Sorrowing Lies My Land

orrowing Lies my Land is essentially a view of the Portuguese rule in Goa through the hardships faced by Babush, his family and society of the time. Journalist and author, Lambert Mascarenhas (1914-2021) was awarded the Gomant Vibhushan (Goa’s highest civilian award) and the Padma Shri in 2015, and has several books to his credit.

In the fictional town of Copena, kilometers away from Margao city, Babush narrates a tale that takes us from the time he was a seven year old boy, surrounded by his parents and siblings, to the time he finds himself sitting alone in his childhood home, as an adult, reminiscing. Set against the backdrop of the Portuguese rule in Goa, Mascarenhas’ ‘classic Goan tale’ is mainly concerned with the nationalist mindset of Tobias Costa, Babush’s father. While the novel is essentially a political comment on the Portuguese domination of Goa, the reader is also introduced to other characters found in a quintessentially Goan village – the drunkard, the gossip, the landlords, their tenants, and the vicar. Mascarenhas paints a melancholic picture of this era in Goa through the hardships faced by Babush, his family, his society and their land.

Sorrowing Lies my Land is essentially a political comment on the Portuguese domination of Goa which is a melancholic picture of this era in Goa through the hardships faced by Babush, his family, his society and their land.

English