The next time someone tells you that they are going for a holiday to Goa, ask them what they
intend to do there. You are likely to get ‘surfing’, ‘lazing on the beach’, ‘swimming’
and the like. But that’s not all, there are a few who might try something else,
like ‘getting drunk on the beach’, ‘eating vindaloo at a beach shack’, ‘dancing
at a club’(near the beach). The single minded need of tourists to cling to the
state’s sandy strip often makes one wonder if there is anything more to this Portuguese
colony of old. Is Goa just one long beach with different names to confuse
tourists? Thankfully it isn’t. The experience that is Goa – the free flowing
alcohol, the late night parties, the spicy chicken and pork dishes and the
fun-loving yet laid approach of the locals – has a history to it. The beach is
where it might all come together, but there is another side that is still
traditional and charming, the side I believe to be the authentic Goa. She can
be found in little hamlets a short distance from the coast, in old Portuguese baroque
churches and colourful bungalows. Today, I explore the Latin quarter of Panjim
to immerse myself in her heritage.
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| Sao Tome marked on the map of Panjim |
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| Ourem creek |
Sao Tome
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| Contrasts of Sao Tome |
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| Statue of Dr. Dias with Casa da moeda in the background |
My taxi drops me off on Ourem road, close to the St. Sebastian chapel.
It’s a short walk from there to the Tobacco square, named after the current
office of the post master general, earlier known as Tobacco house, where
the tobacco trade was started to revive a recessionary Goan economy. I guess
smoking isn’t injurious to commerce. Her clean reddish-maroon and white exteriors
suggest a new coat of paint – one of the better maintained buildings here. On
the other side of the square, Sunday morning mass is on in the Sao Tome chapel.
On its left stands the G.X. Verlekar & Sons Jewellers. Unfortunately, the
only well maintained part of the building is the name plate. The rest is antique
and broken with green wooden balustrades and old wiring poking out of its
decrepit and randomly plastered side. However, you can still see the
discoloured stucco mouldings above the balconies. On the other side of the tobacco
house is the Casa da moeda (“house of coins”) which served as Goa’s mint from
1834-1841.
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| Sao Tome chapel |
It’s then onto the Rua Luis de Menezes and the 31st January road (named
after the date of Portugal’s
liberation from Spain), where the buildings of Sao
Tome come to life – the predominant pastels mingling with the darker reds and
browns, the contrasts around the casement windows, the red tiled roofs and the
vintage overhanging balconies although fewer.
Fontainhas
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| Morning quota of bread |
The colour and contrasts continue into Fontainhas. I also begin to
notice the hand painted name plaques for roads and houses. White backgrounds
with blue decorated borders seem to be the most common but not the norm. The
plaque generally holds the name of the family or street prefixed with a ‘Casa’
or ‘Rua’. But I am more interested in the pronunciation of ‘fontainhas’. I keep
saying “fôntīnäs” till finally when asking an elderly man for directions; he
replies “fôntānyäs” firmly. I repeat the same, and he nods his head with
approval and says, “It’s Portuguese!” with pride. Meanwhile, still within a
earshot, as I walk away, I hear a woman mumbling something to which the
gentlemen replies, “Ah! turistas..” with
an air of dissent as if I were the hundredth person he corrected that day. But don’t
be misled by that incident. The people are very friendly and are more than
happy to correct your pronunciation, engage you in chit-chat and share their
version of Goan heritage with you. I walk upto the spring or fountain from
where the place gets its name and then turn back and left over Emidio Gracia
road towards the church square (earlier known as ‘Largo da Igreja’) which is
home to the famous Church of our Lady of Immaculate Conception.
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| Fontainhas |
Central
Panjim
The Church of our Lady of Immaculate Conception, which was built
in 1541, stands tall overlooking the church square. Her white façade is broken
by a series of stairs leading to the top. Unfortunately, another morning mass
is on and I can’t get in.
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| Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception |
It’s down Dr. R.S. road and right towards the statue of Abbe
Faria, a Goan monk famous for his contributions to hypnotism. I end the walk at
the old secretariat on the Avenida Dom Joao Castro road on the banks of the
Mandovi.
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| Statue of Abbe Faria |
It’s now half past ten – Casino Prime on the other side of the
river is probably closed, but the yachts are up and cruising through the
Mandovi – time for the touristy version of Goa to take over!
References/Good
reads
The colour and contrasts continue into Fontainhas. I also begin to
notice the hand painted name plaques for roads and houses. White backgrounds
with blue decorated borders seem to be the most common but not the norm. The
plaque generally holds the name of the family or street prefixed with a ‘Casa’
or ‘Rua’. But I am more interested in the pronunciation of ‘fontainhas’. I keep
saying “fôntīnäs” till finally when asking an elderly man for directions; he
replies “fôntānyäs” firmly. I repeat the same, and he nods his head with
approval and says, “It’s Portuguese!” with pride. Meanwhile, still within a
earshot, as I walk away, I hear a woman mumbling something to which the
gentlemen replies, “Ah! turistas..” with
an air of dissent as if I were the hundredth person he corrected that day. But don’t
be misled by that incident. The people are very friendly and are more than
happy to correct your pronunciation, engage you in chit-chat and share their
version of Goan heritage with you. I walk upto the spring or fountain from
where the place gets its name and then turn back and left over Emidio Gracia
road towards the church square (earlier known as ‘Largo da Igreja’) which is
home to the famous Church of our Lady of Immaculate Conception.
