Damodar Mauzo’s ‘Boy, Unloved’: Surviving loss and loneliness with friendship and books

Written by Jnanpith Award-winning Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo and translated by Jerry Pinto from the Konkani, Boy, Unloved is the coming-of-age story of Vipin, born to a middle-class family in Goa. He is lonely for the most part until he learns how to let people in. Vipin’s father stays angry all his life and inflicts pain on his wife and son. Vipin is used to his father’s aggression and his mother’s submission – he has never known familial love. He grows up in isolation with parents who can’t seem to exist peacefully together. He has no friends to play with. The doors and windows of his house are rarely opened. His parents’s neglect makes him an easy target for paedophiles.

Boy, Unloved is also about the loneliness of women in domesticity. Vipin’s mother has been suffering from depression that started right after he was born. She makes sure her son knows this. She says, “You turned up in my tummy and took my happiness away with you” and, “You came along and your father drifted away from me”. She is in an unhappy marriage which makes their home an unhappy place to grow up for a child.

The world of books

Readers will see their inner life reflected in Boy, Unloved which explores the power of literature in tough times. Literature becomes an antidote for Vipin’s loneliness. With the help of a kind teacher at school, he starts reading Dickens. A child’s world can be tiny, limited to their parents. The cruelty of Vipin’s parents pushes him to seek solace in books and he becomes an avid reader. With the help of Martin Sir, who becomes a lifelong ally, Vipin’s world opens up to endless opportunities through reading.

This book focuses on what we inherit from our parents and how our childhood makes us who we are. Some people get lucky being born to parents who encourage and support their children in their hobbies and passions – they take up painting or dancing lessons. Vipin realises this as he grows up. His friends’ parents are supportive and have encouraged their children’s curiosity from a young age while Vipin spent his days in solitude, reading books he would borrow from Martin Sir.

As Vipin grows up, he faces a dilemma faced by many students – whether to pursue his passion for arts or do the responsible thing of studying science. His father wants him to become a wealthy doctor. Torn between fulfilling his father’s dream and following his passion, Vipin asks a doctor, “Doctor, what is the difference between arts and science?” The doctor replies, “Science teaches you how you came to be born. Arts teaches you how to live after you’ve been born.” He thinks of Somerset Maugham who studied medicine but became a writer.

Coming into his own

Damodar Mauzo writes about the pressures faced by adolescents. Teenagers find themselves confused with little to no guidance on how to navigate these years that are their transition to adulthood. In India, there is additional pressure to excel in studies and get admission to top colleges where seats are always few in comparison to the applicants. Despite an increase in the number of student suicides, society has changed little in what it expects from these young adults.

As Vipin enters junior college, he finds himself in a love triangle with Chitra and Fatima. Having always excelled in studies, he easily becomes popular. Despite being surrounded by unhappiness and the lack of love, Vipin grows up to become a kind and helpful person. Chitra is an artist and she sees a happier Vipin hidden from the world. Fatima is no stranger to loneliness but she finds love and joy in this trio of friends. Slowly, Vipin learns to embrace the love he is given. He builds a world separate from his cruel and unloving family.

Boy, Unloved is also a book about grief. Vipin and his friends are faced with loss at a very young age. Martin Sir gives Vipin a copy of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking to help him during difficult times. Later in the book, Chitra quotes William Faulkner, “Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.”

In Boy, Unloved, the protagonist learns to deal with loneliness and loss with the help of books and friendships. In places, this book will remind the reader of The Education of Yuri written by Jerry Pinto. The author has produced an enriching piece of literature that shows a rarely seen side of Goa, removed from tourism, but in touch with Goa’s culture and cuisines. A poignant tale, Boy, Unloved will be cherished by younger readers and older ones alike.

Boy, Unloved, Damodar Mauzo, translated from the Konkani by Jerry Pinto, Speaking Tiger Books.