A BAKER FROM GOA

by Lucio Rodrigues
 The Portuguese in Goa were lovers of bread.
 Those eaters of bread have now gone but its makers still exist.
 During the childhood days of the narrator, a baker used to be their friend,
companion and guide.
 The baker came twice a day- once in the morning and again while returning home
after finishing his selling.
 The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo woke up the sleeping children.
 The loaves were delivered to the servants of the house.
 The children would peep into the baker’s basket for the bread bangles.
 The children would eat bread with hot tea.
 The marriages were incomplete without the popular bol bread.
 Bolinhas was a must during Christmas and all other festivals.
 The bakers wore a particular knee length frock known as kabai.
 Baking was a profitable profession. Bakers had a plump physique testifying to this.
 The bakers collected their bills at the end of the month

Short Answer Type:

Question 1.Why is the baker essential for the Goan people?
Answer:Most of the celebrations and festivals need supply of bread so the baker’s
furnace is essential for the Goan people.
Question 2.Why did the baker and his family always look happy and
prosperous?
Answer:The baker used to collect his bills at the end of the month. Baking was indeed
a profitable business in
the old days. The baker and his family never starved. Their plump physique was an
open testimony that they were happy and prosperous.
Question 3.Why would the children run to meet and greet the baker?
Answer:The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo would wake up the children from
their sleep. They would run to meet and greet him to get bread bangles or sometimes
sweet bread of special make.
Question 4.What indicates the presence of the ‘patters’ still in Goa?
Answer:The presence of the ‘paders’ in Goa even today is indicated by the fact that
still there are mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves. Moreover, those
age-old time-tested furnaces still exist.
Question 5.What would the baker do after his musical entry?
Answer:The baker would greet the lady of the house with ‘good morning’ and then
place his basket on the bamboo after his musical entry.
Question 6.How did the pader treat the kids who surrounded him?
Answer:The pader treated the kids who surrounded him, very kindly he would push
them aside with a mild rebuke.
Question 7.Was baking a profitable profession?
Answer:Yes, baking was really a profitable profession as the bread was an important
part of the food of the Goan people. The bakers earned well and kept servants. Their
families looked happy and prosperous. They never starved.
Question 8.What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
Answer:The elders in Goa are much fond of loaves of bread. Those were the
Portuguese days and the people liked the breads of different types very much.
Question 9.Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
Answer:Bread-making is still popular in Goa. We can see the mixers, the moulders
and those who bake the loaves. Most of their festivals and other occasions will
become meaningless without the loaves of the bread. The ladies of the house prepare
sandwiches on the occasion of their daughter’s engagement.
Question 10.When would the baker come every day? Why did the children
run to meet him?
Answer:The baker would come at least twice a day. The morning was his selling
round and he returned after selling them. Children ran to meet and greet him
because they needed bread bangles from him. They also got sweet bread of special
make.
Long Answer Type:
Question 1.Describe the pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker.
Answer:There is a deep impact of Portuguese culture on Goan life. The baker is also a
part of this culture. They are known as paders in Goa. When author was a child, one
could see the traditional baker in the village. He used to be friend of children. He
visited the house twice a day. Children arose with the sound of thud and jingle of the
bamboo in the morning. They would run to greet him. Children were fond of sweet
bread and the bread bangles. The ladies of the house bought the bread. Bakers were
professional and it was a family business. It was a profitable business and most of the
bakers were plump. They had their peculiar traditional dress called Kabai.
Question 2.“Not enough can be said to show now important a baker can be
for a village”. How were the services of the baker required on various
occasions?
OR
Why was the baker’s furnace essential in a traditional Goan village?
Answer:A baker is very important and essential for a Goan village. He does not
merely represent a profession but a highly admired Portuguese tradition. His breads
are essential on each and every occasion. Marriage gifts are meaningless without the
sweet bread known as the bol. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well
as other festival. He enjoys respect and love of the people. The children consider him
their friend, companion and guide. Thus, the presence of the baker’s furnace in the
village is absolutely necessary.
Question 3.Rodrigues describe his childhood and the bakers of Goa. What
does he remember so fondly about these bakers?
OR
What, according to the author, do the elders of Goa think fondly about the
past?
Answer:Rodrigues describes his childhood and old Portuguese days and their famous
loaves of bread. The bakers are known pader in Goa. The writer remembers a baker
fondly. The baker would come at least twice a day for selling his bread. The jingling
thud of his bamboo would wake the children and they would run to meet and greet
him. The children longed for his visit for those bread-bangles or sometimes for sweet
bread of special make. The baker would greet the lady of the house with ‘good
morning’. Then he would place his basket on the vertical bamboo. He collected the bill
at the end of the month.
Question 4.Baking was considered an important and a profitable profession
in a traditional Goan village. Explain.
OR
Bread and cakes were essential of Goan life in older days. Describe the
memories that the author recollects about good old Portuguese days and
their loaves of bread.
Answer:In olden days, Goa was very much influenced by the Portuguese. Baking was
considered an essential and profitable profession in a traditional Goan village. The
Portuguese were famous for preparing the loaves of bread. Baking was the traditional
family work. The villages were much fond of the sweet bread known as ‘bol’. The
marriage gifts were meaningless without it. So the bakers furnaces were the most
essential and ‘cakes and bolinhas’ formed an important item there. At various
occasions like Christmas and other festivals the bakers would collect the bill at the
end of month. Baking was a profitable profession in olden days.
Question 5.Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life, in olden days.
Based on your reading of the “A Baker from Goa”, describe the Goan culture.
Answer:Goa in west India, called golden Goa by the Portuguese, has an important
Portuguese colony in Asia. The Portuguese were driven by their desire to spread their
faith to the local population. Thus, the culture of Goa is deeply influenced by
Portuguese culture. Modem day Goa, a state of India, is a quaint blend of tradition,
religion and modernity. Hindu temples are as much a part of Goa as are Christian
monuments. The culture of Goa today is a synthesis of Portuguese and Indian
cultures. It is one of the most attractive cultures in India. A Goan is said to be born
with music in his blood and music literally accompanies him from the cradle to the
grave. Musical traditions run in generations.

Personal Response questions –

1) Imagine you are the writer of the article ‘A Baker from Goa’. You happen to
meet the baker after a long gap. Develop the conversation.
2) As a newspaper reporter you are assigned the job of interviewing the baker
from Goa. Develop a conversation between you and baker in form of qan
interview.
3) You are a traveller who is on a visit to Goa. You are fascinated by the rich
culture of Goa. Make a diary entry describing this rich culture.
4) With reference to the lesson ‘A Baker from Goa’, expand the idea ‘The Beauty of
the World lies in the Diversity of its people’.
5) Marcus Carvey quoted ‘A people without the knowledge of their past history,
origin and culture, is like a tree without roots’. You have been a baker in Goa
trying to keep the baking culture alive. But your son is not inclined to pursue
baking and wants to move to a more lucrative job. Write a letter to your son
trying to motivate him to follow the family tradition.