By Lucio Roddrigues
Class 10 English Glimpses of India chapter contains three stories namely ‘A baker from Goa’, ‘Coorg; ‘Tea from Assam’. Here are given summary and solutions to the textbook exercises of the chapter’ A Baker from Goa.
About the Author: Prof. Lucio Rodrigues (1916-73) was one of the few outstanding Konkani essayists. He wrote several articles in English and Konkani to various periodicals and magazines like The Goan Tribune, The Times of India and Goa Today. he also featured on All India Radio and Radio Goa. He served as the visiting professor Folklore at many universities and also as a professor of English in Mumbai and Goa. Subtle humour and informal narration are the essential features of his writings.
Summary: A baker from Goa Class 10
A baker from Goa is a nostalgic account of breadmaking profession during Portuguese days and there is still carrying on by their family members. The editors nostalgically remember about the good old Portuguese days and their famous love loves loaves of bread. Though the Portuguese have left, the mixtures, moulders, age old furnaces, can still be found in Goa. Their presence, even today, beer is testimony to the popularity of Bread making in Goa. The bakers in Goa are called paders. The author remembers, how in his childhood, the baker used to come twice, once when he set out in the morning, on his selling round, and then again when he returned after emptying his huge basket. The children went to meet him when they heard the ‘jhang, jhang’ sound of his bamboo staff he was their friend, companion, guide. They love the red bangles that he brought for them. Loaves were for elders and red bangles for the children. They could not be stopped from gathering around the baker. In Goan and culture, no marriage ceremony is complete without the gift of sweet bread bol. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas and other festivals. Therefore, the baker is an important part of the Goan people.
The baker, during the Portuguese time, used via a peculiar, special dress known as the Kabai. It was a single piece, long frock, which reached down the knees. During the author’s time, the bakers used to wear shirt and trousers which were shorter than full lengths one and longer than half pants wished the baker collected the bills of the month families used to keep a record of the monthly account of the baker, on some wall, in pencil.
Baking was a profitable business in old days the baker and his family never starved. He and his family and servants always looked happy and prosperous. The plump physique of bakers was evidence of their prosperity. In Goa, even today, a person with a jackfruit -like appearance, is easily compared to a baker.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10th: Glimpses of India A Baker from Goa Solutions
Oral Comprehension Check
Page No: 86
1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
Answer: The elders in Goa are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese days, the Portuguese, and their famous loaves of bread.
2.Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
Answer: Yes, bread making is still popular in Goa. it is evident from the age-old, time tested furnaces that exist even today. The father is not alive but the son still carries on the family profession. The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker’s bamboo, heralding his arrival, in the morning, can still be heard in some places.
3. What is the baker called?
Answer : The bakers are known as pader .
4. When would the baker come every day? Why did the children run to meet him?
Answer: The Baker used to come at least twice a day. Once, when he set out in the morning, on his children went to meet him for the long selling round and once again when he returned after emptying his use basket. The children ran to meet him for they longed to have the bread bangles, which he brought with him including breads of special make that he brought sometimes.
Page No: 87
Oral Comprehension Check
1.Match the following. What is a must
| (i) | as marriage gifts? | – | cakes and bolinhas |
| (ii) | for a party or a feast? | – | sweet bread called bol |
| (iii) | for a daughter’s engagement? | – | bread |
| (iv) | for Christmas? | – | sandwiches |
Answer
| (i) | as marriage gifts? | – | sweet bread called bol |
| (ii) | for a party or a feast? | – | bread |
| (iii) | for a daughter’s engagement? | – | sandwiches |
| (iv) | for Christmas? | – | cakes and bolinhas |
Answer
(i) In the Portuguese days, the bakers wore a peculiar dress known as the kabai. It was a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees.
(ii) When the author was young, he saw the bakers wearing shirt and trousers, which were shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants.
3. Who invites the comment − “he is dressed like a pader”? Why?
Answer : Even today, any person who wears a half-pant which reaches just below the knees invites the comment that “he is dressed like a pader”. This was so because the bakers were known as pader and they wore such half pants.
4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
Answer: The monthly accounts of the baker were recorded on some walls in pencil.
5. What does a ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ mean?
Answer: A ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ means a plump physique. Such a physique was linked to the bakers because they never starved. Baking was a profitable profession. The baker, his family, and his servants always looked happy and prosperous and had a ‘jackfruit-like appearance’.
Thinking About the Text
Page No: 88
1.Which of these statements are correct?
(i) The pader was an important person in the village in old times.
(ii) Paders still exist in Goan villages.
(iii) The paders went away with the Portuguese.
(iv) The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock.
(v) Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the old days.
(vi) Traditional bread-baking is still a very profitable business.
(vii) Paders and their families starve in the present times.
Answer: (i), (iii), and (v) are correct – Incorrect one are explained below with corrections.
(i) Correct
(ii) Correct
(iii) Incorrect. The paders still exist in Goan villages.
(iv) Incorrect. The paders wear shirts, and trousers that are shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants.
(v) Incorrect. Bread and cakes are still an integral part of Goan life.
(vi) Correct
(vii) Incorrect. Baking is still a very profitable business in Goa.
2. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
Answer: Yes, bread is an important part of Goan life. We know this as the author mentions that bread is made on every auspicious day in the family. Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet bread known as the bol. For a party, bread is a must, while for Christmas, cakes and bolinhas are a must. Sandwiches must be prepared by the lady of the house on her daughter’s engagement.
The author says that everybody loves the fragrance of loaves. The elders were given loaves and the children were given bread-bangles, which they longed for.
Also, the fact that bakery is a profitable profession and the family profession is carried on by the new generations, shows that the love for bread is enormous in Goa.
Answer
(i) Nostalgic
(ii) Hopeful
(iii) Nostalgic
(iv) Funny
(v) Matter-of-fact
(vi) Matter-of-fact
Writing
Page: No 88
I. In this extract, the author talks about traditional bread-baking during his childhood days. Complete the following table with the help of the clues on the left. Then write a paragraph about the author’s childhood days.
| Clues | Author’s childhood days |
| the way bread was baked | …………………………………….. |
| the way the pader sold bread | …………………………………….. |
| what the pader wore | …………………………………….. |
| when the pader was paid | …………………………………….. |
| how the pader looked | …………………………………….. |
Answer:
| Clues | Author’s childhood days |
| the way bread was baked | Age-old time-tested furnaces still exist. The fire still bums in them. The baker arrives with the thud and jingle in some places. |
| the way the pader sold bread | He made his musical entry with ‘jhang jhang’ sound with his bamboo staff. He wished ‘Good morning’. Breads were sold in minutes. |
| what the pader wore | It was kabai, a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees. |
| when the pader was paid | He was paid at the end of the month. |
| how the pader looked | He looked fat and plumpy. He wore shirt and trousers. These were shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants. |
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