Despite the
association of the word susegad with
Goan culture, the people Goa no longer appear to be that laid back as they were
once during the time when our grandparents were young. Nowadays the only people
who are laid back are those who work in administrative government offices. It’s
not difficult to recall those days for many people, when doctors of that era
were ‘genuine’ as people claim because they would actually touch the patients
and did not ask for numerous ‘unnecessary’ expensive tests like doctors today
do. In the past these doctors possessing Portuguese education would could carry
out their own tests which would include simple things and were almost always
carried out on all patients, such as to check the patients throat and tongue,
the doctor would then check the persons ears with one of those now antique
stainless steel torch and sometimes the assessment of the patient’s urine was
carried out with the help of a cotton bud. When the doctor had fully satisfied
himself he would give all his patients’ the famous ‘possau’, few unfortunate ones would have to undergo an enema. Some
doctors would prescribe an enema to all patients before even examining them and
diagnosis would be carried out only later. Today’s doctors are either so
genuinely advanced or actually don’t know anything that they hardly ever even
need to touch the patients to make a diagnosis.
Today Goa has
its own university before during the Portuguese rule for further education
people would have to go to Portugal, later the option of going to Bombay opened
up for higher studies. People would often only allow their sons to go to Bombay
for studies since they were worried that some harm might befall their girl
child if they were sent. Many ambitious girls of that era resent this till
today. Nowadays students don’t want to leave Goa, for them it’s because they
can’t survive without their fish curry rice it appears. To me it’s because we
lack ambition to do something worthwhile.
Prior to 1990’s fish
was so abundant that if you when to the beach the fisher men didn’t care if you
were to take some of their catch free of cost. People would tie up the fish in
their handkerchiefs and plant leaves and take it home. The catch used to so large
that the excess would have be dumped at the roots of coconut plantations as
manure some was sun dried and salted. Now a days no fish is caught at all and
if it is its quality is so bad made even worse by the fact that’s its kept for
god knows how long in those freezers in the fishing trawlers. A common
complaint by all goans. I am personally so disgusted by the fish that is bought
these days that my mother often claims that I am not a goan because it’s so
unusual for a goan to hate fish as much as I do.
Goa’s
generation X must have not even heard of these vehicle’s called ‘carreira’ as they were popularly known
they were a popular means of public transportation prior to the era of buses.
They were somewhat compact and had uncomfortable wooden benches facing each
other; other modes of transportation were either by cycles or walking. Some
people owned tongas and even fewer people owned motor vehicles. Now every
family has one bike and one four wheeler at the least Tarmac roads were not
that common they were made in the recent decades prior to that there were just
plain mud roads. People had so much land those days that they had to keep
caretakers called ‘munkars’ to look
after their property. They were considered to be loyal servants. Today of
course these maunkars still exists
but only for namesake and loyalty? Well I don’t know about that.
Gone are those
days of possaus, carreira and maunkars. Now Goa is the land of tourism.
Tourists nowadays come to Goa only to throw away their money in casinos, drink,
be merry and get high. Despite that fact that goa is much more than a place to
drink be merry and get high, it’s a land of unique culture just like any other
indian state…a land of endemic biodiversity…a land of fish fry and football…a
land of Gaurs …the original land of all konkanis’ ! How many people who visit goa even know about
how much more there is to see aside from its beaches and churches…about those
beautiful western Ghats that can be visited? About those small village such as
Keri and Valpoi where much of the real goa is preserved and still resides?
What happened to our Goa that it has become what it is now?!
I can only hope that all is not lost
By Raghuvir Keni
Images are from the
facebook page “Memórias da India Portuguesa”
Prior permission has
been granted from the owner of the page for the usage of these images if
required for publication of the same along with this article.
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| A former bus-Coach Career-Goa 1940's |
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| Carreira para Margão – 1952 |
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| Rua de Ourem panaji…Citizen Credit bank building |
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