Class 10 ENGLISH GLIMPSES OF INDIA -A BAKER FROM GOA

 GLIMPSES OF INDIA

I. A BAKER FROM GOA-by Lucio Rodrigues 

Q1: What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about? 

 Answer: The elders in Goa are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese days and their love for the famous bread loaves. The writer also mentions that although the eaters of loaves have vanished, the bread makers still do exist. They ponder over the past and tell them that though the Portuguese have left Goa but the bakers still exist, if not the original ones, their legacy is being continued by their sons. 

Q2: 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 fact that the bread makers still exist, though the eaters have gone away. The presence of the mixers, moulders, the ones who bake the loaves and the time-tested furnaces are a proof of their existence. The legacy of bakers is being continued by their sons. You will find a bakery in every Goan village as bread is an important part of the Goan culture.  

Q3: What is the baker called? 

 Answer: A baker is popularly known as a pader in Goa.

 Q4: When would the baker come every day? Why did the children run to meet him? 

 Answer: The baker would come twice every day during the narrator’s childhood days. Once in the morning to deliver the loaves of bread and secondly, in the evening on his return after emptying his huge basket by selling all his bread. The children would run to meet him as they loved to eat loaves and longed to have bread bangles which they chose carefully. Sometimes it was sweet bread of special make.

Q5: What did the bakers wear: (i) in the Portuguese days? (ii) when the author was young?

 Answer: (i) In the Portuguese days, the bakers were usually dressed up in a peculiar dress known as the kabai. It was a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees. (ii) During the author’s childhood days, he saw the bakers wearing a shirt and trousers that were shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants. 

 Q6: Who invites the comment - “he is dressed like a pader”? Why?

 Answer: During the narrator’s childhood days, the bakers had a peculiar dress. Any person who wears a half-pant that reaches just below the knees invites this comment- “he is dressed like a pader”. This is because the bakers, who are popularly known as paders in Goa, used to dress in a similar fashion.

 Q7: Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded? 

 Answer: The bakers usually collected their bills at the end of the month and their monthly accounts were recorded on some wall in the house with a pencil. 

Q8: What does a ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ mean?

Answer: A ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ means a plump physique. A baker used to have such a physique since it was believed that he and his family never starved. Baking was a lucrative profession and the baker, his family and his servants always looked happy and prosperous with their physical appearance. 

Q9: Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this? 

 Answer: Yes, bread is an important part of Goan life. It is often used for marriage gifts and feasts. Bread is also used by mothers for preparing sandwiches during their daughters’ engagement. The author mentions that the fragrance of fresh loaves is loved by everyone in Goa. The elders are served loaves and the youngsters long for bread bangles. Therefore, it is necessary to have bread for all occasions in every household. Baking is therefore considered a profitable business in Goa as people have loved tasty bread since the Portuguese days.

   Extra 

I. Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow: 

 1. We kids would be pushed aside with a mild rebuke and the loaves would be delivered to the servant. But we would not give up. We would climb a bench or the parapet and peep into the basket, somehow. I can still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves. Loaves of the elders and the bangles for the children.

 (a) Who are ‘we’ in the extract?

(b) Why were the children pushed aside? 

(c) Which word/phrase in the extract means the same as “an expression disapproval/a scolding”?

(d) What was there in the basket? 

Answer: (a) ‘We’ in the extract refers to the narrator and his friends. 

 (b) The children were pushed aside, so that the bread can be delivered to the servants. 

 (c) The word is ‘rebuke’ 

 (d) There were loaves for the elders and some bread bangles for the children.  

II. SHORT QUESTION AND ANSWERS- 

 Q1. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?

 Answer: Bread is an important part of the Goan culture and it is evident from its presence at every important occasion. From sweet breads at marriages to sandwiches at engagement parties and cakes and Bolinhas at Christmas as well as other occasions, makes the presence of a baker in every village, very essential.

 Q2. How would the baker let everybody know about his presence in the village? 

 Answer: The baker had been the guide, friend, and companion of the narrator. He would come to the village daily two times; at first in the morning and then again after selling all his stuffs. In the morning, the children of the village used to wake up by the jingling sound of the baker’s bamboo.

 Q3. How is making bread a family tradition? 

 Answer: The marriage gifts, the parties, or the feasts are meaningless without the sweet bread which is known as the ‘bol’. The mothers prepare sandwiches a necessary item for her daughter’s engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are also quite essential items for Christmas.In this way, bread is a family tradition and thus the presence of a baker’s house in the village is quite essential.

Q4. Who were Paskine or Bastine? What was their role in a family and with bread? 

 Answer: Paskine or Bastine were the maid-servants of the house. When the baker would arrive, one of them would buy those loaves of bread.

 Q5. What was a baker’s musical entry? How would it attract the younger ones and all? 

 Answer:: The baker used to arrive on the spot with the ‘jhang-jhang’ sound that was being made his bamboo. The sound would wake the children up and they would run to him in excitement. The children were highly interested in those bread -bangles. 

 Q6. Tell us about the bamboo and the basket of the bakers. 

 Answer: The baker arrived on the scene by making the jingling thud which would make the children wake up from sleep. He held the basket on his head and supported it by one of his hands and would use the other hand for banging the bamboo on the ground. 

 Q7. How would the author and other children be very interested in the baker’s basket? How would they try to look at that? 

 Answer:. The author and the other children were highly interested in the baker’s basket. When the loaves of bread were delivered to the servant, the children were made aside with light rebukes. But they didn’t stop. Then they used to stand up on a bench and would look on to the basket. This shows their interest in the baker’s basket. They used to climb a bench or parapet in order to look at that.

 Q8. What would the author share about brushing teeth? 

 Answer:The author didn’t care to brush his teeth or wash his mouth properly. According to him, it was a troublesome matter to pluck the mango -leaf for the toothbrush. And it was not at all necessary as the tigers never brush their teeth. Moreover, he thought that hot tea was enough clean after eating the bread.

 Q9. How marriages and engagements are incomplete without different types of breads? 

 Answer: The narrator said that marriage gifts have no value without the sweet bread which is known as the ‘bol’. Party or a feast too is meaningless without bread. The mothers prepare sandwiches, as it is a necessary item for her daughter’s engagement. By this way, these are so important.  

Q10. What is Kabai? What kind of dresses are being discussed here of the bakers?   

Answer: The bakers used to wear a peculiar dress named Kabai which was a single -piece long frock reaching down to the knees. It was actually a type of long frock of a singlepiece that reaches down to the knees.

 Q11. How could a baker keep his record of the bills? 

 Answer: The bakers kept the records of the bills of every months and collect ted them at the end. The records were made on wall with the help of pencil.

 Q12. How would a baker be rich, prosperous and healthy in a village?

Answer: A baker’s profession was indeed a profitable one in the old days. The baker and his family lead happy and prosperous life. They had a plump physique as an open testimony of it. 

 Q13. How would a baker play an indispensable role in a village? 

Answer: In the story “Glimpses of India” written by Lucio Rodrigues, the baker plays an indispensable role in the village. Breads are quite important for the villagers. Breads are important for any occasions. Marriage gifts have no value without the ‘bol’, that is actually a type of sweet bread. Party or a feast is meaningless too without bread. The mothers prepare sandwiches for their daughter’s engagement as it is an important item for the occasion. Cakes and bolhinas are quite essential items for Christmas. 

III. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

 Q1. “Life without bread in a village of Goa is almost impossible.” -Discuss. 

 Answer: In the story “Glimpses of Past” by Lucio Rodrigues shows that life without bread in a village of Goa is almost impossible. People cannot imagine their lives without it. The children waited eagerly for bakers every day. At times, they get so much excited that they do not even care to brush their teeth. Any occasion or festival cannot be imagined without breads. Marriage gifts are meaningless without sweetbreads. The lady of the family prepared sandwiches for her daughter’s engagement as it is very important. Cakes and bolhinas are quite essential items for Christmas. A baker’s profession was indeed a profitable one. The baker and his family lead a prosperous life. Their physique was plump that shows that they lead a prosperous life. Party or a feast too is meaningless without bread.  

Q2.Give a pen-portrait of the baker or the pader highlighting the changes that came in his fortune and dress with the passage of the time.

 Answer: The baker or the pader used to be an essential part of the Goan life. The baker or bread seller had a peculiar dress during the Portuguese days. It was known as the kabai. It was a single piece long frock reaching down the knees. With the passage of time, he started wearing a shirt and trousers which were just longer than the short pants. The baker and his family always looked happy and prosperous in the good old days. Their plump physique was an open testimony of their happiness and prosperity. However, as the time changed, the bakers continued their profession but with their reduced fortune and importance. The thud and jingle of the traditional bamboo of the baker are still heard in the streets of Goa even now. Sweet bread or the boys are still the part of feasts, marriages and Christmas in Goa. However, the old charm and craze have become rather dim in recent days. 

 Q3. How would a baker be a common friend, guide and a man to be expected twice every day with his usual business?

 Answer: The bakers used to visit the village two times a day. Early in the morning, the baker would arrive for selling his stuffs. The children would wake up by the jingling thud. The children would wait eagerly for him and when the baker would arrive they used to run up to him. Again after everything was sold, he would return to the village. The baker was a very respected person in the Goan society because he would guide the children about good behaviour (when he mildly rebuked them for peeping into his basket and giving respect to the elders). He was very informal with the children. The children of Goa considered the baker as a friend and companion. In the author's childhood days in Goa, the baker held a significant place in the community. He was not only known for his delicious bread but also for his friendly nature. The baker was a companion who listened to people's problems and provided guidance. The author remembers him fondly as a friend and guide.