‘A Baker from Goa’ Summary – Bakery was flourishing business in old days of Portuguese rule in India in Goa. Bread was a part of diet in every home. no ceremony was complete without including breads in the menu. Here is given a summary of this lesson ‘ A Baker from Goa’.

A Baker from Goa – Summary in English

The Old Portuguese Days in Goa

In the old Portuguese days in Goa, a baker used to play a very important role. Loaves of bread were the part and parcel of Portuguese bakeries. Even after the Portuguese left Goa, the traditional bakers still exist in Goa and so do their mixers, moulders and furnaces. The sound of baker’s bamboo can still be heard in some places of Goa. The sons of the traditional bakers still carry on their business and are known as ‘Paders’ even today.

The Author’s Childhood Days with Bakers

The author fondly remembers that when he was young, the baker used to visit his street twice a day. Once in the morning, when he was to start selling the bread and then in the evening while returning after selling all his bread. The children used to run listening to the jingling thud of his bamboo stick. They wanted to buy the sweet bread bangles for themselves.

Baker’s Arrival in the Street

In the morning, the baker used to come with a huge basket of bread on his head. The jingling sound of his bamboo stick aroused the children. He would call out the lady of the house and wish her ‘Good Morning’. The children would flock around him to get the sweet bread bangle but were pushed aside with a mild rebuke to deliver the bread to the maid of the house. The children would not even brush their teeth and eat the bread bangles with tea in the morning.

The Importance of Bread in Ceremonies

Marriages and other important ceremonies had no meaning without having sweet bread known as bol, in it. For a daughter’s engagement, the lady of the house was supposed to make sandwiches and for Christmas and other festivals, cakes and bolinhas were mandatory.

The Dress of Bakers and Their Prosperity

In olden days, the bread-sellers wore a one-piece long frock named ‘Kabai’ that reached the knees of the bakers. Afterwards, they started wearing shirts with pants that were longer than half pants and shorter than full pants. In today’s time also if anyone is seen wearing half pants, then he is thought to be dressed like a pader. They used to collect the bills at the end of the month. They used to record their monthly bills on the walls with a pencil. Baking was then a quite profitable profession. The bakers in those days were prosperous. They were round and plump men. Any man, who looked like that, was considered to be a prosperous baker.