Like
a sports car on a Formula 1 racing track, Sylvester D’Souza saw the rain coming
in from the sea over yonder, proceeding furiously towards the shore. He knew
that at the count of fifteen, the rain and the storm and the paraphernalia that
governs monsoon showers would cross over from the Sao Jacinto island and hit
the old airport highway and then his restaurant, Sheela. He didn’t mind the
rain though. The splendour of the monsoons has been cascading onto his
restaurant, once a small family road side eatery, for over thirty years.
Sylvester had
little to do with the restaurant in its early years though. The son of Niclau
and Luisa Marie, the young Sylvester became a chef and spent a part of his life
and career at sea, with the big ocean liners, and then as apprentice to the
iconic Chef Rego of the Taj, under whom he trained. He worshipped Chef Rego and
recalls that even on his off days, when Rego summoned him, he used to hop on to
his scooter at Sancoale and rush to Sinquerim, a good 45-minute ride, those
days with no traffic.
But it was Niclau
whose spirit hangs at Sheela, now Sylvester’s restaurant. He kept it really
simple. He went out to the sea from his house to catch fish. And boy, the
confluence of the Zuari and the Arabian Sea had fish those days – Chonak,
Gobro, Mudhoshi and Shevto, Galmo galore (English names in the same order:
Perch, reef cod, lady fish, mullet and tiny shrimp). Niclau came back each
evening and spread the catch in his courtyard, which was where the heart of the
restaurant now is. Many customers came and chose their fish, which his wife,
Luisa Marie, would cook. At times naval officers came to dine or pack the fish
and leave. Luisa handled the kitchen (the back office, if you please) and her
magic lay in her secret spice recipes which till this day make Sheela such a
unique Goan restaurant.
And life went on
and the romance of Niclau and Luisa Marie resulted in Sheela blossoming with
regular and famous customers becoming absolute regulars, from film stars to
sportsmen. The swashbuckling former Indian batsman Sandeep Patil (remember his
brilliant knock of 174 at Adelaide against Australia in the 1980-81 series) is
a regular, and no meal for Patil is complete without Sylvester’s trademark
coriander prawns.
So how did
Sylvester come into the family business? It so happened that papa Niclau’s health
was failing with regular visits to the hospital. It was at that time that
Sylvester told his mother that he would come back home and help in the running
of the restaurant because it was his father’s dream and reality. So he deviated
from becoming an expert pastry chef to a restaurant manager and super Goan
chef. The son of Niclau and Luisa Marie obviously had the natural instincts and
with regular family coaching, he lived up to the family’s fine culinary
traditions. He hasn’t forgotten his father’s roots and early beginnings though.
In the middle of the restaurant, still hangs the old fishing net of Niclau, as
an inspirational reminder of the journey of the family.
Today, Sheela stands tall and
regularly wins accolades such as the best restaurant in Goa for casual dining
because of the spirit of Luisa Marie.
Each day, she
grinds fresh spices and whips up the masalas that make the food what it is. To
be honest, yours truly has seldom had prawn curry as thick and flavour-infused
as here. And the kismur is in a class of its own. Not just the quantity
that comes on the plate but the crispy freshness of the galmo. The
chicken in special masala, named after her (Chicken Luisamarie) has the finest
and tastiest masala coating on soft boneless chicken pieces, which I order once
a fortnight.
But the biggest
service Sylvester and his mother do to Goa, (after Niclau’s passing away last
year) is to preserve the essence of Goan cooking in a manner seldom seen these
days. The effort that goes into doing this, from getting up at dawn to seeing
to it that the spices for the day are well prepared, with time at hand, comes
from a sense of duty. It’s a solemn act, done with the seriousness and gravitas
of a church service.
It is these families which need not
just our patronage but support and recognition. They are as much artists and
culture preservers as the ones who get the best literary awards from the state.
And even as things have changed over the years, some things
remain the same: the smell of rain and its flavours as it flies like a rocket
from the sea to the coast, bathing Sheela in freshness as it prepares for yet
another day in the service of Goa.
