We waded through the
inky night. A convoy of conversation-ists, fresh from a riveting documentary on
the transformation of the area around the Mumbai mills, a transformation which
led to the infinite increase in real estate value on top of the value of the
malls and skyscrapers, But the intrinsic human progress and advancement, has
eluded the original occupants of that work space- the mill works. This was a
reality check of time, spaces and human humiliation of workers in Mumbai, which
Assagao or Goa may not connect with seamlessly. And after the screening of the
documentary and endless conversations, sitting on the balcao of People Tree, (a
collective and a store) where 6 Assagao is, we were riding to a place which
stole out hearts. But about that later.
Here’s what we were riding from, on
that inky monsoon night: At 6 Assagao, really removed in distance and spirit
from the mills, Professor KP Jayshankar and Anjali Monteiro of the Tata
Institute of Social Sciences screened their documentary, “Saacha: The Loom”.
But inter-woven in this riveting story of the loom and gloom in their lives of
those who made the looms, was the poetry of Narayan Surve, the paintings of
Sudhir Patwardhan and the music of Shahir Amir Shaik’s cultural troupe.
The leafy setting in the rear
courtyard of 6 Assagao was a touch of the surreal. And yet it stood testimony
to the fact that this little the universe of idyllic North Boa where I have
deep dived in the recent past, to watch its transformation, welcomes and
embraces patterns and concerns of the larger world, giving space to voices and
causes of a universe beyond the jaw-dropping beauty of the these villages. If
Assagao is sometimes referred to as a bubble or an ivory tower, 6 Assagao is
actually a watchtower, where it’s resident priest of conversations and debates
Nilankur Das curates and creates. And when an event is done each Monday, more
conversations flow into the night till the rooted to the core folks who remain,
at times, set off into the innards of the villages for a drink or a meal. That
night, the back and forth of thoughts, ideas and languid tales exchanged, flowed
like a tide as the night wore on
A chat with Professors Jayshankar and
Anjali Monteiro revealed that they plan to move to Goa and carry on their work
on making painstakingly researched and haunting documentaries that mainstream
media shies away from. Yours truly was delighted to know that Monteiro has a
Loutolim connection, a village where I have been “co-opted”.
Here’s what we were riding to : Well,
we weren’t quite the light brigade and we weren’t charging anywhere. Just, as
we said, a convoy of two wheelers and a couple of cars winding our way for a
hot 3 am meal cooked by a woman who embodies a spirit of empowerment and
entrepreneurship.
In these parts, where you do not quite
always know where Anjuna, Assagao, Siolim or Vagator end or begin, Jyoti’s “tea
stall” at Deolwaddo, opposite the AJs supermarket, stands as a beacon at night.
In the inky darkness the light from her tiny little space on the road side
shows the way for those who extend their evenings in search of some hot food,
piping tea and an everlasting supply of omelettes.
Jyoti Dhabolkar knows this area well.
Years ago she was a bus conductor, a familiar sight on one her husband’s bus.
She kept the bus clean, handled the business that accrued and helped her
husband make their little dream project some money. Then tragedy struck and her
husband passed away. To keep the home fires burning, Jyoti decided to use her
cooking skills to good use. But as always she planned out of the box. Sensing a
niche market for hot home cooked food after the party hours in this belt, she
opened her tea stall for the much needed 2 am tea for those returning from
their night outs. She soon realised that this wasn’t enough. For those awake at
this hour, hunger does strike. Her motherly instincts worked and parathas and
omlettees were added to the menu. The chicken xacuti wasn’t far away and any
hot seasonal vegetable followed. Familiar faces from the earlier parts of the
evening, folks you met elsewhere, trooped in and many conversations left
un-finished took off again. As ours did. We took off from where we left off at
Nilankur’s balcao at People Tree, after the documentary on Mumbai’s mills, as
Jyoti got to work, feeding us as we talked. The graphic designer, the
production head from Bollywood, the scriptwriter and then our bunch consisting
of equally interesting and creative characters made the conversation as
delectable as Jyoti’s food. The tea kept on pouring and so did the order for
more rotis.
There’s something to be said of
comfort food. At the end of the day, literally, you need to come home to
flavours that work best, familiar aromas from the kitchen at home and simple
food who names and shapes don’t keep you wondering what you are eating. And at
3 am, this works better that any 5 star gourmet meal.
Goa is all about these experiences and
places. As yours truly chatted with Jyoti, getting to know her, one realised
the strength of this woman and how she picked her-self up and made life take
her course through her honest toil. She empowered herself to enable herself,
without going to a business school and reading Peter Drucker or Philip Kotler.
As we drove away, dawn was knocking. Jyoti was clearing and
cleaning up preparing to shut her little stall/ restaurant and ride home as the
skies opened and the first rays on the sun lit her path. But she was the
sunshine.
