from the time the sisters sign up for closure they learn the rituals of the cloister of which needlework is an important part for it is a pursuit that is meditative and silent and allows for impromptu prayer it has been sacrificed at the altar of the new wedding list where couples list what gifts they want at a fancy store we had a large retinue of domestics to do it the trousseau sometimes included furniture pots and pans and other household desirables for six decades the cloister has been famous in goa as the goto place for wedding trousseaux this is the porthole of communication for the cloistered sisters thus began the homeschooling in housewifery a crucial lesson being the marshalling of scissors thread and thimble a reel of thread used to cost four annas before its rs 25 now mother superior reports unhappily of course the girls who were all thumbs when it came to the needle made an effort by enrolling at housekeeping schools that blossomed in the summer the package was called the trousseau from the french root trousse or bundle they bake communion host the sacred wafers taken at mass for client churches tailor and embellish vestments and also craft riotously beautiful bridal bouquets and funeral wreaths from the flowers of their own garden in this life the beauty of the trousseaux is evanescing particularly in goa the card carrier of the tradition the sisters have found business dipping steadily and unfortunately with the rising popularity of the department store from the time i was about 12 and learnt to sew my mother made me make small pieces of table linen unknown to me at the time for my trousseau she says and i think lace is too in your face says viegas admitting she was grateful to her own inlaws for not enforcing a tradition she not only believes is outdated but also dclass this custom was called denei in konkanirodrigues she recalls a tablecloth she crafted as a young woman a sea crowded with marine life prismatic with colour and embroidery lately trousseaux have been packed crudely in plastic bags rues rodrigues however the truth is that trousseaux were an erstwhile income this kind of handspun loveliness is losing favour with modern brides modern finishing schools may have purged needlework from their courses but rodrigues holds that despite ones ineptitude at handicraft and despite the cartwheels of time the appreciation of fine things braves all changes in a century thats why we accept orders for trousseaux and chasubles the outer raiment of priests says mother superior therese marie all 80 years of her held loose in a coarse brown selfmade habit for centuries women from parts of europe and their carboncopy colonies put together a package of clothes and linen in anticipation of their wedding day which often was too far in the future to even pinpoint a groom and so goes the trousseau taking with it goas culture