-Brian Mendonça
Mandoviche pular bosun gumta vazoitanv
Thond thond doriache vare ghetanv. (Chorus)
[Sitting
on the Mandovi bridge, playing my gumot
I
enjoy the breezes of the cool river.]*
Besieged by requests from my son –‘I want to ride my
cycle on the bridge.’ – we decided to give it a shot. It was Sunday. It was the last day, the authorities
had announced, for the new Mandovi bridge to be open to the public. From the
next day only four-wheelers would be allowed.
I spurned my 5 p.m. swim and we headed towards the
bridge after a nap and a cup of hot tea. Elaborate research was done prior to
that. A mother of one of Dwayne’s friends was called for the latest update. Her
son had ridden his bicycle on the bridge, now Dwayne wanted to do the
same. However we were informed that
lately the bridge was closed to cycles.
I barely managed to get parking space near Cafe Porvorim tucked away in Alto
Provorim. Sounds of the lezim drill
came from the Kshatriya Marathi Samaj building, possibly from an event they
were staging. The Holy Cross chapel was all lit up as darkness fell.
As we neared the bridge we knew we were part of a
significant moment of Goa’s history. The crowds increased with every minute. The
absence of lighting on the approach to the bridge made walking daunting. But
once we were on the bridge it was like Republic Day in Delhi, where the public
comes out to salute the nation’s pride.
Sokla poi motorache birem
Kai borem dista mhojea Goyem.
[Look
down, it’s full of traffic
How
beautiful Goa looks.]
Everyone was beaming. There were babies, kids, youth,
families and the elderly. They were all determined to walk the bridge – for
whatever it took. There were photographers swarming everywhere. Some had even
brought their tripods. There were Canons galore. Most of the young at heart
were taking selfies. Dwayne instructed me how to use the low light feature to
take better photos.
The approach from the Porvorim side is very lengthy to walk. It takes a long while to actually get on to the part directly above the
river. But the lights in VIBGYOR colour on the bridge entice you to take one
more step forward.
Voir voir asa dista sorgar
Sokla poilar birant disle kalzar
[High
above one sees the heavens
Look
down one misses a heartbeat.]
Once
we crossed the portion of the bridge over the river, Dwayne said his stomach
was hurting. His crumpled face made us wild with anxiety. With steely resolve I
steered my family down the bridge saying we were almost there. At the base the
traffic was a snarl. But my prayers were answered when an auto-rickshaw rolled
into view. We clambered into it and were at Cafe
Porvorim in no time.
A
few days later we proudly whizzed across the bridge in our car.
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Article published as 'Faleam paim duktolem' in Gomantak Times, Weekender, Panaji,Goa on Sunday, 3 March 2019. Pix taken on the new Mandovi bridge, Porvorim-Panjim, Goa on Sunday, 3rd February 2019. *Song video on the new Mandovi bridge circulating on WhatsApp.
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