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It is already four months since I returned from my vacation. I always take my annual vacation in April and May mainly because I get to see my children at home during their summer holidays and also because these months have a variety of things to offer which transport me back to my childhood days. If you want to have a great time in Goa, there is no better time than April and May because these months offer you most everything in its natural form.
It is by now an established fact that the best time of the year for tourists to visit Goa is from October to March, though recently Goa has been declared a tourist destination for 365 days! When the season for tourists ends in March, the season for the locals begins and it lasts through the end of May. Children all over India begin their summer holidays in the month of April and continue through early June. This period becomes fun for one and all in our beautiful Goa. Goans in Bombay leave for Goa by every available mode of transport. Suddenly, there is a shortage of tickets which results in price hikes. Although April and May are the hottest months, most Goans choose to be in their homeland during this period because one can really have a lot fun under the sun. You can meet your Bomboikar relatives/friends and have a rollicking time with them. Every house suddenly is filled with relatives and friends and happiness. The pathways leading to neighbors� houses, which are covered with fallen dry leaves from trees, suddenly get cleared with foot traffic and become noticeably visible. Loud music from 2000+ watt music systems can be heard from neighbors� houses and parties take place almost every day followed by litanies in the evenings. Vast stretches of Goan beaches now almost solely belong to Goans where they hold their picnics and entertain their guests continuously. Sunday visits to beaches like Calangute, Colva, Anjuna, Vagator, Miramar, etc. draw big crowds, but there are no beat shows on Calangute beach like in the 1960s. In short, the whole Goan atmosphere gets charged with fun and electrified with the local brew.
Here is how I enjoy my vacations in the arms of my beloved Goa. Before I proceed to write any further, I would like the readers to know that I still consider myself as a child and this is what makes me bring out the past in me and present it to you. Remember, anyone who forgets his/her past, forgets himself/herself.
�PERAM� (GUAVAS)
�Peram� is one of those delicacies which are abundantly available almost in every compound in Goa. I prefer to pluck a guava from a tree and eat it than to buy one from the market. �Zolmoleleachi khodd melea bogor kabar zata?� (Can you get rid of a habit inherited at birth without dying?) I say this because during our childhood and school days we never bought guavas. The norm was to get into other compounds and pick guavas. Here I remember the late Pedro Vaz, an ex-Africander from Doxixir (�Doxi[m]� = on both sides; �xir� = a slice.) �Doxixir� is a slice or stretch of land in between Anjuna and Assagao boundary. (The late one-eyed Cornel, banjo player, and �Kannieo� [squint-eyed] Jose, �Bonkaum� [base] player, members of yesteryears fame �Johnson & his Jolly Boys band,� belonged to this place.)
Upon returning home from Africa in the late 1950s, Pedro planted guava trees all around the inside of the compound wall. He also had a big �Zomong� tree beside the entrance of his house. The front window was just under the �Zomong� tree. Four of us went to school at Monte de Guirim on our bicycles � Michael Botelho from Peddem, Cyril D�Souza from Tembi (both passed away; may their souls rest in peace), Albert Pereira from Sorantto and I. Since Pedro�s compound was by the roadside, it was easily accessible. All we had to do was to stop outside the compound wall, look around, make sure the main front door and window were closed, which would mean that people were probably busy in the house or behind the house, park our bicycles by the roadside, jump the cement grills on the compound wall which had the letters �PV� (Pedro Vaz) in the middle of it, make double sure there was nobody around, and then go for either guavas or �zomgam�. The norm was to pick up the fruit(s), fill our pockets, exit the compound wall, mount our bicycles and get away. Somehow, every time we were done and were about to leave the compound, a man from inside the house would shout, �KONN RE THUIM?� (Who is there?) The moment we heard the shout, we would jump down the tree and run away. In the process, some of the guavas/zomgam would fall out of our pockets. We always managed to fill our pockets before the person shouted and we thought that our timing was perfect. However, I later came to know through one of my relatives that Pedro had purposely planted those guava trees around the compound wall just for him to see school boys enter the compound and steal guavas. He knew our homes and our parents but never complained to them about our activities. He also knew exactly at what time we would arrive at his compound and begin our operation. So, he would remain inside the house, close the front door and window but keep them slightly open so that he could watch our activities through the tiny opening. When he knew that we had filled our pockets and were about to leave, he would raise the shout and enjoy the action of escape, which in turn took him back to his childhood days. Pedro told this story to one of my relatives but it was much later after we had finished high school. I had great respect for the gentleman. He knew me and we greeted each other whenever we met, and I am sure he pictured me picking up his fruits just as I pictured him watching us from inside his house picking his guavas and �zomgas� and then scaring us away. It was indeed one of the great experiences of my life, which I can never forget.
When guavas ripen on a tree in your compound, the aroma travels quite a distance, so much so that no sooner do guests remark on entering the gate of the compound, �Ah, peramcho boro pormoll eilo, hanger borim peram pikleant!� (Ah, nice aroma; guavas must be ripe in their compound!) As soon as night falls, bats hover around the guava tree, sit on guavas and nibble at them. Early in the morning, one can find several fully ripe half eaten guavas on the ground. Yes, this is the work of bats. Speaking of the bats, it reminds me of the famous Dekhni lines which are related to �peram�:
Udd re pak�kea, marr re zompoi, piklelea perar
Udd re pak�kea, marr re zompoi, piklelea perar
To pak�ko jem kaddita, jem kaddita, perichea mull�llar
To pak�ko jem kaddita, jem kaddita, perichea mull�llar
Udd re pak�kea, ani marr re zompoi, tea piklelea perar, tea piklelea perar
To pak�ko jem kaddita, jem kaddita, perichea mull�llar
To pak�ka jem kaddita, jem kaddita, perichea mull�llar, perichea mull�llar-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!
There are two types of local �peram� � red and white. Red peram are sweeter than white, but �amor pikim peram� (semi ripe guavas) taste better than ripe ones. I prefer the latter type because I love to bite at them hard and crush them with my teeth. To enjoy guavas, cut them in half, sprinkle a little salt and a pinch of red chili powder on them, rub the two halves together, place them in your mouth, crush them between your teeth and gulp them down. When we visit people while on vacation, as soon as I smell the guava aroma, I look for a guava tree. The moment I see one, I rush to it and don�t hesitate to make use of �xintari� (a long bamboo stick) leaning on a tree to remove guavas. When people see me plucking guavas like a child, they remark: �Tujem bhurgheaponn azun vochonk nam mista!� (It seems the childishness in you has not yet gone!), and I reply: �Koxem voitelem?� (How will it go?)
Whenever there was an excess crop of guavas, people made �PERADA� (this is a Portuguese word) meaning guava jam, and used it for breakfast; some people still make it. Here is how it is made:
�PERADA� (Guava Jam)
Take 8-10 large guavas, wash and peel them and boil them in water very slightly. Drain the water in a pan and reserve it. Pass the guavas through a sieve and keep them in a bowl. Boil the seeds that remain in the sieve in the reserved water and pass them through a sieve. Mix the pulp obtained from both the guavas and the boiled seeds and place them in a pan with 4 cups of sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon citric acid or lime juice and a dash of cochineal. Cook on a slow fire stirring every now and then. When the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, the jam is ready. Spread it on a flat dish and when cooled, cut into desired pieces and voila, enjoy it!
Contd. ......
That�s all for now from Dom�s antique shelf!
Moi-mogan, Domnic Fernandes Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA
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