The crack of a traditional kakon may not ordinarily make political news. But when Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte broke the crisp, ring-shaped bread delicacy into two during an inspection of Mapusa’s flower market and shared half with Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza, the moment offered an irresistible metaphor – a possible political code cracked just months before Goa heads into another Assembly election.
Looking energetic and self-assured, Khaunte had stopped to buy bread from a traditional poder during his visit to the flower and pottery markets. He picked up a kakon and snapped it into two, the distinctive crack audible to those nearby, before handing a piece to D’Souza.
Whether the gesture carried any political message is anybody’s guess. But the optics were difficult to miss: the Tourism Minister and the Mapusa MLA, together on the ground, promising a facelift for one of the town’s most recognisable commercial landmarks at a time when every development announcement is likely to acquire an electoral undertone.
Beyond the bread-breaking moment, Khaunte had a more substantive assurance for Mapusa’s traders. The Tourism Department, he said, would take up the beautification of the flower and pottery markets, with improvements to illumination and other amenities planned in consultation with local vendors and shopkeepers.
A presentation will be made to the Mapusa Merchants Association (MMA), he said, with the flower market to be taken up in the first phase and the pottery market in the second. Further improvements could be incorporated if required.
Tourists visiting Mapusa’s famous Friday market should have a good experience, Khaunte said, adding that the MMA and the local MLA should sit with the consultant and work out the plans.
“This will benefit the people of Mapusa, Bardez and the tourism industry at large,” he said, assuring that traders would be taken into confidence before improvements were undertaken.
Old market, old controversy
The assurances, however, come with a history that Mapusa’s flower-market vendors will not easily forget.
In 2014, the Mapusa Municipal Council passed a resolution to demolish the Portuguese-era flower market building and replace it with a ground-plus-one commercial structure. The proposal had the backing of the then Mapusa MLA, the late Francisco D’Souza, but met stiff resistance from vendors and shopkeepers who feared that redevelopment would fundamentally alter the character of the market and disrupt their livelihoods.
The opposition was unequivocal.
“No way. We shall never allow demolition of the flower market building. The plans are to change the roof, streamline the vendors and beautify the market,” Assis Cardozo, former secretary of the MMA, told The Goan.
That resistance remains an important backdrop to any fresh redevelopment initiative. For the traders, the central question is not merely whether the market will look better, but whether its traditional character, existing arrangements and livelihoods will be protected in the process.
Development with a political subtext
With the Assembly election only a few months away, the inspection and the promises that accompanied it are unlikely to be viewed as an entirely routine exercise.
In Mapusa, where the Friday market remains both a commercial hub and a familiar public symbol, even relatively modest improvements can carry political value.
The visit also brings into focus the subtle churn within the BJP-led government, where different political groupings are seen to be consolidating their positions. Khaunte and D’Souza appeared firmly on the same page during the inspection, presenting a united front around a development proposal that directly concerns Mapusa’s traders and residents.
There is no need to read more into the broken kakon than the moment itself warrants.
Yet, in politics, symbolism often travels alongside substance – and the minister’s market walkabout offered both a promise of beautification and a carefully visible display of political camaraderie.
Whether the flower and pottery markets receive a makeover that satisfies traders, and whether the assurances translate into work on the ground before the election, will ultimately matter more than the crack of a kakon. For now, the market has received a promise. Mapusa will be watching to see what follows.
