The Pão and the Poder: An Untold Nostalgia

THE PÃO AND THE PODER: AN UNTOLD NOSTALGIA 

The poder in Goa has his own identity. Towards many Goans he may be a person who roams in villages riding a motorbike with a basket tied behind it. But have you ever thought how great of an impact the pão in the poder’s basket and the poder himself has in the lives of Goans? The bread that comes in various varieties like pão, poi, kankonn, unddo in goa, has way more to its historical past than just having it freshly baked in the mud forno (oven). Goa is one of the few states that includes bread as one of its main dishes in its meals, every Goan festival, feast or celebration is incomplete without the pão. 

"Pão '' which is Portuguese for bread was brought into Goa by the Portuguese missionaries who were actively set out on the mission to spread christianity but besides spreading christianity they taught the Goans the process of baking bread. The Portuguese bread was officially baked with yeast but the first bread baked in Goa was baked in a very unique way. The yeast was replaced by the toddy locally known as the sur, which was a source of natural yeast. The use of toddy in pão gave it a very distinctive feature that was way difficult to replicate with any other kind of yeast.  The pão is feasted mostly with the Goan xacuti curry, sorak, ambot tik, ross omlete and so much more.

But do you know how this bread was given out in the houses of Goans? Well there were no food delivery services in the olden times. The bread was distributed in houses by the poder which is taken from the Portuguese word “padeiro” meaning “baker”. The poder is an iconic figure himself. At present times we find the poder on motorbikes but taking it back to the days of the childhood of our grandparents, the poder initially passed by the houses with a basket at the top of his head which was filled with the different kinds of bread, and travelled on foot. In his hand he had a bamboo stick with which he would hit it on the ground, that produced a loud thud. The crow of the cock was followed by the thud of the bamboo stick in the morning and in the evening which simply means that just like the present times the poder visited the villages in the morning as well as in the evening.

  

The poder didn't always move about in villages on foot to sell pão. He also moved around on a cycle, a woven basket was attached to the back of the poder’s cycle with the help of twine which is made from the husk of coconuts which was covered with a tarp to protect the breads from rain or any other seasonal damages and to keep the breads fresh. The poder on the cycle again had his own way of alerting the villagers about his arrival and this was by the penkoo, penkoo or the ponk, ponk which was produced by the pump horn that was attached to the gearshift of the poders cycle.  

Unlike present times the fees or the monthly accounts were collected either at the beginning or the end of the month. The fees were usually written in pencil on a wall of the house. The way the poder dressed also has its own nostalgia. The poder wore what was called a “khabai”, it can simply be described as a single long piece- frock that started from their neck and reached down to their knees. The dress-up of the poder was then switched to trousers that reached just before the knees and for the torso a short sleeves shirt.

The state of Goa may be the smallest state in India but the reminiscing past of Goa has way more than just the bridges and the cathedrals that were built by the Portuguese. From food habits to the conversion of different religions into christianity, Goa has surely been a splendid and astounding state. This small state of ours needs to be carefully preserved and nurtured. Who knew that the pão in goa that the goans can hardly live without had much more than just mixing, kneading, rising and baking.