A baker used to be highly significant in Goa during the time when it was ruled by the Portuguese. Portuguese bakeries were inextricably linked to loaves of bread. The traditional bakers of Goa still remain today, together with their mixers, moulders, and furnaces, even after the Portuguese left. In some parts of Goa, you may still hear baker’s bamboo. Even today, the sons of the traditional bakers still operate their business and are referred to as “paders.”
The baker used to come by the author’s street twice a day when he was a child, something he recalls with affection. Two timesmonce when he was about to begin selling the bread and once when he was coming home in the evening after finishing his business. The sound of his bamboo stick clanging used to send the kids running. They desired to acquire the sweet bread bracelets for personal use.
The baker used to arrive in the morning carrying a sizable basket of bread. The kids were awakened by the bamboo stick’s jingling sound. He would yell out to the housewife and say, “Good morning.” Children would crowd around him to get the sweet bread bangle, but they would be gently reprimanded away when it was time to deliver the bread to the housemaid. In the morning, the kids would drink tea and eat bread bangles without even brushing their teeth.
Without the delicious bread known as bol, marriages and other key rites have no meaning. The lady of the home was expected to prepare sandwiches for a daughter’s wedding, while cakes and Bolinhas were required for Christmas and other holidays.
In the past, the bakers’ knees were covered by a long, one-piece dress called a “Kabai” worn by the bread sellers. After that, they began pairing their shirts with bottoms that were both shorter and longer than complete pants. Even today, if someone is spotted wearing only half of his pants, it is assumed that he is dressed like a pader.
The bills were formerly collected at the end of each month. They used to write their monthly bills in pencil on the walls. Back then, baking was a very lucrative career. Back then, bakers enjoyed success. They were chubby, round males. Any man who resembled that was assumed to be a successful baker.