06 Dec 2019  |   05:16am IST

THE STORY OF EVERY GOAN VILLAGE, THROUGH THE PEN OF ONE PROTAGONIST

Keeping Goan traditions occupations alive is not just the responsibility of the artisans but of every Goan who can contribute to this cause. Pantaleao Fernandes has been doing his bit by writing books with his photographs that tell their stories. Through his new bilingual book, ‘Ful- A Story, Pantaleo documents these occupations in a simple and easy to understand narrative through the eyes of ten year old girl Ful. At heart is a lament about Goa’s dying occupations

Dolcy D’Cruz

It takes a village to raise a child and this can

be aptly said about Ful, a young girl whose story unfolds in Pantaleao Fernandes’ new book, ‘Ful – A Story.’ An author of a pocket-sized book ‘100 Goan Experiences’ and two coffee table books ‘Goa Renumbered’ and ‘Goa: Rare Portraits’, Pantaleao brings the stories from the villages to the fore especially those involved in documenting traditional occupations. Living in Benaulim, Pantaleao has photographed villagers from every taluka of Goa and this is his venture with a bilingual book in English and Konkani. The book, ‘Ful – A Story’ will be released at the Young GALF, a section of the Goa Art and Literature Festival that is currently underway at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula.

A well known Goan writer, photographer and ethnographer, he has put in decades of hard work to keep these traditions alive and shares these stories through ten year old Ful. The story is set in a typical Goan village with its share of acres of paddy fields and betel nut plantations. Their peaceful village life is disrupted when a dam is proposed in the village which will require the villagers to be evacuated. With love for their ancestral land, Ful and her mother decide to stay in the village and are eventually washed away as the water level starts rising to another village. To start their new life, Ful has to learn the correlation between different occupation including that of a farmer, potter, carpenter, salt farmer, fisherman etc.

Speaking about what inspired Pantaleao to write the book, he says “I photograph to document the fast dying facets of our culture. When my documentation becomes a book, it is mostly used by senior students and scholars for further research. I felt that the children too should benefit from my work. This book does just that. It brings to fore the sacrifice that some villagers make to ensure drinking water to far off cities. As the story unfolds, the readers pay a visit to the different traditional occupations that are found in the villagers. The names of the different trades are explained and there is an encounter between the protagonist and the artisans. Sometimes it is difficult to realistically portray ideas with sketches, so real photographs are used to explain the different occupations. So the reader will immediately comprehend what is happening in the story.”

The stories are inspired by different trades in Goa. Sharing his experience of documenting these occupations, he explains, “Traditional occupations of Goa were being practiced in the village of my birth. When I grew up, many artisans were simply giving up their trades. So when I took up photography I found myself naturally attracted to the artisans at work. I have been documenting the occupations for more than a decade now. Many of our occupations are already extinct. There is no cloth hand woven by traditional artisans. Toddy tapping is on the decline. Only a few potters are still struggling with the wheel. The list goes on...”

With his photographs, Pantaleao also added a different artistic twist to the artwork with drawings by another author and artist, Savia Viegas. “Savia is my good friend. It’s always a pleasure to work with her. Her work was helpful. Certain visuals which cannot be photographed are depicted by her art. She has also brought alive the protagonist and her mother with her art,” he says.

Konkani writer Pundalik Naik has written the foreword for the book. “’Fulachi Kanni,’ is not just the story of Ful and her mother. It is also a tale of how much man loves the land of his origin, as well as how an uprooted human being seeks to adapt in a new place. The traditional occupations of the village are explained in this story and the character of these Goan trades emerges beautifully in the photographs within the book. Many folk stories have been woven by storytellers in Konkani folk culture as well that of other languages. In this story, the some style has been very skillfully attempted by the author,” says Pundalik.

To conclude, Pantaleao informs about his vision for the book, “When children read stories, they see it come alive in their minds. The photographs will help the children from the right imagery.” The book will be available for sale at the Goa Arts and Literature Festival and thereafter at all leading book stores.