The man with
an encyclopedic mind
By Savio Rodrigues s.j
The grandchildren of Mr. Antu
Rodrigues, [as he was known within the Goan community or, officially, Mr.
A.N.F.S. Rodrigues,] kept asking their parents and uncle to pen down some lines
about their so-called encyclopedic granddad and also to enlighten them about
the conventional lifestyle in Goa. So, we, (my sister, Blanche, my brother Rene
and I) finally decided to write a short outline of Mr. Antu Rodrigues, our
dad’s life story.
Mr. Antu Rodrigues, my dad,
began his primary education unusually not in the Escola primaria
(Portuguese primary school) in Carmona or Orlim, both of which were equidistant
from the Rodrigues residence, but in the house of a gentleman in Orlim. It was
under his tutelage that Dad appeared for his Primeiro Grau, the first
Portuguese examination on offer in the curriculum, which he passed.
Dad did not continue with his
studies in Portuguese but in English instead, with the same gentleman. While
there, Dad made friends with Jose Vaz, another student who lived in Orlim who
would also follow him to the next stage of schooling, in Margao. For his secondary schooling, he was
sent to Union High School in Margao, which was owned by the
Gracias family. The school was later handed over to the Archdiocese of Goa. The
school was renamed Dom Teotonio High school, after the Archbishop himself. In
1946, the Archdiocese of Goa, handed over the school to the Jesuits, who
renamed it, Loyola High School.
We are uncertain as to why Dad
was sent for his further education to an English medium instruction school when
at that time, the Portuguese were ruling Goa and most students were taught in
Portuguese. Was his father planning to send him to work in Bombay or on board a ship? There
was a sizable Goan community speaking Konkani and English living in Bombay, and
it was also relatively common for Goans to be employed abroad
in English-speaking merchant ships in the lower classes of employment. It
is interesting to note that all his siblings, however, did their studies in
Portuguese, (except Griselia and Melquiades). They attended the seminary at
Rachol, after their Primerio Grau, as there was no secondary education
available in the villages and in Margao one could go only up to Quinto anno
(SSC - ‘Secondary School Certificate’ exam - equivalent to Ordinary
Levels in the United Kingdom). They attended classes in the seminary in
Rachol but lodged with private families who kept borders for a fee.
Mr. Antu Rodrigues was forced
to give up his studies a few months before he would have answered his
Matriculation Examination [ today called S.S.C Examination, or O levels in the U.K]. The
reason being his father wanted him to go to East Africa [Uganda] and earn some
money so that his siblings could go to school. He was just 18 years of age
then. He worked for 15 years, in almost every District town in Uganda, as the
town clerk.
Dad began working as a junior
clerk in the civil service, in the District Commissioner’s office, and was
transferred to many small towns and villages in this capacity over the next
eight years or so. These included Lira, Gulu, Soroti, Kitgum, Arua, Mbale and
Masaka. However, he was never posted to the bigger towns of Kampala, Jinja and
Fort Portal. These district towns had a District Commissioner and an assistant,
who were both mzungus (British-Europeans). In 1946, he was selected to work in the Secretariat, where he
stagnated for a decade, as a clerk.
Dad’s writing skills were
admired in all the Government offices, not only in Uganda, but also in Kenya;
after all, Dad had for years drafted and typed all the official government
circulars. In 1949, his real worth was discovered and he made phenomenal and
rapid progress to end up as Permanent Establishment Secretary. He was the
first non-Englishman to hold this post, otherwise reserved only for the
English. He thus opened the gates for others to follow. He was also honoured by
Queen Elizabeth II, with the M.B.E, in recognition for his services.
After retirement he was given
two, three-year contracts, on the same scale, to train the Africans to take
over the jobs after independence. In recognition of this, the Ugandan Permanent
Secretary called Mr. Rodrigues,” The man with an encyclopedic mind.”.
Comments