On this third anniversary, Saligao Serenade sports a new avatar, with layout and design revamped for better visual appeal and readability.

Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas has . . . → Read More: Third Anniversary of Saligao Serenade]]> Saligao Serenade — the website focusing on the history, traditions, heritage, culture, folklore and people of Saligao, the colourful Goan village in Bardez, Goa – is three years old today.

On this third anniversary, Saligao Serenade sports a new avatar, with layout and design revamped for better visual appeal and readability.

Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas has written so much on Saligao and Goa over the last three years, and his essays are timeless treasures that can be read again and again without losing any of their sheen. The new design of the website endeavours to regularly pull out these gems from the archives and periodically highlight the best essays featured over the years.

All content is being further enhanced with pictures and graphics, and will also be embellished with video clips whenever appropriate and possible.

To partially defray the expenses incurred in hosting and maintenance, Saligao Serenade now features syndicated advertisements and affiliate marketing promotions. Please do support us by checking out the offerings of sponsors.

As Saligao Serenade continues to evolve we will be broadening the scope and range of content to include articles on Goa of interest to Goans, Goa buffs, visitors and others. Do write in with your comments and suggestions on what you’d like to see more of on Saligao Serenade.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year and much warmth, love and laughter throughout 2012!

- Val Souza, Editor

Fr. Nascimento received a plaque and citation and was adorned with a shawl at the hands of Eduardo Faleiro, the Commissioner for NRI affairs . . . → Read More: True Values Foundation felicitates Fr. Nascimento]]> Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas was recently felicitated along with three other eminent Goans  at the first anniversary celebrations of  Margao-based True Values Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the welfare of senior citizens.

Fr. Nascimento received a plaque and citation and was adorned with a shawl at the hands of Eduardo Faleiro, the Commissioner for NRI affairs for the Government of Goa. Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat, was also present as Chief Guest for the function.

Along with Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas, also felicitated were Fr. Sergio Mascarenhas, Fr. Cosme J Costa and Percival Noronha, for their contributions to society in preserving human values.

A souvenir brought out by True Values Foundation was also released on the occasion.

True Values Foundation felicitates eminent Goans. Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas is at extreme right.

Back in the 1950s, when I was a young lad growing up in Goa, our home in the village of Saligao did not have electricity or indoor plumbing. The kerosene lamp was our light source, and water was drawn from a well that was shared by seven neighbouring households. Five of these . . . → Read More: Ruckus Over A Rat]]> by Mel D’Souza

Back in the 1950s, when I was a young lad growing up in Goa, our home in the village of Saligao did not have electricity or indoor plumbing. The kerosene lamp was our light source, and water was drawn from a well that was shared by seven neighbouring households. Five of these homes, including ours, clustered around a tiny courtyard.

Like many rural areas at that point in time, Saligao too did not have indoor flush toilets. Instead, our throne was in an outhouse at one corner of the backyard.

Now, walking to the outhouse was no problem during the day. But it was a different story at night; our having to contend with the likes of snakes and ghosts and rain and strong winds that could blowout the candle in the cotti flashlight. So, the alternative was the ungnel chamber pot.

The ungnel was made of red clay, and it was usually kept in the corner of a spare room in the house where we could go pee during the night.

To get to the ungnel, we would light our way with a ponti which was a small kerosene-filled glass bottle with a wick in the cap.

Whenever I wanted to go pee, my mother would accompany me with ponti in hand to reassure me against any lurking ghosts or snakes.

One night, Mom was so tired that she lit the ponti and told me to go potty alone. It was sometime in September after the monsoons when the harvested rice grain would have been stored in the spare room in a bathaso kodo - a bamboo mat rolled up like a silo.

Well, I held the ponti in my right hand, lowered my pyjamas with my left hand, and sat on the potty with great trepidation. Just as I was done – and beginning to overcome my fear of ghosts, snakes and any other demons – a large rat caught in the act of gnawing a hole through the bamboo silo decided to escape by scurrying between my feet and the potty. I raised both feet and let out a piercing scream that not only reverberated through our small house, but was heard by Eudocina, the elderly next-door neighbour who lived alone in her home. She panicked … and that’s when all hell broke loose.

Eudocina dashed out of her house screaming “Pau, reh, pau reh, pau reh…” (“Help! Help! Help!…”) without knowing why. This woke up the neighbourhood. Eudocina’s screams were heard by Marequina, a simple-minded elderly spinster who lived down the lane. Terrified, she ran out of her house, frantically scratching both her scrawny legs as she hopped from one foot to the other, and spontaneously relayed the call for help in a shrill voice… without knowing why either. The screams woke up my mother, who, not knowing what was going on, just sat petrified in bed with her legs convulsing under the blanket.

In less than a minute, neighbours gathered outside our house curious to know what all the commotion was about. Since there was no sign of burglary or any other criminal activity, an agitated Marequina speculated that I must have seen a ghost. She weaved her way through the gathered neighbours like a weasel, suggesting that a mass should be offered to exorcise the evil spirit.

Meanwhile, my unflappable grandmother, Mãe, who was partially paralysed from a stroke, slowly rose from her bed, grabbed her bamboo staff and shuffled over to my bedroom. She put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and said “Baba, tell me what happened”. And I replied softly, “I saw a coindeer (rat)”.

That just cracked her up. She broke out into uncontrollable laughter for at least one whole minute, with tears rolling down her cheeks, while Marequina and the group of neighbours waited in rapt anticipation for her to compose herself and give them the official version.

Still chuckling as she wiped the tears from her eyes with the tip of her sari, Mãe told them what actually happened, while I stood by her side looking pretty sheepish.

As the neighbours headed back to their homes, I could hear Eudocina and Marequina justify their alarm by speculating what would have happened if, instead of a rat, it was a burglar or an evil person trying to kill the little fellow.

Later, I went back to bed and slept it out until the next morning when I went to Mass at the chapel just to reassure my neighbours that I was back to normal.

As for my grandmother, she taught me a lesson in the importance of keeping one’s composure in a crisis – a lesson that has stood me in good stead in my adult life.

Long, long ago, before there were stories to tell, a little Saligao boy named Jayant Salganvkar went hunting. One day in the rainy season he hunted from dawn to dusk but caught nothing except two small squirrels. Cold, hungry and weary, Jayant sat near a great rock to rest.

Suddenly he . . . → Read More: The Storyteller]]> by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas

Long, long ago, before there were stories to tell, a little Saligao boy named Jayant Salganvkar went hunting. One day in the rainy season he hunted from dawn to dusk but caught nothing except two small squirrels. Cold, hungry and weary, Jayant sat near a great rock to rest.

Suddenly he heard a deep voice say “Hello!”

“Who’s there? Who speaks?” Jayant asked with alarm.

“It is I, the voice of your ancestors, the voice of creation. Do you want to know the story of how Saligao was made, of how the grasses grew and where the animals came from, how warm breezes filled the night and the smell of the flowers filled the air?”

The rock told the story and at the end said to Jayant, “Go now and tell your people this story.”

“But I am only a small boy. They will laugh at me. They will not listen.”

“They will listen,” the rock assured him.

Leaving a squirrel as a gift for the rock, Jayant returned home and summoned the people to his longhouse. He recounted the wonderful things he had heard. The people did not laugh. Instead they said, “Tomorrow you must go back to the rock and ask for more stories.”

Returning the next day with a small bird as a gift, Jayant heard another story. And so it went for many months. Every day, Jayant offered a gift and returned with a new story to delight the people.

One day the rock said, “This is the last story I will tell.”

Jayant grew sad. “But my people love stories.”

“That is why there is no more need for me to tell any,” the rock replied. “Wherever people care and things happen, stories will come. Now, go and tell your own stories. Call others to tell their stories.”

♣ ♣ ♣

On the Saligao Serenade website, each storyteller invites you, dear reader, to enter into the story, adding details from your own life.

As Saligaokars, we re-tell the story of Saligao happenings with our lives. We also listen to the stories of our people told by others and become part of their stories. Valmiki Faleiro from Margao tells the story of the army personnel from Saligao who defended our country India. Then there are other stories such as the ones by Yvonne Vaz Ezdani, through her walks and talks in the village of Saligao. The stories and sketches by Mel D’Souza are captivating, haunting us like the playful ghosts of memory. And someone special that I have to thank is Val Souza, for brilliantly editing and presenting all the stories on Saligao Serenade very efficiently since the last two years.

At this time I am no longer in Saligao. I have these stories, gathered like precious flowers from others’ gardens, but once upon a time I myself ambled upon Saligao soil and have offered you the blooms and the thorns of our living roses, through Saligao Serenade.

Happy reading!

Thanks to the prolific writing of Fr . . . → Read More: Second Anniversary of Saligao Serenade]]>

Most people’s notion of Goa as a tourist destination is centred on waves, raves and five-star enclaves. I too was much like that all these years, until a visit to the other side of Goa in December 2010 opened my eyes to a breathtaking panorama of delight that incredibly eluded me all . . . → Read More: The Other Side Of Goa]]> by Val Souza

Most people’s notion of Goa as a tourist destination is centred on waves, raves and five-star enclaves. I too was much like that all these years, until a visit to the other side of Goa in December 2010 opened my eyes to a breathtaking panorama of delight that incredibly eluded me all these years.

A few months ago I signed up with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), in the hope of reviving the forays into trekking that had been such an enjoyable part of my adventures in the past. Somehow – perhaps due to lack of company, lack of time, or maybe sheer lackadaisicalness – the trekking had tapered to a trickle and then dried up completely. With BNHS, I thought, at least the lack of company would get taken care of – they have something on almost every week in Bombay, and it’s not just about bird-watching. But I guess I underestimated my laziness, for rising early on Sunday morning never happened.

And then BNHS announced a camp titled “Explore the Western Ghats of Goa”. With the Wildernest nature resort as the base (in the Chorla ghats, 800 metres above sea level, up from the villages of Sanquelim/Querim-Satari somewhere between Bicholim and Valpoi, spread across the borders of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka) the group would do several treks over four days, venturing into the surrounding forests famed for “mega biodiversity” and packed with many endemic (found nowhere else) species of flora and fauna. The group would also explore three of the six wild life sanctuaries in Goa [Amazingly, out of a total of 3700 sq km area, Goa has something like 1450 sq km of forest cover out of which about 750 sq km is protected under sanctuary/reserve!]

An opportunity of a lifetime of course, and I was not going to miss it for the world! A trip like this assumed special significance for me, as my exposure to Goa had almost exclusively been as a deadbeat beachcomber, lazily lounging in beach shacks all day long. Somehow, I persuaded a friend to sign up for the camp too, and we were off.

Wildernest Paradise

Wildernest itself is pure, pristine paradise. High up in the Sahyadris, this fabulous resort is set amidst 450 acres of forested land, dotted with 18 cosy wooden cottages spread out in the jungle or overlooking the valley, with a separate central restaurant and bar area, ethnically yet practically designed to blend with the raw nature it shares space with. The “Infinity” swimming pool, so constructed as to give the illusion that the water continuously plunges waterfall-like off the cliff into the valley below, is a not-to-be-missed marvel, even if simply to sit by. Wildernest is owned and run by committed nature lovers, and it was great to have Nirmal Kulkarni (one of the directors and a well-known herpetologist and conservationist working hard to save the Western Ghats from exploitation and destruction) accompany us for a couple of treks.

Sunset at the plateau, Wildernest, Goa

The days of the camp were packed with almost incessant activity, starting early in the morning with bird-watching along the trails adjacent to the restaurant area. The treks in the Wildernest property and surroundings – Chorla falls, nearby plateau, highest point and night trail – were not just about walking. With Nirmal and the other resort guides (as also the knowledgeable BNHS participants) we were treated to a wealth of information and anecdotes about the teeming wildlife all around us. Of course, wildlife is not just about lions and tigers and bears, as most of us generally tend to assume; there are birds, and butterflies and reptiles and insects and amphibians and fish and wildflowers and other assorted flora in plentiful abundance; and it’s fascinating to learn about the physical and behavioural characteristics and peculiarities of some of them. Mammalian wildlife in the region includes leopard, sloth bear, barking deer, gaur, langur, fox, slender loris, wild boar, giant squirrel, etc, but we unfortunately didn’t directly encounter any of them, except – quite dramatically – two battling alpha-male langurs late one evening, and several giant squirrels at Bondla.

Medicinal Plants

The Western Ghats are home to many valuable medicinal plants. A case in point is Amruta (Nothapodytes nimmoniana, also known as Narkya). This innocuous plant with small, greenish fruit is one of the richest sources of camptothecin (CPT) – analogues of this biomolecule are used in the treatment of colon-, ovarian- and lung cancers. Because of the high-value commanded by its bark and other parts for the CPT extract, Amruta has been indiscriminately harvested and is now endangered. Attempts are on to protect this species and devise means for mass cultivation, but this has proved to be notoriously difficult thus far.

Fruit of the Amruta plant

Another interesting plant is that which bears the “false guava”. The fruit of Catunaregam spinarum is inedible, but has an effective piscicidal action. In earlier times the local tribals would use these fruit to catch fish in small ponds or pools of water formed near streams and rivers. Introducing the fruit into the water would cause the fish to perish and rise up to the surface; the toxins in the false guava are specific to certain species of fish; all other organisms in the water would remain unaffected and the pond would return to normal in a day or so. Contrast this with the unscrupulous dynamiting techniques used today – which invariably finishes off all life in the pond – and one realises the immense value of traditional knowledge handed down over the centuries among those who lived exclusively off the land.

We were treated to many more captivating stories on the wonders of nature while we walked through the different types of forest – mixed moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, evergreen and secondary ridgeline. Did you know that if you’re lost in the evergreen forest with no visible source of water around, you can quench your parched throat with the water obtained by cutting into the widened trunk-base of the numerous buttressed trees all around (Lophopetalum wightianum and other species). And, to get your bearings right, look for the rose-petal-shaped nest of harvester ants – the nest’s highest tip always points north!

Trekking the Sahyadris

My high points of the trip definitely were the several treks we did. Climbing hills and walking on rocky, undulating terrain are things I’ve avoided in the last few years, and the fact that I was able to complete the 25 kilometres (or so, overall) with minimal fuss was heartening indeed. The big one for me was the climb to the highest point in the Wildernest property. Ever since a scary, slippery climb to the summit of Rajmachi near Lonavala over two decades ago, I had avoided ascending steep cliff-faces as far as possible. Although hesitant, I managed to overcome my apprehension and climbed this one (to a point about fifty metres short of the topmost sheer segment to the summit), soaked in the majestic views of the hills and valleys all around, and then descended safely – mentally and physically unscathed.

Tambdi Surla Falls, Bhagwan Mahavir Sanctuary, Goa

The trek to the Tambdi Surla falls in Bhagwan Mahavir Sanctuary/Mollem National Park was particularly invigorating albeit moderately challenging. It was on this trail that we spotted the rare hump-nosed pit viper just inches away from the path, and where I got bitten by a leech (still itchy on and off, even a week later!). Our later halt for lunch at the nearby Nature’s Nest resort was rewarded with sightings of flying lizards on the coconut trees, a pack of grey hornbills, and other exotic birds I didn’t quite catch the names of.

Hump-nosed Pit Viper in Mollem

Not exactly being a fan of snakes and creepy-crawlies, I was really reluctant to go on the night trail – more so because the stated objective was to seek out the venomous Malabar pit viper! In the end, I was happy I did; it was quite a thrill to see a juvenile pit viper curled around a plant, and gaze at the elegant and seemingly luminescent green vine snake (Ahaetulla nasuta) less than an arm’s length away. The way in which the trained eyes of the guides spotted myriad life forms in the undergrowth and foliage off the trail was pretty amazing; stuff that was literally staring me in the face but I was oblivious to until someone pointed it out.

Can you spot the Green Vine Snake?

Bondla Sanctuary

Our visit to the Bondla wildlife sanctuary on the last day turned out to be a rather tame one, except for an interesting interaction with the dynamic and enthusiastic Range Forest Officer, Paresh Porob, whose talk was peppered with interesting nuggets. The Bondla sanctuary has a small zoo attached. The zoo has a pair of tigers, obtained in an exchange programme with the Vishakapatnam zoo a little over a year ago. Nice, except that the roaring of the tigers has resulted in the leopards from the forest keeping away (these two big-cat species usually operate in non-overlapping territories in the wild), resulting in an increase in the population of spotted deer, which in turn gobble up the small, shrubby vegetation on the forest floor, resulting in shortage of food for smaller species such as barking deer and mouse deer – which consequently have packed up shop and left! Paresh happily informed us that three wild dogs have recently moved in to his sanctuary, perhaps finding their way through the reserve forest area that connects the 240 sq km Bhagwan Mahavir sanctuary to the 8 sq km of Bondla; now that should take care of the spotted deer quite suitably indeed.

So that’s it then. There’s Goa beyond the beaches, and a lot of it too. I am completely smitten and now have many more reasons to return. Wildernest is certainly one of them. It could be yours too. Provided of course, you’re willing to forego, at least for a while, rowdy boozing sessions, loud music, satellite television and sanitized, air-conditioned living conditions. The remark by the guide as we were handed over the keys to our forest cottages at Wildernest aptly said it all: “Please don’t complain if you happen to see lizards and insects inside your rooms; just consider them a complimentary part of the package. Remember, this is the jungle!”

The BNHS Group for the Goa Bio-Diversity Camp

As the FIFA World Cup 2010 gets underway later today (June 11), excitement must be rising to fever pitch among the myriad fans of football in Saligao and all over Goa.

In fact, football has always been a highly popular sport in Goa and among Goans worldwide. In Saligao, the Mater . . . → Read More: Football Mania and Clubs in Saligao]]> by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

As the FIFA World Cup 2010 gets underway later today (June 11), excitement must be rising to fever pitch among the myriad fans of football in Saligao and all over Goa.

In fact, football has always been a highly popular sport in Goa and among Goans worldwide. In Saligao, the Mater Dei Institution had a full-length football ground with goalposts, nets and boundary markings all according to the established international standards for the game. At the time I was schooling there, the institution had a provision for boarders, and they were required to report at the ground every day at 5:00 pm for a game of football. Anacleto Lobo, the Principal of the school, was a strict disciplinarian, but adhered to the dictum All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

In those days the Mater Dei football team was rather good and teachers such as Archibald Serrão, W Stephens and the Principal took keen interest in extra-curricular activities. We were proud of all the big trophies the school team won. They were all well kept in a cupboard and displayed in the parlour.

Nevertheless, as youngsters in Saligao, we preferred to play football in the fields of the neighbourhood rather than on the school grounds. My friend Mel D’Souza from Saligao (also a Mater Dei alumnus), who is now in Canada, describes our football-playing exploits evocatively in his book Feasts, Feni and Firecrackers:

“We played soccer barefoot in a paddy field after the rice crop was harvested in August (some in September). That’s when the ground was dusty but dried solid by the hot sun. If we were lucky, the ground surface would be flat. If, however, cattle happened to walk through the field when it was somewhat slushy and in the process of drying, their deep hoof prints would harden and stay that way for the entire dry season. Needless to say, this made the surface very hazardous for all but those hardy kids with tough ankles—and there were a few of them whose dexterity in the pock-marked area of the field always earned my admiration. They played in that area by design rather than by choice, because the boy who owned the soccer ball picked his team—and his position on the field—so that he would get to play on the flat surface. The goalposts comprised two mounds of earth or two bamboo poles with a rope tied across the top as a crossbar.”

School Team

I remember well the day all the students of Mater Dei were asked to assemble at the school playground. Three well known football players from Bombay—Neville D’Souza, Joveniano D’Souza and goalkeeper Abu (if my memory serves me correctly)—appeared on the playground dressed in their formal Caltex team colours. Our school teams, 22 players in all, also turned out in the school colours. The Bombay players were on one side along with some of the school players, and played against the school’s first eleven. Neville’s dribbling skills and control of the ball, Joveniano’s headers and cool passes and the goalkeeper’s full-length dives and stops mesmerised us. We instantly fell in love with the Bombay trio though Neville was from Assagao and Joveniano from Calangute. Our schoolboys were no match for them, and were made to sweat by the veterans.

However, in the process the boys learned the finer points of the game. For three days they were imparted strategic and practical training by the Bombay footballers, and to their credit, they made the most of it. With all the tactics and tricks that they learned, they did their school proud, winning most of the inter-school tournaments held in Goa at the time.

Saligao Sporting Club

The youngsters from Saligao were keen to start a football team in the village, so several of them from the school and others from the village got together to form a team and then decided to form a club. That is how the Saligao Sporting Club was founded in the year 1966. It was registered in 1967 with the Goa government’s State Council of Sports and Cultural Affairs. The founder members of the club were Punaji Achrekar, Archibaldo Serrão, Naguesh Naik, Francis Carvalho, and a few others. Saligao Sporting is affiliated to Goa Football Association, Goa Volleyball Association, Goa Softball Association, and All Goa Badminton Association. Joe Fernandes (Fogó) presided as president of the club for several years. The current president is Tony Remedios. Saligao Sporting has its own premises, located in the Mudd’davaddi ward of Saligao. The club has been regularly organising football tournaments over the years and also conducts table-tennis tournaments for the villagers in addition to organising other games.

Arrarim Youth Club

Another club was set up in the village in the year 1968-69 and named the Arrarim Youth Club, although it was not registered. The affairs of the club were handled by Vincente Almeida (Chepekar), who served as its president. In later years Albino D’Souza, who was my classmate at Mater Dei, was elected president, and he had Daniel F D’Souza to help him.

An inter-village football tournament for the “Gold Plated Cup” was started by this club, organised by Valerian D’Silva (Valu) and others. This tournament was run by the Club for a few years, after which the club wound up.

GPG Club

The GPG Club (Grande, Pequeno, Goletem Club) came into existence during the tenure of Fr. Natividade D’Souza (1957-1972) as Parish Priest of Saligao.  Nicolau da Costa from Pequeno Morodd, who is involved with the club, informed me that the main person behind the club has been Domingo Travasso. Others involved include Anthony and Casimiro D’Souza, Felix Rodrigues, David Fernandes, Agostinho da Costa, Tony D’Costa, Bernard Lobo and Milagres Travasso, Although the club has not been formally registered, it does conduct football tournaments from time to time.

Adarsh Yuvak Sangh

Vivek Achrekar, son of Punaji Achrekar, provided the details of the Adarsh Yuvak Sangh:

“This versatile club was founded in the year 1978 by many like-minded people who came together to give a different stance to social activities,” Vivek stated. “There was no formal committee of the club during the initial stages but the members who came forward with an idea and ideology were Pradeep Padgaokar, Manohar Morajkar, Gajanan Morajkar, Anand Morajkar, Goculdas Kerkar, Pralhad Tuyekar, Digambar Ghadi, Mangesh Rane, Bala Rane, Shrikant Sakhalkar, Nandakishore Achrekar, Santosh Navelkar, Tulsidas Kerkar and Tulsidas Gad Kerkar, to name a few.”

“In 1983 the club was rejuvenated and registered,” Vivek continued. The social club became a sports and cultural club as well, where lots of cultural activities were undertaken, a new football team was formed, and it soon became a well-recognised club in Goa. Under the leadership of Suhas Mahambre as president, Pradeep Padgaokar as secretary and Nandakishore Achrekar as treasurer, there was no looking back. Many social activities were undertaken with guidance from renowned villagers of Saligao, who came forward wholeheartedly in support.”

Apart from the sports activities the club took the lead in several social initiatives. With voluntary contributions from members, the club constructed a small bridge (sankôv) over the nullah at Sonarbhatt just above the Ganpati immersion lake, going towards Donvaddo. Other collections were made to support important social causes.

The club organises quiz competitions and institutes scholarships for deserving students, conducts civic activities such as tree-trimming drives, and holds cricket tournaments, among many other activities. Deepak Navelkar, a prominent club member, took the initiative of setting up a music school called Adarsh Sangeet Vidyalay a few years ago.

Adarsh Yuvak Sangh celebrated its silver jubilee in 2008, and has great plans for the future. These include building a club house, setting up a multi-activity sports centre, starting a recreation centre for senior citizens and setting up a football academy for the youth of Saligao.

Saligao United

In a meeting held on 15 June 2003, it was decided by the members present to start a new club in the village of Saligao, by the name “Saligao United”.  They also decided to get the club registered with the Sports Authority of Goa and Goa Football Association for social, cultural and sports activities.

The first committee was headed by Xavier Rodrigues as president and Dayanand Mandrekar as vice-president. Other office-bearers and members of the committee were Domnic Pereira, Rudolf Dias, Moses Coutinho, Lino Fernandes, John Fernandes, Lenny D’Gama and Raju Salgaokar.

Currently, Saligao United operates with Domnic Fernandes as president and Deepak Rane as vice-president. Other office-bearers and members of the committee are Jude Fernandes, Daniel Andrade, Agnelo Dias, Peter Fernandes, Trevor Dias, Sainath Rane and Mariano Fernandes. Noel Fernandes serves as team manager and Patrick D’Souza is the coach.

Saligao United participates in football tournaments all over Goa and the club also organises a tournament of its own.

The Beautiful Game

Apart from all these clubs in the village, the youth of Mudd’davaddi and Grande Morodd organise an inter-ward tournament every year. Also, the youth of Mollebhatt-Tabrovaddo have their yearly tournament on St. Anne’s Feast Day either near St. Anne’s Chapel or at the Mollebhatt ground. It is through these inter-ward tournaments and club activities that Saligao has produced local, national and international players over the years. A few names come to my mind. They are Dominic Soares, Francis D’Souza and Romeo Remedios.  Another good player I remember is Atmaram Parulekar, a solid defender who played for Saligao Sporting Club for many years. As I am out of the village on pastoral duties, I am unable to watch the progress of the current band of upcoming footballers. But I am certain that they will be glued to their TV sets for the next few weeks carefully watching and learning from the best in the world, now in action at the World Cup. May they be inspired to bring glory to their club, village, state and country by excelling in the “Beautiful Game”!

While youngsters today have many appealing new professions to choose from, in days gone by people in the villages of Goa also earned their daily bread in myriad interesting ways and some of the professions were rather quaint and fascinating.

I will never forget the colourful basket-weavers who came to Saligao . . . → Read More: Aboriginal Basket-Weavers and Sextons]]> by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

While youngsters today have many appealing new professions to choose from, in days gone by people in the villages of Goa also earned their daily bread in myriad interesting ways and some of the professions were rather quaint and fascinating.

I will never forget the colourful basket-weavers who came to Saligao all the way from Bairo Alto to make beautiful household articles from matted bamboo strips. The range of products was quite extensive and included elegant baskets (pantli); multipurpose containers (vorli) used, among other things, to ripen fruit and extract coconut juice for the preparation of traditional sweets; brooms (sarun); bamboo matting sieves (kurponnem) to drain water from cooked rice; bamboo mats (dalli); the small barn to store rice (koddo); bamboo fencing (virlem) around the coconut tree sapling to protect it from cattle); boxes of bamboo cane-work (pettaro) ; handheld fans (aino); and, small trinkets and toys.

The men stripped the bamboo into long thin strips, and from these strips the women wove the articles ordered. The children ran about in the backyard and the women sang melodious songs while they worked. They even entertained us with fascinating fairy tales (kanniô).

These women were also proficient in weaving cane-mesh seats and backs for chairs (kodeli), rocking chairs (dolpachi kodel), and easy chairs (volteram) with cane strips as well as white plastic strips. It was mesmerising to watch them strip the long cane strips with knives and weave them through the small holes bored in the wood of the chairs, horizontally and then vertically, adroitly manipulating a pointed cane to tighten the strips into a mesh as they wove simple or intricate patterns. The workmanship was so good that the cane mesh would last for years.

In the culinary art, there was none better than the men folk of the basket-weaver community, mostly adlo-lok (aborigines or natives; Mhars). We had the famous Pasku, Zuzulo, Menino and others quite prominent in this art. They were called to cook special dishes for weddings and other receptions. Two tri-stone chuli (fire places) were usually installed on a slab. Almost all kitchen utensils that were used were made of clay. Those were the days when craftsmen, artisans and potters had a field day.

Aboriginal Sextons

Some of the adlo-lok also served as sextons of Saligao Church. They excelled in preparing and lighting special lamps when the church bells rang at masses and salve, during the novena days. They were also adept at slaughtering pigs to prepare a sumptuous repast for the feast lunch, which including  also knew the art of killing the poor pig for the sumptuous feast lunch and prepare exotic dishes such as sorpotel, buch, cabidel, assado, and arroz refugado, helped by the neighbourhood womenfolk.

They even had a band known as mharacnchem-band, equipped with instruments such as drums of various sizes, bugles and chermellam. The drummer boy went reng-te-teng much to the delight of both young and old in the crowd. The bugler tried his best to stay in tune, but often went woefully off-key, while the drummer compensated with dol-kas and added punch to the band.

Mharanchem-Band. Sketch by Mel D'Souza

I remember the time Pasku helped us make a sorngo. This was a cylindrical bag made out of thin kite paper, filled with smoke and released at night to soar up like a lighted balloon. On a dark night it looked very nice and colourful. The breeze carried it along. It moved to a height of 100 feet or more. The only fear was that if it landed on a haystack or kuddem, that could cause a lot of trouble. In fact that’s exactly what happened once, and then the whole idea of launching the sorngo was forgotten forever.

In those days, Saligao Church had a machila, a special palanquin, to carry the local priest, when Holy Communion needed to be administered to the housebound sick. It was the sextons who bore the machila on their shoulders. The sextons were engaged in the services of the church. They served as janitors, rang the bells for Angelus and church services, dug graves and accompanied the priests on errands of administering Holy Communion and unction of the sick. On duty they usually wore a short khaki tunic with the emblem of the Cross on it. They also hauled the cart that served as a hearse for the coffin, carrying the body of the dead parishioner to his final resting place in the cemetery.

As the well-known American priest and psychologist Michael Garanzini once said, “Children are excellent observers but poor interpreters.” They observe everything that others do, but they are poor interpreters of these actions; they know exactly what you are doing but they don’t know exactly what it means.

A lady in Saligao . . . → Read More: Lines of communication]]> by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

As the well-known American priest and psychologist Michael Garanzini once said, “Children are excellent observers but poor interpreters.” They observe everything that others do, but they are poor interpreters of these actions; they know exactly what you are doing but they don’t know exactly what it means.

A lady in Saligao once told me of the time when her father had died. She was still a child then, and had observed that her mother did not cry at all on that sad occasion. Many many years later when the topic happened to be discussed, her mother explained to her: “I was trying to keep that traditional stiff upper lip for the sake of the children. I wanted them to know that their father was in heaven and that death isn’t a tragedy. I didn’t want to show my own grief, especially not to the children.” So she kept back her emotions, and her little girl concluded, “You didn’t love my father, did you? You didn’t love him at all. I loved my father and you didn’t!” And so, the little girl landed up hating her mother for years. And it was all based on a child’s excellent observation and faulty interpretation. This lady told me that the incident affected her deeply and she barely communicated with anyone else for many years, until she heard Fr. Desmond D’Souza (from Nigvaddo, Saligao) speaking on “What happens to people when they communicate effectively.”

She noticed a total change began to come about in her life. Colour that was never noticed before was newly appreciated. Music that was not heard before became an accompaniment of life. Peace that was never before experienced began to find its place in the human heart. Of course, the only proof is experiential. To know the truth of all this, one should try it. As the saying goes, “Try it. You might like it.” The lady did and she succeeded.

On the other hand, the suffering of non-communication in a relationship is a very real and painful suffering. Often in our human relationships the lines of communication are poorly erected, and they fall quickly in the storms of crisis. The result is loneliness, the scourge of the human spirit. But when these lines are established again, it is the second springtime of love and joy and all good things. Health and happiness of spirit begin to blossom in this springtime of communication.

 In order to alleviate the sufferings of loneliness and ill-health, two homes for senior citizens were opened in Cotula, Saligao. The Mae de Deus Home and Krist Raj Bhavan are both very well managed by the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King. Doctors regularly visit and attend to the sick and old, at the Medical Centre established at Krist Raj Bhavan. It is funded by the Saligao Union of Mumbai (now renamed as the Saligao Association). The nuns act as nurses and keep up-to-date the records and reports. Many have found these homes a haven away from home. Care for the elderly has been a concern in Saligao for many years. We have noticed that in these retirement homes in Saligao, the elderly have begun to enjoy the evening of their lives to the fullest, boosted by the tender loving care of the dedicated FMCK nuns, and brightened by the reopened lines of communication.