There are over 500 speakers at the fourth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival. Only one of them, perhaps, has police protection. Damodar Mauzo, a leading Konkani writer, doesn’t like that at all.
“Since last July, a policeman has been accompanying me everywhere. Two others are guarding my home at Majorda (near Margao) as well. It certainly is inconvenient for me,” Mauzo told The Hindu here on Thursday. “I have told the authorities that I have no fear and am ready to risk my life, but they tell me that it is their duty.”
It all began when it was found out during the police investigation into the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh that there were threats to the 74-year-old writer’s life. “But that won’t stop me from speaking against fundamentalists,” said Mauzo, a Sahitya Akademi Award winner who has also written screenplays besides novels and short stories.
“I am happy that I am a Hindu, and it is a way of life for me. However, I cannot agree with the fundamentalist viewpoints associated with the religion.”
He said he was proud of Goa’s multicultural and religious tradition. He was one of the staunchest advocates for Goa retaining its own identity rather than merging with the neighbouring Maharashtra. “In 1967 there was a plebiscite and the 55% of the voters were for a separate State,” he recalled. “We then had to fight for 555 days to get the official language status for Konkani.”
Since then he has been trying to enrich Konkani literature and help it have a voice of its own.
“My contemporaries Pundalik Naik, Uday Bhembre, Meena Kakodkar, who was my schoolmate, and Sheela Kolambkar, have all contributed significantly to take Konkani literature forward,” he said.
“But we have a long way to go, especially when you compare with other regional languages like Malayalam or Bengali.” He has huge respect for Malayalam writers such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair and Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. “I also respect the Malayali reader, who buys books, helping the writers make a living,” he said. “One Malayalam writer told me, some 10 years ago, that he paid ₹2 lakh in income tax. Most Konkani writers cannot even dream of such an income, let alone paying tax.” Little wonder, Mauz was a shopkeeper, till about five years ago.
