’Meet the Author’ Hema Naik in Mangalore on Aug 31

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, August 30, 2013: Sahitya Akademi New Delhi and Raknno, Konkani Weekly, Mangalore has organised ’Meet the Author’ programme with Hema Naik, eminent Konkani writer, at Bishop’s House Hall on Saturday, at 5.30 pm.

‘Meet the Author’ is a special Literary programme where the writer gives a talk on his/her contribution in literary field and the incidents related to it occurred in life. This programme under the banner of Sahitya Akademi is totally a discussion of readers with the writer.  Sahitya Akademi had also arranged programme under ‘Meet the Author’ with Nagesh Karmali, Pundalik Naik, Damodar Mauzo, Ramesh Veluskar, Edwin J F D’Souza etc. And now it has come to Hema Naik.

 

Hema Naik began writing previously as Hema Dhumatkar. Born in an upper class feudal family, Hema fiercely attacked the feudal and male chauvinism that prevailed during the time through her early writings. The facet of ‘women in Society’ would not have been complete in Konkani literature without the contribution of Hema Naik. Her Rebellious and tough voice stuck a wave of feminism in Konkani Literature. She is considered as guiding light for the young writers who rebelled and questioned the structures that obstructed change. She is just not a noted Konkani novelist but is also responsible for striking new wave thinking in the Konkani literature. Responding to the need for integrating scattered and impulsive feminist sentiments with the mainstream Konkani literature, she began series of ‘Chitrangi Mellave’, the conferences for young Konkani women writers. This acted as a catalyst for engineering feminism in Konkani literature. The movement for Goa’s statehood and official language broke out in 1985, she spearheaded the brigade of women intellectuals and activists in the movement. A graduate in Economics, began her activism and writing through the involvement in the student movement. The 1973 World women conference at Calcutta provoked her to portray the mirror image of women in society in the Konkani literature. She is an accomplished publisher of over 100 titles with Apurbai Prakashan as the publication house, catering to the needs of publishing books and journals in Konkani.  She was instrumental in initiating film culture of Konkani by producing Konkani movie. Activist, writer, organizer, publisher, translator, producer are the various facets of Hema Naik.

‘Nirbala’ where the protagonist Sapana is helpless, witnesses the inhuman life around her as a passive sufferer, not a reactionary. Whereas Pranita in another short story ‘Nimane Sanskar’ thrashes away the societal customs and lights the pyre of a dead father. The durgi in the short story ‘Durgavatar’ portrays the radical face of a lady, who is uneducated, who kills her husband after facing the day to day domestic violence and abuses at home. The Jemma in ‘Bhagdandd’ revolves around the dark side of human mind. The psyche that revolves around the material pleasures of the world, an attempt to find out a way out from the usual and non challenging world. Exploring the different shades of human mind and behavior, her writings have broken the barriers of class and caste. Hema has charged and ignited the rebellious sentiments within the society.

The contribution of Hema in the field of literature and publishing has been recognized throughout India. The magazine Chitrangi was honored with the Katha Journal award. The Federation of India Publishers, New Delhi bestowed the award for publishing. NMKRV College for women in Bangalore conferred ‘Shashwati’ and TMA Pai Foundation Manipal also conferred its Best Book Award for the novel ‘Bhogdandd’ The same novel got the Sahitya Academy award. The work of Hema figures in the Volume III of Knit India through literature, a nationwide project of noted researcher and writer Sivasankari. The writings of Hema are also focused by the ‘Hot is the Moon’, a nationwide collection of Poems and stories by Indian Women, edited by Arundhathi Subramaniam.        
     
Her contribution in the translation cannot be undermined. She has five translation works to her credit and two are in the process of printing. This includes the autobiographies of Dr. Premanand Ramani, Bhalchandra Mungekar and Narendra Jadhav. Alka Saravgi’s Kalikatha via bypass and Maria Aurora Couto’s Goa: the Daughters story are the translated novels in Konkani by Hema. Her contribution in Marathi is also to be noted as she has been a regular columnist in Konkani-Marathi dailies also. Based on the resent incidents of Molestations and Rapes, her Novel ‘Log Out’ was serially published in ‘Dainik Herald’ is well appreciated by the readers.