Thank you, Lourdes! Best wishes! Isabel
On Wed, Jan 17, 2024, 10:06 PM 'lourdes fatima bravodacosta' via The Goa Book Club <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks Bita. Enjoyed reading your story. And hope you did not mind > me analyzing it. Of course, could have continued with Guilherme Dias > the owner of the house in the story and now the Mary Immaculate > Girl's H.S. I did study him when I was commissioned by GCCI > centenary book. May be when I get into the mood of writing. > Love and good wishes. > Maria de Lourdes > On Mon, 15 Jan. 2024 13:57:00 +0530 Isabel Santa Rita Vas > wrote > >Many thanks, dear Victor and Heta. I enjoyed writing down these > early memories. > > Warm regards, > Isabel > > Virus-free.www.avast.com > On Sun, Jan 14, 2024 at 4:11 PM Heta Pandit > wrote: > Thank you for this. Dear Isabel! Even I measure my life in the > houses I’ve lived in and the cats and dogs who were partial to their > chosen territories. > Love always Mog Asuni > Heta_____________________ > Please visit our Instagram #goaheritage for more on Goa Heritage > Action Group > #grindingstories for more on Songs sung over the grinding stones > > On Sun, 14 Jan 2024 at 5:01 AM, 'Victor Rangel-ribeiro' via The Goa > Book Club wrote: > > What a bautifully written piece, thank you, Isabel! Very > nostalgic.Mog asuni!Victor > > > > > > > On Friday, January 12, 2024 at 11:34:00 PM EST, > Goanet Reader wrote: > > > > > > Isabel Santa Rita Vás: I Count My Life By Houses > Isabel Santa Rita [email protected] I rarely travel across > national or international borders, butI have travelled houses, a > handful of them. They tellstories, the houses that home you for a > few or very manyyears. How do you count your life? By countries? > Achievements? Occupations? Social change? Politicalupheavals? > Births and deaths in the family? Houses embraceall these and more. > The first house I experienced was called A Casa da > Ponte (House of the Bridge). Yes, they own their own names, > as people today seem to have now recognised mainly for the > purpose of postal addresses. 'Next to the Tamarind Tree' > won't do as an address, I notice. But a house owns other > names as well, besides the official one on the name plate > on the doorway, a true name often discovered by the > children who live in it. Another house of ours is called > Caixa de Fósforos (Matchbox). But let's not crowd the > canvas, one house at a time is wide enough for me.We were > all born there, my two brothers and I. The familylived in this > rented house for forty years, grandparents,parents, uncle and aunt, > brothers and me and household help. When the owners re-claimed it, > we left. But it has neverleft us, the house of our early years.It > was situated at a cross-roads, this Casa da Ponte, wherefriends and > relatives coming from Bardez and Salcete couldeasily drop by as they > arrived in Pangim city. They climbedthe short winding staircase to > the first floor boldlyconfident that the welcoming old man at the > veranda would bedelighted to see them.The welcome would always > translate into a coffee, a meal or along natter at the Mesa de Chá, > where so much got talkedabout. It was situated by a water-body, a > narrow riverbranch of the Mandovi, to which we sometimes accompanied > ourDad with a fishing rod and bait, catching crabs and fish.Down > this river came sailing the canoes that brought coconutsto our home > from the village. It stood by a bridge, notsprawling, not an > apology for a bridge, either, but adignified little bridge with a > story of its own. At thecentre of it, to the right, there was a > small shrine thatpeople called Sankollioh, and where they left > marigolds forthe deity.It was built overnight, this bridge of ours, > literally bynight, by moonlight, maybe, probably by workers led by > theJesuits. We had heard we could still glimpse them at work ona > full moon midnight. But maybe that was only a tale, whoknows. We > did stay up, lids heavy with sleep, but couldnever see much. But it > didn't matter, the bridge was afriend.At its starting point a > traffic policeman directed thecarreiras, the cycles, the bullock > carts laden with salt, andthe cars; lucky man, they never crowded > the road to give hima headache, even though this was such a crucial > junction. The policeman had mixed feeling for our house: > our house-bulbul mimicked his traffic whistle and > confused him sometimes. But then, on festival days my Dad > left a case of beer for him at the traffic umbrella as > apology for the bulbul and thanks for his enduring service > and that was all part of the story.How do houses tell stories? > Sometimes by the tales about theneighbouring houses. We knew all > about the rather largedwelling further up the street that was > demolished and soldat an incredibly low price. It had no buyers, you > see. Itwas kind of haunted, we knew. Whatever food was served > inthat house turned to excreta. You don't believe me? It'strue, the > owners had traded in slaves, everybody said. Andso their fortune had > come with a curse attached. Thesethings happen.We often ran down the > street to a one-door shop not far fromthe house, where we could buy > coloured paper to make kitesand cover our school note-books, and the > owner of the shopwas a rather invisible gentleman whose name was Mr. > Bhale, Ithink, but was known to all as Mr. Bholo; he was > invisiblebehind the stationery he sold, papel lacreado, writing > paper,books and notebooks and pencils and gum, all in riot at > alltimes, but to him magically accessible, sort of. At home > wesometimes drove Mum crazy by our disregard for order and > weresternly rebuffed and warned not to be a Bholo, or else. > The Casa da Ponte sitting room led up to a terrace that > opened to the wide sky. That's where we climbed to fly > kites on breezy October evenings, generally accompanied by > Dad, a co-conspirator. At times we clambered over the > house tiles to the horror of neighbours who shouted across > their roofs to Get Down Right Now Children You Will Fall > And Break Your Heads.The house was as layered as the times > it lived in. It hadtwo other entrances, besides the main one. One > was theservice entrance, where all the vendors arrived with > theirbaskets of fish and vegetables, no need to order online, > youknow? They sat and chatted comfortably in the kitchen > beforeproceeding to the neighbours'. Nustem zaiem ge!!!?The other > small entrance was for the disposal of night-soil. The bhanghi came > with a large tin and cleared the toilets,the septic tank had not yet > been invented in the city. Hedisposed of the waste in the river. He > kept the city clean. Sometimes the man was so drunk that his wife > came instead todo the job. She had a cup of tea and got on with her > work. On the way to that small terrace there was a > landing, where Laurente, our cook, had his room; that's > where he wrote his tiatr scripts. We watched one of his > plays, my aunt and I, and I remember we laughed until we > cried. Laurente Cunha, your name will not go down in > history books. But Laurente, children remember.When > December 1961 came by, rumours grew into franticwarnings: leave the > house by the bridge. All bridges standin danger of being blasted, > dynamite has already been plantedin place, so that advancing armies > are deterred.We packed a few bags and moved to our village. But > historywas kind to us. The bridge stood its ground above theflowing > river as history was made. A Casa da Ponte wasrelieved to welcome us > back home a couple of months later. We didn't live there much > longer. We moved to another housewhere the traumas of a new age had > to be worked out. But ACasa da Ponte lives with us. Who designed > it? Who built it? So dear is it that I commissioned a painter to > paint me aportrait of her. Now, many houses later, she smiles at > mefrom her frame. Does she remember us? Does she count herlife by > the people she houses?--Isabel Santa Rita Vás has retired as a > teacher of EnglishLiterature. She is a member of the Mustard Seed > Art Company,an amateur theatre group that is based in Goa. Both > teachingand theatre have been exciting journeys she has > thoroughlyenjoyed, says Ms. Vás.This is an excerpt from All Those > Tales (Nellie VelhoPereira & FN, Eds). Goa,1556 ISBN 978-93-95795- > 65-4. 2024. Pp242. Rs500 (in Goa). See cover > here:https://groups.google.com/g/goa-book-club/c/wkYAQ4D2VA0 > orhttp://t.ly/kan08If you'd like to join the Tell Your Story group > that offersmentoring in writing, click on the WhatsApp link > belowhttps://chat.whatsapp.com/C5ge87N4WeJAW54oUXqnBO > > > > > -- > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, > send an email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book- > club/CAE%3D_Fsm8DZ6Y%3DJAntcH2vzfNdb84_pfMnhkWEx3_DY%3DbYrR%3Dqg%40m > ail.gmail.com. > > > > > > > -- > > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > > --- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, > send an email to [email protected]. > > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book- > club/728265371.1246415.1705171693094%40mail.yahoo.com. > > > > > > -- > > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > > --- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, > send an email to [email protected]. > > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book- > club/CABmwk%3Dp9DkmVJeVOu3G4A3Mvbk5Py9Yxci4fSA9AG7Xjh%3DcAXQ%40mail. > gmail.com. > > > > > > -- > > > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > > > --- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. > > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, > send an email to [email protected]. > > > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CAESt%2BRB- > 1SSOSV2YAMNXzbwJ8p88PZr6xJ6CW_Fy%2Bx%2B8h-aGtA%40mail.gmail.com. > > > > -- > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Goa Book Club" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/1705307220.S.242054.11275.f5-224-131.1705483122.18180%40webmail.rediffmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/1705307220.S.242054.11275.f5-224-131.1705483122.18180%40webmail.rediffmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. 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