Joseph Furtado (Furtadovaddo, 7 April 1872-Bombay 1 January 1947) was an early South Asian poet and novelist who wrote in the English language. He has been praised as 'one of Goa’s best poets', albeit now 'in the shadows, pushed to the margins and somewhat forgotten'.
[Sudeshna Kar Barua, 'Joseph Furtado’s Poetry', ''Muse India'', 64 (November–December 2015), http://www.museindia.com/focuscontent.asp?issid=50&id=4279.]
Born 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 located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
, then a
Portuguese colony
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
on the west coast of British-ruled
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
his writings are difficult to access today, and many anthologies overlook his contribution.
Biography
He was the son of Vicente Cesar and Maria Conceicao de Rocha, Furtado was born in 1872 at Furtadovaddo,
Pilerne
Pilerne is a village situated in north Goa in the Bardez taluka of the North Goa district. It is rustic despite being fairly close to the North Goa tourist belt, and is considered a Census Town for the purposes of the Census. The village has mai ...
,
Bardez
''Bardez'' ( kok, Bardes; pt, Bardes; IPA: ) is a ''taluka'' of the North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It was a ''concelho'' in the Portuguese State of India before 1961.
Etymology
The name is credited to the Saraswat Br ...
, in Goa.
A
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, he began his education in Goa (then part of Portugal), but later attended boarding and arts schools in India. On 2 February 1897 he married Rosa Maria Amhimizia de Souza;
among his sons was
Philip Furtado. He worked, usually for railways companies, as a draughtsman, agent, and chief engineer, moving for work between Goa,
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nat