SIOLIM: Come Christmas, and revellers make a beeline to the residence of Cresy Fernandes in Sodiem-Siolim, to order her famous, melt-in-the-mouth dodol. If one visits Cresy’s home around Christmas time, you’ll find it abuzz with activity, with Cresy working day and night, whipping up sweets and Goan festive staples to cater to all those who place their orders well in time.
With the emancipation of women from the kitchen, most women prefer to work in industrial set-ups on white-collar or blue-collar jobs and have given up the idea of working around the fire. The result is that a lot women have given up making sweetmeats and goodies at home as it involves a lot of hard work, which is physically straining.
Every Goan who knows the taste of delicious sannas will also know that the process to make the finest sannas is cumbersome. Good quality toddy, the most important and basic ingredient in sannas, is rarely available. Cresy says that the toddy available in the markets today is adulterated with rice water and therefore she prefers getting the ingredient from its source. She travels to Gude, a neighbourhood in Siolim even before the break of dawn to be able to get her hands on the fresh toddy that is extracted early in the morning.
Cresy ensures that the best sannas is delivered to the villagers and hence despite the long hours of hard work involved in grinding the batter and then the fermentation, she does not skip a step in the process. Even today, in order to remain competitive and spare her customers the pinch in their pockets, Cresy sells the priceless delicacy of sannas at just Rs 200 for a dozen. She prepares a range of traditional sweets like dodol, bebinca, bolina, batika, doce, shervoyo- you name it, she can make it.
The third child of well-known choirmaster from Siolim Sanatana Fernandes, Cresy demonstrates that there is no substitute to hard work. In absence of choirs, Sanatana was known for performing solo during celebrations across the village. But his primary profession was farming and Cresy would be by his side in the fields from dawn.
But as they say, childhood love seldom fades. Cresy’s love for sweetmeats and delicacies grew at a tender age while lending a helping hand to Emprezine Mana, a woman who would come home and prepare the sweets during festive times or any celebratory occasion in their home.
While her married life had just begun and a long journey awaited, the Gulf war placed challenges before her, as her husband had to return home as the war rendered him jobless, along with poor health. Cresy didn’t bat an eye- she faced the challenge of providing for the family and taking care of her in-laws with grit and began exploring her love for sweetmeats. Initially, she only catered to her neighbourhood during festivals, weddings and other occasions. But as fate had it, what had begun as a neighbourhood initiative has spread across the entire village of Siolim and beyond, to the villages of Anjuna, Calangute, Vagator and Aldona.
With a smile on her face, Cresy says, “It’s fulfilling that my hard work has paid off, and I’ve been able to support my family and bring a smile on the faces of so many people around me, who trust my work and support me.”