The Wait and Other Stories has been shortlisted for the prestigious Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize 2022 in the fiction category. This book is a translation of the Konkani short story book titled Tishthavani, published in 2022 and written by renowned Konkani writer and Jnanpith Award winner Damodar Mauzo.
The organisers of this award function told Gomantak Times that The wait and other stories is the first time a book translated from Konkani has been shortlisted for this literature award. There are 5 other books shortlisted in the fiction category, which are Breaking Free, Qabar, The Immortal King Rao, Tomb of Sand and Valli. Most have been translated from regional languages.
It was a proud moment for Goans to know that a Konkani book written by our very own Damodar Mauzo, popularly known as "Bhai" Mauzo among Goans, was shortlisted for the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize 2022.
When GT contacted Mauzo to gauge his thoughts about this development, Mauzo said that he feels great that his book has been shortlisted at the literature event in Bangalore. He said, "Literature is written for the people and the new generation of this millennium so that they benefit from the progressive and innovative thoughts and ideas from the book. Literature plays an important role in updating readers and reflects what is happening in society.”
Mauzo also expressed that he would have been happier if the Konkani version of his book had become more popular. He emphasised that more literature in local languages should be promoted. Other state governments, especially from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, etc, act as facilitators to promote and encourage their regional language and culture, and the Goa government should follow suit.
Later, when asked whether the growing engagement of youth with smartphones and computers has in any way impacted the reading culture of Goa, Mauzo replied that although the reading of books has declined, with the advancement in technology, people are now opting for ebooks, online portal reading, audiobooks, kindle, etc.
Therefore, readership is still present. "We must adapt and make ourselves familiar with the evolving channels. Only then we will be able to reach out to many people with our books and ideas," Mauzo added. Giving more details about this award function, Mauzo informed us that this award ceremony will take place from December 3-4, 2022.