It takes a village to heal a city

It must be the best night to explore Matharpacady Or so I thought On Christmas evening East Indian villages sparkle with stars and fairy lights Not this one Residents of the historic enclave decided to donate for COVID19 relief the money saved from not blazing through festive weeksApt on World Heritage Day to map a village brimming with heart and hope Matharpacady nestles snug in midtown Mazagaon a maze of tight paths I tumble into from the Dr Mascarenhas Road turnoff at St Isabel School Estimated 300 years old left with a mere fraction of lovely splitlevel cottages inhabited by a once sizeable Catholic population its name derives from ldquomatharrdquo meaning elderly and ldquopakhadirdquo villageThe iron grills of Sohel Deganirsquos House No 20A show Queen Victoria at the centreThere is 17thcentury documentation of Kolis Bhandaris and Kunbis here But this ldquovillage of eldersrdquo more precisely shaped after the 1700s Mazagaon dock attracted north Bombay Catholics Chinese traders and Pathan moneylenders Their influx swelled with the cotton boom the American Civil War triggered In the absence of daily train travel dock hands and mill mazdoors from distant Vasai and Uttan preferred settling in Mazagaon Despite dramatic changes some things remain quintessentially Matharpacady The Feast of the Holy Cross on May 1 dedicated to St Roque patron protector from infectious disease and epidemic will mark this 146th year since the inception of the cross in 1875 The Holy Cross Oratory was appended when the 1896 plague miraculously claimed not a single life in this hamletJulius Valladares at Keepsake his cottage with typical IndoPortuguese architectural elementsNovenas at the landmark start soon from April 22 In throwback to the communityrsquos farming roots parishioners of St Annersquos Rosary Church and adjoining zones also beseech the Virgin Mary and St Roque for a fair monsoon Celebrations commence with the Eucharistic Sacrifice and evening vespers Venerating the Relic of the Cross benefactors and volunteers enjoy festivities and foodEarlier observed on May 3 the Cross Feast moved to the convenient May 1 holiday guaranteeing greater participation Lanes leading to the oratory were festooned fitting for a maritime city In the past boys of the hood travelled to the Port Trustrsquos Ballard Estate office to borrow flags raised by berthing ships which they suspended along the sides of homes Eymard Cottage the Provincial House of the Blessed Sacrament FathersldquoThe cross is erected on land my grandmother Mrs Buthello gaverdquo says Frumentius Frumy Ambosta His father John carved the wooden cross and oratory doors President of the Matharpacady Fishermenrsquos Association he supervised a carpentry workshop which wrought the woodwork of nautical enterprises from motor launches to the Maharaja of Coorgrsquos yachtI meet Frumy in a moment of serendipity at the village well As birds chirrup plans of sunset roosting he points to an overhang of eavesmdashldquoNew buildings have none of these spaces for sparrows to nest seerdquoAn antique altar in the Club of Paroda a Goan kudd of MatharpacadyIn the thick of rampant reconstruction with cranes paused spookily silent by the pandemic Matharpacady springs surprise and delight at every step Hardfound elsewhere in the city vintage IndoPortuguese cottages with distinct round brick roofs present halfhidden porches veiled verandahs ancient staircases unexpected doorwaysThe wonderful warren of perpendicular paths flanked by arty arbours glows with glimpses of Azulejo tiles and antique altars A clutch of Goan kudds from the first Club of Chandor to Paroda Club still function skeletally Narrow service lanes crisscross converging at cool courtyards The prettiest pastiche of BarcelonaLisbonFontainhas unfurlsThe Ambostas outside their centuryold home near the village wellldquoOurs is an unbroken record of caregivers of Cross Feast traditions from 1875rdquo says Roydon Gonsalves of the Holy Cross Committee ldquoThis lockdown year we continue depending on the democratisation of the Internet YouTube masses and rituals bring together whole families including the infirm Most vitally these reach expat devotees wanting to log in To hold people equally close in fun we organise virtual quizzes and TambolardquoHaving welcomed Maharashtrian Muslim Parsi Jewish and AngloIndian residents the village sweeps them into a participative bustle of cultural programmes Stanislaus Baptista who writes Matharpacady blogposts with Roydon describes 1980s spectaculars with grand floats Viloo Shroff possibly Matharpacadyrsquos only Parsi besides three Buhariwala family members proudly recollects ldquoMy husband Tehemton was really involved with the carnivals He was the last King MomordquoDr Ubaldo Mascarenhas the first Indian Mayor of free Bombay 194849 with Nehru Sena bandhs of the rsquo80s provided ample leisure hours To the heat of hockey football and cricket matches were added fierce think loose teeth bloodied knees games of dabbadoobbi kittykitty and koiba Aiming marbles spinning tops kite flying and speedy cycling generated excited whoops galore The windowpanes of Canon Villa still lie visibly broken by hundreds of balls boisterous boys and girls hurled The property used to be The Rosary colloquially called ldquolozenger schoolrdquo Running a nursery the Ferreira sisters popped sweet lozenges in the mouths of homebound babes to assure attendance sans tears next morningAlbum photo of Dagmar Lopes playing the musical saw at a soiree Pics courtesyRoydon GonsalvesNow reduced to weepworthy rubble Matharpacady Club totted a century in 2006 Enthusiasts from Bandra to Colaba would troop in for Housie cards carrom and particularly billiardsmdashthe countryrsquos finest champs of the sport struck sharp cue tips on that tableThe public ground with kiddie equipment dubbed The Park was previously Tank Square It was bordered by Bharat Vyayam Shala That modest gym was packed with local lads aspiring to beefy biceps for wrestling bouts in red mud considered healthy for skin Exercise they sure needed gorging on generous portions of Aunty Louie Drsquomellorsquos salt tongue pan rolls and potato chops Aunty Audreyrsquos marzipan Easter eggs were pure indulgence Audrey Concessio and Dilys Remedios prepared delicate flower baskets to trim roads with The sisters crafted to perfection at Antonio Rest their picturesque bougainvilleashaded home with asparagus fern trails which was recently razedFruiting luscious twice yearly the ldquomangoes of Mazagongrdquo feature in Thomas Moorersquos epic poem Lalla Rookh Seeped in stories lulled by loremdashbiannually blooming trees sheathed serpents drumstick trees hosted camouflaged green snakes which dropped on victims a perennial well supposed unwise to visit in moonlit solitudemdashMatharpacady struggles to stay fragrant as the curries bubbling in its kitchens Sadly it simmers like them too burdened heavy with the stress of realtors fixing rapacious eyes on centuriesold structures Remarkable among homes in this Grade III heritage haven is curiously christened Lionrsquos Den Guarded by a pair of stone lions from 1892 it acknowledges the Leao familyrsquos eldest son Daniel who was named after the biblical figure thrown into the proverbial leonine denSolid colours suffuse facades like the Mascarenhas familyrsquos lime yellow Marian Villa with blueandwhite tiles and the red walled Baptista home From buttercup yellowpainted Keepsake smiling seaman Julius Valladares waves warmly at strangers who walk slow to admire the 1928 cottagersquos exquisite woodwork ldquoQuicker to walk from the station than from the village entrance to homerdquo he quips At 97 Juliusrsquo father was never lonely Sitting on the verandah he heard a stream of banter from friends reporting gossip and goingson His Shakespeareloving wife named their sons after Julius Caesar and Mark AntonyMusic floated from every balcony With the Beatles and Shadows storming the scene the Busy Bees and Carvellos bands formed here ldquoWe watched them jam from whatever perch possible Kind folks allowed us to place a teetering leg on their ledge or sill to peer up at the terrace of Rear Helal Building where the Busy Bees energetically rehearsed with Fender Stratocaster guitars and highpowered ampsrdquo Roydon remembersThe Goans strummed Konkani mandos with flair Joe Pereira hit the bongos in robust rhythm on social occasions to immortalise Bongo Lane Living behind the cross Walter Pereira sang with The Bonaventures Bonnie Michael Dsouzarsquos chartbuster groupClassic beyond beat and bop Matharpacady boasted voices like John Martin richly rendering Latin litanies and dulcettoned sopranos trilling etherealsounding scales for hymns Roydonrsquos father Frank Gonsalves a cellist pianist and double bass player staged Gilbert and Sullivan operettas at St Maryrsquos School where he taught English and math Comprising exstudents The Frank Gonsalves Orchestra practised on Sundays in his hallway and offered a keenly awaited ensemble performance at Vespers before the feast In House 23D Lt Cdr Eric Lopes and his daughter Dagmar treated rapt listeners to Western tunes on the musical saw an instrument resembling a carpentry saw the bow drawn across the nontoothed side The tension on blade and degree of bend emitted specific notes Chords lost forevermdasha saw survives somewhere without a soul to play itFor a small islet Matharpacady has produced giants such as All India Trade Union Congress cofounder Joseph Kaka Baptista and free Bombayrsquos first Mayor 194849 Dr Mafaldo Ubaldo Mascarenhas Baptistarsquos ideas for the 1916established Home Rule Movement much influenced Lokmanya Tilak and Annie Besant Baptistarsquos slogan ldquoSwaraj is my birthrightrdquo often credited to Tilak was in fact adopted by Tilak as a rallying cryldquoIrsquom 60 per cent East Indian 30 per cent Parsi just 10 per cent Bohrirdquo laughs landscape specialist Sohel Degani who redesigned the oratory Roman columns with hand masonry in 1993 The 30 per cent were old neighbours in Harbour View one of his two homes whose higher floors looked out on cargo vesselsNot far from Harbour View the Wayside Cross stands near a cherry tree plucked bare by children mdashsignificant in that it is customary to pray at this cross the day after the Feast A rare nonCatholic working for Matharpacady Residents Welfare Association Degani says ldquoI grew up with amazingly simple straightforward people Putting aside internal quarrels they should face the world unitedrdquo The unity is imperative Gone is the trust that kept open house daylong Doorbell rings go unanswered today for fear of demolishers cutting ruthless swathes Spurred by the sense of duty and thanksgiving a few youngsters try to retain their physical and spiritual legacySo Matharpacady soldiers on Believing in goodness Reciting rosaries for safety Seeking comfort in maxims like ldquoPlague and pestilence make the shield of faith even strongerrdquoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay Reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmehermarfatiacom