By Roland Francis roland.fran...@gmail.com This narration is dedicated to the memory of Joel D'Souza of Assagao, photojournalist, long time reporter for many Goa publications and online outlets, kind friend of many and acquaintance to even more who like myself, knew and befriended him in cyberspace, but never had the occasion to meet.
Joel's piece on Assagao can be read on Goacom.com [http://goacom.com/Goan-villages-1/92-bardez/556-assagao]. In that article, crafted with endearment, he makes a reference to the person around whom my essay revolves and the house he lived in called 'Vhodlem Ghor'. It is located in a scenic part of this village and which since 1961 was taken over by the Palotti priests and run as a seminary to bolster the sagging vocations experienced by the Catholic Church in Goa. Like all tales passed over from father to son, how much is fact and how much embellishment or even fiction no one will ever know. What I can tell you with confidence is the sincerity with which it was told to me by a no-nonsense former railwayman whose house was in close proximity to the Vhodlem Ghor and whose family would have been in a better position to know firsthand the foibles of the grand old man of the Ghor. It was the early years of the 20th century which witnessed the migration of many Goans to Bombay to study, to work and to establish themselves. Those were the heydays of the city. If India was the crown of the Raj, then Bombay City and its Bombay Province was its crown jewel. The crème de la crème of Goan society was recognized as part of the aristocracy of Bombay. One among such noble Goan souls was Caetano Domingos Athaide. Assagao then, though originated from a Saraswat Brahmin aristocracy from the Atri gotra with Ravalnath as the presiding deity, had long since been converted to Catholicism by the Franciscans. The Athaides were one of the elite families in the village, producing many famous scions, in music, law and commerce. Domingos, called Dom in Bombay, was, as expected in such a family, not only highly educated, but astute in the commercial practices of the time. When this story unfolds, he was the General Manager of a number of mills of a British conglomerate. Domingos lacked for nothing. He build a palatial home in Assagao or perhaps completely rebuilt his ancestral home in sync with his status in life. Among the many features of the home was a magnificent hall that served well for family functions. A wide section for the orchestra formed a part of this hall, with a raised platform and all, but with an important difference. Their music could be heard with excellent sound reverberation but not one of the band members could be seen; Domingos was of the opinion that the enjoyment of music should not be subject to distraction. This was a good family, interacting without snobbery with the neighbors and the rest of the village. Local children were given the run of the house when things were quiet and when Domingos had no need of quietude. One of the other quirks of the lord of this manor was his liking for good feni. When he was in Bombay, which was most of the year, he arranged to import a keg of the best feni available in Goa. The importation of feni was not allowed in British Bombay, but such a minor impediment was not an obstacle for a man who presided over a commercial empire such as his. The liquid was labelled vinegar and all the customs and excise minions were paid to look the other way. Such would have been the continued enjoyment of his Goa feni had it not been for a zealous Customs officer. Not relying on the label, he had the barrel opened and his suspicions confirmed. He resealed it with a Customs seal and a case was filed in the local court against Athaide. Domingos schemed to have the seal broken although the evidence was in official custody, refilled with vinegar and resealed with the official customs seal. When the matter came up before his lordship the judge, the evidence was brought into the room and presented to the judge, who asked the court clerk break to break the seal and verify the contents. "It is vinegar, sir" said the Indian clerk to the judge, who then looked askance at the Custom officer who was a province witness. The officer then proceeded to taste it and knew the clerk was right. Knowing that Athaide had done what he had done, he ran out of the court in shame and humiliation and jumped to his death on the pavement below. When the judge heard of what had happened he knew there was some trickery involved on Domingos' part. He brought down his gavel and ordered a full enquiry. Dom knew what that meant. A criminal case of causing suicide, a cheating accusation and numerous other charges that would lead to his job loss and the resultant shame to his family. He had a wedding ring with a large diamond that was given to him by his wife who fond of referring to a old tree in front of the house, would say, "This tree will one day disappear but our wealth will not." Unclasping his ring from the finger, he shoved it in his throat and choked to death on it before anyone in the room knew what was happening. One more Goan tragedy for folklore.... ###