Re: [GRN] Book Review: 'Monsoon' By Vimala Devi (Outlook, of 'Monsoon')

[albert . ro]

I read this very interesting book in Portugal many years ago. It was  
published in 1963 under the title Monção.


Vimala Devi is the literary pseudonym of Teresa da Piedade de Baptista  
Almeida.


Vimala Devi moved to Lisbon in 1957. It was also at this time that the  
writer chose her pen name, a name that reflected her desire to project  
her pre-conversion Hindu identity and her desire to reflect the hopes  
and aspirations of Hindu communities and Catholic from Goa.


 Everton Machado described Monção as "the best portrait of Goa  
“(alongside the novels by writer Orlando da Costa, father of the  
former Prime Minister of Portugal A. Costa).


Everton Machado, a Brazilian, is a researcher and professor at the  
Faculty of Arts of University of Lisbon, he received his PhD in  
Comparative Literature from the Sorbonne.


-[1]


[2]

  * [3]

  * [3]

  * [3]

  * [3]



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 

[GRN] Book Review: 'Monsoon' By Vimala Devi (Outlook, of 'Monsoon')

[Frederick Noronha]

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

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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*