In other stories, she brings to the fore women’s issues. Overnight, several friendships were broken as some Christian families chose to leave for Portugal. Guerra, the short story that brought her under the spotlight, gives a view of Goa when the Portuguese were withdrawing. He stressed on developing a personal point of view.” This is a maxim Kolambkar follows to this day.
Shift your position and the view changes. “He told us that writing is like looking through a kaleidoscope. Kolambkar says she was encouraged to write by one of her professors in college.
“I was impressed by Chaurangi, which is so close to real life.” She especially enjoyed the translated works of Bengali writer Shankar. Whether at home, school or at the Central Library in Panaji, “I read anything I could get my hands on - novels, short stories, essays”. “I wore a nice sari, since you were getting a photographer,” Kolambkar says, laughing irreverently.Īs we settle down to talk about her work, she tells me that she was surrounded by books while growing up in Portuguese-ruled Goa. She had to rush on to the stage for the ceremony, but I promised to catch up with her back home in Mumbai.Ī week later I made my way to her home in Mulund. “It’s good to hear a familiar language so far down south,” she said. She almost whooped with delight when I spoke to her in Marathi. I first met Kolambkar in Kochi, where she was one of the seven regional writers to receive the 2012 Tagore Literature Award, given out by Samsung and Sahitya Akademi. There is a self-assuredness about Konkani writer Sheela Kolambkar that instantly puts people at ease.
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