Eighty-four-year-old Maria Succurinha
Conceicao Xaverinha Ferrao e Sequeira is the mother of seven children, 13
grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren and lives happily in her grand
Portuguese house at Merces. Through the years of her life, she has garnered a
lot of experience and wisdom and is generous in sharing with her family her
thoughts and opinions about family values, bringing up children, etiquette and
moral values. When asked if she found any difference between the different
generations, she states that there is indeed a great difference, as her
grandchildren are far more obedient and listen to her instantly. “I loved
playing games like Marbles, Cruzad, Goidde bal, Chor-police with my
grandchildren when they were little, but my great-grandchildren don’t enjoy
those games anymore; they have electronic gadgets to fiddle with now,” she
states, fondly adding that she is learning to operate the electronic gadgets
from her great-grandchildren, which is also a way of creating beautiful
memories. She believes that learning is a constant process and there is no age
limit to it, stating, “Tempa pormonne, mateak kurponem,” which loosely
translates to updating oneself with changing times.
Grandchild Nancy Sequeira, who is now
settled in Australia, was down for a holiday at Merces. She recalls how she
enjoyed playing Cards and Carrom with her Avoizin. She also enjoyed her
fascinating stories that had the ability of keeping her spellbound. “My visit
to Avo’s house is full of old nostalgic memories and I love to be with her,”
she says.
Another grandchild, Zeola Fernandes, says,
“As I look back, I recall the good times spent with Nana; the amazing games she
taught us and the fun-filled evenings. Oh! How I wish we could turn back time.”
Another grandchild, Gilbert Menezes,
recalls her grandmother’s Chandama stories, playing with Marbles and the
songs that he would listen to with her on the All India Radio.
Glenda Menezes, another grandchild, also
recalls the times they all played cards, stating that her Nana taught her a
couple of games too.
Sucurrinha, content and happy with her life, says that
she is fortunate to spend time with her grandchildren and as well as her
great-grandchildren and her message to today’s young generation is to value the
presence of their elders and learn for and love them with all their hearts.
