5 - 7 December 2019 , Thu - Sat.
GALF 2019 : Speakers | Programme | Partners | Performances | Artwork | Videos
Photo Gallery: Inaugural Day | Day 1 | Day 2
Sujatha Fernandes
Sujatha Fernandes is a writer and professor at the University of Sydney. She is the author of several academic monographs, including most recently Curated Stories: The Uses and Misuses of Storytelling (Oxford). Her literary work includes a memoir on a global hip hop life, Close to the Edge (Verso), and a forthcoming collection of essays entitled The Cuban Hustle (Duke). Her essays and short stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, New Ohio Review, Maine Review, and Aster(ix), among other places. She is currently completing a collection of interlinked short stories entitled Shadow People and is working on a novel about Goan migrants in coastal Karnataka during the colonial wars of the eighteenth century.
Stacy Rodrigues
Stacy Rodrigues resides in Margao Goa. She completed her education in music. Being visually impaired, she is an artist by profession for the past 6 years and as of now, she is a full-time yoga instructor & a spiritual counsellor. So far she has held 4 solo exhibitions and she has been part of a few group exhibitions in Goa. In the year 2012, on a small scale, she released her poem book entitled "reflections". Recently she has written her first novel "In Search Of" which was launched in the month of October 2019. In Search Of is a book about a visually impaired individual who dared to live a normal life. The experience that life put her through taught her the meaning of life and helped her find her true self.
Aruna Ganu
Aruna Ganu is a retired teacher, Department of Marathi, from St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa. She is also involved in translation of poems from Hindi to Marathi and has also written weekly columns for a Marathi daily, ‘Goan Varta.’
Shubha Vilas
Shubha Vilas is an author, motivational speaker, lifestyle coach and storyteller par excellence. He believes that a good teacher, always sees the process of learning along with teaching as an inherent aspect of personal and spiritual growth. He teaches the importance of being governed by dharmic principles, meting out spiritual lifestyle tips and wisdom that can be applied to modern day situations.
Compelled by his deep sense of responsibility towards society, he started writing books that would benefit the readers in all aspects by understanding ancient literature in its true essence.
He took on the monumental task of writing a book on the Ramayana that would bring the epic out of the closet and into the world, to show the lessons hidden in the tales. And thus, he embarked on the ambitious project of a six-volume series titled Ramayana – The Game of Life.
His other bestsellers include Chronicles of Hanuman, which brings out the best and unheard stories from Hanuman’s life, and Open-eyed Meditations, a delightful compilation of his thoughts wherein he meditates with his eyes wide open, deriving practical wisdom for life’s dilemmas through insights from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Rita Chowdhury
Born at Nampong in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, Dr Rita Chowdhury holds
master’s degree in Political Science as well as Asamiya, followed by LLB. She got her Ph.D. from Guwahati University.
A prominent Asamiya novelist, poet and activist, Dr Chowdhury’s oeuvre include
Makam, a poignant portrayal of Assamese Indian community of Chinese origin; Deo
Lankhui, a novel of epic proportion on the glorious Tiwa Kingdom of Assam; and
Ei Xomoy Xei Xomoy, a fictionalized account of the societal and political changes
brought in by historic Assam Agitation against illegal immigration from Bangladesh to
Assam.
Her other novels are Abirata Yatra, Tirtha Bhumi, Maha Jibanar Adharxila, Papiya
Tarar Sadhu, Raag Malkosh, Jal Padma, Hridoy Nirupai, Papi Nakshatrar Galpa,
Razeeb Ishwar, Jahnabi and Mayabritta. Her 4 poetry collections viz. Pratyaxar
Swapna, Sudoor Nakshatra, Alap Poharar Alap Aandharar, and Baga Matir Tulashi
too have been well received.
Her first novel Abirata Yatra (Incessant Journey) got her Asam Sahitya Sabha’s best
manuscript award in 1981. Her Sahitya Akademi Award (2008) winning novel Deo
Langkhui (The Divine Sword) got her a host of other awards including Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha Award. Her novel Makam, a poignant portrayal of Assamese Indian community of Chinese origin, translated to Marathi as Makam and to English as Chinatown Days brought her national and international acclaim. Dr Chowdhury has been quite active in giving voice to the voiceless. She is the Chief Trustee of
ADHARXILA, an organization dedicated to empowering young writers of Assam. She
has attended several national and international seminars and Panel Discussions on
various issues of literature, society and international politics. She has also been
awarded with Srimayi Asomi” Samman by Guwahati Bihu Sanmilani, Assam. She was formerly Director, National Book Trust, India.
Amita Kanekar
Amita Kanekar is a novelist, an independent researcher in architectural history, a columnist on issues of history, politics, and architecture, and guest faculty at the Goa College of Architecture. She has written an architectural guidebook, The Portuguese Sea Forts of Goa; with Vasai, Chaul and Korlai (Deccan Heritage Foundation 2015), and two novels, A Spoke in the Wheel (HarperCollins 2005, and Navayana 2014), which is about the Buddha and set in the time of Emperor Ashoka, and Fear of Lions (Hachette 2019), the story of a peasant rebellion in the Mughal era.
Manohar Shetty
Manohar Shetty has published 'Full Disclosure: New and Collected Poems (1981-2017)'. His new book of poems is 'Borderlines'. His anthology: 'Ferry Crossing: Short Stories from Goa' has gone into several reprints. He has lived in Goa since 1985.
Rochelle Potkar
Rochelle Potkar is an alumna of Iowa’s International Writing Program (2015) and a Charles Wallace Writer’s fellow, University of Stirling (2017). Her individual poems To Daraza won the 2018 Norton Girault Literary Prize UK, and The girl from Lal Bazaar was shortlisted at the Gregory O' Donoghue International Poetry Prize, 2018. She is the author of The Arithmetic of breasts and other stories, Four Degrees of Separation, and Paper Asylum.
As critic, her reviews have appeared in Wasafiri, Indian Literature, Asian Cha, and Chandrabhaga. Her upcoming book The Inglorious Coins of the Counting House was longlisted at the Eyewear Publishing, Beverly Prize 2019, UK and shortlisted at the 2nd Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize 2019, NY. Her poetry film Skirt was showcased on Shonda Rhimes' Shondaland.
She has read her poetry in India, Bali, Iowa, Stirling, Glasgow, Hongkong, Ukraine, Hungary, Bangladesh, and the Gold Coast. She conducts poetry & haibun workshops across India.
https://rochellepotkar.com.
Santiago Lusardi Girelli
Born in Buenos Aires in 1979, Santiago Lusardi Girelli is an Argentinian-Italian Music Conductor, Composer and Scholar of the music and philosophy of the traditions of the East and West. Dr. Lusardi Girelli has worked as lecturer and choir and orchestra conductor and in more than 20 countries in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia for the last 20 years. He holds Master degrees in Orchestra, Choir Conduction, Philosophy, and a PhD in Music Aesthetics and Philosophy. As the result more than ten years of research on Indian Philosophy he has published his Thesis on Buddhist Phenomenology and Hindu Ritualism and its links with Western Music & Art Tradition. Santiago has conducted choirs and orchestras, professional and amateurs, around the world throughout more than 300 concerts, and leaded music tours in several countries, from the Amazonas Rain Forest to Leipzig-Germany (J.S. Bach´s city); and from Peruvian Machu Pichu to the Indian Himalayas. His enthusiasm, leadership and passion for music, philosophy and cultures have led him to accomplish several important achievements and recognitions that have earned him the esteem of the local and international press alike. Currently located in India, Santiago holds the Anthony Gonsalves Chair as Visiting Research Professor at the Goa University in India, and he is the conductor of the Goa University Choir -the very first University choir of India-, he also collaborates as Lecturer, Composer and Guest Conductor with different Universities and professional orchestras and choirs from South America, Africa, Europe and India.
Parimal Gandhi
In the Learning and Development profession since more than 44 years, Parimal is a results-oriented, innovative, gifted and acclaimed international facilitator, consultant, speaker and author. By now, he has trained over 100000 participants and 1000 trainers. His abiding interest lies in the application of timeless philosophies to human life for holistic learning, development, performance and happiness. With academic backgrounds in Chemical Engineering, Literature and several international certifications, he orchestrates heart-felt learning experiences in his areas of interest: Leadership, Spirituality, Teams, Customer Service, Innovation, Time Management and Trainer Training. His client list ranges from Fortune 500 companies to small and tiny industries and families. He has spoken at several international conferences and works in India, Mexico and USA.
He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Society for Training and Development and the V Care Foundation Award for ‘facing cancer four times with indomitable courage and resilience’.
