It was the rare privilege of being a student (MA) and later
fellow founder of Alliance Francaise, Goa that afforded Edith Noronha Melo
Furtado a deeper insight into the works of Goa’s most beloved poets – Manohar Rai
Sardessai; one that led to the formation of a book.
Delving into his Konkani as well as French poetry, Edith was
to discover the essential poet who was deeply rooted in his culture even though
his learning led him to Western classical and romantic literature during his
doctoral studies at Sorbonne
University in Paris. “I could only think of him as someone where India or Goa
and France met. I would never say he was westernised, though I would say he was
quite ingrained in western literature and thought,” avers this retired HOD,
French and Francophone Studies, Goa University, who was awarded the Palmes Académiques by the French government
for her contribution to the promotion of French language in Goa.
It
was this understanding that led her, much after his death, to study his poetry.
“I looked at his work from two points of view: The East which I termed as his
cradle, his origin and identity and the West which captured his literary and
human imagination. He has been mostly acclaimed as a lyrical poet, but he was
also a people’s poet or ‘Lok Kavi’; one who was deeply involved, mentally and
emotionally, in the fortunes of his land. There was a deeper purpose to his
poetry,” she summarises, while citing his collection ‘Zaiat Zage’ as the most
relevant to the poet’s involvement in the pre and post liberation eras of Goa.
One such satirical poem, ‘Aum Goencho ani Goencho Bhailo’, was to influence the title of her book, ‘The Works of Manohar Rai Sardessai – A Meeting Point between India and France’. “I had decided to make a book of his Konkani poems which I had translated into English. The main purpose was to bring his poetry to non-Konkani readers. However, I have left the French poetry untouched,” shares Edith, while acknowledging the assistance of Ameeta Agshikar and others in the Konkani translations. “For students of languages in Goa, they could read this bilingual book as poetry of a Goan poet who also wrote in French. It will also give them an understanding as to what he wrote about and why in each language,” she adds.
Choosing three of his best known Konkani collections, ‘Zaio-Zuio’, ‘Pissolim’ and ‘Zaiat Sage’, including three singles, ‘Atara Jun’, ‘Mez Ailem’ and ‘Aum Goencho ani Goencho Bhailo’, as representations of Sardessai’s purposeful poetry, Edith has also incorporated a critical commentary on each section. The second half of the commentary emphasis more on the influences of 18th and 19th century French writers and French thought on Sardessai’s imagination.
The book indeed serves as a tribute and an eye-opener to a poet whose work was truly a meeting point between India and France.
(The works of Manohar
Rai Sardessai – A Meeting Point between India and France’ will be launched at
the hands of Vice Chancellor of Goa University, Dr Satish Shetye on November 7,
2014 at 6pm at Fundacao Oriente, Fontainhas. The launch will follow a panel
discussion by three people closely associated with Sardessai’s work –Maria
Aurora Couto, Vijaya Rao and Madhav Borkar)