José da Silva Coelho (1889 – 1944) was a Goan author of several dozen pieces of wickedly satirical

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

in the 1920s and 1930s, published for the most part in the

Portuguese-language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom ...

newspaper ''

O Heraldo ''O Heraldo'' is a century-old English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published in Panaji, the capital of the Indian state of Goa. History ''O Heraldo'' was established as the first daily Portuguese newspaper on 21 May 1900 by Aleixo ...

''. He is easily the most prolific Goan fictionist in Portuguese.

Personal life

José da Silva Coelho was born in

Margão Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal River (India), Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa district, South Goa, and administr ...

in 1889, one of fifteen children (among them Mario da Silva Coelho, himself a prominent poet). After attending the

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

Pangim Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

and pursuing private law studies he became a

public notary A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

, working at first as an assistant to his father (also a notary public), then on a posting to

Damão Daman is a city and the administrative capital of the Indian territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is a municipal council situated in the Daman district of the union territory. The Daman Ganga River divides Daman into: Na ...

, and then in

Bicholim Bicholim (Konkani: ''Dicholi''; IPA: ), is a small town and a municipal council in North Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is the headquarters of the ''Concelho'' (county) of Bicholim, one of seven that make up the '' Novas Conqui ...

in the

Novas Conquistas The Novas Conquistas or "New Conquests" are a group of seven ''concelhos'' (municipalities) of Goa and Damaon, officially known as Portuguese India. They were added into Goa in the 18th century AD, a comparatively later date than the original th ...

, where he worked for the rest of his life. He was a keen hunter (which took him all over the interior of Goa) and spoke fluent

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

, and 'was apparently something of a dandy and an

epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded 307 BCE based upon the teachings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus was an atomist and materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to religious s ...

'. He never married.

Career

Apart from being noteworthy for its quantity, Coelho's social satires are significant for their breadth, partly reflecting his close acquaintance with the culture of the

, and reaching beyond the relatively narrow scope of his Goan forerunner

Francisco João "GIP" da Costa Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

to include people of a diverse range of castes, religions, and walks of life. 'The opprobrium heaped upon Silva Coelho for his efforts soon left him ... exhausted, unable to continue as a writer and soon to be forgotten'; his last published story seems to have been in 1931, roughly at the same time as the Estado Novo began.

''Contos Regionais''

Coelho published around 40 stories in the series ''Contos Regionais'' (or ''Regional Tales'') between 1922 and 1927. It is these tales that led

Vimala Devi Teresa da Piedade de Baptista Almeida (born ), known by her pen name Vimala Devi, is a Portuguese writer, poet, and translator. Born into an elite Goan caste of Roman Catholic Brahmins in Portuguese Goa, she settled in Lisbon, Portugal in 195 ...

and

Manuel de Seabra Manuel de Seabra (1932 – 22 May 2017) was a Portuguese writer, journalist, and translator. His translations were in Russian, Portuguese, Catalan and Esperanto. He and his wife, Vimala Devi, compiled the ''Portuguese-Catalan/Catalan-Portuguese ...

to call him "one of the most notable

Goan Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

short-story writers". The two critics write that Coelho 'was able to depict his people with an authenticity that hurts even today. The stories show the influence of the Portuguese satiric realist Eça de Queiroz, one of Silva Coelho's favourite authors. The series 'was something of a ''succès de scandale'' in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, being enormously popular amongst the reading public whilst provoking outrage amongst individuals who recognised themselves in the author's characters. The series went on to inspire a host of local epigones, less talented imitators, in the local press'. It also seems to have influenced a number of subsequent Goan writers:

Ananta Rau Sar Dessai Ananta Rau Sar Dessai (1910 – unknown) was an Indian short-story writer, radio playwright, poet, and medical practitioner. He was one of a handful of Goan Hindus to have used Portuguese as his literary language, though he wrote also in Marathi ...

, Vimala Devi, and

Augusto do Rosário Rodrigues Augusto do Rosário Rodrigues (1910 – 1999) was an Indian short-story writer and poet. Life Very little is known about the life of Augusto do Rosário Rodrigues. He was born in 1910 and appears to have been an advocate by profession. He appe ...

''Lendas Indianas''

Coelho also collected a number of ('Lendas Indianas' or ''Indian Legends''). Three dozen of these short pieces were published in a series of the same name in 'O Heraldo'.Paul Melo e Castro (trans.), ''Lengthening Shadows'', 2 vols (Saligão: Goa, 1556, 2016), I p. 17.

''Malicias Orientais''

Coelho also wrote a series of stories about Hindu characters. These were never published in his lifetime.

English-Language Translations

The Hesitations of Damião and His First LoveTo Love is to SufferEveryone Eats or There'll be Trouble
* Paul Melo e Castro (trans.), ''Lengthening Shadows'', 2 vols (Saligão: Goa, 1556, 2016), I pp. 97–120 (five stories: "A Bunch of Bananas for Advocate Separião", "The Monserrate Chap", "The Tardy Development of Sebastianinho's Ideas", "How My Short Stories Affect People's Sense of Proportions")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coelho, Jose da Silva 1889 births 1944 deaths Portuguese male writers Writers from Goa Portuguese-language writers People from Margao Writers from South Goa district