the goan I network
PANAJI
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Samraat Club Panjim felicitated noted author, poet, and artist Frederika Menezes at her home in the city.
What was unique about Samraat Club’s felicitation of this Goan artist is that they decided to go to her home in the city in order to do the honours. This is because due to Frederika’s cerebral palsy, and need of a wheelchair, it is difficult for her to access most buildings in the city because they are not accessible to wheelchair users. Even buildings which have a few steps, but no ramp, becomes impossible for wheelchair users to navigate.
So members of the Club Prerna Pawaskar, Neema Amonkar and Pooja Kenkre, along with Pravin Sabnis, Bhalchandra Amonkar and Rohidas Naik went over to her home to felicitate her instead.
Said Pravin Sabnis who put forward Frederika’s name for felicitation, “I knew Frederika as a poet, so I suggested her name. She really writes good poetry.” He added that she had a specific gift for appreciating art besides being an artist herself. “I’ve seen her respond well to art. That’s the beauty of an artist: not only to create, but to respond well to other peoples’ creations. She is extremely accomplished as a poet and an artist,” Sabnis told “The Goan.”
Sabnis said that it was an absolute joy to meet the poet in person. Though he had read her works before and interacted with her over whatsapp, he hadn’t had a chance to meet her before. Sabnis also said that through felicitating her, it was a good opportunity for members of the club to meet the noted poet and artist, as well as experience first-hand the difficulties faced by the differently-abled due to inaccessible places.
Frederika was thrilled to be felicitated and told “The Goan,” “I felt honoured to be felicitated. I dedicate my joy to the women who go unrecognised in society. We are the backbone of society.”
Frederika’s literary works include The Portrait, The Pepperns and Wars of the Mind, and Stories in Rhyme. She paints digitally using one finger on her tablet, smartphone or PC. She was awarded the Yuva Srujan Puraskar Award in Literature in 2016.
