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The Wait And Other Stories
A cab driver, who assumes the identity of whoever his clients want him to be, finds himself in a tricky situation with a passenger. A late-night call leads a doctor down a path of lust and desire, but with unexpected results. A writer acquaints himself with a thief who had broken into his house. A migrant worker falls in love but wonders how he can present himself as a suitor. A young man, having lost the love of his life, takes it upon himself to resolve another couple’s dilemmas.
Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo’s sometimes bizarre, sometimes tender stories, set largely in Goa, create a world far removed from the sun and sand and the holiday resorts. Here you find villagers facing moral choices, children waking up to the realities of adult lives, men who dwell on remorse, women who live a life of regret and communities whose bonds are growing tenuous in an age of religious polarization.
Probing the deepest corners of the human psyche with tongue-in-cheek humour, Mauzo’s stories reveal the many threads that connect us to others and the ease with which they can be broken. Written in simple prose and yet layered in nuances, The Wait is a collection that brings to the anglophone world one of the doyens of Konkani literature.
Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo’s sometimes bizarre, sometimes tender stories, set largely in Goa, create a world far removed from the sun and sand and the holiday resorts. Here you find villagers facing moral choices, children waking up to the realities of adult lives, men who dwell on remorse, women who live a life of regret and communities whose bonds are growing tenuous in an age of religious polarization.
Probing the deepest corners of the human psyche with tongue-in-cheek humour, Mauzo’s stories reveal the many threads that connect us to others and the ease with which they can be broken. Written in simple prose and yet layered in nuances, The Wait is a collection that brings to the anglophone world one of the doyens of Konkani literature.
- GenresFictionShort Stories
256 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Damodar Mauzo
15 books14 followersDamodar Mauzo (born 1 August 1944) is a Goan short story writer, novelist, critic and script writer in Konkani. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for the novel Karmelin and the Vimala V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar award for his novel Tsunami Simon in 2011.[1] His collection of Short stories Teresa's Man and Other Stories from Goa was nominated for the Frank O'Connor International award in 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 12, 2022
I’ve always maintained that it is the open-endedness of short stories that precludes me from enjoying them. As a reader, I like the feeling of closure, the certainty that comes with a neatly tied-up conclusion. Or so I thought until this hypothesis of mine was put to test by Damodar Mauzo’s The Wait and Other Stories.
You see Mauzo gives us complete, coherent worlds, in the sense that each story has a finality to it, an undertone of decisiveness. It’s almost like he wants your imagination to sit back and relax, for it to not go into an overdrive imagining possible scenarios and conjuring answers to what-ifs.
There’s no denying that this brings relief to a reader like me. But only briefly. After having turned the last page, I was irrefutably uneasy.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, I thought. The stories… well, why did they have to reveal all?
Having said that, what I did enjoy about this book was the Goa that it brought to the fore, minus the glitz and glamour that is seemingly the state’s very own albatross. I liked how Mauzo’s stories are at once conscious of the fraught times we live in, yet without over doing the message of unity and harmony. Mauzo is aware of his responsibilities as a man who creates literature and by extension culture but that doesn’t taint his work with didacticism.
As for my favourite stories, I loved the one called “Yasin, Austin, Yastin,” which is about a scrupulous driver, a shape shifter of shorts, who quickly changes identities depending on his clientele of the day.
There’s another one called “Burger” wherein a Christian girl worries about the fate of her friendship with a Hindu girl after having accidentally fed her beef burgers.
I enjoyed the titular story too, which unfolds cleverly, catching the reader off-guard with its sharp turn of events. But just when I felt like things had gotten interesting, Mauzo cleaned everything up with one sweep of his pen.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that The Wait does have its moments, but the book would have probably shone brighter in my universe had it been a bit more experimental and (to my own surprise) open - to chaos, disarray and confusion.
You see Mauzo gives us complete, coherent worlds, in the sense that each story has a finality to it, an undertone of decisiveness. It’s almost like he wants your imagination to sit back and relax, for it to not go into an overdrive imagining possible scenarios and conjuring answers to what-ifs.
There’s no denying that this brings relief to a reader like me. But only briefly. After having turned the last page, I was irrefutably uneasy.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, I thought. The stories… well, why did they have to reveal all?
Having said that, what I did enjoy about this book was the Goa that it brought to the fore, minus the glitz and glamour that is seemingly the state’s very own albatross. I liked how Mauzo’s stories are at once conscious of the fraught times we live in, yet without over doing the message of unity and harmony. Mauzo is aware of his responsibilities as a man who creates literature and by extension culture but that doesn’t taint his work with didacticism.
As for my favourite stories, I loved the one called “Yasin, Austin, Yastin,” which is about a scrupulous driver, a shape shifter of shorts, who quickly changes identities depending on his clientele of the day.
There’s another one called “Burger” wherein a Christian girl worries about the fate of her friendship with a Hindu girl after having accidentally fed her beef burgers.
I enjoyed the titular story too, which unfolds cleverly, catching the reader off-guard with its sharp turn of events. But just when I felt like things had gotten interesting, Mauzo cleaned everything up with one sweep of his pen.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that The Wait does have its moments, but the book would have probably shone brighter in my universe had it been a bit more experimental and (to my own surprise) open - to chaos, disarray and confusion.
July 12, 2022
A collection that brings together the richness of Goa's terrain and the nuances of life that either pushes us backwards or helps us move on.
Stories like 'Yasin, Austen, Yatin' talk about in eccentric ways to fool tourists, 'The Jalopy' bathes you in the tranquility of reminiscing and 'I Was Waiting for You' gives you the taste of revenge.
But these are not just plots to read and move on from. 'The Wait', 'The Aesthete' and other stories have much more to offer in terms of Goa as a place rich in history and culture and a society rich in opinions and casting people away based on color, caste and experiences. Damodar Mauzo dives into the daily struggles of victims and survivors through a perspective that's humane and allows us to take a peek into their minds and what trauma and daily subjugation to injustice do to them, how they shape one's psychology, personality and approach to basically everything.
The writing is simplistic in a way that the pages turn quickly leaving behind a smudge which ranges from character sketches to social issues. There's a certain joy that is associated with reading stories that don't ask for much. This collection is an amalgamation of portraits, observations, ridicule of social beliefs and scenic beauty.
Stories like 'Yasin, Austen, Yatin' talk about in eccentric ways to fool tourists, 'The Jalopy' bathes you in the tranquility of reminiscing and 'I Was Waiting for You' gives you the taste of revenge.
But these are not just plots to read and move on from. 'The Wait', 'The Aesthete' and other stories have much more to offer in terms of Goa as a place rich in history and culture and a society rich in opinions and casting people away based on color, caste and experiences. Damodar Mauzo dives into the daily struggles of victims and survivors through a perspective that's humane and allows us to take a peek into their minds and what trauma and daily subjugation to injustice do to them, how they shape one's psychology, personality and approach to basically everything.
The writing is simplistic in a way that the pages turn quickly leaving behind a smudge which ranges from character sketches to social issues. There's a certain joy that is associated with reading stories that don't ask for much. This collection is an amalgamation of portraits, observations, ridicule of social beliefs and scenic beauty.
September 27, 2022
"There is much to be said about the anticipatory nature of the act of waiting. It becomes infinitely intolerable when we are aware of the objective of the wait and we desire the outcome. On the obverse, being unaware of the reason can be similarly debilitating, for the wait then seems pointless. For Mauzo, in a Beckettian fashion, human existence is defined by waiting, by our need to pass from one moment to the next as the past eats away at the present and the present collapses into the future, all of it limned in uncertainty and the futile wish to occupy a “now” that will always be practically uninhabitable."
My review is out on Asymptote: https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog...
My review is out on Asymptote: https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog...
May 30, 2022
Each of the 14 short stories in Damodar Mauzo's The Wait and Other Stories, translated from the Konkani by Xavier Cota has a distinct flavour that adds to the narrative of where the story goes for its protagonists that keeps the reader in you totally absorbed and invested. A few of the stories are on thematic areas while others revolve around human relationships - mostly between husband-wife couples including a delightful story about first love and how it went its way, one on unrequited love and another on friendship.
The stories on thematic issues are powerful in the way they are political in intent but also appealing to readers who will want to know what plays out. The tittle story ties different strands together set in the backdrop of the real estate scene in Goa with locals not having having enough money to get a spot, there is a love story or rather, two and then there is the matter of public spaces and who can do what, cue to moral policing. Too many things going on in a short story? But then there is an effortless thread that runs through that makes the thematic areas fall in place naturally. Yasin, Austin, Yatin is another story that tackles the way history and facts can be subverted that the author positions with a taxi driver taking tourists around Goa profiling his passengers and showing him the sights that would be of interest to them as per their religious and other leanings. He takes liberties around facts by blurring them with ideological slants, in a bid to get his taxi rides coming in. The blurring away of history towards ideology is a powerful nod towards the current political scene across the country that is erasing history on a most convenient note keeping their political ideology in place. If I have to pick just one story as my favorite, it has to be this one but safe to say that all the stories in this collection are outstanding in the way they get your attention.
Burger tackles the politics over food through a sweet story that throbs with the tight friendship between two girls belonging to two different religions. The story follows only one of them charting her confusion and fear once she finds out that the beef burger she has shared with her friend could snowball into a major issue. It looks at how the world view of adults is a complex one because of the weight of differences that are politicalised and how it weighs down on children.
Mauzo's writing brims with so many strands with none going awry or lying around tangled. Will recommend this!
The stories on thematic issues are powerful in the way they are political in intent but also appealing to readers who will want to know what plays out. The tittle story ties different strands together set in the backdrop of the real estate scene in Goa with locals not having having enough money to get a spot, there is a love story or rather, two and then there is the matter of public spaces and who can do what, cue to moral policing. Too many things going on in a short story? But then there is an effortless thread that runs through that makes the thematic areas fall in place naturally. Yasin, Austin, Yatin is another story that tackles the way history and facts can be subverted that the author positions with a taxi driver taking tourists around Goa profiling his passengers and showing him the sights that would be of interest to them as per their religious and other leanings. He takes liberties around facts by blurring them with ideological slants, in a bid to get his taxi rides coming in. The blurring away of history towards ideology is a powerful nod towards the current political scene across the country that is erasing history on a most convenient note keeping their political ideology in place. If I have to pick just one story as my favorite, it has to be this one but safe to say that all the stories in this collection are outstanding in the way they get your attention.
Burger tackles the politics over food through a sweet story that throbs with the tight friendship between two girls belonging to two different religions. The story follows only one of them charting her confusion and fear once she finds out that the beef burger she has shared with her friend could snowball into a major issue. It looks at how the world view of adults is a complex one because of the weight of differences that are politicalised and how it weighs down on children.
Mauzo's writing brims with so many strands with none going awry or lying around tangled. Will recommend this!
January 18, 2023
Fresh, vibrant, and beautifully written topical stories (mostly set in non-touristy parts of Goa) with interesting twists that keep you hooked. The characters in the stories are also fleshed out well, covering a range of religious identities, backgrounds, and occupations which make the book a lot more interesting and diverse.
Read
January 9, 2023Was nice to read stories set in and around Goa. Almost all the stories had something interesting in them. Not something you can say about most short story collections.
July 1, 2022
I have always enjoyed reading translated literature but with translation there is a huge potential of the author's true essence and the right meaning getting lost. Thankfully most of the books I have read in the past had really great translations including The Vulture, Tomb of Sand (my latest translated reads published by @penguinindia . The Wait and Other Stories sadly enough didn't do the wonders for me. It was a mixed bag of stories where some were absolutely brilliant. The nuances of human thoughts coming from desperation, desire or faith are so beautifully captured in some of the stories like Yasin, Austin, Yatin or Burger or even As the ice melts. And it was such a revelation to get a glimpse into another side of Goa, its culture, the people who call this natural wonder their home. It is always the mundane yet beautiful things that grab your attention in translated literature.
However, there were quite a few stories in this anthology that didn't work for me at all. The Wait story itself had an abrupt ending which left me in a puzzled state. I Was Waiting For You was also a story that didn't really get my attention. This really got me wondering that may be the translation isn't engaging me enough. Since I am reading Tomb of Sand simultaneously hence, unconsciously I ended up comparing the two and the translation in both is distance apart.
Nevertheless, if you want to read some heart-warming stories from the konkani literature then definitely give this one a go. And if you can read Konkani then I am so jealous of you because you can read Mauzo's work in the native language itself.
However, there were quite a few stories in this anthology that didn't work for me at all. The Wait story itself had an abrupt ending which left me in a puzzled state. I Was Waiting For You was also a story that didn't really get my attention. This really got me wondering that may be the translation isn't engaging me enough. Since I am reading Tomb of Sand simultaneously hence, unconsciously I ended up comparing the two and the translation in both is distance apart.
Nevertheless, if you want to read some heart-warming stories from the konkani literature then definitely give this one a go. And if you can read Konkani then I am so jealous of you because you can read Mauzo's work in the native language itself.
August 31, 2022
My Observations
AUTHOR
Damodar Mauzo (78) is the author of the book under review. He resides in Majorda Goa. He was awarded the 57th Jnanpith Award (India's highest literary honour) in 2021, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his novel Karmelin. This novel was translated in 12 Indian languages that includes Sindhi.
Mr. Mauzo is an activist to the core. Known as Bhaiyee. He participated in the historic opinion poll held in Goa 1967 to decide political staus. of Goa in 1967. He was in the steering committee of Goa's successful popular movement Konkani Porjecho Avaz (1985–87) that had three demands viz. the Official Language status to Konkani, Statehood to Goa and Inclusion of Konkani in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. since he has stood firm against majoritarianism, his life is under threat, the author has been given police protection
Presently, he is the co-founder and co-curator of the Goa Art and Literary Festival., an annual event that was started in 2010.
TRANSLATOR
Xavier Cota, learnt and taught himself Devnagri Konkani in order to translate Mauzo’s stories. He has stated that “It was painful, but also enlightening. The Konkani language is so rich, you get astonished by it. He further commented that in his translation, he doesn’t give a glossary.
BOOK
In July 2020, Mauzo released a book of short stories, "Tishttavni" via an online session. It was Mauzo's first-ever virtual book-launch. Most of the stories in this book are set in Goa with some exceptions.
‘The Wait and Other Stories was released on May 28, 2022. It is a translation of his Konkani short story collection, ‘Tishttavni’, the writer has added four more original stories in the English book. This fourteen-story collection was translated from the Konkani into English by Xavier Cota.
Intriguingly, the popular tourist sea beaches and the glitzy bars of Goa find no place in the stories.
TITLE : THE WAIT
The title has been acquired from the opening story, where a man yearns to reunite with his girlfriend, who’s been maligned by his sister.
“The Wait” is the opening story, but wait is also the larger theme of many stories where the characters wait see what happens to their deeds. For instance:
1. In the second storey, ‘Yasin, Austin, Yatin’, the deceitful taxi driver, Yasin, a Muslim, always 'waiting' for next customer and changes his name accordingly, till he gets into trouble. If the passenger is a Hindu, he becomes Yatin, and if it’s a Muslim, he’ll introduce himself as Yasin. And the name Austin is specifically reserved for foreigners.
2. In third story, ‘Burger’ where a Catholic schoolgirl spends sleepless nights after unknowingly sharing a beef burger with a Hindu friend 'waiting' for her reaction. This simple act of enjoying a certain food item can have disastrous repercussions in some parts of India.
3. 'I was waiting for you' has waiting in its title. This is storey of expectation and betrayal. When Mini is getting raped she calls her best friend and lover he does not respond, even during the interrogation at the police station he does not hug his friend.
4. In 'The Next, Balakrishna' the greed of fair drives Devaki to betray her devoted husband in the most fundamental way possible. She suffers because she is not sure whether the new born baby is her husband’s or not and 'awaits' the birth of her child anxiously.
THE OTHER THEMES
In the two stories ie, The Aesthete and The Next, Balakrishna, the protagonists measure the worth of their respective spouses in terms of their beauty and skin colour which of course is skin deep, is realised at the end.
“The Lover of Dreams” – a migrant worker from rural Bengal who falls in love with “Katrina” and hopes to marry her.
In “The Coward” and “As The Ice Melts”, Mauzo reminds us how we inherit our prejudices and propagate them.
One of the more interesting stories is “Gentleman Thief”. A writer is visited by a burglar. The thief steals his manuscript and the writer has go back with him to have it back.
This write up is based on inputs from Wikipedia, reviews by various reviewers and my own interpretation.
AUTHOR
Damodar Mauzo (78) is the author of the book under review. He resides in Majorda Goa. He was awarded the 57th Jnanpith Award (India's highest literary honour) in 2021, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his novel Karmelin. This novel was translated in 12 Indian languages that includes Sindhi.
Mr. Mauzo is an activist to the core. Known as Bhaiyee. He participated in the historic opinion poll held in Goa 1967 to decide political staus. of Goa in 1967. He was in the steering committee of Goa's successful popular movement Konkani Porjecho Avaz (1985–87) that had three demands viz. the Official Language status to Konkani, Statehood to Goa and Inclusion of Konkani in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. since he has stood firm against majoritarianism, his life is under threat, the author has been given police protection
Presently, he is the co-founder and co-curator of the Goa Art and Literary Festival., an annual event that was started in 2010.
TRANSLATOR
Xavier Cota, learnt and taught himself Devnagri Konkani in order to translate Mauzo’s stories. He has stated that “It was painful, but also enlightening. The Konkani language is so rich, you get astonished by it. He further commented that in his translation, he doesn’t give a glossary.
BOOK
In July 2020, Mauzo released a book of short stories, "Tishttavni" via an online session. It was Mauzo's first-ever virtual book-launch. Most of the stories in this book are set in Goa with some exceptions.
‘The Wait and Other Stories was released on May 28, 2022. It is a translation of his Konkani short story collection, ‘Tishttavni’, the writer has added four more original stories in the English book. This fourteen-story collection was translated from the Konkani into English by Xavier Cota.
Intriguingly, the popular tourist sea beaches and the glitzy bars of Goa find no place in the stories.
TITLE : THE WAIT
The title has been acquired from the opening story, where a man yearns to reunite with his girlfriend, who’s been maligned by his sister.
“The Wait” is the opening story, but wait is also the larger theme of many stories where the characters wait see what happens to their deeds. For instance:
1. In the second storey, ‘Yasin, Austin, Yatin’, the deceitful taxi driver, Yasin, a Muslim, always 'waiting' for next customer and changes his name accordingly, till he gets into trouble. If the passenger is a Hindu, he becomes Yatin, and if it’s a Muslim, he’ll introduce himself as Yasin. And the name Austin is specifically reserved for foreigners.
2. In third story, ‘Burger’ where a Catholic schoolgirl spends sleepless nights after unknowingly sharing a beef burger with a Hindu friend 'waiting' for her reaction. This simple act of enjoying a certain food item can have disastrous repercussions in some parts of India.
3. 'I was waiting for you' has waiting in its title. This is storey of expectation and betrayal. When Mini is getting raped she calls her best friend and lover he does not respond, even during the interrogation at the police station he does not hug his friend.
4. In 'The Next, Balakrishna' the greed of fair drives Devaki to betray her devoted husband in the most fundamental way possible. She suffers because she is not sure whether the new born baby is her husband’s or not and 'awaits' the birth of her child anxiously.
THE OTHER THEMES
In the two stories ie, The Aesthete and The Next, Balakrishna, the protagonists measure the worth of their respective spouses in terms of their beauty and skin colour which of course is skin deep, is realised at the end.
“The Lover of Dreams” – a migrant worker from rural Bengal who falls in love with “Katrina” and hopes to marry her.
In “The Coward” and “As The Ice Melts”, Mauzo reminds us how we inherit our prejudices and propagate them.
One of the more interesting stories is “Gentleman Thief”. A writer is visited by a burglar. The thief steals his manuscript and the writer has go back with him to have it back.
This write up is based on inputs from Wikipedia, reviews by various reviewers and my own interpretation.
July 7, 2022
This is usually what would happen if some one sits down to journal the conversations of day to day things but turns out to be how lively they could be type of book. Got me going soft for the duo teen Sharmila and Irene and their never ending classic picks to read by influencing each other.
The wait by Damodar Mauzo, who is a Janpith awardee 2022 and got translated from Konkan by Xavier Cota. This narrated the reality and life's of the people from Hindu, Catholic and Muslim living along the Konkan coast and their gorgeous witty portrayal of life through the writing.
The wait by Damodar Mauzo, who is a Janpith awardee 2022 and got translated from Konkan by Xavier Cota. This narrated the reality and life's of the people from Hindu, Catholic and Muslim living along the Konkan coast and their gorgeous witty portrayal of life through the writing.
August 10, 2022
Damodar Mauzo's short stories make the reader ponder over the vicissitudes of life. They are intricately woven to play with the reader's emotions. They are written in a casual and engaging style. In some of the stories the ending is predictable. Even such stories are written with so much finesse that I really enjoyed them. Another round of editing is needed as one or two stories were slightly confusing. All said and done these stories are delightful. Kudos to the author.
November 6, 2022
An average Indian adult reader does not come across Konkani & Goan literature, mostly because of misconceptions and treasures lost in translation. I picked up this book after The Hindu's Literary Review mentioned it - I was immediately intrigued. A collection of simple stories with both tragic and happy endings, its beauty lies in its simplicity. Must read for those who want a break from booktok.
April 6, 2023
Actual rating: 4.5
June 23, 2024
sometimes emotions are best expressed in the short writes
August 10, 2025
This collection of short stories made for a pleasant read. My favourites among these include The Wait, Yasin Austin Yatin, As the Ice Melts, The Jalopy, The Coward and It’s not my business. I enjoyed how open ended they are and how some of their endings genuinely surprised me. While most of the stories are set up with references to Goa and its culture, I do believe calling them a quitessential portrayal of life in Goa would not be entirely accurate. In my opinion, they are ultimately stories of people. As the Ice Melts is one of the best stories and it doesn’t have much to do with Goa. The Jalopy is another story with a sweet ending…but the only connection to Goa is the character’s who are originally from there. A lovely collection of stories and perfect if you’re looking for a light read. I felt a slight disconnect in some (particularly ‘I was waiting for you’) but I sense that some of its essence may have literally got lost in translation. Definitely want to read the story in Konkani and check!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews