What a truly special time it was growing up in the city in Goa! As children we lived in a housing colony with friends who all belonged to varied backgrounds. They were also not all from the city or from Goa. As with many government housing communities we had a little India amongst us. We had Goans from different parts of the state Banastarim, Canacona, Mapusa, etc. There were other state representatives too! Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, etc. There were also families from different religious backgrounds. All of this made it truly a special community. We all lived as one big Indian family.
We were never made conscious of any religious differences because our parents shared none. We were never made conscious of our cultural or religious histories. But what was truly memorable was the fact that each home was welcome to the other at any time of day. We would run in and out of our neighbours’ homes as if it was our own and the elders and adults would pamper us like we were their own. Each home welcomed all the neighbours during festivities. We played fugdi and joined in the aratis during Ganesh Chaturthi. During the daily Azan, we too would drop down on our knees and bow our heads in respect and prayer by repeating Allahu Akbar! We would all make a group and visit each home during Christmas, offering consuada or kuswar to each family. Each home reached out for support during difficult times. When an elder in the neighbour’s home was unwell, our parents would chip in to help and sit by the bed to nurse the patient back to good health. Home remedies were often exchanged. Sharing kashay or kosai was a group affair during monsoons. I would often partake in a lunch or an evening snack at my neighbour’s house who were Kannadigas. I learnt to roll out the perfect papads during the summer from Mrs Terani from Karnataka. I sampled raw karelas and carrots, a staple snack of my friends’ grandparents who would annually visit them from Rajasthan. I loved the ambades and the variety of fovs that Mrs Belurkar made. The Kheer made by Mrs Sheikh was the tastiest!
As most parents were working, we learnt to spend time playing with each other, caring for the little tots and exploring the hill sides and fields together. In the summer holidays, we would walk or cycle to the beaches and rocky shores of Taleigao, Dona Paula as a large group of friends. Going to the khazaans too was routine. Making Narkasurs, playing badminton tournaments, tennikoit and participating in the annual cultural programme only brought us closer together as a community. What was evident in all these childhood experiences was a spirit of communal camaraderie that was very unique indeed.
Goa has always displayed these assets of the community. Religious harmony and peace among its people. This is unique to Goa because whenever there is a feast at the local Church or chapel it is not unusual to find the locals from other religions like Hindus and Muslims partaking in the feast mass and venerating the local patron saint or deity. So also during the local zatra at the temple, people from other religions like Christians and Muslims visit the stalls, wait for the procession of the palanquin and attend the programme at the temple. And during Id, both Hindus and Christians visit homes of their Muslim brothers and sisters, and relish the biryani and kheer.
During the pandemic and lockdown and the establishment of the Community Classroom in Taleigao, I began to see these same evidences of communal camaraderie. The children that were part of the Community Classroom were from different parts of Goa, India and the world. They shared their stories and soon began sharing their cuisine and culture. We learnt their local folk songs, sampled their traditional food and also began to engage in understanding the challenges they faced in the new region and village of Taleigao. We would meet their families on house visits during Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Id and birthdays! We’ve taken some of their families to beach picnics and park plays. It is amazing to see how their families bond as neighbours and more than blood relations, with no reservations or mistrust because they are from different religious backgrounds or ethnicities. This simply is heartening, to know that over the years, the values have remained the same, the spirit of communal harmony and well-being have remained the same.
And so it is unbelievable when news reports with certain individual voices mention intolerances and actions that reek of communal strife. Where one religion is pitted against the other. Where places of worship and mightier Gods are speculated upon and the others derided. A bomb explodes in a parking lot, another at a Narkasur site. A mob attacks the other, places of worship are vandalised and torn down. History is sought to be reversed in the guise of seeking justice of a possible dynastic coo or monumental juxtaposition. Nobody is speaking but voices are raised about voices saying, ‘If we are attacked, we will not keep quiet. If our religious structure is not rebuilt, we will not rest easy.’ And still there is silence. The spirit of Goa remains unruffled and unperturbed. We have always loved one another. We have always celebrated all our festivals and culture together. We will continue as before. The spirit of Goa’s communal harmony and peace has spoken. Are you listening?
(Tallulah D’Silva is an Architect and silver awardee of the Golden Door Award 2020 for truth and integrity.)
