Caridade Damaciano Fernandes

Caridade Damaciano Fernandes (1904 – 7 October 1948) was a prolific Portuguese Konkani novelist and a pioneer of prose fiction writing in that language. He has been called "the father of Konkani novels". Caridade Damacian died on 7 October 1948, yet his legacy is still remembered and celebrated.

Life Caridade Damacian was the only child of Manuel Fernandes (from Maina, Goa) and Maria M. Mascarenhas (from Corjuem). His birth-date is unknown. When Caridade died, he was just 44 years of age, and was buried in the Aldona cemetery. In his short life, he wrote over a hundred romans, as the Konkani action novel has been called. Their content focused on gripping tales of adventure and romance, featuring stereotyped characters, love-scenes, and endings characterized by poetic justice.

Caridade Damacian's last book was Goenchem Colvont ('the Goan whore'), written in the year of his passing in 1947, and printed by the Mapusa-based Tipografia Laxmi.

His most noted novels are Julus Patxai, Armida, Ankvaricho Cheddo, Rio Rita, and La Beatrice.

At a function held in October 2019, he was termed a "novelist, journalist, song composer and celebrated literary son of Goa" and also called the "Romansincho Bapui" (Father of Konkani Novels). This function was held in the parish hall of his village of Aldona in Goa.

Caridade Damacian has been called one of the "gems" of Aldona, a North Goa village from the sub-district of Bardez, which itself became known as the village of priests, nuns and tiatrists (Konkani dramatists). Alfred Rose, the prominent singer and Konkani culture protagonist, also from Aldona, called Fernandes the Romansincho Pai (The Father of the Konkani Romans Novels).

He was known to be a creative and prolific writer. D'Cruz quotes the noted Indian Express former editor Frank Moraes as saying

He has only to pick a page and a pen and ideas from his imaginative mind flow to his pen in a cascade.