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REVIEWS East Africa Goans RediscoveredA compact history of the Goans of Kenya...VALENTINO FERNANDES finds it a worthy addition to the treasury of literature of the Goan diaspora. GOANS OF KENYA
The book is more than a new development. Dr Albuquerque is not a journalist-turned-writer but a historian of repute, who was awarded a scholarship by the Heras Institute, Mumbai, of which she is a Fellow, to undertake research on Goans in East Africa. She already has to her credit seven other books, delving into the colonial past of Bombay and Goa, with a fair amount of text devoted to Goans. It is this that whets the Goan reader and academician's appetite for this book. Goans of Kenya, indeed, gives the buyer a run for his money, according to Placido P D'Souza, who spent five years in Kenya with the Indian High Commission and did the foreword of the book. Dr Albuquerque traces the history of Kenya Goans with remarkable understanding and care, bringing to bear on this study her well-known gifts of scholarship and attention to detail. In its latest countries of settlement--Canada, Britain, USA, Portugal, Australia--the Goan community has earned esteem in all spheres of life, for their rare qualities of honesty, integrity, diligence, innovativeness and, above all, sociability and leadership. Yes, the migrant Goans first displayed and nurtured these indispensable qualities in the East African countries. This fact has been amply highlighted in the chapter: Second Coming of Goans, which traces the Goan achievements of the 19th century. By the 20th century, Goans veritably formed the backbone of the Civil Service, railways and educational system, much to the envy of other Asians. The call for Goa's freedom against oppressive colonial rule re-echoed in East AFrica too. Gama Pinto brothers and other Goans clamoured for reforms in Kenya, and later inspired the movement towards total independence for the country from European rule. The book provides this information in graphic details. It is worthwhile browsing through the chapter: Struggle for Freedom. We learn about the extermination, in cold blood, of the famous Goan revolutionary, Pio Gama Pinto. But not all the contents of the book are heavy reading stuff. The readers can take relief in chapters like: Goan Institutions, which throws up snippets of the gregarious Goan nature, of merry-making at the Goan Institutes and of petty rivalries between different caste-groups and clerks' and tailors unions. Though the book focuses on Kenya, it, nevertheless, reflects the lifestyle of Goans who settled in other East African countries like Tanzania and Uganda. The coffee table book contains photographs of several prominent Goans, exotic African fauna, institutional buildings, etc with artwork done by Dilip Salgaonkar. It also carries a map of Kenya. The credit for all goes to Mumbai-based publishers: Michael Lobo. Goans of Kenya emerges as a compact history of the Goans of Kenya. It is a worthy addition to the treasury of literature of the Goan diaspora and is worth a buy for any Goan institution and readers, particularly for Kenyans and other East Africa Goans settled in the West.
Valentino Fernandes Valentino Fernandes is the author of the forthcoming book How to be Instant Goan, to be released by the year end. Elocution Pieces for Students Elders generally burden students with one sermon after another about what they should do and what they should not. But very few manage to convey the message to children as succinctly as ANITA PINTO does in her new book. ELOCUTION PIECES FOR STUDENTS Elocution Pieces for Students is a lovely, little book specially designed for youngsters, who desire to speak freely and effectively in public but lack the confidence to do so. The book helps to overcome handicaps and build up your confidence. It contains poems to recite... I couldn’t sing a song today
Anita has an engaging style, having been involved with children and training them in this art. She writes “simply enough for you to be able to adapt” her style and compose your own pieces. She desires that the confidence to speak or recite in public will help children in every walk of life in the future. Anita entered every elocution competition year after year right from the kindergarten, speaking on her pet squirrel, her teacher, football..and even “Nothing”. With every new attempt her style, diction and confidence to be able to convey her message to others improved, blossomed. It’s certainly a book worth buying...for students, teachers and parents...for the innumerable nuggets of knowledge that it treasures. The contents bristle with delightful flashes to fire your imagination and inspire finer thoughts. Anita is quite witty in her ways...and is a sure aid when someone is tongue-tied. “Ladies and Gentleman, I wish to thank everyone of you from the bottom of my heart and from my wife’s bottom also...” Get hold of the book and I bet you’ll love it. Her books are best sellers...this one is a sequel to her Elocution Pieces for Students.
Joel D'Souza NEW RELEASES TRANSFORMING OF GOAEdited by Norman Dantas HOUSES OF GOA GOA BOOKS AFRICANS IN INDIA: FROM SLAVERY TO ROYALTYBy R R S Chauhan Pp.264 (1995) Rs.350 A fascinating book on a little known subject: the African Diaspora in India and the contributions of people of African origin to the culture and politics of India. ENGLISH-KONKANI DICTIONARY PROFILE OF EMINENT GOANS--PAST AND PRESENT GOA! THE ROME OF THE ORIENT THE GREATER TRAGEDY Complete list of OTHER INDIA BOOKSTORE Goa books catalog - Click
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Perhaps no other small
community has had as much literature devoted to them and their new
countries as of East Africa Goans, chronicling their struggles for
survival, describing their high achievements, glories and the halcyon
times. The process persists but the bulk of the books have rendered the
same beyond the reach of most interested readers back in India. Dr (Mrs)
Teresa Albuquerque's book Goans of Kenya, published in Mumbai,
therefore comes as a breath of fresh air.
It’s loaded with
speeches to declaim on every day, common topics. Anita also takes you
briefly into the basics of public speaking...posture, composing and how to
utilise stress and tension to one’s advantage while delivering an
effective speech.