Before Sandeep Doifode can talk about his upcoming work, he introduces himself by vividly describing the life he lives and the background
he comes from. Sandeep is from Bandirwada, a village comprising just 15 houses, nestled in the dense forests of Sattari. “I used to walk five
kilometres through the forest and then take a bus for 15 kilometres to get to school. A group of school friends and I used to leave the house
at 5am to reach school on time, spotting wild boars, bison and other wild animals on our way, hiding from some if we caught their attention,”
says Sandeep.
He attended Government High School in Sanvordem before moving to Government Higher Secondary School, Sanquelim. With basics in Marathi and Konkani, it was very difficult for Sandeep to grasp English. “I used to study everything in English by heart just so that I could answer and pass my exams.” Things took a change for the better when he met Sharat Jamkhandi, an English professor at Government
College, Sanquelim. “I was petrified being the
first boy from my village to enter the college
gate. It was a ‘campus’, a term I had heard for
the first time in my entire life.”
It was Sharat who had a huge impact on the
educational life of Sandeep. He was constantly
encouraging Sandeep to go beyond his abilities
and to explore the language through reading
and most importantly, writing. “I thought I could
never be someone. I felt that my destiny was
to sit at home, go to the fields, and spend my
entire life on futile things. Sir Sharat helped me
find myself. It’s because of him that I could dare
to hold a pen to write down something other
than question and answers.”
Sandeep tried his hand at writing English
poetry and Sharat was the first teacher to
appreciate it and encourage him to continue
writing. “My first poem was a terrible crime as
I had murdered the English language brutally,
but Sir Sharat praised me for doing that because
I had attempted something I was not good at.
He told me to write it again, and then rewrite it
once more. He told me that reading is the only
way to success. He is the first person I showed
my first ever certificate to, which I received at
an essay writing competition.”
For better study opportunities, Sandeep
joined St Xavier’s College, Mapusa and had to
start from First Year again. With English as his
major subject at St Xavier’s College, Sandeep
came across another encouraging English
teacher in Shirlene Palha Fernandes. “She calls
me ‘the writer’ and I could not let her down,”
adds Sandeep, now a third year student.
He has written a book of 30 poems,
titled, ‘Silent Whispers of the Soul’, which
has been approved under the scheme to
provide financial assistance to Goan authors
and publishers by the Directorate of Art and
Culture, Goa. The book will soon be sent for
publishing. Sandeep has plans to continue
writing in English and as he is reaching his
final year exams, he is concentrating on
excelling in English.
