‘Ôlli Badkanni, Ôlli Badkanni, Conig Bakkar ieta!’

From where Ana Serolina sat in her majestic balcão, she could see the entrance to the Chapel of St. Roque ‘Pestinchó Sant’(Saint to combat pestilence) as he was called; she always wondered why there was at St. Roque’s side a  little dog gazing oh so adoringly at him.

   

Ana Serolina was working hard at a new crochet pattern sent to her by her friend and cousin Marcília Cordeiro, master at the art of crochet, Lina da Gama a friend and neighbor, was also working on the same pattern and they had a running wager, who would complete the very complicated crochet runner first.

They unraveled the runner a lot of times! It was a complicated pattern. Just as she was rounding off a tricky flower, she looked up and there at the entrance to the Chapel she could see the rotund figure of her brother in law, Cônego António Exaltacão Miguel Caetano das Angústias Carmo Vaz, entering the chapel accompanied by two priests carrying his bag as well as a pasta (briefcase) bulging with files. He was undoubtedly coming to their home to spend a few days …

Ana Serolina’s thoughts were interrupted rudely by Milagrina rushing up the steps,

‘Ôlli Badkanni, Ôlli Badkanni, Conig Bakkar ieta!’’Koplan bithôr ghêlla.’ (Respected Madam, the Respected Canon is coming, he has entered the Chapel)

‘Milagrin , Okholl baiek sang, ‘Conig Bakkar ieta mhunnon , Xá (tea) pront konn dovor …’( Milagrin tell Okholl Bhai that Respected Canon is coming, tell her to get the tea ready)

In a minute, Maria Luísa  comes running, panting ‘Mãe is Tio Padre Cônego coming?’

’Yes, Maria Luísa he has gone to the Chapel and it looks like he will be staying here at home for a while.’

‘Meu Deus, exclaimed Maria Luísa, ‘Não temos nada para o Xá.’(Dear God, we do not have anything for tea)

 Ana Serolina smiled, there never was a day that Maria Luísa did not have something good for meals, and never a day when she did not say, ‘Não temos nada para comer ou não temos nada para beber’(We do not have anything to eat or we do not have anything to drink)

 She was a very good cook and what pleased Ana Serolina was her frugality. Truly speaking, Ana Serolina was very happy with her choice of a daughter in law.

Poor Ornelas, Maria Luísa ’s husband was a quiet mild person who had never attracted as many proposals as had Avelino his brother and as Ana Serolina had said to her formidable Mother in law, ‘e gostou da pele branca’’e nada mais...? (And he fell for a white skin and nothing else...?) Both giggled maliciously...  

And so it was with great surprise and with utmost pleasure that they had received Maria Luísa’s proposal... Maria Luísa was the daughter of Joaquim Cristóvão Mesquita,  Latifundiário.

Now the question was, why did Joaquim Cristóvão Mesquita, Latifundiário an extremely shrewd man and a very rich man, want his daughter Maria Luísa to marry Ornelas?

What did this shrewd man see in Ornelas? Ornelas, was after all a quiet man, with a clerk’s job in the Obras Públicas?

Ana Serolina and Urminda Margarida were a little apprehensive; could it be that Maria Luísa had a problem? Asthma ? Hot tempered? Lazy not able to run a house? 

These possibilities ran furiously through Ana Serolina’s and Urminda Margarida’s minds, they discussed it energetically.

Then the washerwoman Edociana, who washed their clothes as well as Joaquim Cristóvão Mesquita’s clothes, was summoned.

‘Edocian, tum Cristóvão Bakkraghello rop duina? (Edocian, don’t you wash Cristóvão Bakkar’s clothes?)Urminda Margarida asked.

‘Hoi Ôlli Badkanni’(Yes, respected Madam)

’Tengelli bhai kit korta ghô?’(What does their daughter do?)

Edociana smiled, ‘Tengûe bhai escol khabhar konn, gharakore há’(Their daughter has completed school and is now at home)

’Umm, gharakore kit kort ghô thi?’(Umm, now what is she doing at home?)Urminda Margarida continued relentlessly,

’Ôlli Badkanni, Cristóvão Bakkraghelli Bail, Emilia bhai, bhori passar zaina, Luísabhai soglem gorchem kam korta… Ôlli Badkanni ragar zainaka, Cristóvão Bakkarak anvem amghê Ornel babaghelli khobhor sangloli...’ (Respected Madam, Cristóvão Bakkar’s wife Emilia bhai, is not in good health, so Luísabhai looks after everything in the house. Respected Madam please don’t be annoyed, it is I who told Cristóvão Bakkar about our Ornel Bab)

The information was received with utmost pleasure by both the ladies. Urminda Margarida, beamed at Edocian, ‘Saibini bhoghôs , dev borem khorum,(The Blessed Virgin Mary help us, thank you so much) she reached into her pocket and gave some money to Edociana.

‘Ôlli Badkanni, naka’…( Respected Madam , no…) Urminda Margarida smiled generously…

But it still did not answer their question; in fact it complicated matters…

Why Ornelas? The girl Maria Luísa, seemed perfect so why not some lawyer or a doctor?

 It was her astute Mother in law Urminda Margarida, who had smiled slyly, considered Ana Serolina for a moment and said,

‘É o meu filho o Cônego’’O Padre Cônego, porquê?’ (It is my son the Canon, the Canon why?)‘O Ana Serolina, as vezes... (Oh Ana Serolina, sometimes...)

‘Joaquim Cristóvão Mesquita, é sem dúvida muito rico, mas na sua família encontram-se somente burros, algum Padre? Lembras do Francisco Maria irmão do Joaquim Cristóvão? Foi ser padre e saiu do Seminário um tanto avariado?’ (Joaquim Cristóvão Mesquita  is without doubt very rich, but in his family you find only ignorants, any Priests? Do you remember Francisco Maria, Joaquim Cristóvão’s brother? Went to become a Priest and got out of the Seminary in a mentally fragile condition?) 

Urminda Margarida laughed heartily, ‘E nós não temos tanto como eles, mas temos um Cônego!...’(And we do not have as much as they have, but we have a Canon!)

‘Falaram do dote, Ana Serolina?’’Sim Mãe, são vinte mil...’’Vinte mil com um Cônego na casa? (Have they spoken about the dowry? Yes, Mãe, it is twenty thousand..., twenty thousand with a Canon in the House?)   

And so it was that Luisa Maria brought a dowry of thirty thousand, a great deal of jewelry, clothes as well as the customary, Bedroom set, which consisted of a huge bed, a cupboard as well as a dressing table. 

But Ana Serolina liked Maria Luísa, although she took everything so seriously, lacked any sense of humour and prayed a little too much. She however took extremely good care of everything, got along very well with Ornelas, and most importantly never once bragged about her Father’s wealth.

What truly amused Ana Serolina was Maria Luísa’s adoration of the Cônego, which sometimes bordered on to groveling. The happiest day of her life had been her Wedding to Ornelas of course, but it was because the Cônego had presided over the Nuptial Mass, his attire had amazed her and her family!

As the Cônego climbed up the steps to the balcão, huffing and panting, Ana Serolina moved towards him and kissed his episcopal ring as a sign of respect and loyalty, truth be told Ana Serolina was never awed by anyone.

Out came Maria Luísa bouncing into the balcão, ‘Tio Padre Cônego’ she breathed as she kissed his ring with veneration. 

Hardly had she moved then Milagrin and Cristalina the cook, and Pedro the man around the house, knelt at his feet and kissed the Ring.

‘Conig Badkar, khess há rhê tum? Bhor passar zat murhê ?’, ‘Ieo xá piupak ieo’. (Most reverend Canon, how are you? Are you in good health? Come along have some tea) said Cristalina who had known the Cônego for a very long time.  

Poor Cônego was exhausted by all this genuflection, he wanted a good cup of tea and something substantial to eat, most of all he wanted to get rid of these hot clothes, wear his clean, white cassock, which Maria Luísa  always kept ready for him. Oh, how he wanted to relax in a cadeira Voltaire and not talk to anyone for a long time, so tired was he...

But after some days, after he had recuperated from his exhaustion, with the excellent wholesome food plied by Maria Luísa and long naps, he started taking interest in the properties, their land holdings.

During his ‘career’ the Cônego had managed to acquire a great deal of land, bought very shrewdly as an investment. He was particularly proud of his Bandh, the ‘Padrinchô Bandh’, that was full of mango trees and a great many coconut trees too. The mangoes particularly yielded very good revenue every year. 

When he was fully recuperated, he brought out his pasta (briefcase), just as poor Ornelas had stepped into the house on his return from Panjim for the weekend. ‘Ornelas, quero ver as contas dos meus prédios para o mês do Maio?’(Ornelas I want to see the accounts of my landholdings for the month of May)

Poor Ornelas just wanted to relax with a bowl of hot soup and chat with Maria Luísa , but... ‘Com certeza Tio Padre Cônego...(Of course Tio Padre Cônego’) 

And Ornelas drags himself to the cupboard where files with the Accounts of the Properties are kept. Ornelas gives the Cônego the file, ‘Padrinchô Bandh’and the Cônego peruses it meticulously, 

‘Tchh, Tchh’ he mutters as he looks at Ana Serolina placidly at her crochet.

‘Ana Serolina, neste ano as mangas, não renderam muito bem hmm, mas os cajus deram muito bem.’’Qual foi a razão desta perda?’( Ana Serolina, this year the yield of the mangoes has not been so good, although the cashews have yielded well. What was the reason for this loss?)

‘Perda, Mano Cônego? Não acho... neste ano a produção dos outros também foi pouca.’(Loss Mano Cônego, I don’t think so, this year the production of the other landowners also hasn’t been too good) 

‘Ana Serolina, esta falar do Bhôt? Ele estrumou as suas árvores com cinza, e eu estrumei-as com cinza e sal, a produção devia ser melhor, não acha?’( Ana Serolina, are you talking about Bhôt? He manured his trees with ash and I with salt and ash, the yield should have been better, don’t you think so?)

Ana Serolina was used to the Cônego in his cantankerous moods...

She nodded and said to Milagrin, ‘Conig Bakkarak sóp hâr ghô, thó cansar zala.’(Get some soup for Respected Canon, he is tired)

‘Milagrin tum sop hâr ghô, anv kansar zaum nam’(Get the soup, Milagrin, I am not tired at all) 

’Sabe Ana Serolina, o Ornelas descuida dos meus prédios’ (Do you know Ana Serolina, Ornelas neglects my land holdings)

‘Descuida? Porque é que o Mano Padre Cônego fala dessa maneira?’(Neglects? Why do you speak in this manner?)

‘Porque é que eu falo dessa maneira, veja a produção das mangas, Ana Serolina.’ (Why do I speak in such manner, just look at the yield of the mangoes, Ana Serolina).

‘Nas condições acho que não foi má... a produção Mano Padre Cônego.’(Considering, I don’t think the production was bad at all, Mano Padre Cônego)

‘Ana Serolina, o filho da minha irmã Verediana... o Xavier acha que eu devo...’(Ana Serolina, my sister’s son, Xavier feels that I should...’)

A pause for it to sink in and for effect...

‘E o que é que o Xavier acha Mano Padre Cônego?’(And what does Xavier feel Mano Padre Cônego?) 

Ana Serolina was well aware where this meandering conversation was leading to. She was an old hand at this cat and mouse game played by priests and bachelors.

But this time she was tired, bone tired of humouring this crabby old man, full of vainglory of his ecclesiastical position. Just tired...  

It was always, the same veiled threat, never uttered but subtly and delicately proclaimed ‘I could bequeath my ‘Padrinchô Bandh’ to Xavier... ‘

On many occasions Ana Serolina when she was younger, had jumped in trying to assert her loyalty to this old, manipulative Priest, and her dedication to that accursed ‘Padrinchô Bandh’.

But at her age and after years of being brow beaten by her Mother in law, Urminda Margarida, she had had enough...

After his implied threat, the Cônego was resting happily and comfortably, his glass of Urrack with a slice of lime and a bowl of hot soup by his side on a little square table covered by a white table cloth, a plate with a serviette and a ‘galheteiro’(cruet) on it.

This threat was not new one, he was convinced that Ana Serolina would redouble her efforts at keeping the Bandh in perfect condition as she always did after one of his threats; not that Ana Serolina needed any threats, he knew Ana Serolina worked extremely hard to keep the House as well as the landowning in admirable order. 

Ha, ha, that Xavier, that buffoon, that good for nothing lout with his Mother the ever whining Verediana.

Would he ever entrust his precious ‘Padrinchô Bandh’to that stupid family?

Would he allow land from his House go to some other family?

Hmm, his brother’s family took good care of him, although Ana Serolina was a shade too clever and too astute for him. 

Of course he could do without all that genuflection and gushing from Maria Luísa, but she bent backwards to feed him well, oh the girl and her family were in awe of him. A bit tiring at times but not bad at all, not bad at all...as for Ornelas with his little ‘lugarzinho’at the Obras Públicas...he chuckled inwardly, relishing the soup and waiting for dinner at nine.

Meanwhile, Ana Serolina was peacefully reading one of her Romances that Ornelas brought her from the Biblioteca Central, she loved these Romances, this one particularly intriguing with its title, ‘John Chaffeur Russo’. 

Time for dinner, ‘Milagrin, Cristalinak sang, jevonn sirvir korr mhunon’(Milagrin, tell Cristalina to serve dinner)

As they were proceeding to the dining room, Mano Padre Cônego threw Ana Serolina a smile of delight  tinged with a little malice, Ana Serolina too threw back a smile of pure delight and said,

‘Mano Padre Cônego, concordo deixe o Xavier estrumar as mangueiras do seu,‘Padrinchô Bandh’, o Mano tem razão, é possivel que o Xavier saiba...’(I agre Mano Padre Cônego, let Xavier manure the mango trees in your property Padrinchô Bandh, you are right there is a posibility that Xavier may know...’)

Crash, she heard a glass falling onto the floor and a totally bizarre word on Mano Padre Cônego’s lips, Filho  #$  &^%$. (Son of @#$%)

Ana Serolina gave a slight smile and said, ‘Milagrin, saronn ani sup hâr ghô, Conig Bakkaracho cop zomnir poddlo’. (Milagrin get a broom and a pan, Respected Canon’s glass has fallen on to the floor).

Dr. Leopoldo da Rocha in his well researched article, ‘Uma página inédita do Real Mosteiro de Santa Mónica de Goa (1730-1734) e achegas para a história do padre nativo.’ (An unpublished episode of the Royal Convent of Santa Mónica and contributions to the History of the native priest)

The article touches on three aspects, the conflict between the Local Clergy and the priests from the Orders, a rebellion by the Nuns of the Convent of Santa Monica, oh yes there was a full-fledged rebellion and the role of the local priest at home and in the Society. 

I have built my story on the role of the priest at home and in the Society.