Sr. Emidio Francisco Lamberto Mascarenhas

A Daughter Speaks – Nayantara Lima Leitao [nee Mascarenhas] Posted Jun 16 2014 by Vasco Watch 

“My father was unable to attend his own father’s funeral as he would have been arrested. Freedom for Goa was paramount for my father. ” The 99 year old illustrious son of the soil, Shri Lambert Mascarenhas, was conferred the Gomant Vibhushan, the highest civilian award of the State Of Goa on 29th May 2014. Nayantara Lima Leitao is a well known personality of our neighbourhood. She is the eldest of four children of Shri Lambert Mascarenhas and his wife Dr. Jolly. Nayantara spoke to the VW team and recounted her experiences growing up as a daughter of this remarkable individual. “Dad was an early riser. He would be up by 5 a.m. and out for a walk with the dogs and a jog. Our love for sports and fitness was inculcated in us at a very early age. My father did his studies at Mumbai and entered the journalistic field. He worked in several prominent newspapers and magazines. While at the Goan Tribune, he wrote several articles against the Portuguese rule in Goa that caught the attention of both the Indian leaders as well as the Portuguese authorities. On a visit to Goa, he was arrested and jailed by the Portuguese for his scathing articles . He was released on bail and expelled from Goa.

The year was 1948- My grandfather passed away and my father was unable to attend his own father’s funeral as he would have been arrested. Freedom for Goa was paramount for my father. He even took a vow that he would marry only after Goa was liberated. Dec 29 1961, exactly ten days after Goa’s Liberation, my father married Dr. Jolly, a doctor from Mumbai’s prestigious Nair Hospital. My mother is 20 years younger than my father.