PANJIM: A German bakery in Benaulim had very special guests on Sunday. It was none other than the Germany team in Goa, participating in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The bakery itself is run by someone special to sport in India. She’s not Indian but German but also someone who has shed blood, sweat and the odd tear to uplift girls’ sport in the country – specifically hockey.
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Remember Andrea Thumshirn? She even did her bit and more in an attempt to raise the stocks of Goan hockey after braving the odds in Rajasthan where she instituted Hockey Village India, an erstwhile movement for the cause.
A delighted Andrea said: “The girls were extremely happy to have some real German bakes after quite some time in India and interestingly they were even more happy about a bottle of soda as they only get still water to drink and they are used to bubbles from home.”
Andrea, who slept on a mud floor in oppressive heat in Himmat Garh Singh and Jatwara, villages in Rajasthan, while imparting hockey skills to little boys and girls, never flinched from her resolve.
She also taught the children English and computers during her stay there.
Unfortunately, in 2017, her well-meant intentions were stymied by hostility of the locals. Sadly, her plans for Goan hockey too didn’t meet with the support it needed.
Andrea took reverses in her stride. After she and Aditya Rai, her Indian husband, quit corporate jobs in Pune they started Pausenbrot, a German bakery, braving the Covid-19 lockdowns that threatened to undermine the business.
Far from discouraged, they baked food for healthcare workers during the peak of the pandemic with a tag “thank you for being a hero”.
The couple, who have adopted an Indian girl called Shivani who is wielding the hockey stick with aplomb, have come through unscathed. Pausenbrot, started in November 2020, is doing well and Andrea is enjoying every moment of it.
“I told some of the girls about Hockey Village India and they were quite interested,” she said.
“I offered to make a presentation as a motivational speech,” Andrea added.
“Also interesting was that some of the coaching and support staff is from my area in Germany and the goalkeeper coach even from my hometown Schwabach in Northern Bavaria.
“For the girls, it was more or less the first time they were out from the hotel for something else than match or practice,” Andrea said.
“But for us it was a very special moment.”
