Remembering a distinguished son of Goa.
Today is the birth anniversary of Abbé Faria (May 31, 1756 – Sep 20, 1819), a pioneering researcher in the field of hypnotism. Pace Franz Mesmer, Faria recognized that the agency of hypnosis is the power of suggestion.
Abbé Faria was born in the coastal village of Candolim in Goa. He died in Paris and is buried in Montmartre although the exact location of his grave remains unknown. A fictionalized Abbé was featured in Alexandre Dumas‘s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, later adapted in a number of films, the last in 2002. Read the brief account of his eventful life in the Wiki entry.
In 1945, a monument honouring this great man was erected in the heart of Panjim, and the Goan sculptor Ramchandra Pandurang Kamat commissioned to create the artwork. The plaque on the northern side reads: JOSÉ CUSTODIO FARIA (ABADE FARIA) FUNDADOR DE DOUTRINA E METODO DA HIPNOSE PELA SUGESTÃO (José Custodio Faria, Abbé Faria founder of the Doctrine and Method of Hypnosis by Suggestion). [Reference: Snapshots of Indo-Portuguese History – I by Vasco Pinho]
In the first image below, the Palácio do Idalcão (Adilshah’s Palace), built c. 1500, is to the left of the frame and on the right, the heritage Mhamai Kamat House (19th C).
Largo do Palácio, Panjim
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L
The power of ‘suggestion’
5D Mark III, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II
Abbé Faria: Artwork by Ramchandra Pandurang Kamat
5D Mark III, Zeiss ZE 100 Makro Planar
We observed his 200 th death anniversary today in Panaji. The statue and pedestal need attention. These photographs capture the marvel of RPK the master sculptor
R … You have disguised very well the years of neglect of this monument.
It is always good to be reminded of worthy stories. In this case also it is heart-warming to remember Abbe Faria on his birthday. I am in awe of the work of Ramchandra P Kamat. Thank you for this post Rajan. Best regards from Dubai.
Thank you, Olinda-bai.
Very heartening to be reminded of the life of one of Goa’s illustrious sons, where did they go, to be replaced by the scoundrels that we meet today,
What a magnificent statue sculpted by Ramchandra Kamat, worthy of one of Europe’s old city’s picturesque plazas.
Thank you Rajan-bab for remembering a great Goan on his birthday.
Bab Roland – Thank you. Trust all is well.
I first read about Abbe Faria while reading ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. It warmed the cockles of my heart when I googled him and found that Bab Faria was from Goa. One sentence from his life which has stuck with me is when his father pepped him up by saying “Hi sogli baji; cator re baji (they are all vegetables, cut the vegetables)”. Refer to the Wikipedia entry mentioned in the post above.
Last weekend we went on an island and while on the ferry I was narrating a watered-down version of ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ to my son, as it also has island prison and escape from the prison. I told him about Abbe Faria and how intelligent he was and how he helps Edmond Dantes escape. And here we are today, Parrikar Bab making a post on his blog about Abbe Faria! What should we call this, conincidence? Nah, may be ‘Animal Magnetism’! 🙂
Premanand-bab: Good to hear.