The other Goa ... The Bitter-Fruit Tree
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Frederick Noronha
May 10, 2026, 10:31:01 PM (10 days ago) May 10
to The Third Thursday Goa Book Club
The other Goa
In The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories, Prakash Parienkar uncovers
another Goa, where Sattari’s forests pay the price for modern progress.
Published : Oct 04, 2025 17:08 IST - 4 MINS READ
Janhavi Acharekar
COMMents
In The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories, Prakash Parienkar uncovers
another Goa, where Sattari’s forests pay the price for modern progress.
Published : Oct 04, 2025 17:08 IST - 4 MINS READ
Janhavi Acharekar
COMMents
The stories are set in the forested Sattari region in interior Goa,
Here, a villager from Sonal Tar fills water from the Mhadei river in
Sattari.
The stories are set in the forested Sattari region in interior Goa,
Here, a villager from Sonal Tar fills water from the Mhadei river in
Sattari. | Photo Credit: PRASHANT NAKWE
Here, a villager from Sonal Tar fills water from the Mhadei river in
Sattari.
The stories are set in the forested Sattari region in interior Goa,
Here, a villager from Sonal Tar fills water from the Mhadei river in
Sattari. | Photo Credit: PRASHANT NAKWE
The English translation of the award-winning Konkani writer Prakash
Parienkar’s short stories by Vidya Pai could not have come at a more
appropriate time, when Goa is being pillaged in the name of
development. Set in the forested Sattari region in interior Goa and
written over three decades, the stories simultaneously reflect the
State’s present reality and contrast it with the past. They are a
timely reminder of the State’s rich natural and cultural heritage.
Derived from his Konkani anthology Varsal, Parienkar’s stories are a
look at Goa’s inner world. A world, it is apparent, that he knows
closely, understands, and loves. Not only is it far removed from the
tourist’s stereotype of Goa, it is a world away even from the Goan city
of Panaji.
“In his introduction to the story collection Varsal, Parienkar touches
on the sheer diversity of life and flora and fauna that one can see in
these parts. He talks of the range of folk customs and religious
traditions and the tough life faced by the villagers as they eke out a
living even as they face Nature’s fury or revel in her bounty,” says
Parienkar’s short stories by Vidya Pai could not have come at a more
appropriate time, when Goa is being pillaged in the name of
development. Set in the forested Sattari region in interior Goa and
written over three decades, the stories simultaneously reflect the
State’s present reality and contrast it with the past. They are a
timely reminder of the State’s rich natural and cultural heritage.
Derived from his Konkani anthology Varsal, Parienkar’s stories are a
look at Goa’s inner world. A world, it is apparent, that he knows
closely, understands, and loves. Not only is it far removed from the
tourist’s stereotype of Goa, it is a world away even from the Goan city
of Panaji.
“In his introduction to the story collection Varsal, Parienkar touches
on the sheer diversity of life and flora and fauna that one can see in
these parts. He talks of the range of folk customs and religious
traditions and the tough life faced by the villagers as they eke out a
living even as they face Nature’s fury or revel in her bounty,” says
Pai in the translator’s note.
Also Read | Rich and real
The stories hark back to simpler and, yet, paradoxically, complex
times. Caste discrimination, rural-urban conflict, human-wildlife
conflict, rampant deforestation, the effects of construction and
corruption—all feature here. But these pithy stories are primarily
about the human condition; they draw the reader into the daily
realities of Goan rural life and touch a chord.
The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories
By Prakash Parienkar, translated by Vidya Pai
Also Read | Rich and real
The stories hark back to simpler and, yet, paradoxically, complex
times. Caste discrimination, rural-urban conflict, human-wildlife
conflict, rampant deforestation, the effects of construction and
corruption—all feature here. But these pithy stories are primarily
about the human condition; they draw the reader into the daily
realities of Goan rural life and touch a chord.
The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories
By Prakash Parienkar, translated by Vidya Pai
Farmers, basket weavers, religious revellers, forest-dwellers—all find
themselves thrown into challenging life situations. A Mahar (Dalit)
runs from pillar to post to be allotted a burial ground for his dead
wife. A woman hopes and prays for her pregnant cow to give birth to a
female calf. Another rejects an abandoned baby because it is a girl and
she already has six of her own. A couple watches unseasonal rain
destroy the crops that could have changed their fortune. A Catholic is
torn between faith and family when asked to become a “Konknno”—convert
to Hinduism—by his only relative.
A rich, deep read
The under-represented and marginalised are given a voice and we see
life from the perspective of indigenous minorities and oppressed
castes—Dhangars, Gaonkars, Mahars, Vanarmares, all find a rightful
place in this anthology. “The vanarmaro who habitually hunted monkeys
with arrows was now a hunted animal himself,” says the narrator in “The
Crescent Moon”, when a youth from the tribe falls prey to a mob fuelled
by village rumours.
themselves thrown into challenging life situations. A Mahar (Dalit)
runs from pillar to post to be allotted a burial ground for his dead
wife. A woman hopes and prays for her pregnant cow to give birth to a
female calf. Another rejects an abandoned baby because it is a girl and
she already has six of her own. A couple watches unseasonal rain
destroy the crops that could have changed their fortune. A Catholic is
torn between faith and family when asked to become a “Konknno”—convert
to Hinduism—by his only relative.
A rich, deep read
The under-represented and marginalised are given a voice and we see
life from the perspective of indigenous minorities and oppressed
castes—Dhangars, Gaonkars, Mahars, Vanarmares, all find a rightful
place in this anthology. “The vanarmaro who habitually hunted monkeys
with arrows was now a hunted animal himself,” says the narrator in “The
Crescent Moon”, when a youth from the tribe falls prey to a mob fuelled
by village rumours.
In “The Bitter Fruit Tree”, we feel the Mahar Tilgo’s pain as he
carries his wife Goklem’s corpse on his back across the river, so as
not to taint the Dasara celebrations in the village. In contrast to the
pomp of the Dasara ceremony, where the idol of the local deity Lord
Ravalnath goes to meet the goddess Santeri, is Goklem’s sorry funeral
procession with Tilgo as the sole pallbearer, accompanied by his cat.
The theme of violence and death at a religious festival is carried
forward in “The Sacrifice” when the chopping of a fruit-laden mango
tree for the festival of Shigmo leads to discord and, ultimately,
tragedy. In “Desolation”, a story around the Narakasur effigy that is
traditionally burnt before Diwali, Parienkar turns around the notion of
the mother figure as he juxtaposes an abusive mother with the demon.
The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories is derived from Prakash
Parienkar’s Konkani anthology Varsal.
The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories is derived from Prakash
Parienkar’s Konkani anthology Varsal. | Photo Credit: By Special
Arrangement
carries his wife Goklem’s corpse on his back across the river, so as
not to taint the Dasara celebrations in the village. In contrast to the
pomp of the Dasara ceremony, where the idol of the local deity Lord
Ravalnath goes to meet the goddess Santeri, is Goklem’s sorry funeral
procession with Tilgo as the sole pallbearer, accompanied by his cat.
The theme of violence and death at a religious festival is carried
forward in “The Sacrifice” when the chopping of a fruit-laden mango
tree for the festival of Shigmo leads to discord and, ultimately,
tragedy. In “Desolation”, a story around the Narakasur effigy that is
traditionally burnt before Diwali, Parienkar turns around the notion of
the mother figure as he juxtaposes an abusive mother with the demon.
The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories is derived from Prakash
Parienkar’s Konkani anthology Varsal.
The Bitter-Fruit Tree and Other Stories is derived from Prakash
Parienkar’s Konkani anthology Varsal. | Photo Credit: By Special
Arrangement
The author evokes local traditions ranging from the religious and
cultural to the agrarian and culinary. Be it the “puran” style of
tilling fields unique to Sattari, the cashew harvest, the making of
nassaney bhakris (finger millet flatbreads), boiling the bark of the
assonem tree to treat wounds, or the festival of Gorvanchopadvo
celebrated in honour of cattle, he brings alive the simple life of
rural folk.
Throughout, Parienkar mourns the loss of the old way of life, the
passing of an era. In “Water”, when the village taps run dry because of
a broken pipeline, Goklem, the village elder, says: “We should curse
ourselves for our own actions that have led to this. Didn’t the whole
village drink water from the well before this tap was set up?”
Also Read | A green revolution in Goa
In “A Forest Sanctuary”, when the government starts evicting villagers
residing on forest land, Avdu refuses to leave, saying: “This land
belonged to my forefathers. Why should it be surveyed?”
cultural to the agrarian and culinary. Be it the “puran” style of
tilling fields unique to Sattari, the cashew harvest, the making of
nassaney bhakris (finger millet flatbreads), boiling the bark of the
assonem tree to treat wounds, or the festival of Gorvanchopadvo
celebrated in honour of cattle, he brings alive the simple life of
rural folk.
Throughout, Parienkar mourns the loss of the old way of life, the
passing of an era. In “Water”, when the village taps run dry because of
a broken pipeline, Goklem, the village elder, says: “We should curse
ourselves for our own actions that have led to this. Didn’t the whole
village drink water from the well before this tap was set up?”
Also Read | A green revolution in Goa
In “A Forest Sanctuary”, when the government starts evicting villagers
residing on forest land, Avdu refuses to leave, saying: “This land
belonged to my forefathers. Why should it be surveyed?”
The stories show the author’s intimate knowledge of Goan culture and
society, and they address the loss of transmission of local and
indigenous knowledge to the younger generation. “The Old Man of the
Hills” is a charming story of a field ingeniously created in the forest
by Dongracho Baba. “Here you may not get the food you want but this
forest will never let you starve,” says the old man, who remains rooted
in the forest, to his city-obsessed son.
This slim volume makes for a rich, deep read. Pai’s translation retains
the nuances and the Konkani flavour of the stories.
Like the dense forests of its setting, The Bitter Fruit Tree and other
Stories packs in a profound intensity.
Janhavi Acharekar is an author, a curator, and creative consultant.
society, and they address the loss of transmission of local and
indigenous knowledge to the younger generation. “The Old Man of the
Hills” is a charming story of a field ingeniously created in the forest
by Dongracho Baba. “Here you may not get the food you want but this
forest will never let you starve,” says the old man, who remains rooted
in the forest, to his city-obsessed son.
This slim volume makes for a rich, deep read. Pai’s translation retains
the nuances and the Konkani flavour of the stories.
Like the dense forests of its setting, The Bitter Fruit Tree and other
Stories packs in a profound intensity.
Janhavi Acharekar is an author, a curator, and creative consultant.
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_/ Frederick Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا
_/ AUDIO https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha
_/ http://goa1556.in +91-9822122436 784 Saligao Goa
_/ Frederick Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا
_/ AUDIO https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha
_/ http://goa1556.in +91-9822122436 784 Saligao Goa
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Jeanne Hromnik
May 11, 2026, 5:13:51 AM (10 days ago) May 11
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