Heartbeatgoa.memories -I remain grateful for my strong Goan heritage...by Elizabeth Pires - London

I remain grateful for my strong Goan heritage, rooted, as it was, in a simple life that revolved around church, family and village. Where time was marked by the basic and the ordinary---the baker who called round each morning with fresh bread, the fisherwoman who passed by with her basket of fish later on, the twice a day Angelus bells, the rosary in the family chapel each evening…… l have warm memories of those days long ago…..and much of the confidence and the security that I enjoy today comes from that simple upbringing, by a simple people, who loved life and lived it to the full. The center of the universe was the balcony. Sitting there was like visiting your favourite club. Every passer by visited for a chat or shouted the gossip from the street so you were in touch with everything in the greater neighbourhood. The once-a-week Friday bazaar in Mapuca was another highlight. We used to walk there from home and along the way you met up with other families all making our way to the same destination, each Friday. Some days we needed nothing and bought nothing, but it was a social event and a time to see family and friends. Late-morning, you stopped for a cold lime and soda, enroute to what was then Casa Bella, in the middle of the market, for the tastiest fish curry and rice I have eaten, You knew everybody and you looked out for each other. We celebrated births and marriages, and mourned together in death and illness. And then there were christenings, and first communions, village feasts and chapel feasts, and the long rosaries night after night in different homes and around different chapels in the village. There were warm summer evenings spent on Calangute beach, when music and song filled the air, and later on when I was older, dancing on the rooftop of the Royal Hotel……The piano occupied pride of place in our homes and we did not need an excuse to open it up and play and sing. It was a life that was lived by nature and the seasons. You did not need weather forecasts. You knew the signs that forecast the imminent arrival of the harsh monsoon. So, early in May, you bought and stored salt, well in advance of the monsoon. If you missed the deadline and the first showers had appeared, the price of salt went up—enough to cause a dent in most people’s pockets. You bought large quantities of toddy to make your vinegar and, not forgetting, the sausages, dried fish, and the harvesting of the coconuts and rice -- all to create a storehouse against the harsh rainy months. Faith defined us as a people. And Faith gave us a strong code of ethics, serenity and peace. No matter how bad a problem, you could always turn to your list of saints and pray. We are a mixture of many virtues – and a few vices – respected globally for our pioneering spirit, for being tolerant, open-hearted, happy and peace loving.