Katia Goes
I truly believe that the place and setting that we grow up in makes all the difference and I couldn't have been happier to be your little baby growing up in Goa.
I don't know if you made Goa stand out, or if Goa stood out through you. But what I do know is that Goa has always felt like you, and you? Well, you've always felt like home.
My list of thank yous runs long, but if I had to concise it, I would start off by saying thank you for making our house a home and for all the delicious Goan goodness that you introduced to me and my babies.
Right from the whistle of the pressure cooker going off and the aroma of your mouth-watering Goan food knocking my socks off, to the gigantic morsels of rice that you would stuff into my mouth as I tried my best to run away - lunch time has always been something else with you, Mama.
Thank you for teaching me my mother tongue, Konkani. I may not always be as fluent as you are, but that's okay because you will always be around to teach me the difference between zata (can do) and zaina (cannot do).
Thank you for lending me your lap to lay on when the day has beaten me black and blue, and when the priest has decided to give one of his unending sermons at midnight mass.
Happy Mother's Day, Mama - I'll bring the toast, while you make the black tea that we will dip and sip while sitting in the balcony in the evening.
And while you try to teach me the recipe of my favourite Goan curry because you say that won't always be around to make it for me, I will always change the subject because I spend every day praying that you live forever.