Palem has gifted two important literary personalities to Goa -- R.V.Pandit and Ramesh Veluskar -- both known for their significant contribution to Konkani poetry and literature. Both were honored by the Sahitya Akademi.
Pandit's was an extrovert, versatile personality. His photographic eye captured the toils and agonies of the Gavda community vividly in his poetry. "Mhozem Utor Gavdyachem", as Pandit's poetry collection was called, is a rich tribute to the Gavda spirit of living against all odds.
The traditional Gavda folk-play "Zagor" of Palem was a repository of the community's creative impulses. The tunes, rhythm and images of this musical folk-play can influence the mind of any sensitive poet.
In Pandit's village, Ramesh Veluskar was trying to liberate his creative energy as an adolescent by trying various forms, beginning with a novella. Pandit was keenly watching the emergence of a promising poet, who would later glorify the beauty of nature following his footsteps.
Ramesh began writing in 1968. Since then, he has never looked back.
He belongs to the post-Liberation generation of "new wave" Konkani writers, who include Pundalik Naik, Damodar Mauzo, N. Shivdas, Mahableshwar Sail et al. Ramesh -- born and brought up in a rustic environment -- derived inspiration from nature, the folk, their folklore and culture. Konkani's most-loved poet, Ramesh turned 50 in the past week. Ramesh's Konkani poetry has a powerful base in Goa's rich folklore. His most popular poem, known for its rich phonetic composition, "Shir Shir Nambure", reminds you of man's lost links with divinity. In their "Zagor" form, the aniconic earth- worshipers, the Gavdas of Palem glorified the abstract divinity. Their simple songs influenced Ramesh's initial creations.
Ramesh published his first poetry collection, "Morpakham" (Peacock Feathers) in the early 'eighties. Poems in "Morpakham" represent poet Ramesh's romantic quest to discover beauty and harmony in nature and human culture. "Morpakham" received the Kala Academy award for best literature. Ramesh is fascinated by the mystery of the female principle. He worships nature in her female form. Using meaningful anthromorphic imagery and mythological idioms, he creates a new world of feminine beauty. The canvas of "Morpakham", left unfinished, gets finishing touches in his wonderful Sahitya Akademi-award winning (1990) poetry collection named "Savulgori".
With this book, Ramesh found his own tunes. "Savulgori" is a new myth about mother nature, seriously represented by this evergreen and sensitive poet in a style which could be called ecologically erotic. "Savulgori" has a multi-layered aesthetic structure. "Savulgori" is the humanization of the fertility principle of a sacred grove. "Savulgori" commands you with her magical charm. Each poem in "Savulgori" is woven around the mystery of the female spirit, that which is inescapable in human evolution. Ramesh doesn't merely glorify or mystify this spirit, but through the use of indigenous ecological symbols, he adds a touch of genuine artistic novelty and originality to it. "Savulgori" was hailed as a landmark in the modern Konkani literature.
After "Savulgori", Ramesh began exploring man's ecological basis of existence with respect to mother earth. Maharshi Aurobindo's work had greatly influenced his thoughts and had earlier guided him in his quest for beauty and harmony. His third poetry collection "Mati" (The Earth) speaks about our existential connection to mother earth. Reaching almost Upanishadic philosophical heights -- poems in "Mati" are deeply thoughtful and spiritually pristine -- Ramesh explores human mindscapes and physical habitats with the precision of a mathematician.
Poems in "Mati" have few words. But each word is loaded with meaningful ideas. "Mati" received good attention from literary critics. Even to this day, Ramesh thinks "Mati" was his true work. Really enjoyable and meaningful. "Aangi Nachta Mor Morya" was his fourth book, which is a folk- tale about a princess. The mythological depiction of the peacock has gone well with Ramesh's style of handling folk forms with subtlety and artistic sensitivity.
After "Mati", Ramesh realised that the ultimate energy-giver of earth, the Sun -- known to ancient Indian sages as "Hiranyagarbha" -- could be the fountainhead of poetic ideas. Months of concentrated intuition and creative incubation, sometimes on Miramar beach at sunset, rarely from the Pilar seminary or the Siradao beach, inspired him to write poems paying rich tributes to "Hiranyagarbha". Published under the same title, it was an effort to synthesize Ramesh's unfolding poetic vision. By the end of 1997, his next collection of poems "Tanar Jyoti" was scheduled to be published.
Ramesh constantly experiments with form. His poetic stylistics has not changed much during the past 30 years despite this experimentation. Encouraged by literary stalwarts like B.B.Borkar, Shankar Ramani, Manoharrai Sardessai, Nagesh Karmali, Dharmavir Bharati, U.R.Ananthamurthy and others, Ramesh's poetry has come to occupy its exclusive place in Konkani literature. As a former president of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal, Ramesh tried to infuse a new spirit into that institution. Ramesh has turned 50. Let us wish a long life to the creator of Savulgori, Mati and Hiranyagarbha.
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