Even
after a very brief and cursory browsing of the new literature that is emerging
in Konknni in the Roman script, one realizes that the authors or writers are
deeply concerned with issues like the Goan identity or Goanness, the loss of
the way of life that was once cherished, the influx of migrants (from other
states) and the general corruption and sorry-state-of-affairs of the Goan
political life. The realization at the end of the play/story/novel that good
triumphs over evil and thus leading to a happy ending has been an enduring
trope and one that needs to be critically analyzed by the writers as well as
the readers.
The idea that the authors generally
try to convey is that by reforming one’s own individual life and by walking the
path of rectitude and righteousness, eventually, would lead to the betterment
and happiness of society. James Fernandes’ Sopon,
I would argue, falls somewhat (but not entirely) in this trend of Konknni
literature in the Roman script.
A high-school teacher by profession,
writing plays, it seems, have so far been a hobby of James Fernandes. The plays
in this collection have been staged at various competitions and the title play,
Sopon, has even been made into a
short film by the Goa Doordarshan Kendr.
Throughout the pages of the book one
would notice that a particular middle-class ethos resonate and echo: the
characters have generally completed their graduation (BA of course!) but have
trouble in finding a job because to get appointed to a job, one has to pay a
hefty bribe which runs into lakhs of rupees to the government officials. The
father on the other hand is the idealist – Gandhian almost – who is also
worried about getting his rapidly ‘aging’ teenaged daughter married. This is
the broad setting or context in which the first play Ekuch Sot is situated and such echoes and resonances can be heard
or seen in the remaining nine plays. The onus is on the elderly male characters
to guide the rest of the characters (and hence also the reader) to the path of
righteousness. It is clear that James Fernandes is highly influenced by Gandhian
ideas. But Gandhianism has proven to be highly problematic in the light of the
recent Dalit critiques of it (especially the Poona Pact [see for instance this]) and the Anna Hazare
movement (or more aptly a fiasco).
The influence of Gandhi and Anna
Hazare is much more visible in his play Sopon.
Hence what I would like to stress is that without a critical understanding of
Gandhian ideas and politics, our own ideas which we base on Gandhian notions
can potentially be problematic.
A teacher that he is, the first two plays give
the impression that James Fernandes is essentially writing for children. In the
play titled I Love You Daddy, James
Fernandes tries to engage with caste. The protagonist of the play – a young boy
named Willy – questions many bigoted and casteist assumptions. But this issue
is not taken any further and gets lost, even subverted, in the binary
oppositional logic of borem (good)
and vaitt (bad) in the progression of
the plot. Now since this particular play seems to be for children, even subtly
broaching the issue of caste provides us with a lot of challenges. We need to
think how not to make our children casteist bigots, that they (many of them)
inevitably seem to become when they grow up. How to sensitize our children to
the violence and oppression of caste is a question that needs serious
consideration.
An interesting literary innovation
(or should I say twist) that is found in the work of James Fernandes is the
representation of Catholic and Hindu characters. Inasmuch as one can find
Catholic drunkards, there are also a substantial number of Hindus, who take to
the bottle. One can argue over here that this inversion of representation of
Hindu characters is a response or reaction largely to the stereotypical
representation of Catholics as it cannot be denied that the drunk is a ‘John’
or a woman of loose morals is always a ‘Sandra’. Let’s face it: alcohol
consumption is not a religious specific habit or bad habit.
James Fernandes has written these
plays so as to provoke or awaken our social conscience thereby leading or
prodding us to positive social action. But he always locates the problem of a
lack of social conscience in the individual. If the individual changes, the
world would be a better place. To a certain extent this can be a truism. But
excessive and deterministic focus on the individual can make us miss the larger
picture which is the structures and processes that are a part of our social life
which may be a much more malignant cause for the social ills. For instance, if
we take the problem of plastic, it is not only the individual who needs to have
civic sense but the larger system that we are a part of, needs to change as
well.
Consider the following quote: “Kalljidar
za. Tujer anit kel’lea dadleak, nitik ubo kor. Tuka nit mellomsor kaideachem
dar dhaddai. Tuka nit mellop ho tuzo zolmacho hok’k.” [Be courageous.
Make sure to take the man who oppressed you to the courts. You have to fight
till you get justice for justice is your birth right].
Although the plots of James
Fernandes do not have major or gaping holes, this book could have greatly
benefitted if some of the loose ends were tied. Secondly, the technicalities of
writing texts for the stage are not really found and which are very important
in the production of the plays. Small but important details like indicating the
use of props, the placement of props and the movement of the characters could
have enriched the plays.
Browsing
through the plays, the discerning amongst us would realize that James Fernandes
has exposed himself to a variety of reading. There is a genuine and righteous
anger in him that makes him write on the issues that are tackled in the book.
Rather than giving a simplistic fare for his readers, James Fernandes must
attempt to take his work to a higher level. He already has the tools with him:
his immense reading and the sharpness of his thinking!
Sopon,
10 Nattkuleanchi Sankoll by James Fernandes (Panjim/Ponnje:
Dalgado Konknni Akademi), 2010; pp. 116, Rs. 50/-; Phone: 91-0832-2221688
(Available at Dalgado Konknni Akademi, Panjim)
(A version of this article appeared on Gomantak Times, dt: October 4, 2012).
