Glimpses of India - A Baker from Goa
About the Author
Prof. Lucio Rodrigues was the Professor at Dempe College
heading the English department. He is an authority on Goan folklore. He was a
visiting professor of folklore at the Indiana University, USA in 1969. His
essays in English, as well as those translated from Konkani, were published as
Of Soil and Soul and Konkani Folktales after his death in 1973. [Source and for further reading about the author:
Summary
At the beginning of the lesson, the narrator tells the
readers how his elders often remember the time when Goa was under Portuguese
rule. The elders talk about how the importance of bakers is still maintained in
the Goan villages even after the Portuguese are gone. The bakers are known as
‘Paders’. The mixers, moulders, and
furnaces involved in baking continue to serve the people with their famous
bread loaves. The original bakers may not be living now, but the profession
continued by their sons.
The thud of the baker’s bamboo stick can still be heard in
the village. The same jingling thud would wake the narrator and other children
during their childhood days. The children would go running to without even
brushing or washing their mouths. The
maid-servant of the house collected the loaves while the children preferred the
bread bangles.
Bakery products have much importance in Goan culture and
traditions. Bol or sweet bread is a part of marriage gifts, cakes and Bolinhas
or coconut cookies are eaten at every festival and the lady of the house
prepares sandwiches at her daughter’s engagement. Previously bakers used to wear a
unique knee-length frock known as ‘kabai’, but they wore a shirt and trousers
slightly shorter than the usual trousers during the narrator’s childhood days.
The bakers generally collected their bills at the end of every month. Bakery
continued to be a profitable profession, keeping baker’s families happy and
prosperous.
Question and Answers
Q1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
A. The narrator‘s elders often think of ‘those good old
days’ and speak of the famous loaves of bread that date back to the time of Portuguese
rule over Goa. They are nostalgic about the past and the famous bakers of the
olden days. Though the Portuguese have left Goa the bakers still exist, the legacy
is continued by their sons.
Q2. Is bread-making
still popular in Goa? How do you know?
A. Yes, bread-making is still popular in of Goa. The
time-tested furnaces, the mixers, and moulders are still in Goa. The legacy of
bakers is continued. We can find a bakery in every Goan village as bread is an
important part of the Goan culture and traditions.
Q3. What is the baker
called?
A. The baker is called as ‘Pader’ in Goa.
Q4. When would the
baker come every day? Why did the children run to meet him?
A. The baker would come twice every day during the
narrator’s childhood days. He would come in the morning to deliver the bread
for the first time and once again while he was returning after selling his
stock. The children would go running to him to take the bread bangles specially
made for them.
Q5. Match the following.
What is a must?
i. as
marriage gifts? – cakes and bolinhas
ii. for a
party or a feast? –
sweet bread called bol
iii. for a
daughter’s engagement? – bread
iv. for
Christmas?
– sandwiches
Answers:
i. As
marriage gifts, Sweetbread called bol
ii. For a
party or a feast Bread
iii. For
daughter’s engagement Sandwiches
iv. For
Christmas Cakes
and bolinhas
Q6. What did the bakers wear?
i. In the Portuguese days?
ii. When the author was young?
A. i. In the Portuguese days, the bakers wore a unique
knee-length frock dress typically known as ‘kabai’.
ii. In the narrator’s childhood days, he had seen them
wearing shirts and pants that are shorter than usual pants.
Q7. Who invites the
comment - “he is dressed like a pader”? Why?
A. During the narrator’s childhood days, the bakers used to
wear a peculiar dress. They wore shirts and pants that were shorter than usual.
If a person is seen wearing pants of as of a baker’s, he invites the comment -
“he is dressed like a pader”.
Q8. Where were the
monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
A. The monthly accounts of the baker were recorded on some
wall with a pencil.
Q9. What does a
‘jackfruit-like appearance’ mean?
A. ‘Jackfruit-like appearance’ means a well-built or plump
physique, similar to jackfruit. In those days, bakers had plump physique
because baking was a profitable profession. The bakers’ family and servants
never starved and they were prosperous.
Q10. Which of these
statements are correct?
i. The pader was an important person in the village in old
times. True
ii. Paders still exist in Goan villages. True
iii. The paders went away with the Portuguese. False, they
still exist in Goan villages.
iv. The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock.
False, they wear shirts and trousers that are shorter than the usual ones and
longer than the half-pants.
v. Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the
old days. False, they are still an integral part of Goan culture.
vi. Traditional bread-baking is still a very profitable
business. True
vii. Paders and their families starve in the present times.
False, it is still a very profitable business and their families are happy and
prosperous.
Q11. Is bread an
important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
A. Bread is an important part of Goan culture and
traditions. Breads are integral parts every occasion such as - sweetbreads at
marriages, sandwiches at engagement parties, and cakes and Bolinhas at
Christmas and other occasions. It makes the presence of a baker in every
village very essential.
Q12. Tick the right
answer. What is the tone of the author when he says the following?
i. The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo
can still be heard in some places. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
ii. Maybe the father is not alive but the son still carries
on the family profession. (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
iii. I still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves.
(nostalgic, hopeful, naughty)
iv. The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash
and clean up everything so nicely, after all. (naughty, angry, funny)
v. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as
other festivals. (sad,
hopeful, matter-of-fact)
vi. The baker and his family never starved. They always
looked happy and prosperous. (matter-of-fact,
hopeful, sad)
Answers:
i. Nostalgic
ii. Nostalgic
iii. Nostalgic
iv. Funny
v. Matter-of-fact
vi. Matter-of-fact
