Goa's female porters on the verge of extinction
MARGAO, India - On a rainy monsoon morning, 70-year-old Joaquina Colaco clutched an umbrella and walked through the crowded lanes of Margao market in the Indian state of Goa, hoping for a full day's work.
After wading through puddles, she sat down next to a carpenter's shop, waiting expectantly for customers who need a porter to carry their wares.
Colaco is one of a dwindling band of female "bhadels", as the porters are called in the historic city of Margao, Goa's commercial hub some 30 km south of the state capital, Panaji.
The bhadels - whose name translates as "for hire" - have been a feature of life in Goa since the days of Portuguese colonial rule in the 18th century and carry everything from groceries to furniture on their heads.
No one knows locally why women have traditionally done the back-breaking work, but increasing competition from cars, vans, the railways and men is threatening to put them out of business for good.
"We don't get much business these days," said Colaco, puffing on a beedi, a cheap, hand-rolled Indian cigarette packed with tobacco leaves.
"The male porters are much stronger and are ready to work at a cheaper rate," she said.
Another bhadel, Albertina Fernandes, agreed. "At times, they (the men) carry loads on their heads for free or in return for a peg (tot) of fenny (a Goan spirit made from fermented cashew fruit or coconut)," she said.
The arrival in the 1990s of the Konkan railway, which stretches 760 km up the western coast of India through Goa, sounded the death knell for the female porters.
The picturesque line connecting the southern city of Mangalore with India's financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai, brought eager young men from neighboring states like Kerala and Karnataka in search of work.
At the same time, increasing numbers of vehicles began to appear on the state's narrow streets, making the transportation of more and heavier loads quicker and easier.
The liberalization of the Indian economy has also played a part, opening up the country to outside influences in areas from fashion to television and increasing its people's expectations.
"A bhadel's daughter used to be a bhadel," explained Colaco. "Sons were not allowed in the trade. We're now fearing extinction as the next generation is not ready to continue the legacy."
Agence France-Presse
(China Daily 08/02/2011 page10)
