The Books & Beyond club of Don Bosco College, Panjim organized a visit to the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula for its students to witness the Goa Arts & Literature Festival (GALF), 2024. GALF, which aims to celebrate the literary prowess prevalent in the works of different writers from Goa as well as the other states of India, served as the perfect place for the students to immerse themselves into the world of literature and meet writers, poets and renowned people from the field of literature. The faculty in charge, who took this initiative was Asst. Prof Rukma Kanolkar.
During the two days at GALF, the students participated in various enriching sessions such as an exclusive book launch of Tomorrow someone will arrest you” by Meena Kandasamy and Anjum Hassan. Wherein, Kandasamy recited Hassan’s “The Seven Stages” highlighting the brutality of horrific honor killings happening in Tamil Nadu. She emphasized on discrimination and inequality arising more and more in rural communities, where love is defined on caste and class factors.
Another incredibly moving and hauntingly honest session was on the memoir, “Water in a Broken Pot” by the leading independent Indian Dalit publisher, writer, and poet Yogesh Maitreya. Amidst the conversation with Amita Kanekar, the writer talked about the experiences of pain, loneliness, deprivation, alienation, and the political consciousness of his caste identity. He explained his discovery with the written word, literature and the Ambedkarite legacy, which helped him shape his dreams, identity and the eventual career choice of publishing books.
Learning about the Konkan and the Malabar was yet another imbuing session discussing Konkani with its different scripts in contrast to Urdu. Poetry Readings: Dancing with Moonbeans + Jasmine City- Poems from Delhi, John Samson and Brian Mark Mendonça was a particularly significant session that left the students struck by a line ‘Poetry lives forever, believe in yourself, someone will publish you.’ At the same time Michelle Mendonça Bambawale and Mrinalini Harishchandra’s engaging talks on Goa’s culture, cuisine, and music, kept the students curiously engaged and intrigued by questions.
Lastly the students also partook in a snake show held prior to the book launch of “Snakes of Goa” by Rahul Alvares. The officials from Goa Forest department along with Mr. Alvares showcased to the audience a couple of snakes like the Boa snake which is commonly mistaken to have two heads, the Cat snake which lives on trees and has eyes similar to those of a cat and a rescued Python. All in all, by providing a platform for creativity, dialogue, and cultural exchange, GALF 2024 proved to be a wonderful experience to cherish for the students of Don Bosco college, Panjim.