o me
and said: "We insert butter paper in the machine, so
how do we get paper jam?"

My first encounter with Rajan Narayan was not
awe-inspiring. Rajan was never a dresser and, on the
few occasions when he managed to get into a long
sleeved shirt and ironed trousers, he looked quite
smart. The first time I saw him for one of the
anniversaries when he came with a slightly over-sized
navy blue coat. The next occasion was when he returned
from Dubai on the first Air-India direct flight from
the Gulf. His attire never bothered him or any of the staff.

Rajan had two indulgencies -- smoking and chewing
`Halls' sweets. And the smoking nearly burnt him out
one day. I was in the office that day when a couple
arrived to see Rajan. As usual he lit a cigarette and
was puffing away when the couple noticed smoke under
the table. It didn't take long for Rajan to realize
that his trouser pocket was smouldering. He thrust his
hand into the pocket to put out the fire and in the
process burnt his fingers. After a little slapping here
and there the fire was put out. I was quickly summoned
and told to buy a tube of Burnol. Rajan never believed
in moderation. He squeezed half the tube on his fingers
and continued conversation with the couple with the
yellow paste all over his hands. I don't know how his
pocket caught fire, but I think Rajan absent mindedly
shoved the match in his pocket instead of the ashtray.

There were a lot of other interesting incidents that
happened in the Herald, some nice, some not so nice.
Like how we played mandicot all night in the composing
room or how we celebrated on Independence eve with a
bottle of whiskey and nearly got caught or the
formation of the Union, or the time when the electrical
system short circuited and Pamela, Alaric and Paul
filed stories in candle light, or Rico's hoi-te.

Perhaps some other time? Perhaps, for the twenty-fifth
anniversary e-book.

Chapter 12:
The proof of it all...

Tony MartinTony Martin, the better-known pen-name of Anthony
Barretto, worked his way through Goa's English-language
newspapers, before shifting to education. He has gone
into self-publishing, and, in his own modest and
low-profile manner, has managed to put out books with a
print-run of 5000 copies (amazing by Goa's standards).
Currently, he is working on a website on Canacona.

Just an out-of-school teenager that I was, life then
posed a 'Catch 22' situation when one first landed in
Panjim.