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| Village vendors sit at a road-widening project. |
-Brian Mendonca
They sit
staring vacantly
at an uncertain future.
Behind them
menacing JCBs
flatten the fields.
The road widens
as perceptions narrow.
For years
they have sat
under black umbrellas
in the noon-day sun
and daunting rain
serving the state
(and those outside it).
Local vegetables
fruit
and niro in May.
With them we learnt
the changing of seasons
when mangoes appeared
or the sweet potato.
These village women
who speak only Konkani
their syllables
brimming with love.
In the distance
full-grown trees
bestowing leafy shade
-friends on my daily commute-
are hacked without remorse.
Their remains carted away
in open trucks.
It's a harsher world now
smoother for some.
I hasten to buy
a dozen elchi bananas.
-she gives me two free.
When the 6-lane is up on NH 66
Fatlean rostear-siding bostolo.
(Nuvem, Goa
14 October 2026)
niro: heady local brew.
Fatlean: (Konkani) I will sit behind at the side of the road. Comment by vendor.
Pic by Brian Mendonca. Updated 15/10/26.
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