|
THE ASTUTENESS OF A SALIGAUNKAR. Nonagenarian Professor Eduardo de Sousa who lives in the village of Pilerne is a ganvkar of Saligao. He belongs to the 9th Vangodd of the Comunidade de Saligao. I came to know him in 1990. He is short of 4 years to hit a century and still going strong. He is a great writer of many fictional stories and they have appeared in many dailies and periodicals. He is at easy writing and telling stories in konkani, english, portuguese etc and is a walking encyclopedia. A few months back he sent me his book” From Goa With Love”, ‘a magnum opus of Goan greatness’ Dr.Leo Rebello who has written the foreword for this book relates the story of Prof. Eduardo de Sousa ‘He was 93 years old when he went to the doctor to get a physical examination. A few days later, the doctor saw the man walking down the street with a gorgeous young lady on his arm. A couple of days later, when the ‘ever-green young man’ visited the doctor again the doc quipped, “ you are really doing great, is it not?. The man replied, “ Just doing what you said doctor, ‘ Get a hot mamma and be cheerful ’ “ The doctor replied ‘ I did not say that.’ I said you got a heart murmur. Be careful,’ Touchwood, Prof. Eduardo does not have a heart murmur because he has learnt not to murmur in life’, concludes Rebello Now two stories of Saligaunkars as written by Professor Eduardo in his book. 1- Saligaunkars are proud to be referred to as ‘ Kole’. To show their astuteness, I am relating a fact. A Saligaunkar had a big shop of leather articles, including shoes. When he went abroad he came across some shoes of different kinds and shapes, very cheap. So he bought dozens of them. To avoid customs duty he made two different parcels: one of right leg shoes only, and the other of left feet. When the parcels reached Panjim they were not claimed. After some time they were auctioned. None of the shoe merchants present, bargained, because they were useless. The cunning Saligaunkar bought the parcel in auction for a song, through one of his friends, deceiving the customs by his cleverness. 2- During the month of May, the ‘Gaunkars’ of the Communidades go to the respective clerk to write their names, to get the ‘zonn’( divident) of the year. As a Gaunkar of Saligao, I went last Sunday to the Communidades building to write my name. The clerk was not present. So I asked a person present there, where to meet him. He told me to go to the house of the director of a Company nearby, and telephone. When I entered the house of the director, a pretty thing there asked me the reason for meeting the director. I told her the reason for wishing to meet the director. She smiled and told me to sit and wait for fifteen minutes, because the ‘ directory’ was taking bath and the ‘ director’ was out! Compiled by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas Vasco da Gama, 27-06-2004. |
