Book Launch and Conversations | 9 January 2026 | Romance on the Airwaves
Info XCHR
CONVERSATIONSRomance on the Airwaves
Sharbelle Fernandez
Tino de Sa
Velma Fernandes in conversation with
Frederick Noronha
BOOK LAUNCH
Romance on the AirwavesRadio has long been a significant medium in Goa, yet its internal processes and institutional history remain insufficiently documented. This book offers a window into that world, extending its analysis to the period preceding 1961. It traces a small but revealing part of the operations of Emissora de Goa, the contemporary radio service, highlighting its capacity to attract audiences across extensive geographical ranges and examining the labour and craft of its announcers. Romance on the Airwaves further contributes to our understanding of everyday life in Goa during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the years immediately following. Notably, it does so through the narrative frame of a love story centred on a prominent radio announcer whose contributions have largely faded from public memory.
Sharbelle FernandezSharbelle Fernandez is a debutant author based in Goa. Her first book, Romance on the Airwaves, is a tribute to her parents and is set against the social, political, and cultural backdrop of Goa and Hubli in the 1950s and 1960s. Through this period narrative, she explores themes of love, memory, and historical change. Born and raised in Goa, Fernandez later moved to Hubli, where she lived with her husband, Rocque, to whom she has been married for over four decades, and their children, Zenani and Bjorn. She spent 29 years working at Akay Industries, Hubli, before retiring and returning to Goa. She now resides in the village of Nachinola in North Goa. In retirement, she devotes herself to creative and reflective pursuits, including reading, quilling, calligraphy, and singing with the Stuti Choral and String Ensemble. Tino de SaTino de Sa is a civil servant, an author and a poet. He holds an MPA from Harvard and a PhD in the Built Environment, and was in the Indian Administrative Service. His varied assignments included a stint with the United Nations, and culminated in his being the longest serving Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh. He is passionate about history and heritage, travelling, architecture and writing. He chairs the Managing Committee of the Goa Museum of Christian Art. Twice winner of the Times of India National Short Story Competition, he was also shortlisted for the 2025 Commonwealth Prize. He has two published collections of stories, and also a mystery novel for older children. Several of his poems have appeared in anthologies of the Poetry Society of India, Delhi Poetree, Goa Writers and The Brave New World of Goan Writing & Art 2025. An anthology co-edited by him is soon to be published by Penguin. Velma FernandesVelma Fernandes is a seasoned radio broadcaster with over two decades of experience as a Radio Jockey with All India Radio, Goa. Her work at the radio has been deeply shaped by a passion for music, storytelling, and community engagement, with a special focus on promoting Goan musicians, tiatrists, and notable Goan personalities whenever possible. She is the only auditioned western and Konkani announcer at All India Radio, now Akashvani. Beyond broadcasting, Velma is a dedicated music teacher at Sharada Mandir School, Miramar, preparing students for ICSE western music appreciation, and also teaches Mass Media and Communication at the higher secondary level. She additionally works part-time as a Konkani interpreter for an American legal firm. Music remains central to her life — whether playing the piano, keyboard, flute, or singing and playing in church. Frederick NoronhaFrederick Noronha is a columnist, researcher and alternative book publisher based in Goa. He has worked in journalism since 1983, covering technology, media, environment and developmental issues, and has contributed to Indian and international publications. In 2007 he founded Goa1556, an independent publishing house dedicated to books on Goa’s history, culture and society, which has produced over 190 titles to date. Noronha is an active online networker and an advocate for free/open knowledge and software, and has engaged in academic research on publishing in twentieth-century Goa, including a PhD on the subject.
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