This installment of Panjim Promenade puts the spotlight on Tobacco Square (Largo do Estanco in Portuguese).

The Tobacco Square is bounded by the General Post Office, the São Tomé chapel and Casa da Moeda. What is now the General Post Office originally started out as a depot for trading tobacco whence the name of the Square. The premises then went on to serve as the Police Headquarters for some time. Finally it became the centre of operations of the city’s postal services (Repartição dos Correios).

Within the perimeter of the Tobacco Square was the notorious pillory. It was here that the Portuguese executed the plotters of the Pinto Conspiracy.

Panjim was conceived by Portuguese designers and that vision was brought to fruition by Goa‘s master craftsmen and masons. What emerged over time was a beautiful city unlike any other in India, pleasing to the eye, with the whole in harmony with its parts. That Panjim is now being dismantled and rubbished (read Indianized), the beauty of the old structures supplanted with ugly, low-quality concrete ratholes. It is as if a different species has taken over.

This image of the General Post Office was shot from the location of the aforementioned pillory.

General Post Office, Panjim
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Around 1900
(From: Postais Antigos do Estado da Portuguese Índia)

Capela de São Tomé was built in 1849 and received a substantial makeover in 1902.

Capela de São Tomé and Hugo Menezes house (19th C)
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

São Tomé chapel c. 1910
© Souza & Paul (Central Library Archives)

Morning mass at São Tomé
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Velho building (19th C)
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

Torre de Belém (1920s) and Hotel Imperial (1940s)
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

All the posts in the Panjim Promenade series may be accessed here.

The mere mention of jackfruit stirs fond childhood memories of Goan summers. The baby jackfruit meant breakfast to us brats unshackled from the tyranny of the school year. You slit the fruit open with your hands, scooped up the fleshy nuggets and then spat out the seed.

The Konkani word for jackfruit is the same as the Sanskrit panas. In Goa, two varieties obtain, differing in the nature of the flesh: the pulpy rasaal, and the firmer, crispier kaapo. The fruit is abundant along India’s Konkan and Malabar coasts. Look up the Wiki link above for details.

A more generous fruit would be hard to cite. The flesh is eaten as is, or used as the main ingredient in several traditional preparations. The chewy saatth, prepared by grinding and flattening the pulp and then drying it in the sun, is much relished in Goa and other south Indian states. The roasted seed is a wholesome snack and jackfruit chips make for irresistible nibbles. To cap it all, the neighbourhood cow is ever grateful for the skin tossed her way.

Jackfruit mountain near Thrissur, Kerala
5D, 24-105L

Low hanging fruit - Mayem, Goa
5D, 24-105L

Jackfruit tree at Nunem, Goa
5D, 24-105L

This is Part 2 of the conspectus on the cafés of Panjim. The first installment outlined the city’s café culture and covered the iconic Café Central. Here we survey the pioneering houses of the genre that are still active and thriving.

The menu at all these cafés has much in common. They distinguish themselves by their house specialties and through variations on familiar dishes. Panjimites are deadly serious about their cafés and brand loyalty is fierce, with affiliations carrying seamlessly over generations within families.

A few of the older cafés have now adopted a two-tier seating (and pricing) arrangement by adding an air-conditioned annexe. The comfort it provides in the summer months is welcome, but to those of us weaned on the originals, the new upgrades have diminished some of the spirit and character of an earlier era.

As mentioned in the earlier post, Café Central no longer supports a sit-down setting. Café Tato is today the top dog, located only a few steps away from the old Café Central site. It was founded in 1913 by Keshav Govind Dhuri from the village of Nerul, and is the oldest of the surviving cafés. It began as Hindu Upahar Griha, which was later dropped in favour of “Tato,” the founder’s cognomen. Today the enterprise is run by the grandson, Pradip Govind Dhuri.

Café Tato is internationally known for its bhaji-puri. See this and drool. (Note: the t’s in Tato are soft, the ‘a’ is long, and the second syllable ‘to’ is phonetically similar to the Engish ‘raw’.)

Breakfast of the Gods - Café Tato
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Pradip Dhuri, proprietor
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Café Aram – earlier known as Café Remanso – came online c. 1945. It is the birthplace of the world’s greatest batata-vada. I’m sorry to say that, all the hoopla notwithstanding, the vada-pão from Bombay is a thundering flop. The ability to tell a good batata-vada from a great batata-vada is what separates the men from the boys. The key to the batata-vada is encrypted not in the filling (as is commonly and mistakenly imagined) but in its shell. The herbs & spices, thickness, consistency, coefficient of porosity, and the overall softness of the coat taken together are vital to the success of a batata-vada. My research has shown that only Café Aram meets the highest parametric standards in this regard. The Bombay batata-vada with its thin, wimpy shell stands no chance against the genuine Goan article.

Café Remanso (Aram)
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Café Aram
5D Mark II, 24-105L

All the Goodness
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Mother of all batata-vadas - Café Aram
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Café Prakash was founded in 1955 by Vasudev B. Sakhalkar, and named after his son Prakash who is now in charge. This is the watering hole of Goan journalists (known locally as patracars) who divide their time between the café and work (95% café, 5% work).

Prakash Sakhalkar, proprietor of Café Prakash
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Café Bhonsle was established in 1920 by Rama Bhonsle. The family legacy is today handled by his grandsons. Specialties here include mix-bhaji with chapati, and the piquant mirsang (batter fried hot chili pepper).

Mix-bhaji - Café Bhonsle
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Café Bhonsle
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Chao (tea)
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

The final pick is Café Real (the Portuguese ‘Real,’ meaning royal), founded in 1946 by Gajanan Shirodkar, and celebrated for its exceptional bhaji-puri.

Café Real
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

These are images of Nirmalabai Jadhav made one late evening in Korgaon in north Goa. She was crossing the village square when I first noticed her. When I went up and asked if she would agree to a portrait, she was moved to tears.

Nirmala Jadhav of Korgaon, Goa
5D Mark II, 135L

Crossing the street
5D Mark II, 135L

Nirmalabai
5D Mark II, 135L

As soon as I saw the figure of Mahadeo Bali one evening in Korgaon, I knew that I had a great subject for a portrait. The first image below is a candid, moments before he saw me with the lens pointed at him. There is something very Goan about him. Men of this manner and look won’t be around for long.

Mahadeo Bali of Korgaon, Goa
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Mahadeo Bali
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

By default, the term “pilot” in Goa refers not to someone in the cockpit of an aircraft, but to the owner and driver of a motorcycle taxi. This mode of public transportation, perhaps not found elsewhere in India, is now a relic back from the day when Goa had a civilization.

If you were going someplace solo, the pilot was a quick, convenient, affordable, and in today’s parlance, environment-friendly option. Knots of pilots are still seen in towns and villages all over Goa but their numbers have greatly dwindled. Some of the motorcycle brands I recall from my young days are: Bullet, Jawa, Yezdi.

Motorcycle pilot Menino D'Cruz of Panjim
5D Mark II, Zeiss 50mm f/2 Makro Planar

At the launch pad
5D Mark II, 14L II

I have a good recollection of the Goan gentry of my young days, of their modes of dress, speech and mannerisms, of the old world charm, adapted from the Portuguese and synthesized into a uniquely Goan composite. That kind of codger is today a rare sight in Panjim. Likewise, the hardy Goan of the working class has been transformed by the times although a few still cling to the old ways – but surely not for long – even as their grandchildren conquer the new worlds of Facebook and Twitter.

These images were made while waiting for a sunset shoot in the village of Saligao. The 300mm telephoto lens enabled enough separation from the men for a candid shot. The mellow orange of the late evening sun was a bonus. As is my wont, I try to engage my subjects once the photographs are secure in my bag.

Julio Rodrigues wearing his loincloth (in Goa, called the caxtti) was returning with bags of livestock feed. For a tinge of nostalgia, notice the Hercules logo on his old bicycle. In the second image we see Jagannath Morajkar trudging home after an honest day’s work. There is something very Goan to their look, and soon sights like these will exist only in our memory.

On the way home: Julio Rodrigues
5D Mark II, 300L f/4 IS

Day's end: Jagannath Morajkar
5D Mark II, 300L f/4 IS

Jagannath Morajkar
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

This blog post is not about making or displaying beautiful photographs. But photography is fundamentally a tool in story-telling, and this is a subject that interests me: Silicon Valley (where I live) and its history.

There are numerous accounts available on the web on the development of Silicon Valley. At its core, it is a story of American ingenuity, playfulness, and entrepreneurial spirit. I have chosen to document below three seminal Valley mileposts that fundamentally altered the world. The work involved bent the arc of human civilization, and that it all happened within an area of a few square miles is astonishing.

The entry of the word “Silicon” into Silicon Valley can be traced back to the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory started in 1956 in Mountain View, California, by William Shockley, the co-inventor of the transistor. Today at the same spot stands the La Fiesta Super Market.

Marking Shockley's lab in Mountain View, California
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50mm f/2 Makro Planar

At Shockley's site today - La Fiesta Super Market
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Separated by a few miles and a couple of decades is the house in Palo Alto where William Hewlett and David Packard first got their enterprise going (1939). This garage is considered the birthplace of Silicon Valley.

Hewlett and Packard's garage in Palo Alto, California
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50mm f/2 Makro Planar

Within walking distance of the HP garage, at the intersection of Emerson and Channing streets in Palo Alto, is a plaque commemorating the great American inventor Lee De Forest who worked here in 1910 on the world’s first global radio communications system.

Site of Lee De Forest's lab in Palo Alto, California
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50mm f/2 Makro Planar

Silicon Valley was built “on the shoulders of giants,” and its pioneering tradition endures.

Google headquarters in Mountain View, California
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50mm f/2 Makro Planar

Ponte de Linhares, the causeway joining Panjim and Ribandar, was built in 1633, and is acknowledged as a signal feat of engineering. Measuring just under 3 kms in length, the route is flanked by River Mandovi on one side and salt pans embedded in Khazan lands – a remarkable indigenous hydrologic system predating the Portuguese, designed to control tidal flow – on the other.

For centuries Ponte de Linhares has held Goans in thrall with its visually soothing panoramas. But in the past 10 years, the explosion in motor traffic and the haphazard birth of hideous concrete structures on the overlooking hills have destroyed the beauty of the area and turned it into an eyesore.

These images were taken over a period of 3 years in varied weather and lighting conditions; the archival photographs adduced provide a ready historical perspective.

Click here for earlier installments of Panjim Promenade.

River Mandovi is seen on the left from the Panjim end of the causeway.

Ponte de Linhares from Panjim side
5D, 300L f/4 IS

This image was taken soon after sunrise from the hill in Ribandar. To the left of the causeway is the Khazan land with its salt pans – tiny mounds of crystallized salt are seen on the lower left.

Post-sunrise Ponte de Linhares looking from Ribandar towards Panjim
5D, 300L f/4 IS

The disgusting legacy of our deplorable builders and politicos in plain sight, looking over the Mandovi bridge (another Third World dud) from Panjim towards Ribandar. Notice the old white chapel of Our Lady of Remedios at the foot of the hill at the other end of Ponte de Linhares. You will see it again in the archival photographs.

Late evening view of Mandovi bridge and Ponte de Linhares from Panjim
5D, 300L f/4 IS

Ponte de Linhares from Panjim on a monsoon morning
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Ponte de Linhares
5D, 300L f/4L IS

In this c. 1900 view from the hill near the current High Court in Panjim, both the Mandovi river and the Khazan salt pans are seen in their pristine condition. Look carefully for the Remedios chapel at the far end. This and the next image are photographs of photographs from the Souza & Paul collection now in the custody of Central Library in Panjim.

Ponte de Linhares c.1900 (Central Library Archives)
5D, 24-105L

Ponte de Linhares c.1900 - entrance into Panjim (Central Library Archives)
5D, 24-105L

The final two images are photographs of photographs from the book Postais Antigos do Estado da Índia by João Loureiro (sponsored by Fundação Macau, 1998).

Ponte de Linhares c.1900 - entrance into Panjim
5D Mark II, Zeiss 50 f/2 MP

Here the Remedios chapel in Ribandar is clearly seen. Take note of the unmolested hilltop and compare with image #3 above.

Ponte de Linhares c.1900 - looking towards Ribandar
5D Mark II, Zeiss 50 f/2 MP

Go here for earlier installments of Panjim Promenade.