Goan writer Padma Shri Maria Aurora Couto passes away

MARGAO: Acclaimed Goan writer, Maria Aurora Couto, passed away on Friday after a brief illness.
Couto shot to fame for her book ‘Goa: A Daughter’s Story’ and won the Padma Shri in 2011.
Couto helped in starting the annual DD Kosambi Festival of Ideas, a lecture series sponsored by Goa government’s department of art and culture, and also headed the DD Kossambi Centenary Committee in 2008.
Though Couto was born in Salcete, she stayed there only sporadically until 2000 when she returned to live permanently in her husband’s ancestral house in Aldona.
Couto moved to Dharwad while she was a child. She taught English literature in Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi and Dhempe College, Panaji, and also contributed to periodicals in India and the United Kingdom.
Married to Albano Couto, IAS officer, the couple travelled across the country owing to the nature of Albano’s work, and almost settled down in Chennai before finally settling down in Aldona.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant and leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat have paid tributes to Couto.
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.”