Panaji: Maria Aurora Couto, the well-known Goan writer, educationist and sociologist, passed away on Friday morning following a brief illness. She was 85.
Married to an Indian Administrative Service bureaucrat, late Albano Couto, she is survived by three children – Vivek, Vinay and Veena.
Vivek Couto informed, “Our mother Maria Aurora Couto passed away today peacefully at 11:30 am IST. She has been battling pneumonia and infection and despite her combativeness which we all witnessed, she started to decline after Tuesday.”
“We will remember and honour her in the most appropriate ways at this time; at this time the immediate family is in mourning, healing and remembering Aurora at her indefatigable best,” he tweeted.
Maria Couto was born in Salcete, but mostly stayed outside Goa when she was pursuing her education and after marriage. She returned to Goa to permanently stay in her husband’s ancestral house
in Aldona. She taught English literature in Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi and Dhempe College of Arts and Science, Panaji, as also contributed to periodicals in India and the United Kingdom.
Maria Couto was also known for her books including ‘Goa: A Daughter’s Story’.
Her writing career began with her 1986 book about the celebrated English writer Graham Greene titled ‘Graham Greene: On the Frontier, Politics and Religion in the Novels’.
Maria Couto’s other books are ‘Ethnography of Goa, Daman and Diu’ and ‘Filomena’s Journeys: A Portrait of a Marriage, a Family & a Culture’.
Her 2004 book ‘Goa: A Daughter’s Story’ covers the history of Goa, and is autobiographical in nature. The book discusses Goa from the prehistoric times, to its Portuguese colonialism, to the Liberation and the subsequent loss of culture.
In 2014, she released ‘Filomena’s Journeys…’ which delves into the life of her mother Filomena Borges, covering Goa’s dying Catholic elite as it shows the shift of society and culture in Goa.
Maria Couto was also involved in the Goan cultural scenario and helped the government start the D. D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas by becoming the chairperson of the D. D. Kosambi centenary committee in 2008.
She was also involved in activities of the Goa University.
Maria Couto was awarded Padma Shree, the fourth highest Indian civilian award in the country, in 2010 for her contribution to the fields of literature and education.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Opposition leader Digambar Kamat paid tributes to Maria Couto.
Sawant tweeted that he is “deeply saddened by the sad demise of Padma Shri, Smt Maria Aurora Couto, author of ‘Goa, a Daughter’s Story’ which received great acclaim.”
“My heartfelt condolences to her family and admirers,” the tweet said.
Expressing grief, Kamat said that her immense contribution to the field of education, culture and education will always be remembered.
“My condolences to her family and followers. May her soul rest in peace,” he tweeted.
Noted writer and historian Ramchandra Guha said: “Maria lit up the lives and opened the minds of all those who came in contact with her. In her character and personality, Maria seamlessly blended the best of Goa, India, and the world.”