Authoring
a book usually brings with it media attention and fame, so it is interesting to come across
an author that chooses to remain shrouded in mystery, allowing his works to
garner all the glory. Pogoat is the pseudonym used by an author, who is only
trying to make a name for this book, ‘Fair Weather Brother’. A contemporary
dystopian novel, it shares the fate of Charlie and his brother with regard to
what they will inherit from their forefathers when the previous generations
have already enjoyed the fruits of the tourism boom.
Originally from Margao, Pogoat calls himself a very proud
‘Saxti-kar’. “If I had the opportunity of creating a country, it would
definitely be the Republic of Salcete. I’ve done my BA in English Honours from
St Xavier’s College, Mapusa and I had started working on a novel while I was in
college, though it never really materialised. I moved out of Goa, like many other
Goans after college, and later made several attempts to get back to Goa, which
also never really materialised. So, I’ve lived in Bombay, Delhi and now
Bangalore, and travel extensively as part of my day job. Now, 19 years since I
first attempted writing, I’m happy to have completed the first part of my ‘Fair
Weather Brother Trilogy’,” he says.
So, what’s the inspiration behind ‘Fair Weather Brother’?
“‘Inspire’ is indeed the right word because for many years, I felt that the
best years for any writer were during WW1 or WW2 or the beginning of the
Industrial revolution, where concepts and theories were constantly evolving.
However, my mindset started to change as I developed a better understanding of
my present situation, which at first I thought was the end of history as it
seemed like nothing ever changes. But the deeper I got into the narrative of my
daily life, I more I began to realise that we are all standing on the brink of
a major catastrophe: Biogenetics, climate change, totalitarian regimes on the
rise, rising sea levels that have major implications on cities like Panjim that
area few metres above sea level… Unless we unite together, writers, artists,
politicians and common people, we will just be witnessing our own extinction.
The main issue is the meaning of being human. Our conflicting human identities
are reducing the humanness amongst us,” he explains.
‘Fair Weather Brother’ follows Charlie on a trip where he has to
leave Goa in the off-season and go for a few months to Nubra Valley, Himalayas
to make some money. As Charlie leaves Goa with his brother James (who’s trying
other options and has an interview for a job on the cruise liner in Bombay),
their plan is to reach Bombay in the morning, where James will go for his
interview and then later in the day, they can catch a train to Jammu and
Kashmir. But things don’t go according to plan, as they seldom do.
“The novel explores what stories Goans are telling themselves
about themselves. And that’s why, one of the central themes of this novel is
identity. What does it mean to be Goan? Charlie and his cousin Inas give a
contrast of Goan values and behaviours. Tenzin, the stateless Tibetan, who has
grown up in South India and never seen the snow or the Himalayas gives us a
perspective of how sometimes our self-proclaimed identity could misguide and
confuse us. I have been working on writing a novel since 2003. after scrapping
several drafts, I started ‘Fair Weather Brother’ in August 2013, following a
two-month road trip from Goa to the Himalayas,” elaborates Pogoat.
The book is available on Amazon (India and Global Amazon sites),
Flipcart and Infibeam.The e-book is available on Kindle, Kobo, Google and
iTunes.
“I
have chalked out what the second book will hold and I am in the middle of
writing it. It will be followed by the third book of the trilogy,” concludes
Pogoat. Explaining his desire to use a pseudonym, he concludes, “The
philosopher Hagel once said, ‘The problem is not when a mad man thinks he is a
king, the problem is when a king really thinks he is a king’. In the same
sense, Pogoat writes but does not consider himself a writer.”
