Glimpses of India - 'A Baker From Goa' by Lucia Rodriguez

 About the text:

            The chapter, 'A Baker From Goa', is a nostalgic trip to the journey of the Goan bakers, their contribution in Goan culture, and the memories the people of Goa (the narrator) have made with them. The chapter talks about Goan's love for bread (right from the times of Portuguese's invasion of Goa until now), the description of the lifestyle of these bakers, their daily schedule, and their inevitable contribution in making the Goan life exclusive.

Summary:

            It's been a long time since the Portuguese left Goa, but their love for bread, those old furnaces and the old-aged style paders have become an inseparable part of Goa.

            The pader would carry a bamboo in one hand and a big basket of bread on his head. He would place the basket on the vertical bamboo. His bamboo thudding would be a wake-up alarm for young children. Paskine or Baskine (the maidservant of the house) would bring the bread from the pader who would arrive at the house door. However, the bread bangles and sweet bread were special to the kids. The kids would be so excited to relish the bread that they would not brush their teeth.

            Goan marriages are meaningless without a special bread called 'bol'. On the daughter's engagement, the lady of the house would prepare sandwiches. Cakes and bolhinas for Christmas and other festivals are a must. Thus, the presence of the baker's furnace in the village is essential.

            In those days, the baker used to wear a special dress 'kabai' - a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees. But in recent times, the bakers started wearing a shirt and three fourth sized trousers. Even now, anyone who wears such a trouser in Goa is funnily called pader.

            The monthly credit of the baker would be written with a pencil on the house wall, and the baker would collect his money by the end of the month. In the old days, baking was a profitable profession, and the baker and his family would look so plump that people would say that the bakers do not starve at all. Even today, any person with the jackfruit-like physique is compared to a baker.

Vocabulary:

§  Pader: It is a name given to the bakers to Goa. Bakers have been called as Pader since the time of the Portuguese rule in Goa.

§  Kabai: It is the peculiar dress the bread-seller of those days would wear. It was a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees.

§  Bol: It is a special kind of sweet bread made as marriage gifts.

§  Bread-bangles: A round-shaped bread with a hole in the middle. It looks like a donut.

§  Bolhinas: The cookies

§  Jackfruit-like appearance: Fat, plump.

Questions-Answers:

Explain the following lines:

1)      'Those age-old, time-tested furnaces still exist. The fire in the furnaces have not been extinguished.'

            The culture of bakery products and the bakers that was brought to India by the Portuguese is still alive in Goa. The bakery products, especially bread, is loved by all. There are people who are still working as the mixers, the moulders and the bakers. There are ancient, time-tested furnaces still exist in Goa.

2)      Who would take the trouble of plucking the mango-leaf for the toothbrush? And why was it necessary? The tiger never brushed his teeth.

The children in the house would meet the pader twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening when the pader would come with an empty basket after selling all his bread. Early morning, the thudding sound of his bamboo would make the kids wake up in excitement. They would climb a bench or a parapet to peep in the basket. They would be so excited to eat their favourite sweet bread and bread bangles that they would not even care to brush their teeth. While asked the reasons for not brushing the teeth, they would reply that the tigers don't brush the teeth.

3)      The presence of the baker's furnace in the village is absolute essential.

The bakers are an essential part of Goan culture. Whether it is a marriage ceremony where the sweet bread bol is made, or the daughter's engagement where sandwiches are made, or any festival like Christmas where cakes and bolinhas are prepared, it requires a baker's furnace in the village.

4)      Even today, anyone who wears a half pant which reaches just below the knees invites the comment that he is dressed like a pader!

Paders were the bread-seller who used to wear a shirt and trousers which were shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants. Even today, when anyone who wears a half-pant which reaches just below the knees is jokingly called as pader.

5)      Even today, any person with a jackfruit-like physical appearance is easily compared to a baker.

Baking was a profitable business. The baker, his family and his servants would earn a lot of money. They would always look happy and prosperous. The would have a plump (fat) physique which was an open testimony to their prosperity. Thus, any person, who has a jackfruit-like (fat) physique is compared to a baker.