Glimpses of India
A Baker from Goa
Describe the role of the pader in Goan village life.
Three places, one country. 'Glimpses of India' is three short pieces: Goa (bread), Coorg (coffee and courage) and Assam (tea). Together they show how different, and how rich, India is.
The pader. Goan elders still talk fondly about 'the good old Portuguese days' and their loaves. The Portuguese have gone, but 'the makers are still there'. The village baker, called the pader, still bakes in the old furnaces, often the son carrying on his father's work.
His daily visit. In the writer's childhood the pader came twice a day: once in the morning on his selling round, and again when he came back with an empty basket. His bamboo staff went 'jhang, jhang' on the ground. The children ran out, climbed a bench or the parapet to peep into the basket, and chose bread-bangles. The loaves were for the elders, bought by the maid. That is why the baker was the children's 'friend, companion and guide'.
Bread for every occasion.
- marriage gifts: the sweet bread called bol;
- a daughter's engagement: sandwiches;
- Christmas and other festivals: cakes and bolinhas.
'The presence of the baker's furnace in the village is absolutely essential.'
Dress, bills and looks.
- In Portuguese days the pader wore the kabai, a one-piece frock down to the knees. Later: a shirt and trousers just below the knee. Anyone in such half pants is still told he is 'dressed like a pader'.
- Monthly accounts were written in pencil on a wall.
- Baking paid well. Bakers were plump, and a person with a 'jackfruit-like' figure is still compared to a baker.
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