Paulina Villa

Paulina Villa - porch

Paulina Villa - rear view.

Banyan tree near Paulina Villa

Paulina Villa - courtyard.

-Brian Mendonca 

Paulina Villa

What memories 

lie herein?

Shuttered and bolted

unkempt and uncared for?

Built in 1932

before World War II

Perfect Tool Garage 

holds sway now.

Relics of cars

gather dust here

The middle-aged mechanic

smokes 20 cigarettes a day.

'Golcha mein dekha

Hum Aape Ke Hain Koun'

'Daryaganj ke baad

Jama Masjid aata hain.'

Heartbeat restaurant 

offers fish thali 

a little way up

from Vision hospital. 

I think of Silroy

where I saw him last.

Why must people leave

when life is for living?

In the late-afternoon 

a boy rides his cycle

The smell of bread

prefigures evening.

In a bungalow nearby

a gent waters his plants

while a lady

mends clothes

on a sewing machine.

(Paulina Villa

Duler, Goa

26 March 2026)

Notes

Golcha: name of a movie house in Daryaganj, Old Delhi.

Hum Aapke: 'Who Am I To You?' Name of movie.

Silroy: an RJ and friend who passed away last year. Last seen at Vision hospital.

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All pix by Brian Mendonca at Paulina Villa.