Ask any Goan above the age of 70 where they were on December 19, 1961, and be assured that you will hear a detailed story of what they were doing on that day. It’s 63 years since Goa was liberated, but some memories remain etched in the mind forever.
When Ralph De Sousa published Winds of Change just about a year ago, recalling his childhood and the colonial regime, all his contemporaries had stories to tell of their own past.
So, when he sat down to pen his second book, De Sousa decided that it would be not his alone, but also that of his many friends.
What emerged is Change of Guard, in which De Sousa recounts his December 19, 1961, and 12 other individuals’ recollections of that day, while four others write of the aftermath.
There have been many books on the liberation of Goa. This perhaps is the first that dwells on the personal memories of so many Goans of a generation that will soon disappear.
There have been many books on the liberation of Goa. This perhaps is the first that dwells on the personal memories of so many Goans of a generation that will soon disappear. Thanks to De Sousa for cajoling them into putting down their memories on paper and for publishing them in a book.
We, in Goa, have read about the liberation, whether in history textbooks or in other tomes. But this book makes the events of that day more personal as they are memories of various persons of that unforgettable day in 1961.
Change of Guard is divided into five sections. The first are historical notes, events leading to December 1961, while the next section has De Sousa relating his memories of that momentous week.
Section 3 has 12 good old Goans penning their recollections of the liberation, and the next section has four others discussing the aftermath. The last section profiles the lead actors in the events.
It doesn’t end there. The book has a vast collection of photographs of the period from public archives and personal collections that add to the retelling.
It doesn’t end there. The book has a vast collection of photographs of the period from public archives and personal collections that add to the retelling.
Yet, it is not the sections of the book that make it interesting but the content. Coming from varied writers, it brings different perspectives of that period to the reader. It’s mostly memories, personal ones, that are interlinked with history.
Here’s a nugget from the book, an incident that occurred on December 18, 1961, that I would like to reproduce here: “About half an hour later, a third officer entered the room and asked my dad for an unbelievable favour that he could refuse. The Indian Army was short of trucks as some of theirs had broken down, and they were to be replaced by my dad’s trucks. A fleet of our ten trucks left our Sanquelim establishment at around midnight, transporting Indian troops to Panjim.”
Of course, the drivers and the trucks returned safely, which also is important.
For more such little pieces of information, and the uncertainty that played in minds of the people on that day, one does have to read Change of Guard that is set to be released this week on November 14 at the Fundação Oriente.
For more such little pieces of information, and the uncertainty that played in minds of the people on that day, one does have to read Change of Guard that is set to be released this week on November 14 at the Fundação Oriente.
The book with enlighten, for sure, and will also make many ask the elders in the family and neighbourhood for their personal recollections of December 19, 1961.
DETAILS
WHAT: Book launch of Change of Guard
WHERE: Fundação Oriente
WHEN: November 14, 2024