Goa’s Fish Curry and Rice has seen it all. A dish considered a Goan staple finds its name scrawled/written across a book cover. Nearly two decades since the publication of its last edition (in 2002), the latest (5th) edition of Fish Curry and Rice has sparked an enlightening conversation! With over 170 contributions from leading voices, written and edited by Claude Alvares, this book resonates deeply. Fish Curry and Rice delves deep into Goa's environment, history, culture, geology, biodiversity, agriculture, and fishing, to name a few.
The conversation held on the occasion of World Book Day throws light on how books and literature can spark dialogues. “Fish Curry and Rice” becomes the bridge between both Earth Day (celebrated on the 22nd April) and World Book Day (celebrated on April 23). Dia Mirza, in a conversation with Claude Alvares and Padmashree Awardee Norma Alvares, talks about all the hard work that went into making the fifth edition of Fish Curry and Rice.
Tracing its inception in the years 1977-78, a request to cover Goa’s issues for an article and a cover story in a magazine (Inside Outside), is where Claude found his inspiration. “I don't know what impact it had on the readers, but it had a great impact on me and kept me glued to environmental issues,” he recollects.
When the Government’s announcement of ‘Construction of about 70 5-star hotels across Goa's beaches’ shook the state, its people came forward and resisted. Thus, in the 1990s, the first edition of this book was released, focusing on industrialisation, the entry of large-scale tourism, and the gradual takeover of the beaches. The fifth edition feels different.
“The first edition was limited, but today, 34 years later, this shaitan of development has taken over the whole state, and that's why we decided to resurrect Fish Curry and Rice. We didn't do anything for over 2 decades, but the scale of the assault on Goa is so extensive that it's hard to overlook,” he adds.
With a stark picture of the reality of Goa’s environment being put forth, Dia Mirza shifts the conversation to Norma Alvares, who shares how the relationship between law and ecology works. “We have the laws to protect all of these commons (commons referring to rivers, sea, plateau), the Air Act, the Water Act, the all-encompassing Environment Protection Act, but the problem is that they are not implemented with the spirit with which they were framed,” she explains.
With these stark realities placed in front of the audience, one question echoes collectively, and Mirza puts it forth, “Where did we go wrong?” Being India’s smallest state, Goa is subjected to extreme pressure from all sides, mining, deforestation, hill cutting, developmental Projects, pollution, large-scale tourism, etc. “Goa cannot cope with this. The silver lining, though, is that this mal-development is limited to a few villages and towns. That is exactly why we came up with Fish Curry and Rice again, because if we were to call it the end, it wouldn't sit well. The book reflects turbulence, the passion, and the zeal that Goans display.” Claude puts forth.
The court's empathetic response to Norma's advocacy for the environmental issues is what keeps her going! “I would say every time the judges are sitting on the division bench, hearing PILs, in Goa, they become green judges. I don't know if it's the greenery they see around them or if they are taken to some sanctuaries. Maybe that is why Justice Gautam Patel in one of his judgements says, that line is in the book, that ‘Goa is a land worth fighting for.’” Norma emphasizes.
“We are never alone. Every second person in a Goan village will definitely come out if there is an agitation to stop hill cutting or cutting a tree. Goa is in a state of turmoil with huge developmental projects being given permission, but the manpower or womanpower or whatever you want to call it, that is opposing them, is what keeps us going. The scale of opposition in Goa is huge, and we are proud to be a part of it.” Claude Alvares adds.
With so much to take away from the book Fish Curry and Rice, Claude and Norma Alvares want the book to instill a tremendous sense of hope that even one ordinary citizen can spark conversations, hold dialogues, raise awareness, and change the planet. The hope that ordinary people can come together and reverse government decisions and protect the environment.
