Damodar Mauzo

Damodar Mauzo is an Indian novelist, critic, short story writer, and script writer in Konkani. Damodar was born in Goa, India on August 1, 1944, and became a prominent figure in field of Konkani literature. His primary education was in Marathi and Portuguese languages and his secondary education was in English. He studied at New Era High School in Margao. He graduated with a B. Com degree from R.A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics at Mumbai University. Mauzo's literary journey began by writing short stories in Konkani, some were also translated and published in English. His 1st collection of short stories was Ganthon, published in year 1971. He has authored 5 short story collections. He wrote many books such as Karmelin, Teresa’s Man, and other stories from Goa, Mirage, and the other stories.

Mauzo was awarded the highest literary honour in 2022, the 57th Jnanpith Award. Karmelin, one of his renowned novels, won The Sahitya Akademi awards in 1983. Karmelin also translated into 12 other languages. Film was made in 2006 based on Sood (1975), novella written by Mauzo. Tsunami Simon, a novel based on the tsunami that hit the coast of Tamil Nadu in 1996 won Vishwa Konkani Kendra Smt. Vimla V Pai Puraskar. He has also written screenplays and dialogues for 5 Konkani films Shitoo, Aleesha, Sood, O Maria, and Enemy? He was presented The Best Screenplay award for Aleesha at the Goa Film Festival and the Best Dialogue award for Shitoo and O Maria. Although his creative roots emerge from Konkani he regularly writes in English for various local and national journals.

He was awarded the senior fellowship in 2011-13 for the project on pre and post-colonial history of Konkani literature by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. In 1985, he presided over the Akhil Bhartiya Konkani Sahitya Sammelan, an all-India literary conference. Mauzo's passion for literature demonstrated a rare combination of creativity and cultural responsibility. His writings are not only entertaining but also a window into the soul of Goa, providing readers with a deep connection to the region, its history, soul, and spirit. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in July 2020, Mauzo released a book of short stories named Tishttavni through an online session. Some of the stories are the Jhel Vitalltana, and Sundarkayecho Upasaka It was Mauzo’s very first virtual book launch. Most of the stories in the book are set in Goa, along with other parts of the country.