Homi Kharas was the much-loved operations manager at Clarion McCann Erickson in Bombay in the 1970s. He was also a very good photographer. Each Christmas, he and his wife would send around his custom-designed card to friends. My mother worked as a secretary at Clarion, and we still have a few of Homi’s ‘naughty cards’ as she called them. This post-emergency card has some naughtiness and some tongue-in-cheek reminders of the political climate.

For a long time, I thought Homi was the office photographer since my mother always mentioned Homi affectionately when we went through family albums. This is Homi at an office celebration.

A couple of years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to see how many cards we had, and mentioned it to a friend, who had a friend who turned out to be Homi’s nephew.

Homi took photos at office picnics, and of my mother and other lovely ladies at work. His nephew though, has his entire collection of Christmas cards, which I hope we’ll see one day.

I can no longer find album corners and the old ones need refreshing.

Some languid ladies at an office event

Mariano Saldanha (1878–1975) was professor of Marathi at the Lyceum in Panjim until 1929 when he assumed the Chair of Sanskrit in Lisbon. Among Mariano Saldanha’s several publications are Meghaduta ou a Mensagem dum Exilado, Nova Goa, 1926, As Investigaçõesde um Gramático, Lisbon, 1933, and A língua concani, as suas conferências ea acção portuguesa na sua cultura, Bastora, 1954. Among the better known ofhis works is the Doutrina Cristã em Língua Concani, the second edition of thetext by Thomas Stephens, S. J., first printed in Rachol in 1622.Saldanha published at least twelve articles on the state of Konkani literaturein newspapers and periodicals in Goa from the 1930s to the 1960s. The book Translation, Script and Orality – Becoming a Language of State, coedited with Dale Luis Menezes and Mabel Mascarenhas carries a few of Saldanha’s articles on Konkani. Since Saldanha’s surviving family kindly permitted the publication of his articles in the book, his other articles relating to Konkani are reproduced here. 

  Mariano Saldanha, ‘Questões de Concani’, Heraldo,
March 14, 1943

But if anyone can tell us where Girgaon back road was, or where Ali Mansur Street or Prag Mahal in Dhobitalao were, it can add to this map. If you know anything about the owners, writers, or presses, do write to [email protected].

Rochelle Pinto and Sandra Ataíde Lobo in conversation with the former librarian, xavier centre for historical research, porvorim, goa

Pinto: Were it not for the knowledge and generosity of Mrs. Lilia Maria de Souza, the former librarian of the Xavier Centre of Historical Research, a research library in Porvorim, Goa, I would have taken far longer to arrive at a perspective on the Portuguese texts that I read with great difficulty during my PhD research. The crucial role of librarians in making knowledge accessible, from the catalogue to their encounter with a reader, never struck me as forcibly as it did during the months I worked both at the Central Library, Panjim and the Xavier Centre for Historical Research, a few kilometres away. 

If I had asked for two titles on education policy in the nineteenth century, which I had found in the exemplary card catalogue, Mrs. de Souza would emerge from the stacks, shortly after, gracefully bearing at least five more texts that I had not requested. As I watched in bewilderment and astonishment, she would slowly advance to my desk and place these books on it and leave. Of course, they would all prove to be useful; more often than not, crucial. I was fascinated with some of the political disputes of that century, played out over a series of issues of newspapers and in printed books. I had no idea which book followed the one I was reading in the moment, but Mrs. de Souza did. Without my requesting it, my desk was soon filled with the sequence of books in which I could read entire bitter quarrels between Goan and Portuguese officials and the intelligentsia, whether over a rebellion of soldiers, or a change in land policy. 

While I read, Mrs. de Souza was usually in her office, creating more catalogue entries, and classifying books. She never once indicated what her opinion might be about the direction my research was taking, or my ability to master the texts I ordered, and helped graduate students from the university with the same calm and neutral efficiency as she did me.

Clearly, she had extensive social knowledge of the milieu about which I was reading but was also well acquainted with different segments of the library’s vast collection, and, luckily for me, with the history of the period I floundered through until I could make sense of it. From women’s education to liberalism, she seemed to know what sources to bring up from the stacks. 

What kind of interests and experience and training had produced such ability? In the following interview, Rochelle Pinto, with Sandra Ataíde Lobo discuss Mrs. Lilia Maria de Souza’s experience as a librarian. 

Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed by us.

LMdS: To begin with, I would like to say with the psalmist, “I have a goodly heritage”(Psalm 16). Not because I was born in the milieu of the so-called “Portuguese-speaking” elite (for which I do not care). Rather, it is because my parents were loving and compassionate, and always concerned with the less fortunate. I had a whale of a time growing up along with my brothers. In the primary school, Konkani-speaking girls were my best playmates. I went on to complete the seventh year at the Lyceum (the Portuguese high school system) and two years of the diploma in teaching (the diploma in teaching awarded by the Escola Normal in Goa). 

When Liberation dawned, I had started teaching in a village primary school, near Margão. Most kids here were Konkani-speaking children of labourers who tended fields. I loved them. So affectionate, clever and creative! But teaching them was not an easy task. The medium of instruction was supposed to be Portuguese. Textbooks printed in Portugal were so out-of-place! The kids were the product of their green environment. They knew when the mango trees flowered, how the birds built their nests and bulls ploughed the fields! But they failed to understand the meaning of sheep, snow, strawberries – things they had never seen. Later, a window of opportunity and better educational facilities opened for them.

II

How did you arrive at this work?

LMdS: Post-Liberation, a period of transition; we were at a crossroads. My ex-colleagues and friends had switched over to English studies and joined one of the new colleges. All felt that Portuguese studies were irrelevant in the changed situation. I too enrolled in a college in Margão and finished my B.A. ( Bachelor in Arts). I then got married and took a nice break for almost a decade-and-half to take care of my three precious daughters.

Ironically, the Portuguese studies that we felt were of no use, came to my aid when I decided to go back to work. My younger daughter was eight, all three were engrossed with their school and extra-curricular activities. I confided in a friend that the drudgery of housework was getting to me. We women all know about it. She suggested that I join the newly-founded Xavier Centre of Historical Research (henceforth, XCHR). She had heard that they had an opening for a person conversant with Portuguese!!! 

My interview with the Director of XCHR was arranged. He appointed me as an assistant in their Library. My only qualifications were my courses in Portuguese. I had no idea of library science but my love for reading and books was obvious (in fact, my brothers called me a “bookworm” in my younger days).

III

What was your first experience working in a library?

LMdS: XCHR is a Jesuit institution. When I joined in May 1981, it was temporarily housed in a bungalow (Loyola Hall) at Miramar, Panjim. The library collection included old, never-used books which occupied a hall in the ground-floor of the building. On the first floor, there were two classrooms where Portuguese courses were held during the holidays. Dictionaries and grammar books were displayed so that students could consult them. Surrounded by books, I not-so-happily went through routine library work (recording, stamping, sticking) – but all along I had a hunch it would end up as a fascinating learning experience!!! 

In which libraries and archives have you worked, and what kind of work did you undertake in each?

LMdS: In 1983, XCHR shifted into its new, spacious premises, in Porvorim. The solemn inaugural function was held at the beginning of the Third International Seminar of Indo-Portuguese History. By June 1983, the Institution had finished moving. I too was moving. Equipped with a diploma course in Library Science (not so ignorant now), I had extra and interesting duties. I could issue books to the readers, and thus have a chance to browse through them. My learning process had begun. I was lucky that the XCHR just had a reference library. The boring tasks of lending/ returning books were not part of my work. Moreover, ordering books, budgeting, etc., was all done by the Jesuit manager. 

So I was left with the work of cataloguing, classifying and issuing books which I loved most. As an ardent follower of Dr. Ranganathan, the doyen of Library Science, his laws were my code. He wanted the right book to be given to the reader. So I am not surprised with all our dear researchers thanking me. It was my pleasure to help them. I gave, but I received much more. My knowledge kept on increasing, as I interacted with them. Dr. Teotónio de Souza was at the helm of the XCHR when I joined work. He enjoyed the unflinching support of Fr. Romuald de Souza, the Jesuit Provincial at the time. 

The institution was Dr. Teo’s brainchild and he nurtured it with the knowledge acquired through his PhD studies. He was aware of thousands of books, booklets, and pamphlets lying within the walls of old Goan homes and of families ready to part with them. He knew all the ways that the history of Goa and of the Portuguese expansion overseas had to be re-written. A lot of literature on the Portuguese colonial past came to the Centre through the good offices of the Gulbenkian Foundation. So in 1983, XCHR was to start with a bang!

I should say, re-started with a bang. Thenceforth, an academically fruitful era commenced. Seminars and conferences took place. Researchers from Goa and the Indian subcontinent as well as international visitors availed of the XCHR’s services, and some of them had challenging topics. Simultaneously I got an added qualification, a degree in library science and proceeded in my quest for knowledge. 

What were some of the challenges you faced, and what aspects of the library were your responsibility?

LMdS: I was exposed to new learning experiences. Hitherto, I had poor knowledge of Goan history. As taught in the Portuguese Lyceum, history as a subject implied the history of the world with lot of emphasis on Portuguese history. In our English medium college, we learnt world history as well as the history of India – Goa was nowhere. Here was at last a chance to know about my land. 

I got deeply interested in all literature regarding Goa: colonial period, also pre- and post. The various Goas fascinated me. Coastal Goa (Velhas Conquistas) differed from Goa of the hinterland (Novas Conquistas) with Konkani and Portuguese-speaking people having their unique identities, etc. I loved the colourful many-faceted society and culture of my GOA. Expansion history or maritime history fascinated me too. It sounded like a fairy tale. But a careful insight into it led me to see the deeper plot. 

I think I can never retire. The inactivity during the pandemic drives me mad. After XCHR, in spite of many grandkids, I was itching to go out and consult books and documents. I used to alternate between the new Central Library and the archives at the Bishop’s House. Would have like to bring some order into these archives but frankly, I could not achieve much. The lack of space is a hurdle. The Archives are an additional presence and encroachment into the space of the Chancellery and Communications Office. I offered to organize them and the Bishop and the Chancellor were kind enough to accept. Though they do not play a very important role right now, they could help young priests who want to know more about their parishes trace their history.

by Ujaan Ghosh

An Account…of Orissa proper,… 1822, Stirling, BL on Flickr

What follows is a list of colonial (and some pre-colonial) documents that I encountered while working on Odisha. As this is based on my personal experience, it is not an exhaustive account of all that is available, but attempts to provide a broad overview of historical documents on Odisha.  

Orissa State Archives

The OSA is very well maintained and has some of the important documents on the state. In particular, the post 1911 documents in the archive are quite compelling. These are some of the important collections: 

1. Jagannath Temple Correspondence

The JTC is a very rich and voluminous document that records the East India Company and later the British colonial government’s records and their interaction with the Jagannath Temple. It is digitized but you have to see the documents on site. It is not remotely available. 

2. Bihar and Orissa Gazette

The district Gazetteers of the Bihar-Odisha unit can be found in OSA for the Post-1911 period, when Odisha was separated from the trio of Bengal-Bihar-Odisha- administrative unit. 

3. Utkal Deepika

The premiere newspaper of Odisha is digitized by Srujanika (more on them later) and is now kept in the OSA. From what I remember, the UD from 1860-1920 is available in the archive. 

4. District records

The first administrative unit of the East India Company in Odisha was Cuttack-Balasore-Puri. The district records are kept in the Orissa State Archive and are incredibly rich.  I have heard fables about this collection and have never witnessed them personally.  The district records are not indexed which means you will need a stroke of luck to see them.

Srujanika

Srujanika is a private heritage conservation organization. They have digitized almost every rare Odia Periodical and Newspaper since the advent of print in the region. Words cannot do justice to the efforts of the organization to preserve historical records. Utkal Deepika was digitized by them along with Sambalpur Hiteishini, Baleshwar Samba Bahika, Mukur, Indradhanu, etc. If you are interested in the literary history of colonial Odisha, these are invaluable sources. The digitized materials can be bought from Srujanika from their office in Bhubaneshwar. They have also digitized several important books and can be downloaded free from their website. Pretty much every book you can think of and need written in Odia is digitized by them, and even then that is understating it.

Odisha State Museum

The state museum tends to be overlooked as an archival site but is an incredibly rich collection. Most importantly, the manuscripts of various important pre-colonial texts are available in the OSM. Manuscripts of all of Upendra Bhanja’s major texts, the texts of the Panchasakha poets are available here. Along with these there are several other important texts from pre-colonial Odisha, focusing on, poetry, astrology, liturgy etc. can be found here. Art Historians in particular may be interested in the Records here as the OSM has thousands of illustrated manuscripts. Impressively, most of them are in very good condition. If you know what you are looking for, you can actually, order a digitized copy online. Many of the illustrated ones are digitized so there’s that. Here is one example, of an illustrated Gitagovinda Manuscript that is free to download.

West Bengal State Archives

The early colonial documents of Odisha are also available in West Bengal State Archives. 

The Judicial Proceedings 1800-1857  is handwritten, so is difficult to read, but has a wealth of materials on Odisha. The WBSA also has a collection on the Tributary Mahals and the colonial state’s interaction with princely rulers. The Post-1857 Judicial collections are not as robust but there is still ample material to work with. Not all the police reports are available unfortunately.

The Municipal Department (ca1860s- 1910) proceedings of Cuttack, Balasore, and Puri municipality are available. They are in good condition and immensely helpful if you are interested in urban history. As far as I can recollect, the first half of the Municipal proceedings are collated with the General Department Proceedings. Speaking of the General Department, the General Miscellaneous records are somewhat under-researched in the archive but they have bits and pieces of stuff on Odisha as well.  A lot of their index is online.

In general, I also recommend this book  that was compiled by Herman Kulke and Gaganendranath Das. It has a significant resource of primary sources and directions on where libraries are presently housed. There is a mention of the Cuttack Collectorate records in Cuttack. I have personally never explored them but I can only imagine the richness of these sources.

Puri Monasteries

The Puri monasteries have historically had records of their activity, including accounts, genealogical records of leadership etc. It is not certain if this material has survived the recent development drive of the state, though state officials did say that they would take care of these records. We hope they have delivered on the promise. 

Ujaan is a research scholar, working on a dissertation at the University of Wisconsin tentatively titled, “Producing Puri: The Discursive Productions of a Hindu Holy City in Colonial India”, which looks at the ways in which religion was imbricated in art, politics, and pedagogy in Colonial South Asia. Even though his work primarily focuses on Odisha, he has also published on the religious and urban history of colonial Calcutta. Ujaan is interested in the precolonial history of vernacular literary cultures in South Asia. Of particular interest to him is the intersection between Sanskrit and regional literature in Eastern India, at the wake of early modernity. He is also involved in a number of translation projects, and has coauthored a translation of Upendra Bhanja’s Baidehisha Bilasa.

“Refiguring Baidehīśa Bilāsa: Reading the Queer and the Erotic in Upendra Bhanja’s Rāmāyaṇa,” with Amrita Chowdhury. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 88 (2020):569–93.“Combating ‘Filth’: The Temple, the state and Urbanization in late nineteenth century Puri.” Modern Asian Studies 53, no.6 (2019):1849–91., “Temple Sites, Colonial Anxieties, and the Politics of Association in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Kalighat,” in Religious Pluralism in Contemporary Society, ed. Ruby Sain, 71–82. New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2021, “Class and Tenancy Relations in Calcutta, 1914–1926,” with Bandyopadhyay Ritajyoti, in Urban Housing, Livelihoods, and Environmental Change in Emerging Economies, ed. Annapurna Shaw and Rajesh Bhattacharya. Hyderabad: Orient B