Very nice article. Willy Goes is an inspiration. He should write his autobiography More power to Goans like him W
Sent from my iPad Wendell Rodricks, Campal, Panjim. GOA 403001. INDIA Off tel: +91-832-2420604, Shop tel: +91-832-2238177 Off email: rns.wend...@gmail.com On 02-Sep-2013, at 3:02 AM, Goanet Reader <goanetrea...@gmail.com> wrote: > Artist-writer-musician and more Willy Goes > [willyg...@rediffmail.com] believes in giving life > his best, because to him life is an echo. It all > comes back. "Give it your best and the best will > come to you," he says. He graduated from the Goa > College of Art in 1986. He works full time as a > teaching faculty in the Department of Applied Art > at Goa College of Art and writes part time. His > wife is a teacher and his son is studying in XI > Arts at Don Bosco Higher Secondary. He speaks to > Remediana 'Remy' Dias [remy_dias2...@yahoo.com] > about his humble beginnings and his love for > writing. > > RD: Tell us about your life and how it all began? > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > I began working when I was studying in Std. VIII. I was > about fourteen years old then. I worked along with my father > in The Navhind Times as a photo engraver. In those days the > printing technology was different. If a photograph had to be > printed, it had to be chemically engraved into a zinc plate. > In common terms it was known as 'block making'. > > Then when Navhind Times switched over to the modern 'offset > printing' technology, I was the first one to operate the > offset process camera. When I was doing this, I > simultaneously worked as a photojournalist for Navprabha and > Navhind Times. I also handled photojournalist assignments > for Goa Today. I was very active as a photojournalist during > the Konkani agitation. I also contributed to the > international news agency Reuters around this time. > Simultaneously, I have also handled design assignments for > various book covers, folders, brochures, etc. > > The very next year after my graduation (in 1986) I started > teaching at the Goa College of Art as a part0time lecturer. > During this time I did theatre too. In 1990, I was assigned > a Drawing Teacher's job in Padi-Barcem which is about sixty > kilometers from Panjim. I would travel to and from everyday. > After coming back to Panjim, I continued with the lectures at > Goa College of Art. In 1993 I was appointed at the Goa > College of Art as full time lecturer, and I have been > teaching at the art college ever since. > > RD: Have you received any awards in recognition for your work? > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > I have received several awards for art before I began > writing. I have received State Art Awards for photography > and graphic design in 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990.... > > Ever since I have been writing, I have received Dalgado > Konknni Akademi Awards for manuscripts of my novels 'Kantto' > and 'Kotrin'. The Konknni Bhasha Mandal conferred their > prestigious Sahitya Puraskar (Literary Award) for my novella > 'Khand' in 2006. > > Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendra, the Konknni research > institution in Porvorim, awarded me with the prestigious Jack > Sequeira Konknni Puroskar 2012 for my contribution to Konkani > language through literature. I was invited to participate > and present papers at many state level and national level > literary seminars in Goa, Mangalore and New Delhi. I served > as a member of the Konkani Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi, > New Delhi from 2008 to 2012. Sahitya Akademi is the premiere > institution of the Central government established to > strengthen Indian literature in all languages. > > RD: When, where, why and how did you being your journey as a writer? > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > I started reading at a very young age when I found > a book which was probably thrown out by somebody. > It was a book about Robin Hood and his adventures. > I can say that it was by accident that I started > reading and I fell in love with reading. As I read > those stories, I began to create stories in my > mind. As I grew up, and reading became one of my > hobbies, I began to ask myself, why couldn't I > write too? But then, by being young, I was > immature at that time. > > In the early nineties I joined the Jaycees, and it helped me > know myself better, and it also helped me realise my > potentials. I was made the editor of the Panjim Jaycees > Bulletin, for which I wrote a couple of edits. Then I helped > Fr. James D'Costa to start the Parish Bulletin of St. John > of the Cross Church, Sanquelim. I wrote a piece or two for > the bulletin. By then my son Lesly was growing. As a > toddler, he would insist that I tell him a story before going > to bed. Soon I ran out of stories and had to create stories. > He would give me characters and force me to create stories, > and I would be compelled to do so. By this time the writing > bug was bugging me. I wanted to be a writer. > > One day I read in the Navhind Times that the daily was > organizing a writers' workshop. The workshop was to be > conducted by the well-known Goan novelist Victor > Rangel-Ribeiro. Aspiring participants were asked to sent > samples of their writings, so I sent one of the edits I wrote > for the Jaycee bulletin. They communicated with me saying I > had not been selected for the workshop, but to my pleasant > surprise, the evening before the workshop, Victor Rangel > Ribeiro himself called me and told me he liked my piece and > that he regretted that I was not selected, but on his > personal level, he said he would allow me to attend the > workshop as an observer. I was more than happy. > > I attended the workshop. Victor was kind enough to allow me > to participate in the workshop, rather than being an > observer. Victor unfolded the ingredients and and all that > was required to begin writing very eloquently. He was very > inspiring. I listened with rapt attention. I absorbed the > content, but still, in the end when we were departing from > the workshop venue, like a small boy who was still confused, > I asked Victor how could I become a writer. > > Pointing his index finger to me, firmly but lovingly, he said > to me, "Go home and start writing." That night when I reached > home, I did exactly what he told me, and I began writing what > eventually shaped as my first novel. It was titled 'Altoddi > ani Poltoddi' (2003). > > I did not have the faintest idea that I would become a > Konkani writer first. I began writing the novel in English, > but the events in the novel took place in a Goan village, and > I found it difficult to get those expressions out in English. > > My Konkani was not too good either, but I began to > read more Konkani books and improved my vocabulary > in Konkani, And 'Altoddi ani Poltoddi' > materialized. After I finished writing 'Altoddi > ani Poltoddi', I frankly did not know what to do > with it. I did not know anything about publishing. > I did not know who would publish it. Just then, by > chance, I ended up in a meeting of Dalgado Konknni > Akademi. There I introduced myself to the members > and I got to know many Konkani writers including > Tomazinho Cardozo, [the late] Fr. Freddy, Vincy > Quadros, Jose Salvador Fernandes and others. > > My friend late Andrew Greno Viegas, who was a Konkani film > and music researcher introduced me to the celebrated Konkani > novelist Bonaventure D'Pietro. D'Pietro, in spite of his > seniority as a writer, helped me in a big way. He read the > manuscript of and gave me his critical analysis on the novel > and guided me a great deal. When I submitted the manuscript > to Dalgado Konknni Akademi to publish, Bonaventure D'Pietro > was one of the panelist on the approval board. He suggested > that the novel be published. This step was a big boost to be > to begin my career as a writer. > > After the book was published, I was constantly encouraged by > senior writers, and soon after that 'Pedru Tiva' (2005) was > completed and published. It is a book of children's stories > in Konkani. These stories were co-created by my son Lesly > and me. Lesly was about seven years old then. > > Soon after, the Konkani novella 'Khand' (2005-06) > was completed and published. This novella was > inspired by the exposition of St. Francis Xavier > in 2004. It reflects the beliefs and cynicism in > various sections of the Catholic community. > Tomazinho Cardozo and Salvador Fernandes helped me > in a great way to get this book on the stands. > This book bagged me the prestigious Konknni Bhasha > Mandal Sahitya Puraskar 2006. This book also has > the distinction of being the first ever book to be > produced and uploaded in audio format. Today it is > available for free download on Archives.com. It > has been downloaded over seven hundred times. > See http://bit.ly/Khand > > By this time I was contributing regularly for the magazines > Gulab, Goan Review, Goa Today and Sunaprant, Jivit and > Vavraddeancho Ixtt. Other than non-fiction, I had written > about seventeen short stories, which, with the encouragement > of Michael Gracious of Queeny Productions, 'Mon Sanvrona' > (2008) was published by Queeny Productions. This book is a > collection of seventeen short stories. > > Then came the novel 'Kantto' (2011). It is a journey of two > youngsters from childhood to adulthood. The journey is not a > pleasant one as they are exposed to unwanted experiences and > facts which distorts their perception of many important > things in life. I was awarded an award for the manuscript of > this novel and subsequently it was published by Dalgado > Konknni Akademi. > > This was followed by the novel 'Kotrin' (2012). > The story of Kotrin begins a few years before the > Liberation of Goa from the Portuguese colonial > rule. The story ends during the historic agitation > to make Konkani the official language of Goa. The > manuscript of this novel also was awarded a prize > by Dalgado Konknni Akademi. Damodar Mauzo was the > first one to ask me to present a paper in a > national seminar. Later I participated and > presented papers in many local and national > seminars in Goa, Mangalore and New Delhi. > > RD: What do you have to say about the writing talent in Goa? > What are the issues facing writers in Goa? How can the > government help in overcoming these issues? How can we as a > society contribute towards encouraging writers in Goa? > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > Goa has a lot of writing talent. It is apparent in the local > press media. We can see quite a number of youngsters > writing. More writers must come forward and get their books > published. As per my knowledge, I don't think there are any > severe or serious issues facing writers in Goa. > > The scheme 'Financial Assistance to Goan Authors' of the > government, through the Directorate of Art and Culture, is > quite encouraging; but it will be even more encouraging if > the amount is augmented. > > Other than the government scheme, Dalgado Konknni Akademi and > Goa Konkani Akademi also financially assist writers in > Konkani to publish books through various schemes. Writers > must take advantage of these schemes. Now, Broadway > Publishing Center and Goa,1556 publishing books and give > writing a boost. They also make sincere efforts to market > the books they publish. > > RD: Tell us about your latest book. > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > My first book in English, 'Cobo's Sofa and other short > stories from Goa' is a collection of my short stories > published in Goa Today over the last few years. The Editor > in Chief of Goa Today, Vinayak Naik, encouraged me to write > in English, which I did regularly. > > This is a collection of 15 Goa-centric short stories. The > issues tackled in these stories span from unconditional love > to rumour mongering and superstitions to attitudes. The > characters and situations in these stories are Goan to the > core. The plots are interesting with unexpected twists. > > RD: Tell us anything that you would like to share with Goanetters? > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > In spite of a host of media of information and entertainment, > newspapers and books remain on the top of the list. Sadly, > the new generation are hooked to these 'fleeting' media, > because they spoon feed us. But books are permanent. > > In my opinion, a book can entertain much better then these > media. They can be carried along. They do not need > electricity or batteries to run. > > A book opens the mind to think and introspect. Books are our > best friends. But unfortunately readers have dwindled. But > I am confident that readership will grow. A look at Broadway > Book Center, and the number of people buying books, gives an > encouraging picture. > > RD: Your parting words? > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > We Goans are talented and capable. We must tap our potential > and utilise it to the fullest. If we do this, we will not > need to leave out beautiful state. We can reap a rich crop > here itself and be less depended on outside manpower. > > I myself was a shy kid. I stammered. I was always skinny. > But I had a dream. I still have one. I was looked down > upon. But my parents had faith in me. I am the eldest among > four siblings. Being the eldest I had to shoulder > responsibilities of home. > > My father’s health was failing. I had to help him in his > work. I had to work and study. I did it because I was > determined to do something worthwhile in my lifetime. I > still have bigger dreams. I will work hard to realize them. > > I would like to share a few instances when my life took > important twists. When many wrote me off as good for > nothing, it was Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas who encouraged me. > He would give me readings during the Mass. That helped me a lot. > > K.S.K. Menon was the editor of The Navhind Times in the late > seventies and early eighties. He was known to be very strict > and a disciplinarian. He was a retired Army officer. So I > had painted a peculiar image of Mr. Menon in my mind. I saw > him as someone who would shoot at sight. > > When my father started working for The Navhind Times, he had > a cordial relationship with Mr. Menon. This was before I > started working with my father. My father mentioned to him > that I liked to draw. One day Menon told my father that he > wanted to see me along with my drawings. I shivered in my > pants. I would stammer around this time. > > I did not want to go to see him, but my father > insisted. I gathered all the courage, and knocked > on the door of his cabin and peeped inside > expecting a big shout, and probably a 'Who are you? > Get out!!'. But to my pleasant surprise, he was > smiling at me. "Come in my son," he said. What I > saw was a totally different person from the image I > had built. I gave me a lot of confidence. I went > in and answered all the questions he asked me. I > was talking to him, and after a while, I realized I > was not stammering. That was a turning point as > that was the last day I stammered. > > -- > Send your feedback and comments to goa...@goanet.org with a > cc to willyg...@rediffmail.com and remy_dias2...@yahoo.com