Benito the Handyman

      BENITO

The Strongman of Yesteryear

         Benito, the handyman, (Abdonio’s brother) was the tallest man in the village, standing at more than six feet (I think he must have been a least 6’4”). This amazing and admirable man had quite a remarkable stamina for his lean body frame that could very well have been made of steel! He could lift a ‘vanso’ or a ‘patti’ (a 15 ft long 4 in. x 4 in ceiling rafter) single-handed.

        Having a wry and subdued sense of humour, it seemed he never got tired of doing any work. He was an expert for precisely divining water patches in the fields for irrigation purposes, and helped to dig perfectly square wells and prepare the fields for cultivation very diligently, and estimate the exact quantity of tiles and other material one would need just by looking at an unfinished roof.

        He was a man for all night emergencies, including bringing the doctor to the homes of the villagers during sickness, come rain or shine, day or night – a walking ambulance of a bygone blissful era. Whenever he accompanied us on errands or to night ladainhas (famous sung litanies of Goa), to Tiatros (late night Konkani dramas) or to Christmas or Easter midnight masses, we were never afraid of the dark.

         Benit Titi, as the young lads of the village called him, was famous for his strong thick coir rope knots that he tied and held roof rafters, beams, huts and canopies that were bound together. Simply put, the knots were very difficult to untie. A master in the construction and decoration of a ‘matou’ (a very large canopy) for weddings in the village, at most times he did not require a ladder, obviously as he was very tall, perhaps the tallest man in the village of Guirim. He would accompany us to the nearby streams for a swim during the summer months and we felt happy and safe in his company as he would easily wade across the shallow streams helping us while we were learning to swim.

         He made quick and short work of most things. We could never have constructed the ‘matou’ without him (especially for the chapel village feast of Holy Name of Jesus) that was held annually on the 2nd of January. I remember that he was the only one who could retrieve the ‘petromax’ from the hook of any ceiling at the end of a litany, wedding or any other function, and call it a night.

Guirim, Cumbiem Morod. Preparing for the feast of Holy Name of Jesus - 2nd January 1966.

Decoration seems to be in progress. Perched atop the folding ladders is your sincerely in favourite checked blue shirt, helped by two other young guys. One of them is Sikander (a.k.a. Shiko). The picture was taken by my best buddy Gabriel Monteiro. The holes for the poles were dug by none other than Benit Titi. The white drapes were kept in a special steel trunk at Beatrice Mana's house in immaculate condition. The camera that I used was a Samoca M35, made in Japan. The slide film was 64 ASA 36exp. The transparencies could be projected on the wall. The slide film was processed by Bombay Film Colour Labs at Dadar 47 years ago.