joao menino godinho He had a choice. After retiring from the state health department after decades of service, he could have easily lived a comfortable life, making good use of his monthly pension.
After retirement, he tried doing that for a few years. But life wasn’t the same. So, he decided to go back to what he learned from his father when he was 14: baking bread the traditional way.
At a time when family-run bakeries in Goa have closed down or changed ownership due to rising costs and lack of interest from the younger generation, Godinho’s move surprised many. For a septuagenarian, this was the most logical profession after retirement.
“Now I am doing what my father used to do,” the 75-year-old said. Godinho Speaking to the Times of India while making rotis for the evening, he said, “This bakery is more than a century old. This is where my father and other family members have been making rotis for decades. Even though the quantity of rotis now is not as much as it used to be in the old days, I have to continue the tradition.”
flour of history
Godinho Bakery is one of the oldest Sashti And it is located at Majorda junction. The place is steeped in history. It was in Salcete village where the Portuguese first taught the locals how to make roti in the 1550s. From here, Goa’s special roti reached the rest of the state, later through migration to Bombay (now Mumbai) and eventually to other parts of the country. “The first bakery (in Goa) was set up in the house of Paixao Gomes in Gomes Vaddo,” says Radharao Gracias, former MLA from Majorda and author. “It came to be known as the house of Paixao Poder (from padreiro, the Portuguese word for baker),” says Gracias.
“The old house has been demolished and the family is no longer in the (bakery) business. In fact, most of the bakers in Majorda and neighbouring villages where roti-making first started have shut shop. Only a handful of bakeries run by locals remain.” Most of the bakers are from Salcete, where villages like Majorda, Utorda, Cansaulim, Chinchinim and Nuvem have mainly family-owned bakeries. They were the first to learn the art and set up bakeries across Goa. According to Gracias, when the Portuguese arrived in Goa, they did not like the locally available rice and chickpea chapatis. “They were all used to roti and when it was not available here, they decided to teach Goans how to bake roti,” he says.
Majorda’s Secret Sauce: Toddy
For the Jesuit priests, the sacramental bread or consecrated host used in the Eucharist, a Christian ritual, was essential in the conversion of Goans. Majorda’s choice to use the bread was not accidental.
“The quality of toddy was the best in Majorda, which is a key ingredient in making roti,” explains Zena Coutinho, ambassador for Soul Traveling, a daily ‘Life of Pao‘ experience. “The Portuguese had a plan and decided to teach this art especially to the families of the Chardos (formerly Kshatriyas and Vanis who had converted to Christianity) as they considered them the most fit for this purpose.”
The ‘Life of Pao’ tour in Majorda shows the intricacies of wood-fired bread-making at the Godinhos bakery. Guests can also try bread-making at the rustic mud bakery, which makes bread in the traditional way using toddy (coconut blossom sap) rather than yeast, which today’s bakers consider economical.
Although roti is an integral part of Goa, Traditional Bakers People like Godinho are rare. In recent years, many family-run bakeries have been shutting down or renting out their businesses to non-Goans.
Profit trumps tradition
“75% of the bakeries in Salcete have either closed or contracted out to outsiders,” says Agapito Menezes, president of the bakery. All-Goa Bakers Association (AGAB) which has more than 500 registered bakers. “Goans have migrated and there is no one to run the business. There is no profit in just making bread,” says Menezes. “Everyone is giving up. If you can make biscuits, cakes, toast, patties and other things along with making bread, you can make something.”
Menezes says it is also true that Goans no longer want to be involved in the bread-making business, opening the door for workers from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala to enter the business.
“Goans don’t want to do such backbreaking labour anymore. Everyone wants white-collar jobs (here), but abroad you can do anything for money,” says Menezes. “Pao (the Portuguese word for bread) is Goa’s identity. We must ensure that the way of making bread in Goa does not change.”
‘Teh poder ghele, teh pao ghele’ (the baker is gone, the bread is gone) was a popular phrase used when an unpopular governor general was recalled by the Portuguese regime. Today, in the case of roti, these words ring truer than ever.
