The Torpor of Tormas

Utterly neglected, this village has seen no progress over the years

By Alister Miranda (Goa Today)

Tucked away into the far reaches of the Pernem taluka and snugly wrapped up in the verdant embrace of mother nature lies the petite village of Tormas. Tranquility reigns supreme amidst its rusticity. Its verdant glow can be attributed to the agricultural and horticultural exploits of its inhabitants. Literally in a world of its own, Tormas is perched on a hillock whose age-old feet are kissed by the gently flowing Chapora river.

The 25-km ride from Mapusa is as refreshing as the confines of Tormas. Down the slope after passing Dhargalim, turn right on to the road to Nagzor that’s prominently displayed on a signboard. The winding road that moves past hills and valleys is in pretty good shape. Well past Nagzor and Casarvarnem, and once into Chandel, look for another attractive signboard announcing the villages of Kutval, Halarne and Alorna. Take a right turn, cross the short bridge and keep moving South. Above low-lying Talarne lies Tormas, which marks the end of the road and the beginning of a scenic interlude.

Hardy, hardworking, loving and immensely hospitable is how one would describe the villagers of Tormas. Agriculturists by nature and descent, farming activity commences with the crack of dawn and continues in between restful breaks until dusk, all year long. Plantations and fields give birth to king-size mandolim bananas, sugarcane, rice, chillies, groundnut, sweet potatoes and coconuts for home consumption and sale. Cashew feni distillation is on a very small scale. The once lucrative activity that has died out is of toddy tapping. A little less than a generation ago, almost every house had a toddy tapper and good quality coconut feni had many takers, informs 67-year old former toddy tapper Albino Francis Rodrigues.

The populace is minuscule; the majority being Catholic and the rest Hindu. In all 17 houses dot Tormas. The 12 Catholic and five Hindu families are the only ones that have clung to Tormas, come what may. In the last half a century alone some 10 Catholic houses have collapsed on account of neglect from families who chose not to return once having moved out to seek education and greener pastures. Fernandes’, D’Souza’s and Rodrigues’ are the ones that reside in Tormas at present.

The resident Hindu families have a similar tale to tell. All the 15 families - mostly made of Halarnkars, Dhumaskars, Pednekars and Chopdekars that once lived in the village were engaged in the canoeing business at Tormas, and were referred to as Tari. Now remain just five, informs Modhu Mahadev Dhumaskar. Some settled in Bardez, Pernem and Mumbai, never to return. A few had no heirs and so faded away.

For generations they took turns to operate the canoe service from Tormas to Sangvan, Mencurem and Colvale. But, unfortunately, for the past twelve years this convenient service stands stopped. Pre-Liberation, the auction was held in Pernem, but later on the Panchayat of Alorna (to which Tormas belongs) was put in charge to regulate matters. Sadly, corruption overtook one Sarpanch and this led to the suspension of the canoe service by the ‘Tari’ families. Someone from Mencurem tried his hand at the riverine business, but put a full stop after his canoe capsized.

This has heaped undue hardships of transport on Tormaskars. Transport is truly the Herculean problem faced by the otherwise cheerful villagers. A two-trip-a-day bus service upto Talarne is all the transport there is. From that point it is an excruciating 1½ kms uphill trudge to Tormas, backpacked, hands full and legs straining under heavy baggage and luggage. Till two years ago, and for 16 years at a stretch previously, the villagers didn’t have a problem as Lawrence de Souza of Tormas ran a convenient bus service, which started at sunrise from and ended at sunset at Tormas. Heaped with chillies, bananas and other produce, and bulging at its seams, it was quite a spectacle to watch. But, now the situation is so bad, that there is not even a car in the vicinity that can be used in case of emergencies. This was highlighted by the fact that a day before our first visit, a pregnant woman who began bleeding in the middle of the night could not be taken to hospital until the next morning.

However, there are buses that come upto Sangvan and Mencurem – Sangvan being the closest bank, in fact, just a stone’s throw away. A small bridge is all that is required to free the villagers from their conveyance problems. Villagers inform that a plan to connect Tormas to Sangvan by a bridge was passed and work had started. They were elated at the outset when the boring had begun, but their hopes literally sank in the river Chapora, when, for reasons best known to the concerned government authorities, it was suddenly abandoned, and instead a bridge was built at BoilPar which is about five kilometres from Tormas. While the bridge project continues to lie in cold storage, the Tormaskars transport-related woes continue to mount.

After 40 years of Goa’s Liberation much change should have been brought about in the Tormaskars’ life, but, that is not to be. Comparatively, hardly anything has changed since the days when they footed it out day in and day out. Ana Maria from Tamboxem, married to Pascoal Gonsal Fernandes in 1944, recalls that there was no means of transport in those days and they had to negotiate hills, valleys and streams to and from Tamboxem.

The only mode of transport was the canoe. "We all travelled by canoe. If we wanted to go to Mapusa for the Friday bazaar, then on Thursday night we left by canoe for Colvale with our goods like bananas, nachni and rice. From Colvale some went to Mapusa by foot, the ones who could afford used the Camiao", says Pascoal.

They are also starved of educational facilities. There is no English medium high school nearby. The nearest is a government Marathi primary school lying downhill in Talarne. But, all this notwithstanding, their thirst for knowledge and to get educated is remarkable. They used to sail over rivers and trudge over hills in order to get themselves educated. They boarded in distant villages like Assonora. The closest English medium school in those days was in Colvale. The Mencurem government primary school is just across the river but is unapproachable as no linking bridge or ferry service exists.

Even today the villagers stay in rented rooms in towns and villages like Mapusa, Margao and Guirim to provide education for their children. Many children also board with hospitable relatives. "Since being educated was not possible, at a very young age I was taught to hold the plough. My father Salvador Rodrigues, who was an expert at slicing coconut beams, is the one who inculcated in me the immense love and passion for the red soil of Goa", proudly says loin-cloth clad hardworking farmer Albino Rodrigues.

Medical facilities also continue to elude Tormas. With no doctor practising in the village or anywhere close-by, the closest public health centre lies six kilometres away in Casarvarnem. Till recently, they relied heavily on the ganvtti expertise of the voiginn (midwife) and indulged in country medicines that were tested and effective. Almost all of today’s 40-plus denizens of Tormas were delivered in their homes by voiginns. Emergencies though were dreaded.

Till recently not a provision was available, but thanks to the enterprising Lawrence who has opened up a mini yet comprehensive general store and bar, getting provisions is less burdensome. The trickle of public water has now, at long last, reached the Tormas homes. But it will always be the village well whose water lies deep into mother earth’s bowels that will continue being the source of their healthy sustenance. Telephones too have started ringing since early this year.

Tormas is one of the two missions of the Goa archdiocese; the other being Canacona. The Palotine parish priest of Pernem is the Parochial Administrator of Tormas’ St Sebastian’s church, but the task of looking after Tormas’ faithful is shouldered by his assistant Fr Frank Fernandes. The Tormas parish as such incorporates far-flung villagers of Modkoi, Chandel, Asapur, Ibrampur (Angod) and Mencurem (Dumaxem). Besides fulfilling his pastoral duties, Fr Frank can be seen working overtime in seeking employment for the unemployed, and upliftment of the villages. The villagers are all praise for Fr Frank’s dedication. He is ably assisted by the energetic Parish Council President Manuel Rodrigues. On the employment front, it is sad to note that there is not a single person from Tormas who is employed in government service.

The parish feast of St Sebastian actually falls on January 20, but is celebrated annually on 26th January (Republic Day) as it is a holiday. The feast is preceded by a nine-day novena. For this feast, all Tormas’ families return home, once again to bask in the traditional, solemn and festive ambience. Also, on this day, the otherwise scattered Tormas parishioners assemble as one big family.

Until about two decades back there used to be resident priests who would endear themselves to the villagers. Many of them are fondly remembered even today; among whom is Fr Caetano Piedade Santan Cardozo, the first vicar whose entire stay lasted for 11 years. Remembers Ana Maria, "When we went about our work in field and on hills, the priests looked after our children and in the process are children imbibed good values and virtues that were inculcated into them by the Fathers. We will always be indebted to them for this service."

Formerly, constantly under the fatherly and brotherly care of the resident priests and, now, with no priest staying there, a kind of a void is created in their hearts and minds of Tormaskars, which the untiring Palotine priests are trying hard to fill with God’s love and care.

Tormas was formerly under the care of the Chaplain of the Chapel at the Alorna Fort. All this changed when in 1922 the lower areas of Alorna were flooded and the Chapel was submerged by the flood, with only the façade above the water level. The then chaplain Fr Vicente Reginaldo Correia was struggling for life standing on the facade’s tip. He was saved by five odd brave men from Tormas who went there by canoe. Since then Fr Reginaldo continued to stay in St Sebastian’s Chapel in Tormas.

By the decree of the pastoral visit dated March 24, 1924, Archbishop-Patriarch Mateus permitted the resident Chaplain of Alorna to administer the Sacrament of Baptism according to the needs of the local people. He also allowed their burial there after building a cemetery. Fr Constancio Raul Pereira took charge of the Tormas chapel in 1934. He immediately started the construction of the new cemetery, the stones for which were brought from the Alorna Chapel. The cemetery was completed in 1936 and the first to be laid to rest was the late Jose Francisco Pereira e Caldeira. The Chapel was raised to a Church and blessed by Archbishop Patriarch Raul Gonsalves on April 29, 1970.

The Hindus have no temple in Tormas, but are closely connected to the Shri Ravalnath Temple in Talarne.

Being remote and hardly approachable did not deter the Portuguese administration from planting a police outpost in the heart of Tormas, close to the undrying village well. They would come by jeep upto Sangvan, cross over by canoe and stay at Tormas. Patrolling the nearby areas would be by foot or bicycle. The only opposition to the Portuguese came from the sturdy Ankush Mahadev Dhumaskar who took active part in the Liberation movement.

Every time we visited Tormas, what struck us most was the wholehearted welcome we got. They were hospitality personified treating us to tea, lavish luncheon spreads, Goan sweets like dodol, tender coconut water and boiled sweet potatoes. Pleasantly surprised, we realised that such Goan hospitality still exists only in agrarian far-flung villages of Goa.

To believe what’s written about the Tormaskar’s hospitable disposition, we unhesitatingly extend an invitation on their behalf. Once there, you can rest in peace. Tormas, despite its torpidity, undoubtedly, is a peaceful getaway from the chaotic humdrum that has befallen urban and semi-urban Goa.