I thought that if I
went away I would certainly escape all these queries.
It so happened that my father was attending a seminar on organic
farming in Kottayam and as he would also be visiting some organic farms
he thought it a good idea if I came along. The trip would take us to
Kerala.
Dad and I left Goa on 30th August, 1995. The bus departed from Panaji
bus stand at six a.m. and reached Mangalore the same day at four in the
evening. En route we passed through Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honavar,
Kundapur and Udupi. Mangalore happens to be my ancestral home. (My dad,
though born and brought up in Mumbai and now living since marriage in
Goa, is originally from Mangalore.) Although we do not have an
ancestral home any more we have lots of relatives in Mangalore city.
We stayed at my grand uncle's house which is very close to the
bus-stand. It is a two storey building in the heart of Mangalore and my
grand aunt Monica Mauxi lives there with her three sons, Reggie,
Patrick and Lambert and their families in a sort of joint family
set-up. My grand uncle J.S. Alvares who was a very well known Konkani
writer passed away a few years ago. I was meeting my aunt and cousins
almost for the first time.
After the introductions were over and we had had tea and snacks Dad
showed me around the city.
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