India is moving ahead at an extraordinary pace. We celebrate AI, digital transformation and smart cities. But amidst all this progress, one question continues to trouble me:

Who is preserving the stories that define us?

Not just our buildings, but our lifestyles, traditions, folk art and everyday conversations. Today, that chain of transmission is breaking. What we document today may not survive tomorrow.

On 18th June, noted Publisher Pramod Bab released Goa Stories. Today, I had the privilege of visiting their office to congratulate Pramod Bab on the wonderful work and the way he pursued it.

My association with Pramod Bab goes back more than 20 years, when their first office was opposite my house in Ponda. Over the years I have valued the relationship, inspired by his integrity, creativity and purpose. Pramod Bab has remained the same passionate journalist I first knew—always committed to telling stories that matter.

When I read Goa Stories and watched the original YouTube episode, I was deeply touched. After almost every episode, I would message Pramod Bab saying:

“These stories deserve to become a book.”

Today, when I received my copy, I truly felt it in my soul.

This is not just a book. It is Goa’s Cultural Census.

Its beautifully curated sections—Tales of Transcendence, Traditions, Taste, Tell, Thought and Talent—capture the very essence of Goa. It records not only what we are today, but also what we risk losing.

The original YouTube episode is a beautiful integration of print, digital media and storytelling—making tradition relevant and accessible.

This book also raises a larger national question:

Every decade, India conducts a Population Census. Should we also institutionalise a Socio-Cultural Census for every state?

A living archive of our languages, rituals, occupations and lifestyles; local heroes, indigenous knowledge and community wisdom.

Because a civilisation is remembered not by what it builds, but by what it preserves.

As someone whose family has been in Goa for generations, this work touched me deeply. Preserving its stories is one way of giving back.

My sincere congratulations to Pramod Bab and the entire Prudent TV family. You have not just published a book—you have created a lifeline for cultural continuity.

This work deserves to be actively promoted by the Department of Tourism, HRD Commissioner’s Office, educational institutions across the state and local bodies.

Development of culture should not only be about infrastructure, but about civilisation worth inheriting.

Kishore M. Shah