Panaji: Moving beyond the familiar imagery that often defines Goa in the public imagination, a recent MOG Sunday session at the Museum of Goa brought together writers to explore how desire shapes contemporary life in the state. The discussion centred on Appetite: New Writing from Goa, an anthology of essays, short stories and poems that attempts to present a more layered and intimate portrait of Goa.
Edited by Shivranjana Rathore and Tino de Sa and published by Penguin Random House India, the anthology brings together voices connected to Goa, each interpreting the idea of “appetite” in deeply personal and varied ways. While the theme might initially evoke food, the conversation quickly expanded into broader territories of longing — for love, land, belonging, power and identity.
Opening the discussion, the editors reflected on how appetite is not merely about hunger, but about the deeper emotional and social currents that shape people’s lives. Rathore explained that the theme emerged organically within the group, yet strongly reflects the current moment in Goa. She spoke about a widespread “hunger for Goa” that exists both within and outside the state, influencing how it is experienced, imagined and sometimes contested.
Importantly, the editors clarified that the anthology does not attempt to define Goan identity in a fixed way. Instead, by focusing on intimate narratives and lived experiences, it resists the tendency to package Goa into a singular, consumable image. This approach shifts attention away from the familiar tropes of beaches, food and tourism, offering readers a more nuanced and human perspective.
Rathore also highlighted how the collection captures different layers of time, with contributors moving between past, present and imagined futures. This sense of temporality allows the anthology to reflect Goa’s ongoing transformations — from migration and changing livelihoods to evolving aspirations — without prescribing a singular narrative.
The discussion also touched on the broader role of literature in today’s fast-paced and often overwhelming media landscape. Describing the present as a “hyper-propaganda era,” Rathore suggested that writing offers a way to slow down and engage more thoughtfully with reality. By documenting lived experiences, literature creates space for reflection rather than reaction.
Co-editor Tino de Sa added another dimension to the conversation by describing appetite as cyclical and ever-evolving. Using metaphors from his own work, he suggested that desires enter and exit people’s lives, only to return in new forms, shaped by time and circumstance.
For readers in Goa, the anthology hopes to offer a sense of recognition, reflecting everyday realities such as community expectations, work in the tourism economy and shifting ideas of belonging. For those outside the state, it challenges simplified perceptions and invites a deeper engagement with Goa as a lived, complex space.
As the conversation at the Museum of Goa demonstrated, there is far more to the state than its postcard image. Through stories rooted in personal experience and collective memory, Appetite: New Writing from Goa opens up a richer, more layered understanding of a place that continues to evolve beyond its stereotypes.
