Pandurang Atamaram Gawas is an unassuming man
but he has seen the transformation of commercial city of Goa – Margao like no
other just by standing with his bhelpuri handcart in front of the State Bank of
India for 45 long years.
“State Bank of India was originally a
residence given out on rent for the bank to start its services, but now what
you see is different” he says.
Pandurang a native of Dodamarg – a bordering
district of Maharastra crossed over to Goa when he was just 12 years old in the
year 1967. Today he is 68 and for the last 45 years he has had Goans eating
bhelpuri, shevpuri, pani-puri, ragdda pattis and pav bhaji out of his hands. Pandurang goes on to narrate his long journey
from then to now. When he strayed into Goa he got employment at Mahadev Ashram
eatery ‘khanavoll’ near Mandovi hotel.
After working there for four months he along
with couple of other workers were lured by a businessman with higher salary and
brought to Margao to work at Penguin hotel and ice cream parlour. Pandurang
recollects at that time somewhere in 1967, nowhere in Goa could you find ice
cream that could be cut and served like slices. His employer had already
brought in people from Bombay to teach his workers how to prepare such ice
cream. To his bad luck the employees formed an Union within two months of
joining work in Margao. Immediately the owner sacked them from service. “It did
not end there, the owner made sure we did get employment anywhere in the city,
the moment we were engaged as waiters, the previous owner would send a word to
the new employer that they would ruin his business by forming an union and we
were sacked outright and since there were only a few hotels it was easy to keep
tabs on us”.
He went to reminisce that for two years I
worked on daily wages whenever work was available for mere Rs. 2 or sometimes
Rs. 3. Other days when there was no work I use to eat at the house of my
friends. Those days he recollects that nobody would refuse food.
Pandurang says that he used to sleep in a
carpentry shop at Pedda, Margao. In 1971 the owner of the carpentry shop seeing
him struggling to get work on daily basis built a hand-cart for him and told
him to start bhel-puri.
Since then there was no looking back for
Pandurang, “which ever theatre in Margao running a good movie, I used to be
outside with my handcart selling bhel, shev, pani puri and after that come and
park at the Municipal garden”. On Sunday, it was time to go to Colva at 3.00pm
and come back to Margao at 7.00pm”.
“During those days I used to charge 10 paise
for a plate of bhel, shev or pani puri and make Rs. 30 a month equivalent to
the salary I used to get at the hotel”.
After some years, I asked to move from the
side of Municipal garden to the present place as the authorities started doing
the pavement on the periphery of it. And since then he is stationed at the same
spot, “I bring my cart at 4.00pm and wind up by 9.00”. He goes on to add that
from 10 paise today the price has gone up to Rs. 25 per plate of his savouries.
“Some of my customers from 1971 not only patronize even their grand children
do”.
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| Nisser Dias |
Datta Gaundalkar on who grew up eating this
evening delicacies, says, “my father used to bring us here 35 years ago and I
continued to patronize it and I have introduced my children to it, I have stuck
to Gawas because of good taste, I do not think the flavour or taste has changed
since I started eating it”.
Retired teacher of the Fatima High School
Nina Coutinho recollects that she was introduced to this stuff by her friend,
“It is now 32 years that I have been eating Atamaram’s delicacies sometime even
twice a week, he is like a family member to me”.
50 years old Sayyed Khalik says, “I first ate
bhel from Gawas in 1980 as a 13 years old and till date of and on I relish his
preparation. What is important is that he has managed to maintain the
consistency of his taste for so many years”. “Besides Gawas too has remained
the same man he is – a man of few words
but fast to laughter”.
Pandurang lost his wife Rukmini two years
back and has two daughters and two sons who are employed at two establishments
in Margao.
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