THE PRINTED WORD/Frederick Noronha ---------------------------------- KEEPING TRACK OF TIME
When we talk of the "printed word", we usually assume that it has to necessarily be related to the world of books. Though we're already well into January, it is perhaps still timely to focus on another form of the printed word in Goa that plays an important role in the lives of the commonman. (Maybe 'commonman' is a wrong word here, because such products are as -- if not more important -- to women here.) I'm referring to the varied calendars that come out just before the year end. These have been a long tradition in Goa, spanning many decades, if not longer. In the past, they used to be called 'almanacs'. Now, in keeping with the changing times, and changing linguistic preferences, you could probably find a 'deendarshak' or a 'varshik panchang'. It means very much the same thing -- a kind of detailed calendar, that goes beyond just giving you the basic information about what date falls on which day of the week. Such calendars also include phases of the moon, details of the Hindu lunar calendar and other popularly followed calendars, maybe sunrise and sunset times too (did you know the sun rises after 7 am in Goa these days?), Hindu festivals, Christian feasts, and Muslim festive and holy days. There are also a few advertisements and photographs of Goa. Unlike the 'Kalnirnay' calendar that covers Maharashtra in detail, these Goa-focussed calendars are less ambitious, and don't carry recipes or household tips on one side of the calendar... as Jayraj Salgaonkar-published Kalnirnay does. [See http://www.kalnirnay.com/beta/kal_user/home.php for a web-based version of the Kalnirnay.] Before me, I have two calendars, the 'Goa Calendar' and 'Deendarshak Goa 2010', both available at the end of each year from the Bhate Brother's Varsha Book Stall, next to the Azad Maidan in Panjim, and other news-stands across the State around the end of each calendar year. I think these calendars play a useful role in informing us about what's happening where in this small region. Otherwise, even newspapers don't adequately cover the fairs and festivities -- that are, really, such an important part of society's life here. Each calendar is priced at Rs 20, and the Goa Calendar is in English, while the 'Deendarshak' is a mix of Marathi and English. For anyone who studied a little bit of Marathi or Devanagari Konkani in school, it's not too tough to follow what is being listed in the calendar. There have been other calendar initiatives in Goa too. Earlier this decade, I wrote about the 'Almanac de Parade', brought out as a valiant venture by an elderly lady from Margao. My Dutch friend Patrice Riemens treats these as a collector's item, and often requests me to send across a copy -- which I often fail to do! 'Almanac de Parede' is a kind of a 'wall calendar' that has completed a quiet centenary of its publication from Margao. If Patrice had not to remind me, I would have not even realised this unusual century! "Almanac de Parede is basically a double A3 piece of paper, printed black and white, very traditional. The AdP listing all saints' (days) and all feasts in all Goan churches in all districts and some postal (and other) info. It is available in Margao may be less outside," explains Patrice Reimens, who is an Amsterdam-based researcher curious about encountering varied cultures across the globe, including Goa. Reimens long back was keen to lay his hands on a couple of copies, one for a friend in Romania, where they have "exactly the same, typically Catholic thing". But, in the past, the almanac wasn't just a quaint collectors item. At its peak it sold some 5000 copies, I was told some time ago by septuagenarian Elsa Correia, daughter of the founder of this publication, Joaquim Filipe Roque Correia, who first published it in the year 1903. It is one of the very few publications in Asia now brought out in Portuguese. Elsa Correia, fighting shy of the publicity and the credit for carrying out the publication, said after the death of her father, it was run by her late brother Domingos. She has taken over the reigns, "not as a business, but just to continue and serve the readers", as she put it. "He (my father Joaquim Correa) was a calendarist -- and knew everything regarding calendards, including religious calendars. He was the proprietor of Tipografia Progressa ('Tipography' is Portuguese for 'printing press') located behind Margao's Holy Spirit Church," Correia recalls. "It is the only annual publication in Portuguese language in Goa. I've received letters from Italy and elsewhere (voicing interest about it)", she says. Here's a thank you to those dedicated souls, who have been helping us mark our time, and plan the way we spend it! -- Photos See the current crop of calendars http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4254506097/sizes/l/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4255269122/sizes/l/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4255272644/sizes/l/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/4254495403/sizes/l/ And here's the Almanac, with its longer tradition: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoaukextras/4254899480/sizes/l/ This photo courtesy JoeGoaUK First published in the Gomantak Times.