conversation with mr gerson carniero

Mr G: so how can I help you?

Me:no with regard to our project, we have been talking to many people all over the city, We are trying to 

collect conversations about or over food.

Mr G: im not much of a foodie myself, but lets talk and see if I can help.

Me: sure,so lets start with a short introduction maybe? My name is Siddharth and im from delhi. Im studying art.

Mr G: my name is Gerson. And Im a l,zocalite. I served as captain in the merchant navy for many years, and have now retired.we are actually termed anglo Indians, but we have Portuguese ancestry.

Me: yes, are you fine with that? Being of Portuguese ancestry and being called anglo Indian?

Mr G: yes I have no issues whatsoever, that’s a government thing, they have so many communities here so for the govts sake they have clubbed all of us as anglo Indians. But for all purposes im a kochiitte.

Me: I find it amazing that so many communities can live here in one place.we are trying to arrive at multiple perspectives of looking at kochi, eg. Some  people say that the kashmiris are a nuisance, whereas the kashmiris have a completely different point of view.

Mr G: oh yes, only recently the kashmiris have come and have set up shops and businesses here. The locals actually cant compete, that’s why the jealousy. The kashmiris come and spend a lot of money on buying land and such things. They don’t interfere with anyone.

Me: as out project has to do with food,what is your favourite dish?

Mr G: im not really fussy at all, and I normally have a traditional zerala meal, sometimes we make Portuguese cuisine as well. Like vindaloo etc. but personally , I love European food, I love steaks.

Me: what is vindaloo?

Mr G: it’s a pork based curry with marinations and such things, it tends to be sour but its very nice.

Me: has the food changed over the years?

Mr G: im sure it has but ive been here all my life, so I haven’t really noticed. What interesting is that certain food that are considered traditionally keralite, are actually ideas that the Portuguese have brought to india. You must have had puttu?

Me: yes.i liked it a lot.

Mr G: yes, the Portuguese actually showed people how you can cook and make rice cakes inside a bamboo! Even vivankjim I think that’s how they spell it, it’s a sweet thing. Its also Portuguese.

Me: wow I didn’t know that.

Mr G:haha, yes it is interesting.

Me: how do you find kochi to live in. in the merchant navy you must have seen so much of the world.

Mr G: well if you have money, kochi is beautiful. Its expensive, but if you have money you can life a very good life, its laidback and quiet. It’s a retired man’s life.you can get servants easily, you live peacefully.

Me: I haven’t seen any teenagers around.ive seen young kids in school , but where are the teenagers?

Mr G: see its an old mans town, as soon as kids finish school they spread out to all corners of india and abroad, they go to the gulf,Australia, Canada, uk, Bangalore, Bombay as well.they get better education and better opportunities there.

Me: what about your father, what did he do?

Mr G: he was a merchant, and my brothers and me have all been captains in the merchant navy.My son is now I pilot though, the merchant navy had its time, when I joined it was the best job one could go for, even better than a doctor or and engineer.it has its perks, you get to see many different places all over the world, and you earn a lot of money. But once you are married and have children, you miss out and your family misses out on a lot.

Me: was your wife ok with you being out all the time?

Mr G: actually that’s an interesting story. Theres a famous ship called Chidambaram, which in those days, went from madras to Malaysia. I was  second officer on the ship and she was a passenger. We met on board, I think somewhere around Singapore, and after our time on the ship, we got married 5 years later. Her name is Vinnie.

Me: what does she do now?

Mr G: she runs a beauty parlour in fort kochi itself, but currently shes gone off to Canada actually my daughter in law is expecting a baby.

Me: congratulations!

Mr G: thankyou!

Me:I noticed your house has a name!

Mr G: haha yes. My reasoning is that it’s the gift the sea has given me, all my earnings at sea have allowed me to build this house here. Hence, seagift.

Me: how nice. In the olden times, when you used to go out on your voyages, did you bring any things back with you?

Mr G: oh yes there was this wonderful music system I got from japan, and at that time those weren’t heard of in kochi, and everyone was excited. I just recently gave it away. It lasted me about 25 years.Apart from that I had this hobby of collecting stamps wherever I went, and I had quite a good collection.

Me: oh can I see!

Mr G: all those times have passed, now I have given it away to my children and I don’t have it anymore.

Me: how is it to be out at sea for such long stretches of time? You must be very attached to the sea.

Mr G: ive had a lot of experiences at sea. I loved it a lot but it poses a lot of challenges. After all a crew of 35 odd officers are responsible for safely taking the ship from one continent to another at times. I remember pirates were also a nuisance. They weren’t that big of a problem as they are now. But they would throw hooks, when the ship was slow, and rob things in the cabins etc.i got robbed once long back of some 10000 dollars,it was somewhere off Singapore.

Me: ok thanks a lot for your time, If youre free later, we can meet again.

Mr G: yes sure, just give me a call.

Me: see you.