Drops of life and memory

VINIKA VISWAMBHARAN
NT BUZZ

For decades, poetry has been a quiet companion to Konkani poet, writer, lyricist and journalist John Aguiar. Written in the margins of school notebooks, refined in college wall magazines and later shared on social media, his verses have travelled with him through life. Now, they come together in a single volume. His upcoming ninth Konkani collection, ‘Thembe’, gathers years of reflection on memory, faith, nature and the changing face of Goa, distilled into what he calls “drops” of experience.

Poetry has never been a grand performance for Aguiar. “I started writing poems right from my school days,” he says. “Poetry has always been with me. It grew with me.” The title came naturally. “These poems are like drops, drops of wisdom, memories, and feelings. When you put them together, they become something bigger.”

The word ‘thembe’ means drops and the image of rain runs through the book. The opening poem captures the first shower of the season and the greening of the land. “When the rain comes, I feel like my childhood comes back,” he says. “I remember playing with paper boats, that innocence and that joy. I wanted the book to begin there.”

Written in Konkani using the Devanagari script, the collection covers life lessons, nature, devotion, and social issues. Aguiar says. “Life will have struggles. But we should not sit and cry over the past. We must move forward with wisdom.”

In the poem ‘Ashela Hanv’, he compares hardship to monsoon after monsoon. “We go through many storms,” he says. “However, somewhere there is a small ray of light. That light is hope. Without hope, we cannot live.” Another poem, ‘Jinn Mhanlyar’, strings together a series of metaphors. “Life is a sea of sorrow, a sun of rays, a secret of God and finally sweet music,” he explains. “I like to see life from many angles. It is never only one thing.”

Aguiar is also concerned about Goa’s changing landscape. Several poems mourn fading traditional homes and occupations. “Where are the mud houses, the cow-dung-plastered courtyards?” he asks. “Modern waves have swept everything away. Sometimes I feel we are losing our roots.” Environmental loss troubles him too. “Nature is being destroyed in front of our eyes. If we don’t protect it, what will we leave for the next generation?”

The book also includes ‘bhajans’ and ‘aartis’ dedicated to local deities. “Some poems are like talking to God. In one, I ask for guidance to shape my journey,” he says. His wife, who has always supported him, inspired much of the collection.

Aguiar, whose work is taught in schools, says publishing the poems in book form felt important. “When it is on social media, it disappears. In a book, it has weight. It stays as a document.” ‘Thembe’ will be released through the Goa Konkani Akademi on February 28. “If someone reads even one poem and takes something from it, that is enough. Every word, like drops, should mean something,” he says.