Saturday, December 24, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Lyricist and writer Gulzar releases Short Takes Long Memories, a memoir on Goa's passage to India
On the Golden Jubilee of Goa’s Liberation, Short Takes Long Memories, a ringside view of Goa’s passage to India from 451 years of Portuguese rule, was released by noted lyricist and scriptwriter Gulzar at the Goa LitFest being held at the International Centre, Goa. The book, a memoir of Goa’s first IAS officer and diplomat Prabhakar Kamat, is co-authored by Prabhakar Kamat and Dr. Sharmila Kamat and published by Rupa Publications, New Delhi. In addition to a reading from Mango Mood, a tongue-in-cheek look at present-day Goa by Dr. Sharmila Kamat (Rupa Publications, 2011), there was also a discussion on literary trends in Goa. Eminent writer Damodar Mauzo, Goa University academic and noted writer Dr Kiran Budkuley, well-known reviewer and academic Augusto Pinto and Director, International Centre Nandini Sahai, participated in the discussion.
Photo credit: Galileo Fernandes
Monday, December 5, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
On ER, Health care and being Completely Informed while sick
A ringside view of Goa’s passage to India after 451 years adrift in the Ultramar Português: http://tinyurl.com/7lcux2o
Of men, matters and madcap capers in the part of India that once spoke with a Portuguese accent: http://tinyurl.com/6o53eby
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Can there be a better symbol for Goa than the luscious, mouth-watering mango
Mango Mood
By
Sharmila Kamat
(New Delhi: Rupa Publications, 2010).
166pp. Paperback. Book Size: 5.1x7.75.
Price: $10/-. Rs. 195/-
ISBN_PB: 9788129117229
This book chronicles the story of Goa, and India, in its recent past, as retold by a bemused yet indulgent Goan writer. Using mostly gentle, sometimes hard-hitting and always insightful satire, Mango Mood leads the reader through headline-grabbing incidents in Goa and the rest of the country in recent times using the medium of 42 short satirical pieces.
The first half of the book, “A Goan Pot-Pourrie” concerns itself with all things Goan – from the melee that follows the arrival of the first crop of Mancurados to the vegetable market to the game of musical chairs that passes for democracy in amchem Goem. It beams approvingly at the extraordinary leap in the number of wordsmiths penning tomes on Goan history even as it purses its lips in disapproval at the urge to purge Goa of its green and shining shawl shown by wannabe real estate pashas who are then driven by an equally strong urge to splurge the self-same riches on the many floating gaming houses on the River Mandovi.
The piece-de-resistance of the book is a history of Goa retold, from its birth at the hands of Lord Parashurama, through the 451 year long Portuguese interlude, to its status, in the Golden Jubilee year of its Liberation, as the undisputed party capital of an aspiring superpower. En route, the trip from eternity to here takes frequent detours – here to comment on Goa’s propensity to mend sundered hearts, there to smile indulgently at the Goan love for fish, fun and feni.
In the second half of the book, “With a Dash of Garam Masala,” the cast of characters expands to include personalities, and events, across India. There’s the reverent nod to the Indian street, that microcosm of Indian life ‘where everything happens – people eat, sleep, cook, and fight on it,’ to quote tennis great Boris Becker. There’s the shudder of apprehension as one contemplates modern air travel with terrorism fast overtaking tourism as the preferred religion of the frequent flyers. There’s the look of baffled awe at the manner in which the results of a Lok Sabha election so closely resemble Quantum Mechanics. Unpredictable? Check. Uncertainty? You cannot get chancier than this. And, yes, let us not forget the amused glance in the direction of a burgeoning population of socialites, social climbers and desperate-to-mingle social animals whose ‘lives are finished’ if they fail to appear on Page Three of the next day’s paper, ‘This is the Life’ writ large on their faces and ‘A good time was had by all’ engraved in bold on the captions accompanying their pictures.
A collection of tongue-in-cheek pieces gleaned from articles that had appeared in the local press and fresh observations on the world around us, Mango Mood presents an up, close and personal account of the part of India that once spoke with a Portuguese accent and the India that seeks to adopt the global tongue. Like the King of Fruits whose soft exterior belies the hard core at the centre, this light-hearted account conceals pertinent comments on certain hard realities in our society. Besides, can there be a better symbol for Goa than the luscious, mouth-watering mango?
The appeal of Mango Mood is enhanced by apt illustrations that succinctly bring alive the punch line of each story. This humorous, thought-provoking and elegantly designed book will offer stimulating reading for the general public. Published by Rupa Publications (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, the book, which is priced at Rs 195/- in India and $10/- abroad, is available at all major bookstores in Goa, as also online from the publisher’s website. Its ISBN no. is 9788129117229.
Tandemoments
My interview with Indian fusion group Colonial Cousins written for Femina that 'miraculously' made it into the Sunday Mirror, Lanka
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
On people and peculiarities, snark and society - in a lighter vein
Review of Mango Mood by Sharmila Kamat (Rupa Publications, 2011)
http://www.rupapublications.com/client/Book/MANGO-MOOD.aspx
“On the first day, he is not unduly perturbed, the taste of yesterday’s fish curry is still fresh, on the second day the memory persists-but only just.
On third day, no sooner is the idol of Lord Ganesh given a ceremonial immersion than he’s back to where he belongs – in the fish market, making up for the lost time.”
-from the book ‘Mango Mood’
The most common problem with reader is that he used to get addicted to a particular mood. Though there may be different kind of claims by author or publishers or readers of a book or author but the central theme of most of the books is generally one. Love or affection, technology or science, horror, conspiracy, corruption or any other the central theme moves around the one theme whether author does it unconsciously or deliberately.
Bringing out different shades and colours of life and society in a book through writing requires serious observation and presentation skill. When the book comes as a collection of writings the reading becomes more interesting. ‘Mango Mood’ is one of the books falls in this category.
Though the book heavily talks about Goan culture and society but despite it the writings presents different shades of Indian mindset. From fish curry to Ganesh Chaturthi, Wagle ki Dunia to modern politics, Bapu to Las Vegas, common family and social issues… author tried to talk about everything though in a lighter vein.
Book: Mango Mood
Author: Sharmila Kamat
Publisher: Rupa Publication
Category: Non-Fiction
Price: Rs. 195/-
http://www.rupapublications.com/client/Book/MANGO-MOOD.aspx
“On the first day, he is not unduly perturbed, the taste of yesterday’s fish curry is still fresh, on the second day the memory persists-but only just.
On third day, no sooner is the idol of Lord Ganesh given a ceremonial immersion than he’s back to where he belongs – in the fish market, making up for the lost time.”
-from the book ‘Mango Mood’
The most common problem with reader is that he used to get addicted to a particular mood. Though there may be different kind of claims by author or publishers or readers of a book or author but the central theme of most of the books is generally one. Love or affection, technology or science, horror, conspiracy, corruption or any other the central theme moves around the one theme whether author does it unconsciously or deliberately.
Bringing out different shades and colours of life and society in a book through writing requires serious observation and presentation skill. When the book comes as a collection of writings the reading becomes more interesting. ‘Mango Mood’ is one of the books falls in this category.
Though the book heavily talks about Goan culture and society but despite it the writings presents different shades of Indian mindset. From fish curry to Ganesh Chaturthi, Wagle ki Dunia to modern politics, Bapu to Las Vegas, common family and social issues… author tried to talk about everything though in a lighter vein.
Book: Mango Mood
Author: Sharmila Kamat
Publisher: Rupa Publication
Category: Non-Fiction
Price: Rs. 195/-
Monday, October 17, 2011
There is more to this land on the Western coast of India than a well-thumbed set of picture postcards
A waltz through the Hawaii of India or maybe we should call Hawaii, the Goa of the US.
Seasons in the Sun - Smithsonian Mag
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/departments/my-kind-of-town/your-kind-of-town/Goa-India.html#ixzz1b0Z8Jxpw
Seasons in the Sun - Smithsonian Mag
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/departments/my-kind-of-town/your-kind-of-town/Goa-India.html#ixzz1b0Z8Jxpw
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
A Wednesday - yet again
A Wednesday by Sharmila Kamat, Goa Today August 2011
"Sometime back, I saw an unusual Hindi film called A Wednesday. Unusual in that it did not feature the hero in tight denims gyrating to the most suggestive dance movements surrounded by scantily-clad white-skinned backpackers moonlighting as Bollywood extras. Strangely, there was no item girl a.k.a the film’s heroine, clad in equally sparse clothing, wailing about becoming badnaam as the ogling hordes threw covetous glances at her jawaani.
"Sometime back, I saw an unusual Hindi film called A Wednesday. Unusual in that it did not feature the hero in tight denims gyrating to the most suggestive dance movements surrounded by scantily-clad white-skinned backpackers moonlighting as Bollywood extras. Strangely, there was no item girl a.k.a the film’s heroine, clad in equally sparse clothing, wailing about becoming badnaam as the ogling hordes threw covetous glances at her jawaani.
The Sheelas and Munnis had gone a-missing in this movie. In their place were two competent performers of the Hindi film industry – Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. "
Read the entire article by Sharmila Kamat in Goa Today August 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
The real merit of the book is showcased through the understanding of history, geography and polity
Short Takes Long Memories reviewed in The Sunday Indian
http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/short-takes-long-memories/13/18503/
His liberal use of his knowledge of languages adds colour and character to the narration
Read it here:
http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/short-takes-long-memories/13/18503/
His liberal use of his knowledge of languages adds colour and character to the narration
Read it here:
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Filled with telling episodes, lighter reminiscences and fascinating stories
On the life and times in Goa and Portugal as presented in Short Takes Long Memories - an exhaustive review of the book by journalist Frederick Noronha in Gomantak Times
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Where river and reverence meet: Tarini and Tar Vir the unique boat deities of Goa
Author: Dr Pratima Kamat
Publisher: GOINCARH
Price: Rs 500
Fabulous discount available for students, researchers and academics.
Get your copy TODAY!
The book explores the cultural linkages between water and worship in India's famed travel destination - Goa and analyses the boat motifs found on the unique Devi ('Tarini') and Vir ('Tar-Vir') sculptures located away from the coast, along the banks of River Mhadei, and its tributaries, in the forested, hilly sub-Ghat administrative districts of Sattari and Sanguem in Goa.
These unique 'speciality' Devis (Goddesses) of Goa, which are exclusive to Goa, are cast in the mould of well known Hindu religious deities like Mahishasuramardini, Brahmani, Gajalakshmi and Jogeshwari. They are either standing or seated in a boat, or portray the boat as a howdah or have the boat carved on the pedestal. The sculptures of the Vir, with the boat motif etched on its pedestal, have also been analysed in the book.
The 'Tarini' is an amalgam of folk, Sanskritic, Buddhist and Jaina traditions and provides valuable clues about the Western Ghats-Arabian Sea trade of which Sattari had served as an important conduit in the past.
Tarini and Tar-Vir gives us an insight on the ports of the Mhadei and the ship-building/repair centre that this region must have played host to in the early medieval times.
The book is based on studies conducted along the banks of the River Mhadei and its tributaries, in not so easily accessible and heavily forested environs and relies on primary and secondary documentation repositories in Goa and other parts of India. It includes maps, a rare collection of photographs of the deities and rare cultural forms of the two adminisitrative districts Sattari and Sanguem covered in the book.
Dr Pratima Kamat is the Head of the Department of History in Goa University
For enquiries please contact the blog
Publisher: GOINCARH
Price: Rs 500
Fabulous discount available for students, researchers and academics.
Get your copy TODAY!
The book explores the cultural linkages between water and worship in India's famed travel destination - Goa and analyses the boat motifs found on the unique Devi ('Tarini') and Vir ('Tar-Vir') sculptures located away from the coast, along the banks of River Mhadei, and its tributaries, in the forested, hilly sub-Ghat administrative districts of Sattari and Sanguem in Goa.
These unique 'speciality' Devis (Goddesses) of Goa, which are exclusive to Goa, are cast in the mould of well known Hindu religious deities like Mahishasuramardini, Brahmani, Gajalakshmi and Jogeshwari. They are either standing or seated in a boat, or portray the boat as a howdah or have the boat carved on the pedestal. The sculptures of the Vir, with the boat motif etched on its pedestal, have also been analysed in the book.
The 'Tarini' is an amalgam of folk, Sanskritic, Buddhist and Jaina traditions and provides valuable clues about the Western Ghats-Arabian Sea trade of which Sattari had served as an important conduit in the past.
Tarini and Tar-Vir gives us an insight on the ports of the Mhadei and the ship-building/repair centre that this region must have played host to in the early medieval times.
The book is based on studies conducted along the banks of the River Mhadei and its tributaries, in not so easily accessible and heavily forested environs and relies on primary and secondary documentation repositories in Goa and other parts of India. It includes maps, a rare collection of photographs of the deities and rare cultural forms of the two adminisitrative districts Sattari and Sanguem covered in the book.
Dr Pratima Kamat is the Head of the Department of History in Goa University
For enquiries please contact the blog
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Mango Mood in Memorias de Africa e do Oriente
Small correction here: Prof Kashinath Mahale wrote the Foreword and NAguesh Sardesai did the illustrations
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Some observations on satire
Humor writing works best when it is gently satirical rather than acidic or bitingly acerbic. The trick to mocking something with elan is to tease out the absurdities behind the pontifications, the wry humor behind headlines that in normal course leave one frothing at the mouth.
As a straphanger on a subway ride once told me, "When you get good and mad, the only person whose energy is expended without any productive outcome is yours."
As a straphanger on a subway ride once told me, "When you get good and mad, the only person whose energy is expended without any productive outcome is yours."
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Goans are no longer sossegada
Check out well known writer and author Mario Cabral e Sa's review of Mango Mood on Gomantak Times Juen 28, 2011
Where drug lords run amok to the beat of Dum Maaro Dum
Mango Mood featured on the Goa diary of Viva Goa magazine
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
This Goa is a little different from the happening spot featuring in Page 3 accounts #MangoMood
"This Goa is a little different from the happening spot that finds a mention in Page celebrities and Bollywood holiday accounts. This is a Goa where politicians spend most of their time plotting how to stop one another in the back, where cops worry more about their new uniforms than about the chaos on the roads and where everyone who can read is busy writing a book on Goa to cash in on the craze."
A customer review of Mango Mood
A customer review of Mango Mood
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Mango Mood: Bringing out different shades and colours of life
“On the first day, he is not unduly perturbed, the taste of yesterday’s fish curry is still fresh, on the second day the memory persists-but only just. On third day, no sooner is the idol of Lord Ganesh given a ceremonial immersion than he’s back to where he belongs – in the fish market, making up for the lost time.”
-from the book ‘Mango Mood’
Bringing out different shades and colours of life and society in a book through writing requires serious observation and presentation skill. When the book comes as a collection of writings the reading becomes more interesting. ‘Mango Mood’ is one of the books falls in this category.
Read the entire review of Mango Mood in the Sunday Book Review at Fachcha by Subhadra
-from the book ‘Mango Mood’
Bringing out different shades and colours of life and society in a book through writing requires serious observation and presentation skill. When the book comes as a collection of writings the reading becomes more interesting. ‘Mango Mood’ is one of the books falls in this category.
Read the entire review of Mango Mood in the Sunday Book Review at Fachcha by Subhadra
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Galley Cat New Books
A ringside view of the passage to India of Goa, the subcontinent’s beach paradise, from prized jewel in the Ultramar Português. Short Takes chronicles the tale of a land caught between the irresistible pull of free India and the immovable obduracy of Salazarist Portugal. The book is based on the reminiscences of diplomat Prabhakar Kamat.
In the late 1940s, the narrator leaves Goa for war-ravaged Europe. Here, his adventures navigating the minefield of culture shocks are tempered with sobering encounters with revolutionaries from Asia and Africa. He returns to a Goa caught in a tug-of-war between free India and an unyielding Lusitania. A blink-and-you-missed-it Indian Army action lets Goa rejoin India and plunge into its hectic, colourful democracy.
Goa’s date with self-rule galvanises Portugal to follow suit.
In the late 1940s, the narrator leaves Goa for war-ravaged Europe. Here, his adventures navigating the minefield of culture shocks are tempered with sobering encounters with revolutionaries from Asia and Africa. He returns to a Goa caught in a tug-of-war between free India and an unyielding Lusitania. A blink-and-you-missed-it Indian Army action lets Goa rejoin India and plunge into its hectic, colourful democracy.
Goa’s date with self-rule galvanises Portugal to follow suit.
Short Takes Long Memories now available on books at rediff.com
Showcasing life as it was (and in many ways, still is) in Goa
Down Memory Lane in Goa - Short Takes
An eyewitness account of Growing up Goan in a land caught between the irresistible pull of free India and the immovable object that was the obduracy of the Portuguese authoritarian regime.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Mango Mood now available at ....
Full Circle Bookstore:
http://www.fullcirclebooks.in/content/mango-mood
Gyan Books
http://gyanbooks.com/index.php?p=sr&Uc=GBC230
Right Books
http://www.rightbooks.in/product_details.asp?pid=9788129117229
Simply Books
http://www.simplybooks.in/mango-mood-sharmila-kamat-book-isbn-9788129117229-99578
Homeshop18
http://www.homeshop18.com/fiction/category:3019/f1nm:Author%23Sharmila+Kamat/f3nm:Publisher%23Rupa+%26+Co/
Up Rack.com:
http://www.uprack.com/mango-mood--book-9788129117229
http://www.fullcirclebooks.in/content/mango-mood
Gyan Books
http://gyanbooks.com/index.php?p=sr&Uc=GBC230
Right Books
http://www.rightbooks.in/product_details.asp?pid=9788129117229
Simply Books
http://www.simplybooks.in/mango-mood-sharmila-kamat-book-isbn-9788129117229-99578
Homeshop18
http://www.homeshop18.com/fiction/category:3019/f1nm:Author%23Sharmila+Kamat/f3nm:Publisher%23Rupa+%26+Co/
Up Rack.com:
http://www.uprack.com/mango-mood--book-9788129117229
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Goa Down the Ages - Short Takes Long Memories
A Goa pre and post Liberation with its caminhaos (public buses), its village elders debating world affairs between snarky observations on the local femme fatale, with its cafetarias serving piping hot bhajias and shiras in faith-coded cutlery, where law and order was (sort of) maintained by Keystone cops and an army with 2 anti-aircraft guns, both of which ought by rights have been retired years ago, made up the defence of a 451 year old colonization.
Short Takes Long Memories
By Prabhakar Kamat and Sharmila Kamat
http://www.rupapublications.co.in/client/Book/Short-Takes-Long-Memories.aspx
A ringside view of an eventful period in Goa’s history – its transition from being a Portuguese colony to becoming Indian, this is a tale of a land caught between the irresistible pull of India and the immovable object that was the inflexible colonial regime. The book is based on the reminiscences of I.A.S. officer and diplomat Prabhakar Kamat. In the late 1940s, Prabhakar Kamat abandons the somnolence of Goa to travel by sea to Europe for higher studies. In Lisbon, his adventures navigating the minefield of culture shocks are tempered by encounters with revolutionaries from the larger Portuguese Empire. He returns to a Goa still under colonial rule, but with India’s patience wearing thin. A blink-and-you-missed-it Army action in 1961 lets Goa join India and plunge into its hectic, colourful democracy. Goa’s date with self-rule galvanises Portugal to follow suit. With sharp insight and witty anecdotes, the book showcases life as it was (and in some ways, still is) in Goa.
About the authors:
Prabhakar Kamat is a retired I.A.S officer and diplomat from Goa. He has held very senior positions in the administration of Portuguese Goa and India. He has worked for the Ministry of Finance of Portugal and has been Director of Economic Services before the Liberation of Goa. He was Director in the office of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Counsellor in the Indian Embassy in Lisbon. He retired as chairman, Mormugão Port Trust.
Sharmila Kamat is an astrophysicist who is also an established writer and author. She has a PhD from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and is a recipient of a University Fellowship by Columbia University in New York. Her research studies the constitution of the Universe, particularly what makes up the hidden mass we call dark matter. She was Faculty in Physics in a Goan college before proceeding to the US.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Asia writers Project announces Long List of Vodafone Crossword Award 2011
Mango Mood features as one of the Non-fiction entries in the LongList
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Mango Mood by Sharmila Kamat, Rupa Publications, 2010
features as one of the Long List in the Non Fiction category of the Vodafone Crossword Bookstore Book Awards 2010
See IBN Live for details
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/vodafonecrossword-book-award-longlist-announced/151369-40-100.html
features as one of the Long List in the Non Fiction category of the Vodafone Crossword Bookstore Book Awards 2010
See IBN Live for details
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/vodafonecros
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Find All in Goa including a touch of snark called Mango Mood
A website on all things Goan - including books on and about Goa
http://findall-goa.com/eventdetail2.php?eid=13012
http://findall-goa.com/eventdetail2.php?eid=13012
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Links on Rupa Publications Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=121003624636766&start=15
thehungryreader.wordpress.com
Hmmm so I am the Hungry Reader. The one who reads. The one who is constantly reading or wanting to read constantly. This blog is all about the books I have read, the ones that I am reading and gems that I plan to read in the future or whenever it arrives.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Check out Choice Books and Amazing Books international
http://www.amazingindianbooks.com/searchdetails.asp?s1=9076572
http://www.choosebooks.com/displayBookDetails.do?itemId=153067459&b=1
http://www.choosebooks.com/displayBookDetails.do?itemId=153067459&b=1
Mango Mood on the Blog of Word Press under Non fiction books
Not exactly non-fiction but a mix of fiction and non-fiction with an emphasis on the former and not the latter. Still it is great to get noticed
http://en.wordpress.com/tag/mango-mood/
http://en.wordpress.com/tag/mango-mood/
Monday, January 24, 2011
Recommending Mango Mood - The Hungry reader
"Today’s world is full of turmoil and tensions. A casual glance at a newspaper makes us realise that murder and mayhem reigns supreme across the globe. Internecine conflicts, regional tensions and the threat of terrorism have combined to make world peace a distant dream. We are fortunate, therefore, to have writers like Sharmila Kamat who, through their witty writings, make us laugh despite all these depressing realities."
Read the rest of the posting on Mango Mood at
http://thehungryreader.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/mango-mood-by-sharmila-kamat/
Read the rest of the posting on Mango Mood at
http://thehungryreader.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/mango-mood-by-sharmila-kamat/
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Mango Mood publicized in Tehelka magazine
Featured in Rupa Publications' Book of the Month in Tehelka magazine in the issue date January 15, 2011
Story on Mango Mood in Goa Today magazine
An article on the publication of Mango Mood By Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd. in the January issue of Goa Today magazine, the well known publication chronicling events in Goa and in the Goan diaspora with a readership based not just in the state but among the expat Goan community across the world.
An extract:
An extract:
“A Goan Pot-Pourrie” concerns itself with all things Goan – from the melee that follows the arrival of the first crop of Mancurados to the vegetable market to the game of musical chairs that passes for democracy in amchem Goem. It beams approvingly at the extraordinary leap in the number of wordsmiths penning tomes on Goan history even as it purses its lips in disapproval at the urge to purge Goa of its green and shining shawl shown by wannabe real estate pashas who are then driven by an equally strong urge to splurge the self-same riches on the many floating gaming houses on the River Mandovi."
Read all about it in the January 2011 issue of Goa Today
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Some reviews of Mango Mood posted on egully
Gr8 Holiday Read – Rating 
- Posted by Adrian Whitehouse – 30th Dec 2010A fun book with a strong social message that is hugely humorous without being preachy. Terrific wit! Just what the doc ordered for the holiday season!
A Book for all Seasons – Rating
Posted by Unknown – 29th Dec 2010The great French dramatist, Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais once wrote, I hasten to laugh at everything, for fear of being obliged to weep. On going through the book, Mango Mood, one gets the impression that the author, Sharmila Kamat, too, subscribes to the same philosophy.
Indeed, Sharmila Kamat has an inborn flair for light satire. She has wielded her pen with ease to depict the foibles and weaknesses of human nature without hurting the feelings of the subjects of her pieces. From her writings, one gets the impression that she would like to see a change for the better from those entrusted with the destinies of the common man.
Her pieces on our society are lighthearted on the surface but, on closer observation, serve as pertinent comments on the way of life in our country. Besides making us chuckle, they arouse our conscience and set us thinking about what we would have dismissed as everyday realities.
From her articles, one concludes that human behaviour is the same everywhere. The vagaries of human nature are, and will continue to be, a fertile ground for humorous pieces by persons like Sharmila Kamat who possess an observant eye and a witty turn of phrase.
Today’s world is full of turmoil and tensions. A casual glance at a newspaper makes us realise that murder and mayhem reigns supreme across the globe. Internecine conflicts, regional tensions and the threat of terrorism have combined to make world peace a distant dream. We are fortunate, therefore, to have writers like Sharmila Kamat who, through their witty writings, make us laugh despite all these depressing realities.
Jean de la Bruyere, a seventeeenth century French essayist and moralist, once wrote, One must laugh before one is happy, or one may die without ever laughing at all.
Those who will read Sharmila’s pieces need not have this fear.
It gives me great pleasure to recommend MANGO MOOD to the reading public.
fun read – Rating
Posted by Vineeth G – 26th Dec 2010Series of short pieces commenting on Indian society like political games, Aya Ram and Gaya Rams, bad driving, endless reservations for various 'disadvantaged sections'
Nice piece on Goa as the choice of lovers down the ages
Goanet News on Mango Mood
From Goanet archives:
Wed, 29 Dec 2010 09:59:08 -0800
Read the entire post at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/goanet@lists.goanet.org/msg71850.html
[Goanet] Sharmila Kamat's Mango Mood, satirical short pieces from Goa...
Frederick NoronhaWed, 29 Dec 2010 09:59:08 -0800
Read the entire post at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/goanet@lists.goanet.org/msg71850.html
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