On a Friday at Mapusa…

It was a summer Friday evening and, having some time to spare, one
ventured into the crowded and colourful Mapusa marketn. After taking a
look at cursory look at all the many plants for sale (some vendors even
speak fluent English!), the next stop was the earthernware section.
There, they nowadays sell the earthernware ‘cock-shaped’ drinking-water
pot in sizes tiny enough to hold just a glassful of water. An
interesting toy for the kids; maybe more innovation could take our
age-old pottery skills ahead….

After a while, one ran into a familiar face. It was Olga Martins, the
lady who served a lifetime (or so I think) in the Goa government’s
Department of Information which many of us rub shoulders with as
journos.

Ms Martins and her husband were near the section selling
traditionally-grown (not the high-yielding IR8s and Jayas) rice.

After exchanging a few pleasantaries, she mentioned that her son was
running Mum’s Kitchen, the new restaurant focussing on Goan food in the
Taleigao-Caranzalem (if I got it right) area. Her daughter-in-law was
into designing. Another son ran the Lemon Tree school, which some of us
might have passed by en route to the Goa University or the International
Centre.

Nice to catch up with old times. As I realised later, she was scouting
around for Goa-grown traditional rice for the family restaurant.

It was nice to meet up after these years. She wanted to know where all
the old-time journalists were and what they were doing. G R Singbal,
Flaviano Dias, Jagdish Wagh… When the topic veered around to Africa,
Ms Martins mentioned that she had grown up in Tanzania (or Tanganika, as
it was then called) including at Arusha.

Just thought of sharing this as a link to all those whom we tend to
forget when they go out of the world of work which we too have been
associated with. Unfortunately, Ms Martins is not email otherwise we
could have invited her to join the Goajourno mailing list.