A Baker from Goa | CBSE Class 10 English Notes

This note covers "A Baker from Goa" by Lucio Rodrigues: the author and the text, a part-by-part summary, the baker's daily round and his bamboo staff, his dress then and now, the place of bread in Goan festivals and family occasions, the monthly accounts, the bakers' prosperity, the Portuguese connection, the characters, the themes of tradition and change, the tone and style, the key lines, a comparison with a second piece on Goan bakers, and answers to the textbook questions.

Who wrote "A Baker from Goa" and what kind of text is it?

"A Baker from Goa" is by Lucio Rodrigues. It is the first of three parts of the unit "Glimpses of India" in First Flight, the Class 10 English reader; the other two parts, "Coorg" and "Tea from Assam", visit two other regions of the country.

The piece is taken from Modern Indian Literature: An Anthology (Volume Three, Plays and Prose) and appears in the reader by permission of the Sahitya Akademi.

It is introduced as a pen-portrait: a short written sketch of one person. Its subject is a traditional village baker of Goa who still matters to the people around him.

The writer speaks in the first person, as "we" and "I". He moves between two times: the present, in which Goa's bakers are still at work, and his own childhood, when the children ran out to greet the baker.

The unit begins with a warm-up reminder that, apart from the British, the Dutch and the French, the Portuguese also played a part in India's history. That reminder sets up the opening of this piece, in which Goan elders look back on the Portuguese days and the famous Portuguese loaves.

The result is short, warm and funny: a portrait of a person, a trade and a village way of life, seen through an adult's memory of being a child.

What happens in "A Baker from Goa"? A part-by-part summary

Part 1: The makers outlast the eaters

Goan elders like to recall the old Portuguese days and the famous Portuguese loaves. The writer points out that while the people who ate those loaves may have vanished, the people who make them have not.

The mixers, moulders and bakers remain, the old furnaces still burn, and in some places the baker's bamboo is still heard in the morning. Even where a father may have died, his son carries on the trade. The bakers are still called pader in Goa.

Part 2: The baker as a childhood friend

In the writer's childhood the baker was a friend, companion and guide to the children. He passed by at least twice a day, on his way out on the morning round and on his way back with an empty basket.

The sound of his bamboo woke the children, who ran out to greet him. They did not care about the loaves, which the maid-servant bought; they wanted the bread-bangles, and sometimes a special sweet bread.

Part 3: The musical entry

The baker arrived banging his bamboo staff on the ground, a basket on his head. After greeting the lady of the house, he rested the basket on the upright bamboo, and the loaves went to the servant.

Shooed away, the children climbed up to peep into the basket anyway. The writer still remembers the smell of the bread, and jokes that the children hardly bothered to clean their teeth: tigers manage without a toothbrush, and hot tea seemed to do the job.

Part 4: Bread for special occasions

Marriage gifts, parties, feasts, engagements, Christmas and other festivals all needed something from the baker: the sweet bol for marriage gifts, sandwiches for an engagement, and cakes and bolinhas for Christmas. The village could not do without the baker's furnace.

Part 5: Dress, accounts and a well-fed look

Bakers once wore the kabai, a knee-length frock, and later shirts with trousers between full and half length. Bills were usually collected at the end of the month, from pencilled accounts on a wall.

Baking paid well in the old days, and the bakers' plump, happy look proved it. Even now, a plump person is compared to a baker.

How did the baker announce himself and sell his bread?

The baker's arrival was a small daily event, and the writer builds it around one object, the bamboo staff. The staff was specially made, and when it struck the ground it gave a 'jhang, jhang' sound, a thud and a jingle together.

The writer calls this the baker's musical entry. The sound told the household that the baker had come, and it woke the children from sleep.

What was the morning round like, step by step?

1. The baker set out in the morning on his selling round, with a huge basket on his head.
2. On arrival, one hand steadied the basket on his head while the other banged the bamboo on the ground.
3. He greeted the lady of the house with "Good morning".
4. He set his basket down on the bamboo, now standing upright.
5. The children were pushed aside with a mild rebuke, and the loaves were delivered to the servant.
6. Once the basket was empty, he passed by again on his return, so he came at least twice a day.

Why did the children wait for him?

The loaves were for the elders and were bought by the maid-servant, some Paskine or Bastine.

The children longed for the bread-bangles, which they chose with great care, and sometimes for a sweet bread of special make. Even after being sent away, they climbed a bench or the parapet to peep into the basket.

The memory that stays with the writer is a smell: he can still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves.

What did the pader wear, then and now?

The writer describes the baker's dress in two periods, then a comment people still make today. The details are few, but they show a trade that kept its identity while its look slowly changed.

The third row is the funniest. The bakers' trouser length is so familiar in Goa that it has become a joke about other people's clothes. The baker's look has outlived the baker's uniform.

Note: The kabai belongs to the older period. By the writer's own childhood, bakers had already moved to shirt and trousers, so it is wrong to say that the paders still wear the single-piece long frock.

The dress detail links to the theme of change: the frock went, but the word pader stayed in everyday speech.

Why was bread so important in Goan village life?

The writer insists that no amount of praise can fully show how important a baker can be for a village. He then proves the point with a list of occasions, each tied to a particular bread or bake.

From this list the writer draws his conclusion: the presence of the baker's furnace in the village was absolutely essential.

Bread here is not just food. It marks the big moments of family life, such as marriage and engagement, and the shared moments of the year, such as Christmas and other festivals. It also runs through ordinary mornings.

That double role, daily and festive, made the whole village depend on the baker.

How was the baker paid, and why did bakers look prosperous?

How were the accounts kept?

The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month. Until then, the monthly accounts were recorded in pencil on some wall.

The detail is small but telling. It suggests a simple, informal way of keeping track, quite unlike a printed bill.

What showed that baking paid well?

In the old days baking was a profitable profession. The baker's household never went hungry, and the baker, his family and even his servants looked cheerful and well off.

The proof was in their bodies. Their plump physique, a pleasantly fat body, was an open testimony, a public statement, to their prosperity.

Why is a plump person compared to a baker?

The writer ends the portrait with a joke that is still alive. Even now, anyone who looks jackfruit-like is readily likened to a baker.

The comparison works because the baker's plump look had become a sign of good fortune. Notice the past tense, though: the writer says baking was profitable in the old days, and he does not claim that it is still very profitable now.

What is the Portuguese connection in the chapter?

The piece opens with the past. The elders of Goa often look back with longing, which the text calls reminiscing nostalgically, on the Portuguese era, on the Portuguese themselves and on their well-known bread.

The Portuguese "eaters of loaves" may have gone, but the Goan bakers still work at the same age-old furnaces.

What does the second piece on Goan bakers add?

A second, shorter piece on Goan bakers, adapted from Nandakumar Kamat's 'The Unsung Lives of Goan Paders', appears in the Writing exercise. It adds four facts.

• After Goa's liberation, people used to say nostalgically that Portuguese bread had vanished along with the paders.
• The paders survived because they perfected the art of door-to-door delivery.
• Paders learn bread-making from family traditions.
• Leavened, oven-baked bread is described as a gift of the Portuguese to India.

Put together, the two pieces tell one story. The bread came with the Portuguese, the Portuguese days ended, and the craft stayed with Goan families, passed from father to son.

Who are the characters in "A Baker from Goa"?

The pader (the traditional baker)

The pader is the centre of the piece. To the children he was a friend, companion and guide. He was hard-working: he carried a huge basket on his head and passed by at least twice a day, once setting out on his round and once returning from it.

He was courteous, greeting the lady of the house with "Good morning" before delivering the loaves. He also had a dress of his own, the kabai in the old days.

He was prosperous: his family never starved, and his plump, happy look showed it. Above all, he was essential, since no wedding, engagement or Christmas could do without his bread.

The narrator

The narrator is the author, recalling his childhood in Goa. As an adult he is affectionate and nostalgic, remembering the sound of the bamboo and the fragrance of the loaves.

He is also humorous. He laughs at his younger self for skipping tooth-brushing and at the way a plump person is still compared to a baker.

The children

The children, the writer among them, are eager and a little mischievous. The jingling thud of the bamboo wakes them, and they run to meet the baker, not for the loaves but for the bread-bangles.

They are persistent: pushed aside, they climb a bench or the parapet to peep into the basket.

The elders

The elders are the keepers of memory. They are often heard looking back fondly on the Portuguese days and the famous Portuguese loaves. The ordinary loaves were bought for them.

The lady of the house and the maid-servant

The lady of the house receives the baker's morning greeting and must prepare sandwiches when her daughter is engaged. The maid-servant, named as some Paskine or Bastine, buys the loaves and receives them from the baker.

The son who carries on

Where the father may no longer be alive, the son still carries on the family profession. He stands for the next generation, showing that the trade is still handed down.

What are the themes and message of "A Baker from Goa"?

Tradition and change

The central theme is the meeting of tradition and change. The Portuguese days are over and the old dress has gone, yet the bakers, the furnaces and the sound of the bamboo remain, at least in some places.

The word "still" keeps returning in the opening: the makers are still there, the furnaces still exist, the bamboo can still be heard, the son still carries on.

Nostalgia for childhood

The piece is a memory of childhood. The writer recalls sounds, smells and small pleasures: the jingling thud that woke him, the bread-bangles he chose, the fragrance of the loaves.

The elders' nostalgia for the Portuguese days is matched by the writer's own nostalgia for his childhood mornings.

The baker's place in the community

The baker is shown as part of the community, not just a seller. He is a friend to the children, he greets the household, and his furnace is essential to the village's celebrations.

Bread, food and celebration

Food is tied to culture: the breads of weddings, engagements and festivals show how a single craft becomes part of a region's customs.

The survival of a family craft

The trade passes from father to son, and the second piece adds that paders learn bread-making from family traditions. The group-discussion task widens the idea to other craft-based professions that are dying out, such as pottery, batik work, bamboo weaving and handloom.

The message is hopeful: a traditional craft can survive the end of the era that produced it when a community still values it.

What tone and style does the writer use?

A nostalgic tone

The tone is warm and nostalgic. The writer recalls the past with affection and keeps linking it to the present, so that the memory feels alive rather than lost.

Gentle humour

The humour is light and often aimed at himself. He jokes that the children skipped brushing because plucking a mango-leaf for a toothbrush was too much trouble, a tiger never brushes its teeth, and hot tea cleaned everything anyway.

He also enjoys the pader joke about knee-length half pants and the jackfruit-like baker.

Which literary devices does he use?

A conversational style

The language is simple and conversational; its quick questions and answers make the reader feel spoken to.

The piece also uses local names, such as pader, kabai, bol and bolinhas, which give it a strong sense of place.

Which lines from the chapter matter most?

One sentence near the opening carries the whole piece. It is worth learning, because many long answers can be built on it.

"Those eaters of loaves might have vanished but the makers are still there." (the writer, on Goan bakers after the Portuguese days)

The line sets the eaters, the Portuguese, against the makers, the Goan bakers. Change may have removed one group; tradition has kept the other. The word "might" softens the claim, and the word "still" carries the hope.

The student should also be able to explain these moments in their own words:

• The fire in the furnaces has not been put out: the old ovens still work, and the trade is still alive.
• The son carries on the family profession: the craft passes between generations.
• The tiger joke about not brushing teeth shows the writer's humour and his fond view of his younger self.
• The plump physique of the bakers is called an open testimony to their prosperity, a playful way of saying their bodies proved their success.

How does the piece differ from Nandakumar Kamat's account of Goan paders?

The Writing section asks the student to compare the opening of "A Baker from Goa" with the piece adapted from Nandakumar Kamat's 'The Unsung Lives of Goan Paders', and to say whether the facts are the same and whether both writers give a picture of the baker.

The broad facts agree. What makes the texts so different is purpose and voice: Rodrigues wants the reader to feel the baker's presence, while Kamat wants to explain why the paders survived.

The next task asks for an account of a place that gives a picture rather than an impersonal, factual description. That is exactly the difference between these two pieces.

What are the answers to the textbook questions?

Oral Comprehension Check (first set)

1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about? They are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese days, the Portuguese and their famous loaves of bread.

2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? Yes. The mixers, moulders and bakers are still there, the age-old furnaces still exist, the baker's bamboo can still be heard in some places, and even where the father may not be alive, the son still carries on the family profession.

3. What is the baker called? He is known as a pader in Goa.

4. When did the baker come, and why did the children run to him? He came at least twice a day: once on his morning selling round and again on his return after emptying his basket. The children ran to him for the bread-bangles and sometimes a sweet bread of special make, not for the loaves.

Oral Comprehension Check (second set)

1. Matching. Marriage gifts: the sweet bread called bol. A party or a feast: bread. A daughter's engagement: sandwiches. Christmas: cakes and bolinhas.

2. What did the bakers wear? In the Portuguese days, the kabai, a single-piece long frock reaching down to the knees. When the author was young, a shirt and trousers shorter than full-length ones and longer than half pants.

3. Who invites the comment "he is dressed like a pader", and why? Anyone who wears a half pant reaching just below the knees, because that length recalls the bakers' trousers.

4. Where were the monthly accounts recorded? On some wall, in pencil.

5. What does a jackfruit-like appearance mean? A plump, well-fed figure like the bakers' plump physique, which showed their prosperity.

Thinking about the Text: which statements are correct?

Thinking about the Text: is bread an important part of Goan life?

Yes. Marriage gifts are meaningless without the bol, a party or feast loses its charm without bread, sandwiches are needed for a daughter's engagement, and cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas and other festivals. The baker's furnace is absolutely essential.

Thinking about the Text: what is the writer's tone?

Writing: the author's childhood days

A model paragraph built from the table below: In the author's childhood, bread came from the village's age-old furnaces. The pader passed by at least twice a day with a basket on his head, announcing himself with the thud and jingle of his bamboo staff. He wore a shirt with trousers that stopped between full length and half pants. He was paid at the end of the month from accounts pencilled on a wall, and he looked plump, happy and prosperous.

Glossary

• Pader: the name by which traditional village bakers are still known in Goa; paders still exist, and sons carry on the family profession.
• Kabai: the peculiar dress of the baker or bread-seller in the old days, a single-piece long frock that reached down to the knees.
• Bol: a sweet bread without which marriage gifts in Goa were considered meaningless; one of the breads that tie the baker to family occasions.
• Bolinhas: named with cakes as a must for Christmas and other festivals in Goa, one reason the baker's furnace is called absolutely essential.
• Bread-bangles: the treat the children longed for from the baker's basket and chose carefully, while the ordinary loaves were bought for the elders.
• Reminiscing nostalgically: thinking fondly of the past; the Goan elders do this when they talk about the old Portuguese days and the famous Portuguese loaves.
• Heralding: announcing; the thud and jingle of the baker's bamboo heralded his arrival in the morning and can still be heard in some places.
• Rebuke: an expression of disapproval, or a scolding; the children were pushed aside with a mild rebuke when they came to the baker's basket.
• Fragrance: scent; the writer says he can still recall the typical fragrance of the loaves from his childhood mornings in Goa.
• Plump physique: a pleasantly fat body; the bakers' plump physique showed that baking was a profitable profession in the old days.
• Open testimony: a public statement about a character or quality; the bakers' plump bodies were an open testimony to their prosperity.
• Pen-portrait: a short written description of a person; the piece is introduced as a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker.
• Parapet: a low protective wall along the edge of a roof, terrace or balcony; the children climbed one to peep into the basket.
• Furnace: an enclosed structure in which a very hot fire is kept; Goa's age-old, time-tested bread furnaces still exist and still burn.
• Jackfruit-like: the writer's comic description of a plump, rounded figure; even today such a person is easily compared to a baker.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: The paders disappeared when the Portuguese days ended. Correct: only the eaters of the loaves might have vanished; the makers are still there, and bakers are still known as pader in Goa.
• Misconception: The children ran to the baker to buy the loaves. Correct: the maid-servant bought the loaves; the children wanted the bread-bangles and sometimes a sweet bread of special make.
• Misconception: Paders still wear the kabai. Correct: the kabai was the dress of the old days; in the writer's childhood bakers wore a shirt and trousers between full-length and half pants.
• Misconception: The baker came once a day. Correct: he came at least twice a day, on his morning round and again on his return with an empty basket.
• Misconception: The bol was prepared for a daughter's engagement. Correct: the bol was a must for marriage gifts; for an engagement, the lady of the house had to prepare sandwiches.
• Misconception: The baker was paid daily at the door. Correct: he usually collected his bills at the end of the month, and the accounts were recorded in pencil on a wall.
• Misconception: Traditional baking is described as still very profitable. Correct: the writer calls baking profitable in the old days and says nothing about its profits now.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. In "A Baker from Goa", what name are Goa's traditional village bakers still known by? [1 mark]

1. Goa's traditional village bakers are still known as pader (plural paders), even though the Portuguese days that the elders remember so fondly are over.

Q2. In "A Baker from Goa", the baker visited the writer's house at least twice a day. State when the two visits took place. [2 marks]

1. The first visit came in the morning, when the baker set out on his selling round with a huge basket on his head.
2. The second visit came when he returned after emptying his huge basket.

Q3. The writer jokes that as children they skipped brushing their teeth, since a tiger never brushed his teeth and hot tea could clean everything. Is the tone naughty, angry or funny? Give the answer and a reason. [2 marks]

1. The tone is funny; the writer is not angry with his younger self.
2. The humour comes from the childish logic of comparing themselves with a tiger and treating hot tea as a substitute for a mango-leaf toothbrush.

Q4. In "A Baker from Goa", describe what bakers wore in the old days and in the writer's childhood, and explain the comment people still make today. [3 marks]

1. In the old days the baker or bread-seller wore a peculiar dress called the kabai, a single-piece long frock that reached down to the knees.
2. In the writer's childhood bakers wore a shirt with trousers that were shorter than full-length ones but longer than half pants.
3. Even now, a man whose half pant ends just below the knees is told he is dressed like a pader, because that length recalls the bakers' trousers.

Q5. In Goa, bread was a must on many occasions. State what was needed for each: (a) marriage gifts, (b) a party or a feast, (c) a daughter's engagement, (d) Christmas and other festivals. [4 marks]

1. (a) Marriage gifts were meaningless without the sweet bread known as the bol.
2. (b) A party or a feast lost its charm without bread.
3. (c) For her daughter's engagement, the lady of the house had to prepare sandwiches.
4. (d) Cakes and bolinhas were a must for Christmas as well as other festivals, which is why the baker's furnace was absolutely essential in the village.

Q6. In "A Baker from Goa", how was the baker paid, and what showed that baking was a profitable profession in the old days? [3 marks]

1. The baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month, and the monthly accounts were recorded in pencil on some wall.
2. Baking paid well in the old days: the baker's household never went hungry, and the baker, his family and his servants all looked cheerful and well off.
3. Their plump physique was open testimony, a public sign, of that prosperity, and even now anyone with a jackfruit-like look is readily likened to a baker.

Q7. Write a character sketch of the pader, the traditional Goan village baker described by Lucio Rodrigues, in five points. [5 marks]

1. A friend to the children: in the writer's childhood the baker was their friend, companion and guide, and they ran to meet and greet him when the jingling thud of his bamboo woke them.
2. Hard-working and regular: he came at least twice a day, carrying a huge basket on his head and steadying it with one hand while banging his bamboo staff with the other.
3. Courteous: he greeted the lady of the house with "Good morning" before setting his basket on the upright bamboo and handing the loaves to the servant.
4. Distinctive: in the old days he wore the kabai, a single-piece frock reaching the knees; later, a shirt with trousers between full-length and half pants.
5. Prosperous and well-fed: baking paid well, his family never starved, and his plump physique showed his prosperity, so a jackfruit-like figure is still compared to a baker.

Q8. The writer says: "Those eaters of loaves might have vanished but the makers are still there." Using this line and the rest of "A Baker from Goa", explain how the piece shows both tradition and change. Give six points. [6 marks]

1. Change: the Portuguese, the eaters of loaves whom the elders remember fondly, might have vanished, and the good old Portuguese days are now something the elders look back on.
2. Tradition: the makers remain; the mixers, the moulders and the bakers still work, and the age-old, time-tested furnaces still exist with their fires still burning.
3. Continuity across generations: the father may no longer be alive, but the son still carries on the family profession, and the bakers are still called pader in Goa.
4. Survival of a custom: the thud and jingle of the baker's bamboo, announcing his morning arrival, can still be heard, though only in some places.
5. Change in dress: the old kabai had given way to shirt and trousers by the writer's childhood, and today the style lives on in the comment that a man in a half pant just below the knees is dressed like a pader.
6. Change in fortune left open: the writer says baking was profitable in the old days, when bakers never starved and looked prosperous, yet the baker still has an important place in his society.

Key takeaways

• "A Baker from Goa" by Lucio Rodrigues is the first part of "Glimpses of India" in First Flight, a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker.
• Goan elders look back fondly on the Portuguese days and their famous loaves; the Portuguese eaters of loaves may have vanished, but the bread-makers remain.
• Traditional bakers are still called pader in Goa, and the son may carry on the profession after the father is gone.
• The baker announced himself with the 'jhang, jhang' of his bamboo staff and came at least twice a day with a huge basket on his head.
• The maid-servant bought the loaves for the elders; the children longed for bread-bangles and sometimes a sweet bread of special make.
• Bread marked many occasions: bol for marriage gifts, sandwiches for an engagement, cakes and bolinhas for Christmas, and bread for any party or feast.
• Old bakers wore the kabai, a single-piece frock reaching the knees; later bakers wore shirts with trousers between full-length and half pants.
• Bills were collected at the end of the month from accounts pencilled on a wall, and the bakers' plump, prosperous look showed that baking once paid well.
• The writer blends nostalgia and humour, using sound words, rhetorical questions and comic comparisons such as the jackfruit-like baker.

Test yourself

Who wrote "A Baker from Goa", and which unit is it part of?

Lucio Rodrigues wrote it. It is the first of three parts of "Glimpses of India" in First Flight, the Class 10 English reader.

What is a pader?

A pader is a traditional Goan village baker; bakers in Goa are still known by this name today.

What sound announced the baker's arrival?

The 'jhang, jhang', a thud and a jingle, of his specially made bamboo staff banged on the ground.

Who bought the loaves at the writer's house, and what did the children want?

The maid-servant, named as some Paskine or Bastine, bought the loaves; the children wanted bread-bangles and sometimes a special sweet bread.

What was the kabai?

The peculiar dress of bakers in the old days: a single-piece long frock that reached down to the knees.

What is the bol, and when was it a must?

The bol is a sweet bread; marriage gifts were considered meaningless without it.

Where were the baker's monthly accounts recorded, and when did he collect his bills?

The accounts were recorded in pencil on some wall, and the baker usually collected his bills at the end of the month.

According to Nandakumar Kamat's piece, how did the paders survive, and what did the Portuguese give India?

The paders survived by perfecting door-to-door delivery, and leavened, oven-baked bread is called a gift of the Portuguese to India.