Poems

Poems collection released

PANAJI: A new collection of poems in English and Kannada "Lotus petals" and "Ninnolumeyali" respectively penned by the Kannada novelist and poet Arvind Yalagi, have been released by Dr Janet Rubbinoff, well known Canadian writer and Professor of
Anthrophology, York University, Toronto, Canada and the poet Lauret of Goa, Dr Manohar Rai Sardessai, respectively recently.

The function was organised by A Anuradha, coordinator of Ambikatanayadatta Vedike, Panaji. Dr Nandkumar Kamat, well known Goan scholar and writer, was the guest of honour.

Arvind Yalagi, is a prolific writer in Kannada and English, has eight books to his credit. His literary contribution includes "Dhruva-Milan" (1994) and "Sandhya Kiran" (1995) social novels in Kannada, "Mandavi" (1998) collection of poems in Kannada,
"Ambikatanayadatta: Kavi-Kavyya-Kalapne" (1995), Literary criticism on the Janapeeth award winner Dr D R Bendre's poetry. "Silver Clouds" (1997) was his first collection of poems in English. Other books of Arvind Yalagi entitled "20th century Portuguese
Poetry" and "Fleeting fancies", collection of English poems are under print.

Arvind Yalagi's poetry is remarkable for its quality of immense humanism and his verses convey his message beyond their superficial meanings. He excelled in songs dealing with love, nature and God.

THE PORTRAIT - BOOK OF POEMS RELEASED

"The Portrait" - a collection of 80 thought-provoking and deeply inspiring poems on diverse topics by Federicka Menezes was released this week in Panaji, Goa, India. The book is also exceptional considering that the bubbly, young author is spastic. Her inability to do many a thing without being helped has not fettered her fiery, lively and incredibly active mind. The book is a touching tale of the author's remarkable use of the computer to translate her emotions and opinions into poems. Through her poetry, young Frederika shares with readers her pain, her aspirations and her cheer in the face of despair, going on to prove that her condition is no impediment to realising her dreams. "The Portrait" is available at all leading bookstalls in Goa (India).
For more information / copies of the book, please call 0091-832-226809 or email: infoline@goa1.dot.net.in.

- Forwarded by: Infoline India Pvt Ltd on GoaNet Email:infoline@goa1.dot.net.in

Last Bus to Vasco

by Brian Mendonca - Email : brianmendonca@hotmail.com

I

Cool zephyrs of night
Under the canopy of the western sky,
Everything dissolves
Places, smells, memories, distances.
Orion smiles in benevolence.
Full-busted fisherwomen urge their pantulems onto the bus.
"Maincho gho" seethes the conductor.

Mandovi bridge lights kiss me farewell
As I gaze down,
>From Bambolim slope.
"2213," "PAGE ME" scream the hoardings.
"Fulancho Khuris," spires doffed in benediction
Matrimandir of the faithful.
"O Lord, hear my prayer"
"Siridao Siridao, vos vos."

Ancient palm trees, lonely sentinels
Penetrate the inky darkness.
"Kingfisher Bar and Rest."
Shrouds the brooding Goa Velha cemetry.

II

Zuari crossing
Sodium lights shimmer on the Styx.
Tourists whistle; "Iea maray!"
Hurry up please it is time.
Here time stands still.
Unlike the stormy Krishna, or the restless Jamuna
The lambent Zuari
Receives the prow of the ferry boat
In Cosmic harmony.
Must call home. It's late.
"All-lines-in-this-route-are-busy. Please-call-after-some-time."

III

Crossroads Cortalim
Watermelons galore.
"Ieta?"says the matador van.
9.05 pm.
Red tail lights flicker,
Cavalcade of vehicles head for home.
DEA, MH, GAO-2
"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam."
The rim of land parleys with the river.
Goa Shipyard. Pothole crater ahead!!
Where tyre wheels measure
The undulations of social interactions.
KTC bus stand, Vasco.
My two-wheeler sulks at my inattention.
On the road once more,
The short ride home . . .
To Goa, my own Ephraim.

Glossary

Zephyr: a soft, gentle breeze or wind. From Greek zephuros - God of the west wind.
Orion: (Gk. legend.) A giant and hunter, said to have been changed into a constellation at his death. The line recalls Keki Daruwalla's phrase in his poem Under Orion, "But if you drift with Orion / the perils are yours. / Night after night you will go along / the black drum of the skies / Trailing the cold spear-silences of the stars-"
Pantulem: (Konkani.) Wicker basket.
Maincho gho: (Konk.) derogatory.
Mandovi: Name of river in North Goa.
Fulancho Khuris: (Konk.) Cross of flowers.
Matrimandir: Central structure of spiritual energy, Auroville, Pondicherry.
Siridao: name of village in Goa.
Vos: (Konk.) Go.
Styx: (Gk. myth) One of the nine rivers of the underworld, over which Charon ferried the souls of the dead.
Zuari: Name of river in Goa leading out to the Arabian sea.
Iea maray: (Konk.) Let's go. Hurry up . . . time: A phrase from T.S. Eliot's poetry.
Lambent: Gently brilliant.
Ieta: (Konk.) Coming.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: (Sanskrit) Ancient Indian concept. "All Creation is one Family."
Tyre wheels . . . interactions: An idea from Jaganath Prasad Das' poem Bhubaneshwar.
KTC: Kadamba Transport Corporation - the state owned public transport system. Named after the Kadambas who ruled Goa, prior to Liberation in 1961.
Ephraim: (Biblical allusion) From John 11: 54 - "From that day on the Jewish authorities made plans to kill Jesus. So Jesus did not travel openly in Judea, but left and went to a place near the desert, to a town named Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples."

Note: The poem "Last Bus to Vasco" was written in December 1997 while travelling on the last bus to Vasco from Panaji, the capital of Goa state - a distance of 30 kms. Attempting to record vignettes of a Goa that is fast changing, the writer's journey is also a journey inward as he struggles to place the transient and the timeless side by side.

List compiled by Frederick Noronha Email:fred@goa1.dot.net.in

DESTINO: Poemas. Judit Beatriz de Souza. Imprensa Nacional, Goa 1955. 65 pp. Poems in Portuguese. (I managed to buy a copy for a couple of rupees, a few years ago, at the Govt. Printing Press, Panjim)

COLLECTED POEMS 1957-1987. Dom Moraes. Penguin Books India. 1987 Pp 167. Rs 55.

TAMARIND LEAF. R.V.Pandit. Translated by Thomas Gay. Poems. Rs 6.50 May 1967. Poems. "Pandit mirrors the many-sided life of `his' Goa. As a Goan, he knows the tragic poverty that stalks beneath the waving palms, that lurks even in the Zamindar's stately mansion."

GOAN POETRY. Compiled by R.V.Pandit. Bhagawati Prakashan, Goa. 1976. Rs 15. Pp 73.

SELECTED POEMS. Manuel C. Rodrigues. Bombay 1978. Rs 10.

LOADS: A BOOK OF POEMS. Remo Fernandes.1980. Pop-star Remo's book of critical verse, poems of emigration, and illustrations. "This book is dedicated to all Goans who have died frustrated in any way. May there be no more."

I EXIST: POEMS BY SANTAN RODRIGUES. Writers Workshop. 1976. Pp 41. The poet is a talented friend whom I invariably bump into near Churchgate; he works with the PR department of ColourChem, and our paths often cross -- in the course of work, and literally!

NEW POEMS 1985. F.N.Souza. 1985. Bombay. F.N.Souza is one of Goa's prominent painters (148 West 67th Street, New York, 10023, USA). Some time back, INDIAN EXPRESS carried a full-page article on him, in its magazine section, headlined "Now that Picasso's dead, I'm the world's greatest..." or something to that effect.

POEMS. Leslie de Noronha. Writers' Workshop, Calcutta. 1975. Rs 20.

DOWN THE ARCHES OF THE YEARS. Bailon de Sa. 1995. Rs 150. Pp 70. Poems by a former chief technical advisor of UNESCO, and ex-acting vice chancellor of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana.

GOAN VIGNETTES and other poems. Ashok Mahajan. OUP, Bombay, 1986. Pp 64. Rs 25. "The second section focuses on the attractively distinct culture and iridescent landscapes of Goa." Mahajan is a telecommunications engineer in the Indian Army.

NIGHT CHASERS & OTHER POEMS. Roy Albuquerque. Pp 12. The author is (was?) a PR manager of Hindustan Diamond Co Ltd.

SHAPITH SURYA (ACCURSED SUN). Dadu Mandrekar. 1991. Rs 60. Pp 134. Poems by one of Goa's most prominent Dalit activists, who has been campaigning for the rights of the former untouchable castes.

BORROWED TIME. Manohar Shetty. Praxis. 1988. Pp 56. Rs 35. Shetty is a former editor of GOA TODAY and poet. This is his second book of verse.

A BRUTAL SUNSET. Bob D'Costa. A first volume of verse. Writers' Workshop, Calcutta. 1982. Pp 46. D'Costa was a 22 year old teacher in Calcutta at the time this volume was published.