BENAULIM: Luis Rodrigues is a dairy farmer, an agriculturist and an embroidery expert. Antonio Rodrigues is a professional carpenter much in demand for roofing work. They are not related, but on Sundays and festive days they set aside their regular work and sit at the Maria Hall junction selling pork meat.
While across Goa, in Salcete especially, young men and women are queuing up for Portuguese citizenship and a job abroad, these two men have proved that opportunities exist in the village of their forefathers, doing the jobs their ancestors did. For these two men, ‘London is here, in Goa itself’, as they put it. Their hard work has given them enough to meet their daily needs and save for the future. What holds them back in Goa are their families.
Luis starts his at 4.00 am when he goes to milk the cattle and then rides off to deliver it so that his customers have fresh milk for their morning tea or coffee. He returns, busies himself in the cattle shed and then leaves for the tailoring shop. Though he has now stopped embroidery, there was a time when he used to be in great demand for the nimble work of his deft fingers, with orders accepted months in advance. Also keeping him busy is the family paddy field, where he toils with the soil of the land.
Antonio, the carpenter hasn’t restricted himself to working with wood and crafting furniture. He is also a licensed motorcycle pilot and stations himself at the Maria Hall junction, but doesn’t stop with that. He has ventured into dairy and pig farming, and paddy cultivation, when not ferrying customers on his motorcycle.
You can’t miss the duo on Sundays at the Maria Hall junction at their makeshift pork meat stall, where their thick gold chain, if not the pork, will call attention.
They aren’t the only two Banalkars sticking to their roots. There is Salu (short for Salvador) whose bread reaches everybody’s doorsteps every morning. His is another interesting story.
Rudolf Barreto, who documents the inspirational stories of his fellow Banalkars, said, “When I was a kid I would walk half a kilometre to buy undde, kundiacho bakri and katreche panv from the local ‘fornn’ (oven). I would wait for the freshly baked bread from Caetano’s fornn. The bread would give an appetizing aroma and I remember chewing on the bread there at the bakery itself.”
After Caetano Jose Fernandes passed away, his wife continued the family tradition, young Salu, the third sibling in the family would help the family in the bakery. Like many others, he left Goa seeking his fortune overseas. So did his elder brother and the work of the running the bakery fell on the ageing mother.
It wasn’t long before Salu decided to call it quits abroad. He returned, bought a tourist taxi and was doing well. Then he decided to plunge into the family tradition of baking and can today be seen on the village roads with the bread basket on his cycle.
Initially people believed he was covering up for a sick worker but his rounds didn’t stop and the locals were thrilled to discover that he had decided to continue his father’s traditional business.
“One can see that the job of the local poder has been taken up by people from the neighbouring states. Almost all bakeries are run with the help of bakers from Karnataka,” said Barreto pointing out that this is in stark contrast to the memories of his childhood.
Benaulim’s villagers say they are proud of the choice these men made and assert there are many such examples of children of farmers, toddy tappers, ramponnkars, carpenters and tailors choosing to return to the trade of their ancestors and keeping their legacy alive.
“All three of them are from Benaulim and are an example to many of us here who lament about lack of opportunities. Opportunities do knock at everyone’s door. You should be there to open the door with conviction,” said Barreto.
