‘The Baptism of Tony Calangute’ is an important story to tell; important enough to motivate authorSudeep
Chakravartito go as far as to pull his 2008 novel, ‘Once Upon a Time in
Aparanta’,from bookstores and re-release it through a new publisher, under a
new name.
Sudeep explains why it was important to retell this story. “I
think it’s the right time for ‘The Baptism of Tony Calangute’. In these past
ten years, Goa has seen great upheaval. Citizens have become more aware and are
asking tougher questions of their rulers, both, in villages and in Panjim.
Citizens are driven to protest the daily destruction of Goa, the steady killing
of its seas, land and rivers, the ceding of vast swathes of Goato what I call
the ‘Republic of Grand Corruption’, the ‘Republic of Freakonia’, and the ‘New
Republic of the Tsars’. At these times, Goa seems like an ageing, insecure
concubine, eager for coin, with no room for conscience, no room for care,” he
says.
He further adds, “Aptly, Goa today is at the forefront of
judicial review and national law-making in areas such as the environment,
mining issues, community rights and citizens’ rights to life and livelihood.
‘The Baptism of Tony Calangute’ is rooted in this awareness, this anger,
upheaval and questioning, and all of it is really rooted in a great, grand love
for Goa.
“The battle to save the soul of Goa made rotten by the thieves
and ‘Pied Pipers’ of Goa is very much in progress. My heroesare on this side of
the fence, the side that fights dark with light, fights fear with fortitude.”
Speaking about the changing face of Goa, Sudeep says, “For
several decades now, I have seen first hand the issues in Goa over its land,
rivers, forests and lakes, the grace and greed that drives Goa, how daughters
and sons of the soil are taken for a ride by those who would presume to rule
them, how a culture of patronage has crept in. I saw the good, bad and very
ugly of a place that called itself paradise. Concerned citizens have been
attacked with choppers, old ladies had their bones broken, and some ladies were
jailed, all this for protesting against rampant corruption in mining and
construction, for protesting against land sharks. Goans were killing Goa even
more than the ‘bhaille’ that manyGoenkars are so prompt to blame for all Goa’s
ills,” says Sudeep.
“I have written several articles and essays about it, as much as
I wrote about the amazing grace and great beauty of Goa, about its people whom
I consider my people. ‘The Baptism of Tony Calangute’ is born out of my abiding
love for Goa. It is about the magic of Goa as well as what I call ‘Malaise de
Goa’, this disease of the dark side that Goa is afflicted by. ‘The Baptism of
Tony Calangute’ can also be read as a love story and lament for any other
Goa-like place, places where beauty and the beast live side by side,” he adds.
How was the process of removing the old version off the shelves
to bring on a new story with a new cover and title?” It was quite a
straightforward process. Unhappy with the way things were, I served notice to
the publisher, mentioning that I was withdrawing all rights, and at their
request, gave them a few months to sell the copies in their stock. Then the
manuscript sat with me for several years. When I felt the time was right, I
approached Aleph Book Company with it, and they absolutely loved ‘The Baptism
of Tony Calangute’, the title as well as the story. They said that, among other
things, it reminded them of the mood of American writer Carl Hiaasen, who
writes fiction based on social and environmental issues, and often adopts dark
satire to tell his stories. So, they especially made space for ‘Tony’, as they
now fondly call it, in their ‘Spring 2018’ catalogue,” says Sudeep.
Aleph
Book Company also published ‘The Bengalis – A portrait of a community’, making
the experience comfortable for Sudeep to re-release ‘The Baptism of Tony
Calangute’. “It was like coming home. Aleph understood and valued ‘The Baptism
of Tony Calangute’; they gave it respect, designed a superb, world-class cover
and have treated it like a new book, which, in some ways, it is. I am happy and
I feel so vindicated, because the critical reception and word-of-mouth is
already very good.”