Badkani, Bhirankhul dovenç eilam...

Milagrin rushes up the steps of the majestic house, as is her custom, weeping profusely, ‘Badkanni, Badkanni, Bosteão melo, Tek tem dovenç zallolem, rokroch melo. Amim soglim mottaum nu rhê Badkanni?’

The Badkann, Ana Serolina, sitting in her favourite chair, an austere lady of around 70 looks at Milagrin with great pity and affection. She always thinks of Milagrin as a tad too theatrical for her but to think of death at 20 is terribly sad.

‘Anv nokko ghô Milagrin...’

‘Badkanni, tum nenno zalear konn zanna rhê?’

Despite herself the Badkann smiles, she had never known Milagrin reposed such faith in her.

‘Choiía ghô Milagrin, choiía...’

The Badkann sat for a long while in the Balcão thinking about this house that she had managed for so long.

She had married her husband, António Transfiguração Caetano das Angústias Carmo Vaz, when she was 22 years old, he had been a decent husband as husbands come and they had had two sons, Avelino, now in Portugal and Ornelas who lived in this ancestral house with his wife Luísa Maria.

The Badkann, had learnt all about the management of the house from her Mother in law, the formidable Urminda Margarida das Dores Miranda Figueiredo. How intensely they had fought with each other, disliked each other but got along with each other in times of need... Whatever the reason, poor Ana Serolina never understood the reason for Urminda’s dislike of her.

Despite everything, Ana Serolina had learnt a great deal. It was not to be denied that Urminda was an amazing organizer. As the years rolled by the Badkann came to appreciate and maybe love her too.  Ana Serolina now realized, how well, Urminda had managed their Home and the huge Estates.

She had lost a mentor, albeit a cantankerous one, when Urminda had died and she was forced to look after the house, and the Estates, take those million and one, spur of the moment decisions, ‘Badkanni ambhé  khuim galche pikhomkhu?’’Oilea maddeacheru?’  

Listen to those million and one, ‘Badkanni tuvem bhorem korum nam...Tuvem, eshkonn korpak zaillolem’

The Badkann had learnt painfully and slowly, many were her failures, a great many gaffes too, but with great resilience and fortitude she had learnt.

If only...she sometimes thought ... if only... Urminda had allowed her some liberty during her own ‘regime’, permitted her to take some decisions, make her own mistakes, but no! Urminda had never allowed her to take any decisions;

Even buying Fish was to be checked out with her first. The maid would go to Urminda, ‘Badkanni, Ana bhai sangotta amim aiz kulleo geia mhunnon...?’

Ana bhaiek sang ‘Calor khorta mhunnon, ani kulleo calorak boreo nim mhunon, tika sang sungtam ghé munnon...’

Sometimes when in a good mood, Urminda would say, ‘Mak kiteak bejar kott ghô tum, Ana baiek sang tik zai tem ghé mhunnon’

Or, ‘Badkanni, Milagr eila, Ana bhai munta maddank  udok laupak zai mhunnon’

’Saiba, Ana bhaiek sang, attanch udok lainai mhunnon’’Udok Abrilan laitat. Ana bhaiek soglem sagum zai. Tigea familin tik khaim shikom nam...

No matter how many times she spoke to her husband Ornelas about Mama Urminda, Ornelas would say, ‘Ana, Mama sabe destas coisas...não meta...’

What frustration. The worst part for Ana Serolina, was her own Mother, she just had to start a conversation about Urminda and her own Mother would say, ‘Nada disto Ana, vais aprender... pouco a pouco’ 

Apparently after her marriage, these two had become good friends...

That is the reason why when her son Ornelas married Maria Luísa, Ana Serolina was determined that things would be different for Maria Luísa.

Although Maria Luísa irritated Ana immensely, particularly her coyness and her simpering attitude, she was determined Maria Luísa would learn the running of the House and the Estates from her Urminda in her own manner, making mistakes big and small, she Ana Serolina would scold her, berate her maybe but she would see to it that she learnt everything in her own lifetime.

Then came the wonderful day when Ana Serolina would hand over the ‘keys’ of the house to Luísa Maria, she planned  it as a surprise, a good lunch with all Maria Luísa’s favourite foods,

Maria Luísa was urged to wear a very nice dress.

‘Okhôl baie bóro vistid ghal, thó côr-de-roz...Tuk bhóro poddta...’urged Milagrin

Maria Luisa was amused when she was ‘warned’ by Milagrin, ‘Okhôl baié kuznan oss naka, Ôlli badkan aiz jevon choitelli’

It was with immense pleasure and happiness that Maria Luísa amidst applause from the family as well as the staff received the ‘keys’ from Ana Serolina, she was overwhelmed, blushed and stammered, saying tremulously, 

‘Mãe I cannot do it, I cannot run everything as well as you do.’

‘Of course, you cannot,’ Urminda joked but you will my dear, you will and I will occasionally, not every time, just occasionally help you.’ ’Ornelas kissed his Mother and his wife, he was immensely proud of his Mother’s gesture...

Ana Serolina had heaved a great sigh of relief, no more tedious decisions, no more dealing with the mundkars unless absolutely necessary, no more decisions about food or the tedious monsoon preparations. 

She decided to take a nice nap... At tea time, she ate the very nice cake Maria Luisa had baked. Ana Serolina said, ‘Maria Luísa isto é uma delicia’

‘Milagrin, ‘ôss ani Maria Lina badkannik apoi, sang tika anvem apoilea mhunnon’

When Maria Lina da Gama came to Ana Serolina’s house, she was utterly surprised to see such a marvelous tea laid out...

The two friends, Maria Lina da Gama and Ana Serolina went to the balcão for a chat, gossip about common relatives, gossip about the village, swapping crochet and pillow lace patterns discussing the best ways to execute a pattern, recipe of that perfect apa de camarão and so much more...

All this went through Ana Serolina’s mind that evening when she heard that the deadly virus, the Spanish ‘flu had now struck her village. She had thought for a long time, what was best for her family...

After the Angelus followed by the Rosary prayers,

‘Maria Luísa, forgive me for taking this decision but you are too young for this, and I am in charge now...’

She looked at everyone and said, a terrible ‘flu has struck our village, so any people have died and so many more people will die if proper steps are not taken...What those steps are nobody knows...we only know that people are dying...so I have taken this decision...

’Ornelas you go to Panjim tomorrow isn’t it?’ ’Yes Mama’

‘Now Ornelas, stay in Panjim, do not come home...’’What?’

’Not come home Mama?’ ’But why...?’

‘Ornelas from today onward I as the Head of this Family declare...

That Nobody Goes out from this House and Nobody Comes into this House...’

There was a collective gasp. Everybody started to speak at the same time...

At that time, Ana Serolina, stood up and spoke in a loud powerful voice. No more discussions. 

In the first place I must ask the people who work for us, Cristalina, Pedro and Milagrina do you want to go home?

Hesitantly Milagrin asked, ‘’ is it okay if I just go home to check on my Mother?’ Ana Serolina, looked at Milagrin and said, 

‘Milagrin êkh pat tum bhair sorler mughô, anim pottun eupak zaina’

‘Konnuch Bhair Sorsonam ani Konnuch Bhitor Euchonanm’

Ana Serolina made various arrangements, food of course was the priority, but as in all houses there already was a lot of rice and all the requirements for a simple meal. When fish and vegetables came to the door, they were placed in the basket and brought in after keeping the money outside at a safe distance.

But what shocked every other landowner was Ana Serolina’s decision about the Coconut plucks.

When asked what she had decided about the plucks, she replied in a stern voice, ‘Let the coconuts fall to the ground...’ This was a terrible loss of income, the only source of income for the family...’

Ana Serolina however was adamant, let us lose the crop, it doesn’t matter... and in the scheme of things it did not matter.

Here is a true family story.  My late Dad's family all came down with the Spanish flu.

They spread their bamboo mats in the then cow-dung slurry covered floor and the entire family of father, mother, and 6 kids hunkered down in the living room. 

A "shegdhi" was brought in the living room to cook "pez" as the kitchen was too far for the weakened parents to walk. 

The local drunk who played the trumpet, walked by each of the 30 homes in the village at dawn , tooting his trumpet and inquiring about the wellbeing of the inhabitants... 

He was so fortified with alcohol that the Spanish flu did not affect him, and he was the only one not sickened by the Spanish flu. Over time, everyone in our village recovered and there was not a single death in our ‘vaddo’, while each of the surrounding ‘vaddos’ had one or more deaths.

Could Feni be the antidote to the virus?  Or perhaps this is wishful thinking!

  Vivian A. D'Souza,  Socorro, Maina, Bardez, Goa

What fills me with wonder was the fortitude of the people and most of all the dedication of the trumpet tooting person. Regardless, of his condition and his mental state, he would get up in the Morning and say, ‘let me check and see how the people in my Vaddo are doing’ that was his one and only motivation. To these brave people of Socorro and particularly to the trumpet tooting person, I saw you guys are Heroes!