Maria Aurora Couto


Maria Aurora Couto is an Indian writer, and educationalist from Goa. She is best known for her book Goa: A Daughter's Story. She currently lives in the North Goan village of Aldona. She helped start the DD Kosambi Festival of Ideas and has been involved in activities of Goa University.

Early and personal life

Couto's family hails from the Goan Catholic community, a Christian community in Goa. Her parents were both from Salcete but she left Goa for Dharwad with her single mother when she was a child. Couto went on to teach English literature in colleges like Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi and Dhempe College, Panaji and has contributed to periodicals in India and the United Kingdom.
Her husband, Alban Couto, belonged to the Indian Administrative Service. She met him in Mumbai and they have three children together, one of whom is named Veena. Due to the nature of his work, they would travel and stay across the country and they almost settled down in Chennai before finally settling down in Aldona, Goa, in his ancestral house, where she still resides. She enjoys listening to South African jazz and is passionate about films, having started a film club when she was a teacher. Alban Couto died in June 2009.

Career

Couto's writing career began with her 1986 book about Graham Greene. Her 2004 book, Goa: A Daughter's Story, covers the history of Goa along with being an autobiography. The book discusses Goa, from the prehistoric times to its Portuguese colonialism to its Liberation and subsequent loss of culture. In 2014, Couto released her book 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.
Being the Chairperson of the DD Kosambi Centenary Committee in 2008, Couto helped initiate the DD Kosambi Festival of Ideas, a lecture series sponsored by the Department of Culture, Govt of Goa. Couto has also been actively involved with the Goa University.

Works

The works of Couto include:
In 2010, she received the Padma Shri award.