The text of Dr Couto's
speech delivered at
the memorial function
for Jose Pereira held
in Goa at Jan-end 2015.
Maria Aurora Couto
couto.aur...@gmail.com
It has been an emotional time ever since Angela, Jose's wife
telephoned me some days ago to inform me of the seriousness
of his condition.
There are so many dimensions to Jose and there are speakers
today who can speak more knowledgeably than I about his art,
his seminal work on the Konkani language, about Jose the
ethnomusicologist, the polyglot, the scholar of theology and
architecture and much else. So allow me to speak of
friendship.
The fact that there has been a belated recognition
of Dr Jose Pereira in Goa points to a certain
indifference in our society to scholarship.
Ravindrab Kelekar told me that Goans had not
appreciated Dharmanand Kosambi and either called
him fanfarao (braggart), or ignored him. We call
ourselves an enlightened and modern society and yet
gifted intellectuals or scholarly work is largely
ignored.
I recall his excited voice some years ago when [some from
Goa] were in touch with him. I cannot believe it, he said,
some young Goans seem to be actually interested in my work.
I would like to record the fact that what you along with the
Xavier Centre have achieved in managing a public recognition
of Dr Pereira was a source of peace at a time when he was
most vulnerable due to failing health.
The indifference to scholarship, and the need to start a
revival and redefinition of Goan culture in its broadest and
deepest sense was a dream of four young men as students in
Mumbai, in the late 1940s early 1950s. THe foursome were
Eusebio Rodrigues, Mario Miranda, Jose Pereira and Alban
Couto. They had pledged to write, conceptualise, theorize,
draw and paint.
Each of them remained connected with Goa creatively
and some achieved great heights and acknowledgment
like Mario Miranda. Jose too achieved scholarly
renown in academic circles in the US, in a rather
rarefied way. Never was there any acknowledgment
of his singularly original vision.
We had many illuminating conversations and once in New York
where, memorably, sitting on the steps of St Patrick's
Cathedral, conversation veered from a dazzling display of
ideas, humour, volatility and passion to end with the singing
of a mando.
I have tried to understand how and why the friendship between
Alban and Jose survived. Although we lived continents apart
and Alban was professionally distant from the world of art
and letters, their circle seems complete to me because Alban
reviewed Eusebio's novel *Samskara* and, apart from working
hard to help Jose complete the project in Borda, he also
spoke at the inauguration of the fresco in Fatorda
[http://yhoo.it/1FlyaV7] Both of them regretted the
conservatism of some elements in the Church and congregation.
I recall with nostalgic pleasure our conversations over the
years; his wicked sense of humor and utter disregard of
all things material in his pursuit of the life of the mind.
We should specially applaud Sofia, his daughter -- who is
sensitive to her father's extraordinary gifts -- and brought
him to Goa in 2008 to unveil the fresco in Fatorda - and to
exhibit his latest work. I recall him speaking in awe of
Hagya Sofia, the Cathedral in Istanbul -- and Alban and he
discussing the intricacies and spirituality of Byzantine art.
So it was no surprise when he called his first born Sofia.
When writing my book on Goa, my spirits were held up by Jose
whom I used to telephone regularly when I found the going too
difficult, and he used to cheer me by singing a dulpod from
New York to suit the occasion. He seemed to have a dulpod to
suit every occasion. "It is your destiny to write this book.
It is the last chapter of a particular period in Goan
history, and you must complete it". And then came another
dulpod. He arrived unannounced the day before the release
and spoke eloquently in English, Konkani and then in Sanskrit.
His very important contribution to theology in *Suarez:
Between Scholasticism & Modernity* came in particularly
useful. When he read my passages on the Inquisition he
immediately sent me quotations from his book on Suarez to
show that there had been dissenters at the time. Don't
forget Suarez, the modernist, he would say.
You must forgive me for being personal but my
awareness of Jose's brilliant mind and wide ranging
scholarship is inextricably linked with the variety
and humour of dulpods that have peppered our
serious conversations over many decades. It was
always a play between mind and heart, serious
thought and the earthy humour of Konkani folk song,
the wistful lyrics of the mando, melancholic,
speaking of the unattainable.
I will treasure the memory of Jose's sensitivity, his deep
affection and loyalty, his phenomenal intellect and memory,
his passion and love of family and Goa, and above all his
uncompromising genius. I have been blessed by his
friendship and the many illuminating conversations we have
had. Alban and he connected at an intellectual and emotional
level that was deepened and sustained. to the end of their
lives.
Suresh Amonkar and Subodh Kerkar wrote powerful essays in
defence of Jose's art when the Xavier Centre felt compelled
to close down his exhibition. I am moved by the fact that
while thinking of what to say today I received an email
yesterday from Merlyn, the late Eusebio's wife, requesting me
to write a paragraph to add to his obituary. Their
friendship is an inheritance that will continue to sustain me.
Jose is an artist who respects and understands the
civilisational depths of the Indian tradition and has worked
within that matrix while incorporating the dimensions from
European influences on his sensibility. I hope the
exhibition can now be held and that we find a way of
celebrating the achievements of this great Goan in a
befitting way.
It is an inheritance that will continue to sustain me.
###
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