Dr Maria de Lourdes Bravo da Costa
Rodrigues, a retired senior librarian at the Goa State Central Library in
Panjim always desired to be awarded a PhD. However, with her service as a
librarian for over 37 years, she needed her own pace to research and complete
her thesis. She finally did it with after six years of research, with ‘Food
History of Goa: its multifaceted aspects from 1900-1961’ for which she was
recently awarded a PhD by Goa University.
Graduating in 1974 in
chemistry and geology, she did her degree in library science in SNDT Women’s
University in 1982-83. “After coming back to Goa, I did my MA in History. I had
to answer an exam to change the faculty. I did eight papers in History as I
wanted History of Goa paper. History does not mean only dates or names. History
has much more beyond that and now as one writes their own research papers, one
has their own analysis and arguments and then you have to defend your
arguments. History means you have to analyses and you need to have an argument
and contribute something. Otherwise it is nothing original,” she explains.
“My thesis guide was
Professor Remy Dias, who at that time was professor and Deputy Director of
Higher Education in Porvorim. It suited me to discuss the thesis with him in
Porvorim. I decided on Food history but we both decided on the chapters and
what we would work on. As a student, I had to talk and decide with the guide
before preparing a proposal. Then, the proposal has to be submitted to a
committee at Goa University which decides if it is a good proposal. When you
submit your synopsis they check with a software how much copied from another
source and the same thing they do for the thesis too. You cannot go beyond 300
pages for the entire thesis. Prof Remy Dias’ suggestions and guidance led me
through research with innovative ideas in writing the thesis,” says Dr Maria
about her six years of research and presentation of her thesis. Prof Remy is
now a History professor at Government College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
Quepem.
Dr Maria was fortunate to complete her
research before the Covid-19 pandemic. She visited libraries in Coimbra and
Lisbon. “My research started before Covid-19. Fortunately, I had done all the
research work before the libraries closed during the pandemic. I could start
writing, I used to coordinate with my guide online. The thesis has an
introduction and conclusion and five chapters. It was multifaceted so it was
different for each chapter but I started with rice and ended with rice. In the
last chapter also I share the problems we had with the insufficiency with rice
during economic blockade,” she elaborates.
The first chapter,
‘Rice, the perennially ‘insufficient’ Goan Staple’, is on the insufficiency of
rice. It was our staple and still insufficient for us. I based my argument on a
novel, ‘O Signo Da Ira’ by Orlando Da Costa. That lower strata people suffered
because of the rich people, the landlords, the communidades and the government,
who would also cheat the farmer. The government and the gaunkaris used to bully
people. I also used poems from RA Pandit’s Konkani book, ‘Mhajem Utar
Ganvddeachem’, where he cries about the rain and the shortage of food. Even
others have discussed this topic where those who tilled the land didn’t get
much in return,” says Dr Maria.
The second chapter is
the one which Dr Maria loved working on as it was a theme that was close to her
heart. “Food, the memory connector. A study of the Goan folk and other forms of
literature’ is a new topic and it was a the most challenge chapter for me
because I was doing something that was not explored. To understand the whole
thing, I had to use international research scholars but for material on this, I
based my arguments and analysis on local folklore, folk art, short stories,
mando, dulpods and even cradle songs,” says Dr Maria, who referred to Jon
Holtzman’s ‘Food and memory’ and David Sutton’s ‘Remembrance of Repasts -
An anthropology of food
and memory’.
She further adds, “One cradle song is how
mothers and grandmothers would call an imaginary crow while feeding the child
with the line, ‘Kaudea, kaudea io, io, Kaudea, kaudea io, io, iem chit tuca
gue– haap’ ‘Crow, crow, come here, come
here, take this handful of rice – haap.’ Another dulpod I used in thesis is
‘Avoi Maiatso Muinnom Paulo Lagim’ which explains that there is so much work to
do in the month of May. Earlier, Goan households had to have enough rice in the
cellar which had to be boiled and kept ready for the rest of the season. That
way you connect memories to the food.”
The third chapter on
‘Feasts and traditions: borrowing to celebrate festivities and indebtedness’ is
a beautiful chapter what makes Goa so unique through its celebrations where
food plays an integral part. However, it also highlights the plight of Goans
who had to celebrate these feasts even at the cost of taking debts. Right from
St Anne’s feast also known as ‘Touchemche Fest’ (cucumber’s feast) in Talaulim,
‘Pejechem Fest’ in Siridao, ‘Tisreachem Fest’ in Nerul to the Harvest Festival
in Talegaio are elaborately explained.
‘Drinks that ‘cheers’ and brings tears’ is
based on the role of drinks in the Goan society. As every occasion, happy or
sad, is celebrated with alcohol, the repercussions of the vice of alcoholism is
felt, not just on an individual but on the family and community as well.
“People are not accepting alcohol as a problem even though people know it. It
is not a local but an international problem. Alcohol was selected as bad food
for the thesis,”
says Dr Maria.
The last chapter before the conclusion,
‘Economic blockade and the pangs of hunger’ again highlights the importance of
rice as the staple food of Goa, “I had to do a lot of reading and then connect
it to economic history, not social history which is my forte otherwise,” she
adds.
Author of books like ‘Games that we
played’, ‘Remembering Goa’, ‘Tasty Morsels: Goan Food Ingredients &
Preparation’ and ‘Feasts, Festivals and Observances of Goa’, Dr Maria has gifted Goa with books that Goans down memory
lane. This was also advantageous for her to complete her thesis, “I have used
my earlier writing as a source of documentation for my argument in the thesis.
In fact, it helped me because I had it published.
I could use what I had published. These were my memories that I could use.”
Honoured with the Goa State Cultural
awards in 2019 for her contribution for literature in English, Dr Maria is
hoping to soon publish her thesis as a book. “I submitted my thesis for a
doctorate which has been granted and I have been given a PhD by the Goa
University but it is my intellectual property. I have two conference papers to
write, no sooner I finish that, I will start work on publishing the book. My
wish of mine to do my doctorate is finally complete,” she adds optimistically.