A narrow strip of road parallel to Mandovi
River takes you across a chain of three islands – Chorao, Calvim and Corjuem.
Chorao being the largest of all islands in Goa has its own credentials but we
are talking about Corjuem – the last in the chain and one of the smallest
islands of Goa.
Embraced by the banks of Mapusa River, this
tiny island has its own identity and contribution to the Goan heritage. It is fortunate to have its own school,
chapels, temples, a fort, fields, farms, bars, restaurants, a resort,
recreation club, shops, mills and several houses within its confines.
This tiny island, which never saw four
wheelers on its mud-roads until the 70’s has gone through a major transition of
late. Life before that was slow,
tranquil and simple. Corjuem was severed
from the other elegant parts of Goa and villagers had to avail of small canoes
to get across and trod the muddy roads with their shopping bags. Our ancestors
had thoughtfully constructed brick platforms called ‘dovorné’ on the mini-highways
of Corjuem. Although most are in ruins now, these platforms were shoulder-high
and conveniently constructed under trees to enable people to shred off their
burdens and rest for a while before resuming their journey. Bullock-carts were
used to carry lumbers on the macadam roads.
There were no electricity or streetlights
in the village until the 70’s and all households had elaborate oil lamps for
the night and battery powered radios to keep in touch with outside world. The
wealthy ones had the hand-wound 38RPM record gramophones where the needles had
to be changed after every second record.
Late night travelers used candles in coconut shells to get to their
destination.
Even in such circumstances, Corjuem was
able to give birth to prominent sons and daughters who have excelled in various
domains. If some have gone way ahead in businesses, high profile jobs and IT
field, others have dedicated their lives God and serving as priests and nuns
throughout the world. The present Archbishop of Karachi was also born and
brought up in Corjuem. Then again, there are a few other samples who are
licking the wounds inflicted by their forefathers.
Corjuem was once called the ‘foxes’ village
but the current landscape has left no space to these natural predators of fowls
and other domestic animals. Spotting a
fox in Corjuem these days is like finding polar bears in the Arabian Gulf. The
demise of these animals has brought about the migration of unique birds like
the peacocks to this island.
The
main chapel: dedicated to Our Lady of Mae de Deus,
this chapel was constructed 150 years ago. Apart from the main sanctorum, the
chapel has residence for priests, compound and a giant cross.
The annual feast of the
Patron is nothing short of an Oscar ceremony.
Red carpet et all. Villagers and
guests attend this event attired in their best outfits. Only the fortunate one
will have a new dress stitched for the occasion. The others show off with the ‘vistid’ that
was specially prepared for a relative’s wedding or her own engagement a few
months back. In the gents’ section, nothing much has changed since the early
80’s. Dias uncle’s pomfret tie, Francis bhatkar’s crumpled (60’s) suit, Uncle
Robert’s trade-mark umbrella etc. gives you the feeling that time has stood
still for the last few decades.
The
club: The Corjuem recreation club was established
in 1940’s and known as the ‘Corjuem Gymkhana’. If you are under the impression
that it’s the place to sweat out the extra weight you have gained during
festive season or meet local body builders, YOU ARE WRONG! Its nothing like the name suggests. This is a
place where you sit with your cronies to drink, play, gossip and pass your
time. Topics become spicy and interesting as the pegs are gulped down. Imagine a statement coming from somebody who
can hardly hear a bomb exploding at his doorsteps saying, he has enough money
to establish his own airline from the petro-dollars he has earned before being
chased out by Saddam Hussain from Kuwait. He wants to call it 'Kasti Airways'
named after the fine diaper worn by toddy tapers and fisher-folks in Goa. He
wants the corporate logo on the tail to be a thin red cloth in-between two
buttocks designed by the famous cartoonist - Mario Miranda and the color to be
'faded-green' reflecting the extinct hills of Corjuem and 'dark-red' resembling
the surrounding rivers that are polluted by Chowgules and Dempos who are
determined to take the last granule of iron-ore from the neighborhood.
Passengers will be served wet towels immediately upon boarding dipped in fresh
coconut feni along with caju seeds and ‘chevris-paum’. The in-flight cuisine will comprise of mainly
pork sorpotel with san'nas and 'chicken kafreal' specially prepared by Café
Aurora. The monsoon menu will include frogs and catfish fresh from down
below. The cabincrew will be attired in
red ‘kundbi’ dress of nylon material tailored by Xavier's from Mapusa. The take-off briefing will be prerecorded by
‘beddo-Jose’ whose unique voice sounds like gurgling with a pair of beetle-nuts
in your mouth. Each toilet will have a pig and when grown, will be sold to Cafe
Aurora for re-cycling.
Fort: The Corjuem Fort was built in 1705. It has an impressive
courtyard, a central well and an altar dedicated to St. Anthony. Goa has eleven
takukas and the Corjuem fort lies exactly on the border between Bardez and
Bicholim Talukas. The past three centuries had taken their toll on the walls
and interiors of this magnificent monument but thanks to Archeological Survey
Department of India, this fort has been recently restored to its Old Glory.
Many Indian and foreign tourists visit this place, which overlooks the maroon
mining hills of Sirigao. This place is also frequented by locals especially in
the evening to pray and enjoy the soothing breeze before retiring for the day.
The silent monument is then left for lovers who come there for a little privacy
and late evening snacks.
Bridge: The development of Corjuem took a major leap when the cable-stayed
bridge was completed in October 2004. Lot of Bollywood (Bombay) and Lollywood
(Goan) movies are shot on this bridge because of its unique structure. This bridge has opened several avenues for
development of the island. All village
roads are re-done and the second bridge is almost complete on the other side of
the island, which will act as a short-cut link between Bardez and the northern
talukas of Goa. Plans are to install a capsule lift for the bridge, have a
restaurant close by to cater to tourists visiting this unique bridge. It’s only the third of its kind in the whole
of India. The Government of Goa also has plans to include water sports and
other attractions in this picturesque village. This in turn has increased the
value of land and properties in Corjuem. People who prefer a quite life, away
from noise pollution and yet at a convenient place are vying for a piece of
land in Corjuem.
Life: the routine life starts early morning with joggers and churchgoers
on the roads. While the birds herald the sunrise with their sweet songs, the
bakers are busy distributing their oven hot bread around the houses. The next to follow are the milkmen and
fishmongers. As the day advances, the volume of traffic increases. These are
normally school children, office workers and people traveling to town for their
groceries. Obviously, every person in
the village is known to the other and strangers are easily spotted. New houses stand beside huge ancestral homes
with plenty of mango, jackfruit and tamarind trees around. Although most of the
houses now have tap water, all houses in the village have their own well.
Every ward in the village has its own
chapel and the annual feasts are celebrated with pomp and gaiety. These feasts
come after a weeklong ‘ladianhas’ in the evenings. Evening-visits to the
neighbors are a norm. One can often hear guitar or violin music at a nearby
house or bar accompanied by singing in falsetto and seconds by local crooners.
The monsoon has its own charm and
festivities. The St. John and St.
Peter’s feasts are celebrated on the 24th and 29th of
June respectively by jumping in selected wells. Fruit salads, wine and feni is
distributed by those families who were privileged to have either a wedding /
offspring in the family or constructed a new house during the year.
Like the rest of Goa,
re-baptizing is a common practice amongst Corjuem-kars. With names like Bhatkar, Polaskar, Fon’no,
Pipirmit, etc. even postmen’s job is made easy while distributing the mail. If ‘Kalvekarn’ and ‘Pipirmit’ are gossiping
about ‘Fon’no”, you will know that they are talking about your neighbor
‘Kustulo’ who just fell from his grace due to an illegitimate affair with Salu
Irmao’s housemaid. People call him 'anquar pai' for the 'Padmashree' he has
been awarded for his deeds. ‘Fon’no’ in turn has nothing better to say about
‘Kalvekarn’. The poor lady has not figured out yet how rumors have originated
that she takes special taxi from Mapusa to empty her bladder in her chilly
plantation in Corjuem.
If name-calling is not enough, common names
are dragged to give it a slang texture.
For example, Nicholas is called ‘Niklo’ Thomas is called “Thomso’ and so
on.
Ask anybody in the
village about “Niklo” who was on a controlled feni diet till his father-in-law
was alive. Now the feni is controlling him. In case you smell feni in Corjuem,
be sure that a bar or Niklo is somewhere around. The drinks are taking their
toll on him. He is falling apart. It was the brain first, now his teeth are
vanishing. He gracefully justifies the demise of his canines by saying that his
milk teeth are finally falling and he will get a new set of teeth soon. High
hopes at this age. The chances of getting horns on his head are far better than
getting the teeth back.
Another character in
the Gymkhana neighborhood is Television Pinto (a.k.a. TV Pinto). There’s
nothing he has not done in his life. In case your TV or music system breaks
down, go to TV Pinto. Ask him about his shop or massage business and be
prepared for a lengthy sermon till your eardrums burst. His talks are usually
about things, which he thinks he has done in the past. He is the master of
blending facts with fiction.
Some people are not
easily forgotten although they are long gone. Any new chick in the village
called for a disco party and Uncle Minin was the unfortunate guy to bear the
brunt of our raging hormones. He has an enormous house with a hall to
accommodate substantial volume of people. When thousand words were not enough
to convince Uncle Minin to have the party at his place, a peg of feni from Ramakant’s
Tavern used to do the trick. The excitement started right from his word ‘okay’.
The deadline was always 10pm to stop the function but the poor old chap was
kept awake till the wee hours of the next day.
Modern saloons have
taken over from the door-to-door barbers who were known for their blunt tools
and primitive accessories. Shaving creams and after shave lotions were unknown
during their time and the customer had to settle for a lifebuoy or Hammam soap
as a pre-shave and disinfectants like salt water and vinegar as after-shave.
These barbers were masters of all trade. Right from fixing umbrellas and house
roofs to getting rid of the most stubborn mole on your body.
Then there were others
like ‘Kundlik’ Pollo. Also known as ‘the beast of burden’. He looked and
smelled like a beast but was strong enough to carry the heaviest trunks and
gunny bags on his head. Customers feared to walk behind him because he often
gave vent to his occult pressure from behind. We call it ‘back-firing’ for cars
and other vehicles.
Apart from mothers,
there was another person in Corjuem who faithfully supplied milk to each and
every house in the village. Was his milk urn magical ?? If not, how was he able
to increase the milk quantity after the birth of every new child? His name is
Dasharath Polle, our very own Cadbury Man. Today, he has retired and keeps away
from the cattle due to his vision problem. It seems he mistook his ox for a cow
and got kicked in-between the legs when he squeezed the oxen’s testicles, thinking
it was the cow’s udder. The muscles on his right hand prove that he has done a
lot of milking in his life.
What about uncle ‘Polaskar’? The cartoon
character Popeye reminds me of ‘Polaskar’ who always had a pipe in his mouth
and was famous for his half-baggy brown pants. When my waist was 26”, I used to
borrow his pants for dramas. Minus his teeth, the poor chap was forced to spit
out his words. Yes, it was a combination of spit and words. Dare to ask him
something? Where were the phones those days? Hardly anybody knew his real name.
Others who fall in this category are ‘Pipirmit’, ‘Kalvekarn’ ‘Saddam Hussein’
and ‘Padro’. The modern generation will never know their real name but these
people are the real stars of Corjuem.
“Khor” in konkani means “strong” and
‘juvem” means “island”. The amalgam of these two words gives true meaning to
the place and people, living or dead, on this lovely island.
Cheers
Benny
