Saligao... Just the mention of this word fills my heart with pride and I realize that I am not the only one who feels this way. After all, Saligao is truly a beautiful picturesque town with long stretches of green fields and roads flanked by coconut trees on either side (often referred to as ‘maadhani’). This town is also known for its dynamic and closely-knit community, no matter what your religion. The recent ‘Made in Saligao’ initiative, which was held every Tuesday in the Saligao Institute, is testimony to this. This program showcased the talent and skills of the local residents, craftsmen, and artisans, and people from far and wide came to witness this extraordinary market. Sadly, with the advent of COVID-19, this market had to be brought to a halt, because of the huge numbers that it was attracting.
Saligao is not a massive town by any standard, as compared to many others. However, its size acts as an advantage, in the sense that the entire town is accessible, without the need for any means of transport. One can easily get to the school, church, temple, market, spring, or any other significant location by walking at an easy pace.
Our church dedicated to Mae de Deus (Mother of God) is one of the most beautiful churches in North Goa, with an architectural style of its own. The feast is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of May. Like all feasts, it is preceded by the nine salves, which sees the gathering of hundreds of parishioners each evening, participating in the mass, followed by the novena, and then entertainment for the townspeople in the courtyard.
Who among you, has lived in Goa through the ’90s and not heard of ‘Foxes Nite’? Indeed ‘Foxes Nite’ was an annual dance celebrated with great pomp and pageantry, on the occasion of the church feast in May. People from all over Goa would attend this dance, one of the many attractions being the crowning of ‘King Kolo and Queen Koli’. Unfortunately, I am told that this event is no longer organized now. It has become a memory of the past.
Talking of ‘Foxes Nite’ and words like ‘Kolo and Koli’, you are probably aware that the reason these terms are associated with Saligao is that it was known to be a town of foxes, quite literally. I believe that sugar cane was a common and abundant crop in Saligao in the olden days. It was because of this the foxes would come down from the nearby hills to feast on the sugarcane. Consequently, Saligaonkars have been called foxes or ‘unshelantle kole’, which means ‘foxes from the cane plantations’, because I believe the clever residents would hide among the sugarcane stalks, with sticks and stones in their hands, to scare the foxes and drive them away.
Sadly, just like the once-famous ‘Foxes Nite’, the sugarcane plantations too have become a thing of the distant past. In fact, even the foxes are no longer heard howling at night like before. I have extremely fond memories of my childhood, falling asleep every night to the magnificent rhythmic howling of the foxes. My house is located in the fields (it has been fondly referred to as ‘Xetantle Ghor’ for decades) and therefore we were privy to the habitual howling of the foxes, from a very close distance every night. However, when exactly and on which precise night I stopped hearing the high-pitched rhythmic howling I do not remember. All I know is that in the ’90s the sound of the foxes became less and less distinct and gradually there was no howling at all.
All said and done, though many of the beautiful experiences that I grew up with in the beautiful town of Saligao are now just bygone memories, one thing I hope and pray for is that my small town will always retain its communal harmony and the closely-knit spirit that it possesses now. It is this very spirit that makes me proud to say that “I am from Saligao”.