These translations of biblical texts are in Konkani, a dialect, spoken by more than a million people in and around Goa, India. Konkani has traditionally been understood to be a dialect of Marathi, a literary and spoken language of the State of Maharashtra, India.

Pamphlets are ideal for distribution, because of their small size and low print cost. Cover design is also very important to pamphlet dissemination: The covers must suggest contents and arouse interest immediately, with few words or one illustration.

Note the illustrations for some of our pamphlets. The cover for Mark (1951) depicts Jesus in a boat teaching a crowd, his hand raised in an emphatic gesture. This scene is described in Mark 4:1-2, which also introduces the parable of the sower. The pamphlet for Luke (1938) shows a sower sowing—alluding to the same parable found in Luke 8:5-15. The sowing metaphor is pertinent to those who work in the mission-field. The biblically derived language of Missions history has influenced contemporary meanings of words such as “disseminate” or “broadcast” (terms once used to denote scattering seeds)

The cover for John (1951) is an illustration of shepherd and sheep on a hillside. In John 10:14-15, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep” (RSV).

While the illustrations on the pamphlets are important for their messages, the framework in which they are drawn is of equal significance. The sower and the shepherd are presented with straight lines so that the borders enclose the scene, in a way that does not distract from the message. For the seaside illustration, however, the scene is framed by a foliate border outlining the shape of a Mosque. The two worlds of Western Christianity and Eastern religious practice(s) are brought together in harmony—a vision of cultural conflation which may in fact have been unwelcome to some who first viewed this pamphlet.