document processor. Copyright Yvonne Vaz Ezdani, 2007. All rights reserved. Where ever possible, permissions for reproduction of part of the text for not-for-profit purposes will be given due consideration. For an online network on Burma Goans visit http://groups.google.com/group/burma-goans ISBN 978-81-905682-4-1 Published in Goa in November 2007 by Frederick Noronha on behalf of Goa 1556, House No 784, Sonarbhat, Saligao 403511 Bardez Goa, India[LaTeX Command: index]. http://goa1556.goa-india.org Email goa1...@gmail.com Phone 0091-832-2409490. Goa 1556 is an alternative publishing venture, named after the accidental arrival of Asia[LaTeX Command: index]'s first Gutenberg-inspired printing press in Goa. Today, more than ever, Goa needs a voice to help understand itself and articulate its own priorities. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS... * Isabelle Vaz * Donald Menezes * Sylvia D'Gama * Thelma Menezes * Doris D'Mello * Lena Rego * Relicity Rodrigues e Fernandes * A J D'Cruz * John & Philomena Fernandes * Gerald D'Souza * Peter Vaz * Kevin Pinto * Albert D'Souza * Patricia Carmen Duarte * Gerard Lobo * Veronica Carvalho * Leo Rego * Renee Rodrigues e Pinto * Especiosa Filinto e D'Souza * Geraldine Pinto e D'Souza * Wilma Silgardo * Tony Machado * Eric Menezes * Lloyd Vaz. ABOUT THE BOOK... Six decades and two generations ago, a little-known chapter of the history of Goans occurred in Burma, which was at that time a part of the British Empire.Goan migrants from the then Portuguese colony got caught in the real life drama of Japanese bombings of the city of Rangoon (Yangon) and other parts of the country. The stories in this book, told by survivors of that war, recall in vivid detail how peaceful lives were shattered and the subsequent scramble to evacuate to India. Some even walked home. These narratives of grit and determination in the face of fast-changing fortunes, have been collected by the editor, Yvonne Vaz Ezdani, who wishes to put down in print the incredible accounts she had often heard as a young girl growing up in post-independent Burma. http://www.goa-world.com www.colaco.net http://www.flickr.com/photos/venantius/ www.goa-world.com/goa/ music/ - The Online Music Station for KONKANI http://www.konkanisongbook.com/ THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS http://www.jrsbible.info/bible.htm Promoting Tiatr & Tiatrists since 1994 http://tiatracademy.blogspot.com/ Gulf-Goans e-Newsletter http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans EXPRESSIONS - THE FLOWER SHOP http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/ Aitaracheo Katkutleo Falleam ani Dor Aitarak Vachunk Toiar Raunchea..... Gulf-Goans e-Newsletter http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans/
