Biography

- Manohar Malgaonkar

Within a year, civilian administration was restored and after that Mario got his house back. It was something to be thankful for that the old house itself and all the farms and plantations that the family had owned were intact. But the farms and plantations had suffered neglect and brought no income, so the new bhatkar Mario was required to make a living on his own. He resumed his job in the Times Group almost as though he had never left it.

His friends Polly Vaz and Sarto Almeida were still there to welcome him, and his romance with Habiba Hydari which had been so rudely interrupted by his impulsive flight to Lisbon took off with a flourish.

For someone who was as well established in his profession as Mario, London had no special advantage over Bombay. The advantage of being in Bombay was that it was within commuting distance of Goa which had needed his constant personal attention to regain possession of his ancestral house.

The process took a whole year. For this we have the testimony of Habiba Miranda who has a sharp memory of dates. According to Habiba, Sarto Almeida, their longtime friend was married in their Bombay house on the 26th January, 1963. Before that date, the house had come into Mario’s possession.

And again as Habiba remembers: “That very night after Sarto had been married, Mario and I, too decided to get married. We were married on 10th November, 1963”.

Habiba gave up her job as an airhostess and she and Mario set up their home in a modest flat in Bombay. Both of them had belonged to well-to-do families and were used to a fairly affluent lifestyle. Now they had to live on a budget.