FROM TEXT TO PRINT: CASE STUDY OF GOA. Understanding Literary Production of Fiction and Non-Fiction Works in Twentieth-Century Goa A thesis submitted to the Goa University for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English by Frederico Noel John Noronha Research guide: Dr André Rafael Fernandes, Professor and Head, Department of English, Goa University, Taleigão Goa January 2020 CERTIFICATE I hereby certify that the thesis titled ‘From Text to Print: Case Study of Goa. Understanding Literary Production of Fiction and Non-Fiction Works in Twentieth-Century Goa’ submitted by Frederico Noel John Noronha for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy is the record of the original work done by him under my guidance, and further that it has not formed the basis for the award of any other degree or diploma or certificate or associateship or fellowship of this or any other university. Taleigão, Goa André Rafael Fernandes 03 January 2020 Professor and Head Department of English Goa University, Goa ii DECLARATION I, Frederico Noel John Noronha, hereby declare that this thesis titled ‘From Text to Print: Case Study of Goa. Understanding Literary Production of Fiction and Non-Fiction Works in Twentieth-Century Goa’ is the outcome of my own research undertaken under the guidance of Dr André Rafael Fernandes, Professor and Head, Department of English, Goa University. All the sources used in the course of the work have been fully acknowledged in the thesis. This work has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma or certificate of this or any other university. 26 December 2019 FREDERICO NOEL JOHN NORONHA iii ABSTRACT Goa was home to the first movable type printing press in Asia, set up in the year 1556. This thesis aims to explain the growth and decline of the printed text in the region while focussing on the book in twentieth-century Goa in particular. Literature in Goa was shaped by a range of diverse factors, often distant from the writing process itself and beyond the control of the author. This is evident from an examination of the publishing and printing sectors; technology available, deployed or lacking; economic options available to get books into print; political changes of the era; the shifting dominance of different languages; the vast global or limited regional market available for information or creativity; and other such factors. While non-literary factors in the creation of the literature of Goa are focussed on, book publishing in the region is sought to be situated within the context of the Core-Periphery theory, which offers a framework to understand changes in the role that the region has played in the world of the printed word. A background to Goa, and its wider context across past centuries offers insights into what shaped the fate of the printed word. Subsequent chapters of the thesis look at the roles played by policies, printers and publishers; the author’s position and reading in a small society; the role of the diaspora in shaping Goan literature; and the impact of language shifts in shaping the writing of Goa. Four appendices give additional background to framing the issue. iv TO THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE WORLD OF THE BOOK — PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, IN GOA ESPECIALLY, FROM 1556 TO DATE — FOR THE LONG HOURS SPENT, ACKNOWLEDGED (IF AT ALL) ONLY IN THE FINE PRINT OF THEIR SELDOM MENTIONED WORK, FOR THEIR ATTEMPTS TO KEEP THE WOR(L)DS OF KNOWLEDGE AND CREATIVITY FLOWING Contents Abstract iv List of Tables x List of Figures xi 1. Introduction: Situating Goa in its Wider Context 1 The history and challenges Introduction . 1 Background to the study . 10 Roadmap . 17 The context beyond Goa . 23 Significance of the study . 24 The rationale for the study . 29 Theoretical framework . 30 The thesis statement . 30 Research purpose . 31 Research questions . 31 Methodology . 32 Developing a conceptual framework . 32 Review of literature . 39 Scope, limitations and delimitations . 42 Definition of key terms, concepts, identities . 47 Summary ................................... 59 vi 2. Power and the Periphery 63 The geographies and economics of literary production and consumption in Goa Early start . 67 In the ‘sunset’ years of Empire . 75 When the press stayed shut . 78 Periods lost to history . 80 Post-1961 changes . 84 In the market: printers, publishers and challenges . 85 The press – what was produced and by whom? . 86 The press – where it produced? . 93 The press – who controls? . 98 Diverse models, different ideologies . 104 Publishers in Goa, the missing link . 108 The support of grants . 117 The impact of radio . 120 3. Economics and Efficacy 123 The author’s position, and reading, in a small society Only a few, select voices . 124 Migration, nearby cities . 125 Breaking into the market . 132 Language and the author . 137 Beyond the market: non-profit initiatives . 139 Authors, demand and print-runs . 143 Reading in a small society . 146 Libraries, in an inadequately-noticed role . 148 Libraries elsewhere . 156 4. Beyond Home, Into the Metropole And Elsewhere 159 vii Publishing Goan writing away from Goa Understanding Goan migration . 162 Writing in exile . 164 Where Goa got published . 183 5. Prose, Politics, Power 189 Language shifts and other non-literary trends that shaped writing in Goa The speedy ‘demise’ of Portuguese . 192 Konkani, diverse scripts, local languages . 207 The role of Marathi . 212 English in contemporary Goa . 214 How the languages compare in terms of books . 221 Making sense of the language puzzle . 223 The politics of the book . 229 Forms of control . 238 Technology, or the lack of it . 244 6. Lessons from Goa 250 Summary and discussions Statement of the problem . 251 Review of the methodology . 251 Summary of the results . 252 Insights from the research . 275 Relationship of the study to prior research . 276 Theoretical implications of the study . 276 Explanation of unanticipated findings . 276 Implications for practice . 277 Recommendations for further research . 278 viii Acknowledgements 280 A word (and more) of thanks Works Cited 297 Appendices 352 A. Marking Time 352 A timeline of the printed word in Goa Grammars... and religious texts . 352 The timeline . 360 B. Marathi in Print 387 The written word in Marathi in Goa: novels C. Writing Out of Goa... 390 Insights from Luis Santa Rita Vás D. Portugal, India, Goa ... and the book 395 ix LISTOFTABLES Table No. Title Page 1 Locations where printing presses were active in the 95-97 twentieth century – within Goa and beyond 2 Estimates of Goan migration to various parts of the 163-164 globe 3 List of languages in which Goans have written 165-167 4 Where Goa got published 183-186 5 Language, politics and the book in Goa over the 191 centuries 6 List of books published in Portuguese in recent years 201-203 7 Comparative list of books published, language-wise 223-224 8 Goa’s shifting role in the world of books 254 x LISTOFFIGURESS Figure No. Title Page 1 Name-board of the Tipografia Progresso, preserved in 114 Margão in 2014. 2 Note from F.N.Souza 173 3 Google Scholar entry regarding a Goa book 236 4 Printing press from an earlier era 246 5 Facsimile of the cover of Dovtrina Christam 353 xi xii Introduction: Situating Goa in its Wider Context Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home. —Anna Quindlen, b.1952. American author, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, opinion columnist, author of How Reading Changed My Life. Introduction The printed word is often taken for granted in the realm of literature. Yet, it is the printed word that is the very material basis for, and a precondition to, the creation and existence of literature as we know it. It is the glue that makes it possible for our ideas and thoughts to be preserved and to proliferate. Many a writer has made, or lost, a reputation depending on the efficacy of the mechanics of how their thoughts were processed. This holds not just in terms of the actual technology available and used in the publishing of books, but also in terms of the economics and politics that this complex process has had to contend with, its positioning in the global marketplace of ideas, and other related concerns. This study emerges from that perspective, as well as from a long personal interest, fascination and dependence in multiple ways on the ‘hardware’ that has made possible the existence of powerful words and ideas. Goa itself has played a significant role in the history of print in Asia; it was home to the first Gutenberg-style movable type printing press in the entire continent. This press reached here way back in 1556, although it arrived in Goa accidentally when it failed to reach its intended destination of Abyssinia, current-day Ethiopia (Windmuller-Luna 239-240). The contribution of this thesis: The contribution of this thesis lies in building an understanding of writing from Goa, by mapping prominent developments in the world of the book since the mid-sixteenth century in general, but with a focus on the twentieth century in particular. It reviews the non-literary influences and factors that have shaped the literature of the region. The thesis also applies the Core-Periphery theory to the world of book production and distribution, involving the region under study. For this study, a case-study has been conducted of writing from twentieth-century Goa. To situate the wider context, a timeline of the history of the book in Goa and among its diaspora is included. Likewise, a tabular comparison of the histories of Goa, Portugal and India, attempts to contrast such developments vis-à-vis the literary developments of Goa.