Dr. Nandkumar M Kamat is a doctorate in microbiology scientist and science writer.
W e have not heard of any Governor creatively provoked to produce anthologies of poetry like “Oh Mizoram”, penned out of internal intellectual and spiritual turmoil by the ex-governor of Mizoram P S Sreedharan Pillai. The whole process behind this anthology is so exceptional in a constitutional democracy like India that you wonder whether this is really happening in our country where politics has taken precedence over most fundamental necessities of our ancient multicultural, multiethnic civilization.
The President and the Prime Minister gave a precious gift to Goa this month by choosing a personality who would perfectly match the cultural and social ethos of Goa. For Goa, the land of poets, singers, artists, painters and musicians the new Governor brings a profound, positive message of peace, love, compassion, hope and service for the nation.
We do not know many in Goa who could publish more than 128 books in just 36 years. Goans now have a poet at Raj Bhavan who has published 15 poetry collections in Malayalam since 2004. In the new Governor of Goa, 66 years old Sreedharan Pillai, who looks much younger as compared to his age we find a poet, a prolific bilingual writer, a thinker, philosopher and not a politician residing as the 19th governor of the state in the scenic and beautiful Raj Bhavan at Cabo, Dona Paula.
Every day as he looks out from the balconies of the Raj Bhavan at the horizon and the turbulent sea and the monsoon clouds hovering over the bay he would get new inspirations for his writing ideas. I have no doubt that this land, the landscape, nature, culture, and people would continue to creatively inspire him in coming days as he settles down. As a poet and writer, he would definitely not find Raj Bhavan as another “five-star prison”. He had endeared the forest dwelling Mizo people with his beautiful poetry and dynamic speeches. He did for our country in his brief span as Governor of Mizoram for cultural integration and national unity that the Mizo people would now really understand what it means to be part of the great Indian civilization and the Indian nation.
Large number of young civil servants from Mizoram used to get posted in Goa under the union territory administration and we have good memories of working with them. They looked reserved, unfriendly, and tough from outside but were quite different in interacting with the Goans. Having dealt with the tough Mizo people in the hilly areas now on the coast of the same sea which he had experienced in his home state, Kerala, Governor Pillai would be amazingly comfortable in quickly grasping the aspirations of the lovable local people. The backwaters of Goa fringed by mangroves and coconut palms would remind him of Alappuzha district, where he has his roots. It has almost the same natural beauty and demographics and religious composition like Goa.
He brings with him considerable experience of facing a challenging situation like the pandemic because he wrote a record 18 books during this period. Goans need to know the nature of creative impulse behind this sustained effort and every attempt needs to be made to get the best of his contributions translated for the local people in Konkani as well as Marathi. Goa had witnessed a prolific writer like late governor Mridula Sinha from Bihar who had made excellent contributions to novels and stories in Hindi literature. But unlike her the topics handled by Governor Pillai are wide ranging.
His first anthology of poetry in English ‘Oh Mizoram” is a superb example of ‘nature poetry’ for which Goa is incredibly famous. When the Assamese journalist Ezrela Fanai interviewed him in August 2020, Governor Pillai who had just completed nine months in Mizoram told the story behind his poem- ‘Oh, Mizoram’. He said “When I reached the state on November 4, 2019, I had the occasion to see the hills there with fresh air and it inspired me to write a poem. So, on the same night, I wrote the poem Oh, Mizoram! And I shall include that poem in the book titled Oh! Mizoram. The poem shall be an introduction to the book.”
Four months later the Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu, virtually released the book. Richly complimenting the poet Governor of Mizoram, the Vice President in his speech had described Pillai as a multi-faceted person and a successful lawyer, a former politician, an organizer par excellence, an orator, a prolific writer, a philanthropist, and a thinker. All this matters in Goa because this state is traumatized by all sorts of problems and therefore people need someone at the Raj Bhavan to connect and listen to their dreams, aspirations, and expectations.
The pandemic has broken the spine of the economy of Goa on the background of closure of the mines and the recession in the tourism sector. Within just 21 months Governor Pillai had won the trust and confidence of the Mizo people and was successful in bringing them into the cultural mainstream of the country. Being familiar with Goa he had told the press – “For me, Goa is a showpiece State of the country with better social solidarity, legal equality, high per capita income, rapid urbanisation, and popular tourism destinations”. His statements showed that he has already applied his mind to several issues that need to be addressed but at the same time he has made it noticeably clear that the role of Governor is not like a politician but to act as a guide and facilitator.
Undoubtedly, he would get a constant stream of visitors and various delegations trying to draw his attention to several issues of governance and administration. If the state government begins to listen to Governor Pillai’s advice carefully then it would do a lot of good for Goa because he has proven himself in Kerala and Mizoram. The Government of India has chosen the right time to send him to Goa because Governor Pillai would be leading the grand celebration of completion of 60 years of Goa’s Liberation on December 19th. May his poetic impulse be inspired by the stories of our freedom struggle and the sacrifices made by the martyrs who had laid down their lives. He would be enriched and inspired by Goa’s rich history and folklore and that could lead to his new writing projects. In building new bridges of cultural understanding between Mizoram, Kerala and Goa it is perhaps predestined that the poet Governor Sreedharan Pillai would definitely play a historic and memorable role in future. People of Goa warm heartedly welcome him with immense affection in their hearts.
Courtesy: The Navhind Times, Goa. www.Navhindtimes.com