Growing young at heart

BHARATI PAWASKAR

Age is not a number for those who do not sit and count their years of life. Instead adding life to their years, they become an encyclopedia of memories. Matilda D’Souza is one such lucky lady in Goa who can proudly claim that she has witnessed history turning its pages over a century. Fondly called ‘Dona Matty’ by young and old who know her in the family and in her village Calangute, Matilda celebrated her 108th birthday on October 25. It’s a special day for her and the family members who travelled from across India and abroad to witness this day.

Keeping herself abreast of the day-to-day happenings around her Matty is well aware of the news from the world too. “Sitting on her favourite chair mummy reads daily newspaper, listens to the news on BBC radio and watches television regularly,” vouches her daughter, Sarah Miranda. “Though Sarah is not my biological daughter, she is our fifth child and I adore her very much,” says Matty who is very fond of Sarah’s daughter too.

Mother of four, Matty’s children and their families live abroad, in London and come down once in a while.  She herself travelled to London in 1999 last and has not stepped out of her home since then, except for visiting Calangute Church every Sunday. Sarah remembers, “We celebrated her 100th birthday in the Church and till two years ago, when she turned 106, she went church for Sunday mass unfailingly. For the past two years we have been celebrating her birthday in the house itself, as she cannot climb the steps in the church now, and hates sitting in a wheelchair.”

Matty strictly follows a routine and loves meeting her friends, relatives and neighbours who make it a point to meet and greet this happy-go-lucky lady who calls everyone by name. “Mummy has no illness, no diabetes, no heart ailment, no blood pressure. She is more fit and fine than any of us,” claims Sarah. “It was five months ago that we took her to the dentist as she complained of pain in the tooth, which was later extracted. Apart from that she has no disease, except insomnia. She watches television and listens to radio till late in the night,” smiles Sarah.

Born in Calangute, Matty first went to St Teresa’s School in Mumbai until she was 15 and then studied at English Finishing School in Girgaum. She recalls vividly the days in Mumbai, her school friends and her travels with her late husband, Joseph G D’Souza. She even remembers her date of marriage clearly – May 15, 1931. “Joseph was in the Indian Railways and my best memories are that of travelling with him across Indian states. Jaipur and Ajmer were my favourite places for holidaying,” recalls Matty who liked to do embroidery, and read fairy tales when she was young  “I am still young at heart,” she quips.

Matty was the founding member of NGO St Vincent de Paul in Calangute. This organisation worked for the poor across Goa in the 1970s, providing medicine, education, help for repairing their homes and buying clothing. She was very active in those days. “I remember an incident when a poor church sacristan was wrongfully imprisoned for stealing a huge church lamp. The vicar did not like him and so claimed that he had stolen it. I worked to set him free and together with a few friends we got the injustice overturned. That was a victory for us, in those days,” she states. Matty still remembers her two best friends, both named Mary. “We studied together at Escola Nationale in Panaji. We learnt to speak Portuguese there. But though I understand the language, I don’t like to speak it now,” she says.

Matty’s mother Maria Conceicao was very talented too and Matty speaks proudly about her even now. “Everything about my mother was amazing. She had a strong personality and was a very kind-hearted person,” says Matty who lives in her maternal ancestral home in Calangute. Matty’s favourite colour is blue, which is the colour of sky and sea. “It’s the colour of freedom and life. It symbolizes openness and vastness. It’s the colour that soothes my soul,” smiles Matty as she marks her birthday that brings smiles and greetings from the people around her.