Mangalorean Roots

Rego House in Bolar, Mangalore

My Great Grand Parents:

I have just spent the past few days in the home of my maternal ancestors in Mangalore. Its funny, people have always asked me where I come from, to which I reply, India, and which part, to which I reply Mangalore, but I could never conceive of what that actually looked like. I got to spend two days in Bolar, in my grandfather's ancestral home, where many generations of Rego's once lived, and it finally gave me context to draw on about where my ancestors came from....not to mention learning about the history of Christians in India, and their persecutions by the Tippu Sultan, who put them in concentration camps, and exterminated many Christians...Our family eventually returned to Mangalore once they were released from their imprisonment and started a Tile Factory there, which I got to see...The house and the Rego Tile Factory are over one hundred years old, and their tiles are still handmade...It was neat to hear stories from my relatives about growing up there, their grandparents, bathing in an old copper cauldron, and stories about the mischief my aunts and uncles got into as kids....

There are beautiful churches in Mangalore, and the church I went to called St. Aloysius was covered in hand painted frescos from floor to ceiling just like the Sistine Chapel...I've never actually seen the Sistine Chapel, but I can imagine that's its brilliant...

And I noticed that Manglorean girls generally have very curly hair, which could maybe explain why my hair is so curly!

The bad thing about Mangalore was that there is alot of construction being done on the roads, but it should be a great place to visit in about 2 years, once all the construction is finished....Mangalore is just as humid as goa, and with the construction very dusty at the moment...Food wise, Mangy food is delicious, and probably my favourite so far, but maybe I'm being biased because I am Mangalorean! Its based largely on Fish, and vegetables, which are also two of my favourite foods....

But all in all, I really enjoyed my visit to Mangalore!!!