MAPUSA: A familiar face in the Aldona Market, the ever-smiling Perpetual Gomes runs a tiny corner shop, selling nostalgic homemade Goan teatime goodies like bolinhas, biscuits and toast, alongside traditional groceries like dry coconuts, oil, ukde rice, tamarind, kokum and brown eggs from her backyard chickens.
“All the snacks are baked in our home bakery in Duler, Mapusa. What you see on display here are the collective efforts of my entire family,” says Perpetual, who is a devout woman who warmly greets and converses with every customer. While her customers are now mostly older people, she harks back to the days when the shop was milling with kids looking for traditional treats.
For over 45 years, Perpetual’s father-in-law ran this shop. After his passing, Perpetual took over and has been manning the shop nearly everyday for the past 10 years. Her day starts early at 4 am, and she travels to Aldona Market by bus, opening the shop at 7 am, come rain or shine. “This business is our lifeblood, and
my way of continuing Goan traditions like extracting coconut oil and drying kokum and tamarind,” she says.
Despite multiple offers to buy her shop, Perpetual’s family is determined to continue their traditional business. “Even though the market complex is in poor condition and could collapse at any moment, my family is keen on continuing my father-in-law’s legacy, however humble it may be. My greatest weapon is prayer, which I use to start my day, placing my trust in God,” she says.
Perpetual is concerned about the younger generation moving away from traditional foods towards fast food and processed junk food, which provide empty calories, but no nutrition. She feels proud to carry on the family’s traditional business, which has been the foundation of their livelihood. She fears that the traditional Goan food culture may vanish as people opt for ‘fashionable’ food, as she calls take-out that you can get delivered to your doorstep within minutes. “We grew up eating food cooked at home, and mostly even grown or reared in our locality, and this is the reason we don’t fall sick often and are able to do laborious work, unlike youngsters today,” she quips.
Perpetual believes that traditional business is a right and should not be sold to outsiders. She sees herself as a guardian of Goan traditions, ensuring that the heritage continues despite modern pressures.