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A Baker From Goa

The document provides details about traditional bakers in Goa, India. It describes how [1] bakers, known as "Paders," still play an important role in Goan culture and continue traditions from when Portugal ruled Goa, such as producing famous breads. [2] The baker would wake the narrator and friends each morning with the sound of his bamboo stick, and they would eagerly await him to receive bread. [3] Baking was a profitable profession that allowed baker families to live happily and prosperously, as evidenced by their "plump physique."

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Megha
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235 views3 pages

A Baker From Goa

The document provides details about traditional bakers in Goa, India. It describes how [1] bakers, known as "Paders," still play an important role in Goan culture and continue traditions from when Portugal ruled Goa, such as producing famous breads. [2] The baker would wake the narrator and friends each morning with the sound of his bamboo stick, and they would eagerly await him to receive bread. [3] Baking was a profitable profession that allowed baker families to live happily and prosperously, as evidenced by their "plump physique."

Uploaded by

Megha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Glimpses of India

Part I A Baker from Goa


- Lucio Rodrigues
Central Idea
This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still has an important place in his
society. ‘A Baker from Goa’ revolves around the relevance of a baker in the Goan culture which
dates back to the time when Portuguese ruled over the city of Goa. The Portuguese may have left
but the bread-makers continue to have an inevitable stature. In this story, the author recalls his
childhood days and their excitement on seeing the baker. They were enthusiastic to the point that
they would run to him as soon as they woke up without even brushing their teeth.
Setting
The story takes us back to the time when Portuguese ruled Goa. They were immensely famous
for their breads. The narrator often finds his elders thinking about ‘those good old days’ and
telling them that the famous breads date back to the time when Portuguese ruled over Goa. They
ponder over the past and tell them that though the Portuguese have left Goa but the bakers of
bread still exist, if not the original ones, their legacy is being continued by their sons. The bakers
are still being referred to as ‘Paders’. Everything about baking is still the same; ranging from
those who mould the bread loaves, to the furnaces which have survived the ravages of time. The
sound of their arrival and the thud of their bamboo stick can still be heard just like the olden
times.
Synopsis
The lesson begins with how narrator’s elders often recall the time when Goa was under the rule
of the Portuguese. They talk how the importance of bakers is still maintained in their villages
even after the Portuguese have left. They are known as ‘Paders’ in Goa. The mixers, moulders
and their time-tested furnaces continue to serve the people of Goa with their famous bread
loaves. It is possible that the original ones may not exist, but their profession is being continued
by their sons. The thud of their bamboo stick can still be heard in some parts of the village. The
same jingling thud would wake the narrator and his friends during their childhood days who
would go running to him without brushing or washing their mouth properly.  It was the maid-
servant of the house who collected the loaves while children sorted out the bread bangles for
themselves. Bakery products have importance in the culture and traditions of Goa. Bol or sweet
bread is a part of marriage gifts, cakes and Bolinhas or coconut cookies are eaten at every
festival and the lady of the house prepares sandwiches at her daughter’s engagement. Earlier
bakers wore a unique frock of knee-length known as ‘kabai’ but during the narrator’s childhood
days, they wore a shirt and trousers of length slightly shorter than the usual ones. They generally
collected their bills at the end of every month. Bakery has continued to be a profitable
profession, managing to keep their families joyous and prosperous.
Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Q 1.
We kids would be pushed aside with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered to the
servant. But we would not give up. We would climb a bench or the parapet and peep into the
basket, somehow. I can still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves. Loaves for the elders and
the bangles for the children
(a) Who are ‘we’ in the extract?
(b) Why were the children pushed aside?
(c) Which word/phrase in the extract means the same as ‘an expression of disapproval/a
scolding’?
(d) What was there in the basket?
Q 2.
Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet bread known as the bol, just as a party or a
feast loses its charm without bread. Not enough can be said to show how important a baker can
be for a village. The lady of the house must prepare sandwiches on the occasion of her
daughter’s engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals.
Thus, the presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is absolutely essential.

(a) What are compulsorily prepared during Christmas in Goa?


(b) Why is a baker necessary in a village?
(c) Find the word in the extract which means ‘celebration meal’.
(d) What is must to be prepared on a daughter’s engagement by a lady?

Q3.
The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. Monthly accounts used to be
recorded on some wall in pencil. Baking was indeed a profitable profession in the old days. The
baker and his family never starved. He, his family and his servants always looked happy and
prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to this. Even today any person with a
jackfruit-like physical appearance is easily compared to a baker.
(a)Where did the baker record his accounts?
(b) Why did the baker and his family never starve?
(c) Which work in the extract is a synonym of ‘build’?
(d) How can a baker be identified in Goa?
SAQ
1. What did the baker do first once he reached a house?
2. Why was the Baker’s furnace essential in a traditional Goan village?
LAQ
1. Instead of enjoying their childhood, the children today are keen to enter adulthood.
After reading about all the joys that the author Lucio Rodrigues had in his childhood
do you think such a keenness on the part of children is desirable?

2. ‘During our childhood in Goa, the baker used to be our friend, companion and guide.’
What does this statement imply in relation to the character of the baker?

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