Teotonio R. de Souza
Photo Credits: OPED ANCHOR COLUMN
I published “Goa to Me” (Delhi, Concept Publishers, 1994) as a farewell book when I left Goa to settle down in Lisbon in mid-1994. Then I had thought of a trilogy. A follow-up volume would ensure and express my continued accompaniment of Goa, notwithstanding the physical distance. It could be titled Linking Goa and Portugal or vice-versa, but it came out in 2014 as “Goa outgrowing Postcolonialism”.
It summed up my reflections on the evolution of Goa in all its aspects since its Liberation, against the background of its recent and more distant past. “Goa outgrowing Postcolonialism” was the outcome of ongoing reflections and historical explorations, both at the academic or research level, as well as popular level as columns in Goan dailies since late 2008. It was a way of expressing my conviction that academic research should not remain closeted in ivory towers and accessible only to fellow researchers. The general public too has the right to benefit from the research that is made possible with public funds.
Writing fortnightly columns has the advantage of providing time to digest and get feedback from the readers, reducing thereby the pressures of writing a book in one shot and without benefitting from the public response by way of corrections and suggestions. The net result is a not a mere compilation of the published columns, but a fusion of those texts with the infusion of fresh linking ideas. It turns into a revised version with the additional advantage for the readers, namely to find it all in one place, without having to hunt for the dispersed articles, a difficult and time-consuming exercise.
After many hesitations, enhanced by uneven health, I am trying to convince myself that it is time to put hand to the plough and move towards completing the planned trilogy, summing up my experiences in Portugal during the past two decades or so. It is a daunting task, not unlike the earlier two exercises, because quite a few reflections always concern individuals and institutions that played their part in my life-experiences and could become targets of unfair judgments and hurts. Though it is not possible entirely nor desirable that we overlook or cover-up all unpleasant situations, it is important to achieve a balanced assessment.
Such very delicate situations and cases I could reserve for an historical novel, which normally provides a freedom, unbound by the fetters of historical objectivity and dependence on credible sources. In an historical novel it is customary to warn against any semblance of persons, places or events with the reality. With that proviso one can go ahead and produce a virtual reality.
Some of my historian friends and several others known to me have resorted to the genre of historical fiction at the end of their careers. I can understand now the rationale behind such an urge to complete a career that seeks truth with a work of fiction which could become ‘unproverbially’ truer than the truth. May be that I too will need to resort to such a device to cap my nearly half a century of historical research. Several titles for that novel surge in my mind with an anticipated excitement, but one that appeals to me most at this moment is Passions and Choices. In it, Joaquim Rosa, the protagonist of the novel, discovers a conflict of values, a confrontation between the demands of social dharma against the buffetings of the inherited karma, with constant doubts if life on earth is not a journey to no destination. Better ideas from my readers and friends are welcome and will be acknowledged. I am writing these lines at the threshold of the New Year 2016. It is usual to start a new year with some resolutions that could serve as a MoU, or a memorandum of understanding between me and my readers. Like any MoU it is not legally binding but is meant to carry a degree of seriousness and mutual respect stronger than a gentlemen’s agreement. In this case it does not bind my potential readers at all. It is not a Letter of Intent which binds legally, for example, between a buyer and seller. In this present case it could be a catalyser to get myself moving with some self-imposed deadlines.
I recall the times when I was wading through scholastic jargon. That was during my Rachol Seminary days and later at the Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (Pontifical Atheneum, Pune). One key concept was about ultimate causes which guide the reflections of any philosopher. It tried to convey that the end is first in intention though last in execution. In its erudite Latin version - “Finis est primus in intentione, sed ultimus in ordine executionis”. At the start of this New Year I am stating my intention. I wish and hope that the execution will follow, even if it takes little longer than this year, but not indefinitely longer.
To conclude, I wish I could sign off with “truly” yours, but having spent two decades and more in Portugal, it is undeniable that “Portugal to Me” has not left me untouched. If a Portuguese has to promise something he adds immediately “logo se vê”, comparable to the proverbial English saying: We shall cross the bridge when we come to it.
Teotonio R de Souza is Founder-Director of the Xavier Centre of Historical Research (1979-1994), Fellow of the Portuguese Academy of History (since 1983), retired professor of Universidade Lusófona, Lisboa (1996-2014), author of Medieval Goa (1979,1994,2009), Goa to Me (1994), Goa outgrowing Postcolonialism (2014) and a dozen of edited works and over 200 published articles
