In an age of shrinking attention spans and rising superficiality, he stands out as a cultural anchor building ecosystems while others lament their absence
The cultural identity of Panaji, post-liberation, has been quietly shaped by three iconic ‘B’s in the world of books—Bhate, Bidaye, and Bhide. Among them, Prabhakar Dattatray Bhide has played a singular, trailblazing role. His modest bookshop, Rajhauns Vitaran, tucked behind the Junta House in Panaji since 1976, has witnessed the changing intellectual tides of Goa. It has hosted countless writers, readers, artists, and thinkers. And I am grateful to say I’ve been part of this remarkable journey—knowing Prabhakar since the 1970s and having seen, up close, the vision and quiet revolution he brought to publishing in Goa. In 1983, he published my first Konkani book, Amchya Goencho Itihas, specially written for schoolchildren. The book is now out of print but had earned an award from the Konkani Bhasha Mandal. From 1982 onwards, Bhide involved me—and several others—in numerous literary and cultural endeavours.
Looking back, I’m overwhelmed by memories, but I will confine myself to what I consider the essence of this one-man cultural institution who is now, quite fittingly, the recipient of the Gulab Award 2024. When I phoned to congratulate him, he was pleasantly surprised to know that the same award I had received in 2002 now comes to him. I could sense the quiet pride in his voice. Bhide’s life and work are, to me, revolutionary in Goa’s context. It is a story of self-made perseverance, multilingual publishing, and unsung cultural nation-building. He was born in 1948 in Ribandar, into a large nine-member family. A graduate and first-generation entrepreneur, he had no inherited capital, no prior business exposure, and no institutional scaffolding to support him. But he had an indomitable spirit and a rare clarity of purpose. He began in 1970 as a small-time distributor and trader. By 1976, he had set up a formal base in Panaji.
The publishing arm would emerge in the early 1980s, with the release of his first Marathi title, The Ring of Saturn by Dr Arun Heblekar. What started modestly soon evolved into a game-changing enterprise: Rajhauns Sankalpana Pvt. Ltd., formally registered in 2013. The name has since become synonymous with Goa’s multilingual publishing renaissance. Bhide’s approach to publishing was anything but conventional. He pioneered several innovations that were unheard of in Goa at the time. His firm was the first in the state to secure ISBN registration, to introduce offset printing and perfect binding, to maintain in-house editorial and DTP units, and to run a structured pre-publication booking scheme. Rajhauns was also the first to register as a small-scale industry unit and to deliver books using Speed Post under the BNPL Scheme.
Bhide never saw publishing as a purely commercial venture. For him, it was a mission of cultural service. He understood early on that Goa’s linguistic complexity was not a barrier but a rich opportunity. While many focused narrowly on Marathi or English, Bhide embraced all—Konkani, Marathi, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Portuguese, and even French—with due respect to Konkani as the official language of the state. The result? A catalogue of 2000 publications that is breathtaking in its diversity and scope (check https://www.granthabhiman.com/). Rajhauns has published literary fiction, children’s books, religious texts, poetry, academic monographs, translations, and more. The titles cater to multiple generations, worldviews, and reading levels. He was also among the first to recognise the collaborative nature of the publishing process. His book release functions honoured not just authors, but also the printers, cover artists, and editors—and their families. He once launched eight titles at a single event, hosting over a hundred invitees with warmth and dignity.
Then there is his social contribution through employment. At a time when publishing in regional languages was widely seen as financially untenable, Rajhauns sustained long-term jobs for 38 people. Recognition came, eventually, and rightly so. In 2019, Bhide received the Prof Kashinath Mahale Asmitay Puraskar from Asmitay Pratishthan. In 2022, he was awarded the Konkani Seva Puraskar by Konkani Bhasha Mandal. And now, in 2024, the Shenoi Goembab Konkani Bhasha Seva Puraskar by the Goa Konkani Akademi and the Gulab Award cap a long, under-acknowledged journey. To those who know him closely, however, these honours are just footnotes. Bhide’s true distinction lies in his character. He is methodical, unassuming, deeply principled, and wholly indifferent to public acclaim.
In an age of shrinking attention spans and rising superficiality, Prabhakar Bhide stands out as a cultural anchor—the kind of person who quietly builds ecosystems while others lament their absence. His vision of Goa has never been nostalgic or exclusionary. It is dynamic, multilingual, and pluralistic. In this sense, he belongs to a vanishing tribe: Goans who have built cultural institutions from scratch and nurtured them with love, rigour, and grace. As the Gulab Award 2024 shines a belated spotlight on him, let us also honour the deeper legacy he represents. Prabhakar Bhide didn’t just publish books—he published ideas, aspirations, and identities. In doing so, he helped give Goa a literary spine that will support many generations to come.
(Nandkumar M Kamat, who has a doctorate in microbiology, is a scientist and science writer)
