FESTA DE GOA: A Celebration of Goan Literature, Art, Music, Food, and More!

Jane Borges is a Mumbai-based independent journalist, author and oral historian. Her debut novel, Bombay Balchão (2019), was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puruskar and Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize. She has also co-authored the non-fiction Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands (2011) with S. Hussain Zaidi. A chapter from the book was adapted into the Bollywood film Gangubai (2022) by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In 2022, she won the RedInk Journalism Award. She is the co-founder of Soboicar, an oral history archive chronicling the lives of Christians who migrated from the Konkan to South Mumbai. Her upcoming novel draws from her research on Catholic neighbourhoods.  

Malvika has an MA in Heritage Education and Interpretation from Newcastle University, UK. She spent the early part of her career working in the field of museum and heritage education, as well as building audio guides for historic sites across India and the world. Since 2017, she has been running The Citizens' Archive of India, a digital oral history archive that collects and preserves the stories of Indians born before Independence through its flagship 'Generation 1947' project. The archive also supports independent oral historians who want to build and preserve histories and make them accessible to the public. In this vein, she has helped design and archive the Soboicar Project and mentor its historians from the project’s inception in 2021. Malvika believes History is best taught through storytelling, and does just that through her work.

Currently its Consulting Editor, Abhay Sardesai was the Editor of ART India from 2002 to 2024. He has edited around 75 volumes of the prestigious magazine – it offers one of the most comprehensive and critical archives of the evolving history of modern and contemporary Indian art. Under his Editorship, ART India acquired a Culture Studies orientation and became one of the principal and persuasive platforms for independent art criticism in South Asia. Abhay has taught Aesthetics and Literary Criticism at the University of Mumbai; Language, Literature, Communication Skills and Criticism at SNDT University; Art History and Writing at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, among other pedagogic and museumic spaces. Abhay writes in English and translates from Marathi, Konkani and Hindi. In 2023, he curated Bibliopolis, a show exploring the inner lives of books, at the David Sassoon Library in Mumbai.

Ulka Chauhan is a photographer who lives and works between Mumbai, Goa and Zürich. These varied geographies come together to inform her work and shape her visual language. Her work been awarded at the IPA International Photo Awards, PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris and TIFA Tokyo International Foto Awards, in addition to being selected by the editors at Leica Fotografie International as Master Shots and Best in Category. She has exhibited at Nine Fish Gallery in Mumbai in 2019 and at Photo Bastei Gallery in Zürich in 2020. She has participated in photo festivals such as Venice Photo Lab and Treviso Photographic Festival in 2021; and photo SCHWEIZ in 2022. Ulka holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Finance and Economics from Babson College in Boston. She previously worked in advertising at Young & Rubicam on Madison Ave, NYC and at Rediffusion Y&R in Mumbai before embarking on her journey into photography. She is the sum of all her parts; being rooted on two grounds contouring her identity and compassionate world view. Her camera is the lens through which she sees the world, and in the process, herself.

Reema Desai Gehi is an arts writer, researcher, and cultural facilitator based in Mumbai. For over a decade, Reema has written on the arts and culture scene for the Mumbai Mirror, India Today and Hindustan Times. She has recently joined Art India — India’s longest-running art magazine — as its editor.Reema is an alumna of Cardiff University, UK, where she completed her Masters with a special focus on arts journalism.Her first book, ‘The Catalyst: Rudolf von Leyden and India’s Artistic Awakening’, traces the life and legacy of a seminal art critic, who was instrumental in shaping the careers of many artists belonging to the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group.

Jerry Pinto has been a teacher for nearly 30 years. He has taught Mathematics and English and Journalism and Creative Expression. He has conducted seminars and creative writing classes in spaces as diverse as Cap Gemini and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has taught public speaking and writes books. His latest books include Em and the Big Hoom (Aleph) and When crows are white (Scholastic). More details can be found on www.jerrypinto.com. He tweets under the handle mahimka jerry.

Damodar Mauzo is the recipient of the Jnanpith Award for 2022, the highest literary award of India. Born in a coastal village, Majorda in South Goa, Mauzo is a short story writer and novelist writing in Konkani. He is also a columnist, critic and script writer. He has so far over 25 books to his credit besides his edited and translated works. Ink of Dissent is a collection of his essays and lectures, originally written in English. Among his many awards are the Sahitya Akademi Award 1983, Katha Award, World Konkani Centre’s V. V. Pai Sahitya Puraskar, Goa State Award for Cultural Excellence, Sahitya Pratibha Puraskar by Goa Konkani Akademi Karnataka’s Basava Vibhushana Award, Janaganga Puraskar and several national and state level literary awards. His short story collection Teresa’s Man and Other Stories was nominated for the prestigious Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award in 2015. The most widely translated author of Konkani, his stories have been published in English, Portuguese and French besides most Indian languages. His Sahitya Akademi award-winning novel, Karmelin, has been translated into fourteen different languages. His recent novel, Jeev Divum Kai Chya Marum (Should I Kill Myself or Have a Cup of Tea) has been published in translation into Kannada, Marathi, English and Hindi. Kuvempu Bhasha Bharati Pradhikara published a Reader, Damodar Mauzo Vachike in 2017. Damodar Mauzo is a co-founder and co-curator of the Goa Arts & Literature Festival.

Naresh Fernandes is the editor of Scroll.in, a digital news publication. He is the author of City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay and Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age.

Dadiba Pundole remains one of the most respected gallerists for Modern Indian Art.  He is well known for his in-depth knowledge on the Modernists including Akbar Padamsee, S.H. Raza, Ram Kumar, M.F. Husain and V.S. Gaitonde. Pundole Art Gallery began representing these artists in the 1960s and added a new generation of artists when Dadiba took over the gallery in 1991. Dadiba was a consultant at Sotheby’s for their Modern Indian Art sales from 2005 to 2010 before opening Pundole’s, the auction house, in 2011. Pundole’s are well known for their auctions of Modern and Classical Indian Art as well as Estate sales that span several categories within the Decorative Arts. He is currently on the advisory board of the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation, and he has also served on the advisory board of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai.

Dean D’Cruz, a graduate in architecture, is actively involved both in his profession as well as in academics as a Visiting Faculty in the Goa College of Architecture since 1987. He has conducted numerous workshops and seminars on architecture, planning and the environment in over 20 cities across India as well as in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Canada. His works and articles have been published in leading magazines in India and abroad. Supported the Royal Art and Architecture Academy, Stockholm, Oxford Brookes University, UK and PRATT University New York for their architectural and planning programs in Goa. He is a Partner and Principal Architect in MOZAIC DESIGN COMBINE’, a leading design firm based in Goa, involved in Urban Intervention, Architecture, Conservation, Product and Graphic Design. Mozaic strives to provide holistic solutions to its patrons. Our engagement often transcends the boundaries of project briefs and enter the realms of new experiences. We explore prospects of symbiotic growth of our clients with nature and encourage sustainable practices in architecture as well as industrial products. The architectural wing of Mozaic has designed around India over 250 houses, 50 hotels, 30 housing complexes, and about 30 institutions, offices and factories. While most of their projects today are in the area of hospitality, we are also striving to make social impact in the areas of education, health care and micro / eco living. Dean has also been a recipient of numerous awards. He is a member of the State Level Committee to prepare the Regional Plan for Goa 2021. He is twice President of The Communidade of Saligao, working on developmental issues in the village, Ex- Chairman Indian Institute of Architect (IIA) Goa Chapter, Director with Goa Foundation and Green Goa Works, organisations involved in environmental issues and Ex - Design Chair of the Goa College of Architecture.

Samira Sheth is an art writer and independent curator based in Goa. Her writings have been featured in several publications including the book, Two Worlds, in collaboration with photographer Ulka Chauhan and the premier art quarterly, The Art News Magazine of India, among others. Always seeking to build bridges between communities through the arts, Samira played a central role in co-founding art platforms such as anartexchange.com and breathearts.com and starting art columns for publications in Dubai and Goa. She offers curatorial advice and exhibition & collection management through her independent outfit, Work of Art and has numerous exhibitions of contemporary Indian art to her credit across India and Dubai. Since making Goa her home over a decade ago, Samira has sought to learn about and share its rich artistic heritage with wider audiences. She has received several awards for her work with art in Goa and was a Jury member for the Fundação Oriente Visual Arts Award 2019, the first prize of its kind, initiated for artists in Goa.  

Vivek Menezes is a widely published writer and photographer, the co-founder and co-curator of the acclaimed Goa Arts + Literature Festival, founding editor of The Peacock daily newspaper at the International Film Festival of India, columnist for the 123-year-old O Heraldo newspaper, and a frequent contributor to other leading periodicals. He was born in Bombay, attended high school in New York, and holds degrees from Wesleyan University and the London School of Economics. As three-time curator at the Serendipity Arts Festival, he was responsible for the large-scale group exhibitions Konkani Surrealism (2017), Panjim 175 (2018) and Mundo Goa (2019). He lives in Panjim with his wife and three sons, very close to where the Mandovi river merges with the Arabian Sea at Miramar beach. Vivek is currently working on the definitive cultural history of Goa, represented by A Suitable Agency.

Sonia Shirsat Recipient of the National Award, “Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar” of 2016 from Sangeet Natak Academy, Government of India, New Delhi, and the Yuva Srujan Puraskar from the Govt of Goa,  Sonia Shirsat was born and brought up in Ponda- Goa, India, where she did her basic studies till Graduation in Commerce, and then went on to do her Bachelors and Masters in Law with a first class from VM Salgaoncar College of Law. She was a Professor of Law.Rated as the best Fadista (fado singer) in India of all time, Sonia has been singing professionally for the last 21 years and has performed in 16 Languages in 19 Countries. SoniaShirsat has been called the Ambassador of Goan Music to the World.Sonia has been appointed by the Goa State Election Commission as the State Election Icon for the last 4 Elections. She has been the Goa State Coordinator for SPICMACAY, President of the Ponda Jaycees, and is an active Rotarian. Her dedication to the promotion and preservation of Fado has shone through, with over 300 Fado students of the project Fado de Goa, Workshop on Fado at IIT Kharagpur,  Credit courses at Goa University, etc.