We turned into an inconspicuous-looking lane next to the Chapel. While we almost missed it on our first try to find our Aldona homestay, an effortless smile started forming on both of our faces. Twin stone walls skirted along the winding lane and huge trees towered on us from beyond them, covering us in their shade, with the sun playing peek-a-boo through them. I turned to my partner and remarked, “I have a feeling this is going to be good.”

An hour-long drive with a few stops in between had brought us to this lane that overlooked this picturesque Goan-Portuguese Home. Fresh out of attending and performing at a Latin Dance Festival, the last few days had been filled with Dance Workshops, Latin Dance Socials, flamboyant and graceful Performances, scorching heat and a rush to not miss anything in this jam-packed long weekend. But seeing Leo and Simba- two of the liveliest dogs – come running to greet us took away the last of our exhaustion from the week that went by.

There was such a stark contrast between the Goa we were about to experience and the Goa that many are familiar with- a Goa of crowds, chaos, blaring music, beach shacks and partying. My mindful and artistic nature has always kept me in touch with what truly matters to my being, but it can be a struggle to escape the clutches of the fast life that the city prides itself upon and lose yourself and forget the things that matter most.

My stay with the Amarals at Cancio’s House was a stepping stone in realigning myself with the concept of balance that they had seemingly achieved by the way they lived, unbeknownst to themselves.

Welcome to Cancio’s House

 

Beyond the pebbled path stood the 500+ years old Goan-Portuguese Home of the Amarals, in harmony with the lively garden around it. With its walls standing witness to countless who came and went, how the land around it changed and how the house itself changed over the many generations that called it home. Currently home to co-existing three generations of the Amaral family – Roberto and Raquel, Roberto’s 91-year-old mother, Maria a.k.a “Mamai” as she is lovingly called by everyone and their handsome and cultured boys.

Right next to the main family home, accessible by a stone path through the garden was an adorable outhouse cottage covered in creepers and surrounded by jackfruit trees. Once a mill house, it was remodelled into this cottage that came straight out of cottage-core dreams. Our home for the next three days was one of the two rooms in this cottage. Our room was tastefully decorated with antique-restored Portuguese-style furniture, with a chandelier hanging from the Mangalore-tiled roof, brightening up the whole room. Two identical vintage lamps with incandescent bulbs were placed on each of the side tables. Enveloped in an aura of belonging and old-world charm emanating from our room, I couldn’t help but feel its effects deep within.

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Effortless Sustainability in Everyday Life

 

My eyes focused on the earthen pot in the corner of our room. “Go on have some water”, Roberto nudged. Designed with a cute rooster neck, I tilted the pot into the glass and water poured in from the rooster’s neck. Taking a sip, my taste buds felt the difference instantly. “All our water comes directly from our ancient well and this earthen pot helps purify and keep the water cool naturally”, he explained. This whole process of drinking water from the earthen pot became a little ritual in itself for me.

In all these years of living in this beautiful home, they’ve never needed an external water supply. The wastewater is collected and used to water their thriving plants. They did not provide any single-use products in their rooms and the hot water came from a solar heater.

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Our day started early with a man sounding a cycle horn every morning. His horn announced the arrival of hot bread from the local bakery. Whoever was closest would head to the gate to collect a mix of freshly baked Poi (Goan Bread) and Pav and add it to the breakfast spread. Their inherent nature is to adore their local cuisine and in turn many local businesses.

Acquainting myself with the Susegad Way of Life

 

As an undiscussed rule in Goa, the hours after having lunch leading up to the evening exist for people to rest, relax and maybe slip into slumber. The afternoon sun with its soothing heat in these parts doesn’t leave much room for any other activity you’d have in mind.

Here enters the Goan concept of “Susegad” i.e. the Art of Contentment and Joy of Living.

Upon entering the home of the Amarals for the very first time, we found Raquel in the enormous kitchen storing her freshly made grape jam in one of the several jars on the table. I brought just a tiny bit to my tongue to taste some out of curiosity. My eyes lit up at the very first lick of it. “Tangy not sweet!”, I thought to myself. “Raquel, I normally don’t like Jams but I’d like some more of yours”, I blurted. I noticed a sweet smile form on Raquel’s face as she heard my compliment. Just then our attention gravitated towards a pot to our right that was letting out steady steam that delivered a pleasant aroma to our nostrils. “I’ve been slow cooking Hump since morning on woodfire. It’s going to be ready by dinnertime tonight”, Raquel explains noticing our curiosity shift to the pot.

 

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Under the dusky sky, you’ll often spot Roberto in the garden making his way from one area to the next and patiently watering each of his plants and the grass every single night. “I like to water my plants after dark as the soil tends to retain the water for the plants instead of it evaporating under the merciless sun during the day. This made a lot of sense! As a result, the whole garden would be covered with the refreshing scent of wet earth and the sound of chirping birds would be replaced by loud crickets.

During one of the many times I was running around their home, I noticed Mamai with a needle in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other, intently embroidering a cloth with great precision. They occupied themselves in these pursuits for the pure joy the process brought them, despite the many hours they required. Rather than worrying about the end product, I could see how content they were with the process and the trust they had in their ability.

Afternoons led to what felt like the most natural thing to do at that time. I couldn’t help but hold my sketchbook and a pencil, leisurely relax at the front porch of our cute outhouse cottage and take it all in through my senses and being present. What Susegad is to each person Ebbs and Flows according to what they feel brings them Content and I had my unique way of owning that word.

Strolling around the Lush Gardens and Visiting the St. Sebastian Chapel

 

While their Family is the Soul of Cancio’s House, their Garden is the Heart of it. At around Ten in the morning – every single day – the garden fills up with various melodious chirps of hundreds of birds that flock to it. Some in search of food, while others to find respite from the harsh sun. Several of these birds take turns visiting the Earthy birdbaths made by the family. Terracotta basins with intricate indigenous patterns held fresh water for them to drink, bathe and cool themselves down throughout the day. These basins covered in Pothas and other plants all around were two quaint Aesthetic corners for these little birds.

I went around birding, seeing if I could spot these birds that played hide and seek with me in the thick leaf cover. Leo, their super-friendly dog kept me company on this pursuit. Occasionally, I’d spot Leo splashing and drinking water from the birdbaths as well. However, he ended up driving most of the birds away with his presence. I giggled and continued with my stroll around. And as if the time had just slipped away I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost lunchtime. I spent hours in the peace of the gardens that day.

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In the evening, Roberto was going to open up the St. Sebastian Chapel down the road and asked if I wanted to come see it. Ever since we first spotted this cute Chapel on my way to Cancio’s House, I couldn’t help but wonder what it was like from the inside. How wonderful would it be if it was open and I could visit it sometime? His question was like my wish came true. Arriving at the entrance, I caught them removing the last of the Christmas decorations. “Do you see that bell on the top? It was completely rusted but Raquel scrubbed it clean, the grime and weathering it had endured over the years was disheartening”, he shared.

Built in the 1860s for the community made up of the few houses around the area, this St. Sebastian Chapel has been maintained by everyone in the vicinity over the years. Though nothing extravagant from the inside, its simplicity was warming and I could feel a sense of calm in my heart by being there. “We have two feasts at this Chapel every year. Main feast for the patron saint happens after our main Church after Easter”, he expressed in an excited voice. Apart from these two feasts, it’s open only on special occasions. I felt truly lucky to be there that day.

Laughter, Conversations and Being Truly Present during a Meal

 

Raquel expressed, “We say grace before every meal” and then proceeded with being thankful for the food on our table. That night was special. A plethora of Goan dishes were placed on their huge dining table which was used only for special occasions. When Raquel said dinner, I did not expect something this elaborate. Raquel had prepared a feast for us and we truly felt spoilt for choice.

That night, we were served Hakka Noodles with Goan Choriço, Prawn Curry, Ambado (Hog Plum) Curry, Goan Beef Curry with Roti and Rice. With Roberto and Harrison also joining us the dinner table conversations started flowing. “Don’t forget to leave some space for dessert,” Raquel cautioned and brought out a tray of her homemade Brownies and poured us a glass each of delicious homemade Red Wine made by Roberto from an old family recipe. Having never had proper Goan food before, this was the most delectable Introduction to Goan Cuisine for me.

Apart from the truly special dinner that night, mealtime at Cancio’s House was unique in itself. Every morning and evening, we’d meet at the huge marble table with legs made of Jackfruit wood and enjoy some hot tea, coffee or milk with Poi and Raquel’s exceptional homemade Jams accompanied by Roberto’s stories (with occasional insights and cute nags from Raquel on letting her narrate for once) from the plethora they had collected that turned into memorable conversations. This made me understand how powerful meals together can be and how to savour everything we eat in that very moment without worrying about all the things we have to do later.

Reliving an Era Gone By through Mamai’s Stories

 

“Why are you sitting there all alone? Come here, spend some time with me instead”, Mamai’s voice reached me from the front porch of her home. Sitting outside my room in the afternoon head, I had decided to get a little bit of my work done with birds still chirping all around me. At her irresistible invitation, I got up to make my way to her through the lovely garden. Sitting next to her, each of us slowly gave a tiny peek into our stories sharing a little bit of our stories in natural flowing conversation.

“You have to see what my mother looked like, wait let me get a picture of her”. A call to her eldest grandson, moments later I saw Harrison step out with an old notebook in his hand. Placing this old weathered notebook in her hand, he whispered,” Oh! You’re going to show her the album”, and walked away. She carefully opened this notebook and her fingers head to a portrait of a woman. “She was such a Beautiful Woman, wasn’t she?”, she smiled. Returning her smile I spoke, “She was a Gorgeous Woman”.

Turning the pages, she went over the story of every photograph. And continued telling the tale of her mother in vivid detail that I could almost imagine her mother going through these events in life. A brave lady, who married the same man thrice and how he was 20 years older than her. Twenty years, I smirked thinking. My partner and I also have a similar age gap and somehow this wonderful tale of her mother fortified my strength in choosing someone out of the norms of society, and how there is no one way to form a deep bond with someone.

As I held those photographs in my hand, I couldn’t help but wonder, how carefully she had preserved these mementoes from the past – of places, people and moments – frozen in time. And how precious and powerful anything we document our fleeting lives by is. In the end, all that would remain of me would be these small trinkets would end up perishing as well. And of course the stories. I hope I can be a good tale to tell in the end just like her mother was to her.

Reading on the Balcony

 

Evening sun peeped through the distant Mango and Teak trees turning everything it touched to golden. The atmosphere was slowly getting pleasant as I got cosy on an easy chair with my book. Turning the pages one after the other, the evening slyly gave way to the night. But I was lost in another world, a “world of words” and this lovely setting eased me into it. Not noticing the passage of time, I glanced at my watch and thought to myself, “Is it already time for dinner?”

“A lot of our guests like to go to the balcony to read books, you should give that a try, urged Roberto earlier that evening. So despite that nagging voice about all the tasks that needed to be done. I picked up that very book that I hadn’t touched in months and headed upstairs. Unwillingly, I had to cut my reading session short and that got me pondering. About a younger version of me, who gobbled up books on the daily. And how the time always felt abundant, like we had too much even after finishing everything we needed to do that day.

Dwelling on how I could bring back that abundance in my life and a resolve to make these little joys of mine a part of my everyday life, I bit adieu to the balcony. My life was starting to flow back into its playful banks after taking an unintended diversion.

 

Practical Information: This collaboration was part of an Exclusive Travel Opportunity for students by The Shooting Star Academy. Cancio’s House has 3 rooms available, 2 with en suite bathrooms in an Outhouse Cottage a few meters from the main house and the third one with a shared bathroom located in the main house. You can book your stay at Cancio’s House by visiting their website. Aldona is 12 km from the nearest railway station, Thivim and 26kms and 45 km from Mopa and Dabolim Airport respectively. You can pre-book a taxi by contacting Roberto while booking your stay.