Fictional Novel on ‘Bahraingaar’ Hits the Shelves

  •   Sat, Sep 12 2026
  •   By Melissa Nazareth

September 12, 2026

While Mangaloreans living and working in the Gulf is a social stereotype, there is hardly any literature documenting this ‘phenomenon’. Former Bahrain resident Michelle D’Costa decided to change that. The 34-year-old from Damaskatte recently released her debut novel You Envy the Coutinhos, which explores the nuances of NRI life.

The story revolves around Joachim Coutinho who left his hometown in search of greener pastures in Bahrain. While on the outside, he seems to have it all, or at least that is what his nephew Darrel Serrao believes, a closer look at his life reveals the hardships most immigrants face, from loneliness to constant feelings of inadequacy.


The book's front cover


Flashback of the author with her mother at Water Garden


Golden memories of Michelle with her father at Bahrain's popular Water Garden in Gufool


Growing up at her home in Gudaibiya


The D'Costas at a party years ago


Michelle with Mervin in Sacred Heart Church located in Manama


The trio pose at a garden in Riffa in the Southern Governorate of the kingdom

At the same time, it touches upon happy moments along the way, like visits from his mother, reflecting how living abroad can be a twofold experience.

Michelle, who has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland, weaves the tragicomic tale, bringing alive ambition and disillusionment. The author decided to dip into her roots for the cultural backdrop of the book when she could not find stories about South Asian migrants in the Gulf.

“Most migration stories in Anglophone writing are centred in the US or UK. I wanted to see myself represented in stories so I created a fictional family – The Coutinhos. They are a Mangalorean family who navigate life as NRIs in the Gulf,” said Michelle, who grew up in Bahrain.

She attended the Indian School – one of the largest in the Arabian Gulf – with brother Mervin D'Costa, an electrical engineer now working in Mumbai where the family is settled.

Her father William D'Costa worked in hospitality and her mother Winnie D'Costa was employed at an architect and engineering consultancy. They retired some years ago.

The creative talent recently moved to New Zealand to work on her second novel. She noted that many of her childhood and early adulthood experiences provided fodder for the story.

“Grocery shopping at LuLu Hypermarket was a constant with my family. In the book, the Coutinhos have their monthly grocery list and shopping routine as well,” she revealed.

Popular locations in Bahrain like Andalus Garden in Gudaibiya and the kingdom’s prized jewel – Hawar Islands – are also mentioned.

“We lived close to Andalus Garden and it used to be filled with migrants. There is an important scene in the book where Joachim's mother visits him and he takes her to the garden to show her how lively and diverse the Gulf can be.”

Further enhancing the literary flavour for readers is an important scene inspired by Michelle’s mother's bokreamasachi curry.

There are many such elements that find their way into the book, lending the project a personal touch. Additionally, Konkani phrases like ‘Poting kanso. Ek kanpateak vazunk mon karta!’ and ‘Ye aunkar saibini,’ are sure to hit home for readers, making the plot and characters believable.

Recounting her life in Bahrain, Michelle reminisced how her visits to the school library paved the way for her career as an author.

“The Indian School library made me fall in love with books. I was fond of authors like Sidney Sheldon and R.L. Stine. I remember reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri when I was 15. In Grade 11 and 12, I won second prize at the school intra and inter school writing contests, which boosted my confidence and made me want to pursue writing seriously,” she said.

Before moving to Mumbai, Michelle pursued a career in journalism and human resources, while keeping the spark of her love for writing novels alive. Though she published short stories in popular literary journals, becoming a novelist was a long journey.

“I had worked on different manuscripts but abandoned them for various reasons,” she said, noting that it took five years to complete You Envy the Coutinhos.

However, persistence, passion for her craft and the determination to have more Mangalorean stories on the shelves kept her going. Today, the author has completed the draft to her second novel.

“My focus right now is to polish it and send my best version to my agent,” she added.

You Envy the Coutinhos is published by Tranquebar, a literary imprint of Westland Books, and is available on Amazon India.

Michelle’s second novel will also be about a Mangalorean family.

 

 
By Melissa Nazareth
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