It took eight years for Dr Aida Dourado from Nuvem to complete her PhD on the kudds (Goan clubs), a unique housing concept, that in the past helped Goemkars sustain in Bombay (now Mumbai) to create a better life for themselves and their families.
Dr Aida's research is titled, 'A Study of Kudds in Mumbai -- Home to Goan Male Migrants.' One can't certainly explain when these kudds came into existence, but historical records can take one back more than 100 years from now.
If not all, most of the Goan villages have their clubs in areas like Dhobi Talao, Mazgaon, Chira Bazaar and surrounding areas. Even today, Dhobi Talao is known as mini-Goa, where one Goan can easily identify another on the densely populated streets of Mumbai.
Dhobi Talao is home to the iconic Metro cinema theatre, which was built in 1938. It was also home to the Bastani and Kyani Irani restaurants where Goemkars met over 'chai' and 'buns' after their Goa-styled siesta on metal trunks in the kudds. Beds are never allowed inside to date.
Why this research?
For Dr Aida, the research was aimed at finding out about the working of the kudd (also termed as coors) system because her father, who worked in the merchant navy, always stayed there before boarding the ship for his next voyage.
She recalls, "My father had to go to Bombay for everything, including his medical. So he would put up in the kudd. Till he got a call to join the ship, he would stay in the club. He would narrate to us the kudd stories that always fascinated me. While researching the subject, I realised there was so much more to learn about this unique housing concept that has benefitted thousands of Goans."
For a better life
Post-liberation, many of the Goan youth started moving to Bombay for better career and education opportunities. With no place to call their own, they found the clubs in the heart of the city as the best option to stay and achieve their intended objectives.
Anthony D'Mello, 65, from Cansa, Tivim, a former journalist, who lived in his village kudd in Dhobi Talao area in the early 80s, remembers going to Bombay in 1979 to do a computer course that he never managed to complete.
He reminisces, "Till the 90s, I remember our club was a transit point for villagers either moving to or returning from the Gulf countries as there were not many direct flights from Goa. The villagers would stay at the club as long as it was needed before flying out of Bombay."
Abiding by the rules
According to D'Mello, the institutionalisation of the clubs started somewhere around the 1920s and 30s and they functioned under a set of strict rules, which among other things included a compulsory recital of the rosary at 8 pm.
"Flouting of any rule would invite punishment that would involve some cleaning chores. But by 1979, when I moved to Bombay, some of the rules were relaxed," he recalls.
Writes Dr Aida in her research, "The attendance at the Rosary and Angelus was compulsory and the lights had to be out by 10 pm daily. On Sunday, those residing in the club, and even visitors, had to mandatorily participate in the cleaning of the club premises."
Very nominal rent
Fausto da Costa, 63, from Varca, Salcete, describes the days of the kudd stay as part of a good life. "My mother was from Chandor, so I stayed in the kudd of that village situated on Dockyard Road. Even till the late 70s, the rent was a nominal Rs 2.50 per month for students like me. I moved in 1979 and travelled from Dockyard to Bandra Fr Agnel Ashram where I studied."
Fausto continued to stay in the kudd even after he finished his studies and took up a job. In 1984, he moved into his own accommodation after which his visits to the club became very less.
Seafarers (tarvottis), major patronisers
Fausto recollects, "Thanks to the seafarers, who earned good salaries in those days. They patronised the clubs leading to their prosperity."
The merchant navy ships docked in Bombay allowing seafarers an opportunity to meet their families in the city, but those having their kin in Goa were not as lucky. For this reason, the clubs came up with the concept of family rooms.
Recalls Fausto, "Seafarers' wives and children travelled to Bombay and stayed in these family rooms when their husbands' ships docked in the city. The off-duty seafarers, who were allowed to leave the ship, thus got an opportunity to spend time with their families."
A dying heritage
Till the 1960s, there were around 300 kudds in Bombay, but the number has dwindled since then.
Says Gerson Gomes, who is the president of Durga village kudd that is housed in the Dinshaw Mahal, which is part of the iconic Jer Mahal building in the Dhobi Talao area, "The clubs in this iconic building are also part of the Goan heritage and have to be saved at all costs."
The Durga village club has around 125 members who are contributing money to ensure that the rent is paid on time and the place is maintained and running.
There's more to do
Dr Aida's study, which was out in 2020, is focused on six of the 22 kudds in the Jer Mahal building. The study reveals that though the kudds were meant only for the Goan Catholic community, some were opened for members of other religions too.
Even after spending eight years on the study, Dr Aida, who is a teacher in a higher secondary school in Vasco, says it was a distant dream to conduct this research. However, she adds, "Sincerely there are many more things to discover and I haven't had the opportunity to learn more about this unique housing system that is benefiting the Goan community even now."
