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The world of
Goan English writers was shaken following the death of its brightest star, Margaret Mascarenhas.
Famous for her book ‘Skin’ it marked her out as a writer to watch out for. The
book marked a serious look at the diaspora in a manner that had not been done
till then.
To mark her memory, Sunaparanta-Goa Centre for the Arts held a
memorial service on Friday, 19th July 2019, in memory of its former Founding
Director, Ms. Margaret Mascarenhas. At the memorial service were Sunaparanta
Patrons Dipti and Dattaraj V Salgaocar and daughter Isheta Salgaocar. Her
family was represented by Milana and Fernanda, mother and sister of Ms.
Mascarenhas, along with close relatives, friends and well-wishers.
As founding Director
of Sunaparanta, Margaret’s vision contributed towards creating the blueprint of
the arts foundation and her constant endeavour and commitment to the art and
literature field. These included special collaborative projects such as public
art, prison art, like Blue Shores Silent and Things We Lost In The Fire which
were conceived as rehabilitative tools where she interacted with lifers at
Aguada Central jail, teaching them a multi-disciplinary course that included
painting, performance art and writing/word art. At the art Centre, she also
conceptualised special programming in visual art, theatre, literature, cinema
and music with an aim to preserve the artistic and cultural legacies of Goa.
Artistes from
different fields will testify to her mentoring through these endeavours. She
was a novelist, artist and poet, having authored the books Skin and The
Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos and a book of poems Triage. Her third novel
Just Another Car Bomb (working title) is set in Beirut, and remains incomplete.
At the memorial
service, Mr. Salgaocar spoke about the multifaceted and creative persona that
Ms.Mascarenhas was and her being a visionary in paving a way for the foundation
to become a vibrant hub for the community.
Others who paid rich
tribute to Margaret were Mrs. Milana, her mother, Kathia Sousa Vaz, Kara Anne
Sousa, Padma Shri Maria Aurora Couto, writer Sudeep Chakravarti, amongst
others. A video presentation of Margaret encapsulating her life and work at
Sunaparanta was part of the memorial service.
Speaking
t those who knew and admired her work it became quite obvious how important
Margaret and the book Skin was. DivyaKapur of Literati Bookshop and Café said
“The book Skin is important according to me in Goan English literature because
of the style of writing and the story line. This book it can be safely said is
a bestseller and it has been 14-15 years since it came out but it is still
popular. Anyone looking for Goan fiction should read this book”. The man who
published the book in Goa, Khaleel Ahmed of Broadway Book Centre had pleasant
memories of Margaret as well as promoting the book. He said “Margaret was very
good, she considered herself a international writer and once she noticed I had
placed her book under Goan literature and she raised her eyebrow and said it
had to be under world fiction and nowhere else. I of course hurriedly complied.
Her book sold very well and it could be safely said to be a bestseller and even
now people come and pick it up. Skin is part of the study course in Goa
University if I am not mistaken”. She may have been a one book author and was
working on a second when she passed away but the book Skin is considered
important on various levels. Professor Nina Caldeira of the English Language
Department, of Goa University said “ Skin is part of our study course in
post-colonial theories . It is part of two papers and I will say she is the
only Goan writer to have successfully experimented with post modern style of
writing. Her book has been translated in various languages and has been well
appreciated across the world”.
