Life In The Village - Part One
Those Were The Glorious Days What was life in the village then ? I was just three years and thirty seven days old on the 19th December 1961 and was hardly in a position to know what life was before the so called liberation but from the time that I remember I know that my own and my village folks were very hard working, dedicated and honest people. These attributes were the mainstay of village life and the essence of every Goan village, "susegad" was never synonymous with Goans of yore as it is said to be today. In my village there were lot of toddy tapers but they would also farm (paddy, onions, chilies, nasnne, vegetables etc) during the rainy season and kept themselves busy with fishing in between and after their taping chores. Many were sailors working on cargo ships, tankers and on passenger cruise lines but when on holidays they never stayed idle, they were always busy in their fields, properties, houses or fishing. The ladies too would finish their house chores and leaving their young children with their elders, would work at the mine that was operational then, and also work in the fields. Everyone in our village had their own bit of land to till along with a few coconut trees. People helped each other without having to pay for the services rendered. Farming was a collective effort repaid with collective help. Love for the neighbour and good will was the essence of the village life then although every now and then there use to be flare ups between people but then unite for a c ommon cause. Most of us as youngsters helped our parents in our fields, watering the coconut sapling, even carrying coconuts, paddy, jack-fruits and mangoes in sacks and baskets on our heads for a good distance, when we were home during our holidays, no doubt at that time we hated it, but did it for our parents without knowing that one day we would enjoy the fruits of our hard work. Almost every one in our village, kids, young and the old worked hard. We had no tap water and so had to carry water from the spring in copper pots. As kids we never shied away from the rotational responsibilities that were given to us by our parents. We did any kind of work, no one stayed idle and most of us were self-sufficient. Most of our houses had mud walls and wooden roofs, with the thin curved tiles over our heads, the mud floors were covered with a paste of cow-dung for the distinct neat appearance. Our verandas were open during the summer and blocked with folding of palm leaves during the rains. Days were bright as enough light sipped through the few glass tiles on the roof and the open doors and windows but at night we huddled together in the dim light of the kerosene lamps, "petromax" was a luxury then. We had no electricity and no fans but still shared the warmth of our family members in winter and the cool sea breeze while we slept out in the verandas during summer, doors and windows were always open no matter what. We had our own fowls, pigs and sometimes a goat or a cow. Life was good even though we did not have the luxuries or the toys that today's modern generation is blessed with. We never had outsiders coming in to our village to sell fish or anything else, infact those days we never bought fish from outside, we just had to go fishing and the whole neighbourhood would have enough fish for the next few days as we always shared with our neighbours and relatives, we had no fridges then. We had one Goan "podder" who came walking from the next village early morning and sound of his horn would send us running to collect the "kundea bakreo" for our diabetic elders and sometimes when mom was busy and could not make our usual "chapattis", "sulloleo" or "bakreo" would end up with "kanknnam" or "pau" the four cornered bread that were large and delicious, for breakfast. Most of us were totally self-sufficient and only visited the cities to see doctors, visit relatives or an occasional visit to the government office or shopping for occasions. We never heard of thefts, murders or rapes. Those days we had to walk long distances for hours to avail a bus but people were healthy and rarely fell sick, even child births were handled by the local unqualified but experienced midwife (ojj-maim). There were no motorcycles to go to our neighbour's house, nor did we have TV's to while away our time in the never ending "saas bahu" escapades. A few of us had the then famous Philips radios and the whole neighbourhood would gather to listen to the Konkani songs and plays. Every village had their own authentic and unique festive celebrations with people of all religions and status taking part in those celebrations. The villagers were always united in celebrations as well as tragedies. Village problems were solved by villagers themselves, no police or courts were involved and the harshest punishment was excommunication for a period of time. Entertainment for our people was provided by the few plays and skits that were written and performed by our own, matches between the married and bachelors were keenly contested, so too the kabaddi contests between the married and unmarried ladies on festive occasions and the tug off war. We also use to have our annual sports day that would provide the thrills for all the young and the old. Football matches between neighbouring villages use to be hard fought as prestige of ones village use to be at stake. Every village pooled together to put forward a team or a tournament that displayed a lot of local talent and unity. Christmas carols, San Joao, carnival (Intruz) and the old man on 31st December, were occasions for our youth to make rounds of the neighbouring villages and display our talents and collect funds to organize programs in our villages. We surely did not need corrupt politicians to sponsor our festivities. I am sure it was all a way of life in every village, before the life in the village changed drastically in the last three decades. Even though life was tough then, we were well and truly happy and when some of us had to leave for the boarding schools we were sad, not because we did not want to study but because we had to leave our base and every departure from home was like the cutting of the umbilical cord and even today the feeling has not changed. The sailor boys had their tall stories to tell when they were back from their year long voyages, the tapers had their own tales in history and the farmers and fishermen were not far behind in their windings. I am sure every village in Goa has a very similar tale to tell and a history to follow that's why we say those were the glorious days. Freddy Agnelo Fernandes ##################################################################################### Effective from 15th Dec 2011, Our Server will accept emails only from the domain which has valid PTR Record, for more info please click at http://www.emaar.com/pdf/it/PTR_Record_Information.pdf Kindly send this information to your local IT Team in your company for necessary actions. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The content of this electronic communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and any others who are specifically authorized to receive it. It may contain confidential or legally privileged information. 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