In
the 1940s, service in the government departments was a rarity and if
a woman got herself employed, it would be considered as sheer fate.
Martha
Simoes Carvalho, originally from Nerul, but presently residing at
Chandor, found employment for herself in the Civil Registrar at
Bicholim in 1947. Prior to her enrolment there, her husband, Dr
Minguel Jose Anicet Carvalho served as an advocate and as a PA of a
judge in Pernem.
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Thereafter
he got transferred to Bicholim and continued with his legal services
there, besides his service as the president of the Bicholim
municipality. Martha served as a clerk for her husband for almost 11
years there. She feels proud to inform that she was the first woman
in the Civil Registrar then. “Today, many women are employed. Some
among them don’t even know how to enroll and write names
correctly,” she says.
Martha
served dedicatedly in the Civil Registrar at Bicholim along with her
husband, followed by her service in the same department at Ponda in
the 1960s, for almost 9 years. Thereafter, she was transferred to
Margao, where she continued for 4 years, before retiring at the age
of 59.
“Promotion
to a higher level was a distant dream at that period,” reveals
Martha, adding, “During that period, there was no promotion, except
for vacancy by death. Today, people are promoted regularly, whether
you are qualified or not. And the salary is doubled.”
After
retirement, Martha decided to take care of vast ancestral properties
scattered in Nerul, Calangute, Parra, Anjuna and Mapusa. “My father
passed away when I was only four years old and as I was a minor, the
property was divided among five children in the family. The major
share came to me as I was the minor,” she related.
“As
there was no school in Nerul at that period, children from the
village would walk to Candolim convent school,” Martha revealed. As
coconut plantations were in plenty in the properties, Martha would
climb those tall trees and pluck tender coconuts.
As
the ancestral property was close to the sea in Nerul, Martha would
often interact with the fisher folk, who would set out fishing late
in the evenings. Cordial relations with the fishermen helped her to
learn to swim. And during holidays, she would often cross the Mandovi
River from Betim to Panjim. Martha
never experienced fear in her life and consequently she was able to
dare many things in life boldly and courageously.
Martha
claims to be related to Ven. Fr Agnelo from the paternal side. When
she was born, her father celebrated the village feast in Nerul and
the saintly priest was invited to preach for novenas and feasts.
“After
the novena mass, Fr Agnelo would stay at our place and go on foot to
Aldona the following day,” she narrates. “I personally did not
encounter Fr Agnelo, but his nephew was the vicar of Bicholim church
and we encountered him very often,” she added.
Ten
years back, after the death of her husband to cancer, to safeguard
the ancestral properties, Martha would take coconut pluckers from
Chandor and proceed to Calangute, Nerul and Candolim. “The plucked
coconuts would be sold to locals there. Today, due to unavailability
of coconut pluckers, most of the property has been sold in North Goa
by the relatives,” she confessed.
The
huge palatial ancestral house where Martha resides today is 200 years
old. Initially, when she stepped in, the walls were weak and the
floor was cow dung-coated. “After retirement, I was fortunate to
get a good and honest engineer, who helped to renovate it fully,”
she added.
Blessed
with four sons and two daughters, 91-year-old Martha has also been a
benefactor of around 10 aspirants towards priesthood at Pilar and the
Salesians. Some of the Pilar priests whom she assisted and have
passed away include Fr Esperdiao Gonsalves, son of Nerul and Fr
Sergio Mascarenhas.
For
the past two years, gripped by arthritis, Martha is unable to move
about as swiftly as she used to earlier. But despite her physical
ailment, she is sharp in her memory and has past tales to relate with
nostalgia. “Spirit is willing, but the body is weak,” she
concludes.
