These books tell riveting stories of Goa

ENIGMATIC GOA

Decades back, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru reportedly said: Ajeeb hain Goa ke log (Goans are strange people). Like him, Goa baffles many. Here are a few books to help you uncover the mystery called Goa.

CENTURIES-OLD TALE

Goa, and the Blue Mountains; Or, Six Months of Sick Leave (1851): This book is written by British explorer Richard F Burton along with Dane Kennedy. They describe the Goa of the 19th century. It was published in 1851.

THE HIPPIES’ ERA

Goa Freaks: My Hippie Years in India (1995) & Odyssey: Ten Years on the Hippie Trail (2013): Goa’s story is incomplete without a prose on the hippies. These first-account books written by Cleo Odzer and Ananda G Brady unravel the intriguing and bohemian world of Goa’s hippies.

THE DARK SIDE

Skin: This book by late Margaret Mascarenhas tells a poignant tale of families across the globe, caught in the web of slave trade. The Goan origin author skillfully weaves the truth of slavery in Portuguese Goa into her story.  

PICTORIAL STORIES

The Life of Mario 1951 (2011), The Life of Mario 1950 (2012) & The Life of Mario 1949 (2016): This trilogy is a depiction of old Goa (before Liberation), illustrated by the renowned Goan cartoonist Mario de Miranda. It succeeds in transporting you to a Goa of those times.     

UNCOVERING GOA

Reflected in Water: Writings on Goa (2006): This book, edited by Jerry Pinto, is a collection of essays, poems, stories and extracts from published works that help you peel off many layers of Goa’s impenetrable sheath.

UNTYING GOA’S KNOTS

Goa: A Daughter’s Story (2004) & At Home in Two Worlds: Essays on Goa (2024): These books by Maria Aurora Couto (later published posthumously) try to penetrate deep into Goa’s complex cultural, religious, social and historical narratives.

LITERATURE GALORE

These are just a few books on Goa. There is no dearth of literary work on this enchantingly sultry coastal State for which bloody battles were fought in the past.

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