The village of Reis Magos in Goa‘s Bardez taluka is exquisitely located on the waterline across the bay from Panjim, and is named after the three biblical Magi Kings. Among its treasures are the eponymous church and fort.

The beautiful Church of Reis Magos, built in 1555, is among Goa‘s oldest. Symbols in bas relief around the steps leading up reveal the existence of an earlier Hindu temple at the site. The handsome east-facing façade must be seen in the warm glow of the rising sun (first image below). The annual feast at the church in the first week of January is an important event in the Goan calendar.

The Reis Magos Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1551 soon after their conquest of Bardez and later revitalized in 1703. When the Marathas took over Bardez in 1739, the Portuguese used the redoubts of Reis Magos and Aguada to barely hold on.

The archival photo adduced below discloses the glorious setting. Too bad the barbarians are now at the door, shovels in hand and trucks of concrete in tow.

Church of Reis Magos, Goa
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Seen from Reis Magos fort
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Devotion
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Reis Magos Fort - first rays of the sun
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Art by Mario Miranda
Reproduced with permission of the Mario Gallery

Reis Magos Church and Fort c. 1900
© Souza & Paul (Central Library Archives)

First rays of the sun
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PS: The muck at the bottom of the pool, the obscene sidewalk, and the uninspiring shrubbery brought to you by the boors of the Indian government (Archaeological Survey of India).

Merry Christmas to all!

These are images from Dec 24, 2007.

Midnight mass at Mãe de Deus church in Saligao
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Midnight mass celebration at Aldona
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Christmas spirits
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The Brahmāṇi temple is set in a quiet forested area in the remote village of Toldem in Goa‘s Sanguem taluka. These images were taken one early morning in February 2008.

Brahmāṇi temple in Toldem, Goa
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The temple in the late 1960s (photo by Dr. Gritli Mitterwallner)

Relief work on the plinth
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Erotic artwork
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Detail of relief
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I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. - Shri Isaac Newton

Some pebbles picked up by my camera on my morning constitutionals at the Agonda beach in Canacona, the southernmost taluka of Goa.

Yoga
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Pranayama
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Romance
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Nirvana
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No visual symbol distinguishes Goa from the rest of India quite as tellingly as its capital city of Panjim, perched on the banks of River Mandovi.

Panjim attained prominence in 1827 when the Portuguese transferred their capital from Old Goa. In 1843, it was elevated to a city, awarded upgrades befitting the capital of Estado da Ìndia, and renamed Nova Goa. A description of that time cuts a smart picture: It is a very beautiful city, modern, with broad and spacious roads drawn in grid pattern (tiradas a cordel), large squares, excellent footpaths, six beautiful bridges and a fine dock. That quote and its source are found in the monograph Snapshots of Indo-Portuguese History – Part I – Pangim, by Vasco Pinho.

I was born and raised in Panjim. It remained essentially the same idyll through my young adult years. All the ingredients of a world-class town were in place beginning with its picture-postcard setting. It was clean, quiet, the pace was languid, and an old world collegial ambience prevailed. Violent crime was unheard of. It had fine educational institutions, an outstanding medical school & hospital – said to be the oldest in Asia, a superb Central Library, a clutch of cultural institutions, lovely jardims, and wide open spaces for outdoor activities. Above all, it was a pedestrian’s delight with all neighbourhoods within the ambit of a leisurely stroll.

Where in India – or even in Silicon Valley for that matter – could a young fellow sit through a music class, then go out and shoot soccer balls, then polish off a plate of bhaji-puri at the legendary Cafe Tato, then traipse across the jardim to the reading room at Central Library, and finally pedal to Miramar beach for sundown? All in the space on an afternoon, immersed in delightful surroundings, without jostling crowds and honking traffic. Panjim was our cosy nest for what the Italians call dolce far niente. This is not a tall tale of “the good old days” – I am talking Panjim of as recent as the mid-1990s.

Sad to say, since 2002 or so this exquisite city of ours – amchi Ponje – is on a downward spiral like much of Goa. Soon it will devolve into another noisy, squalid, jumbled mass of urban chaos that is characteristic of all Indian cities and towns. By and by I shall have more to say on this.

In this extended series to be run over the next several months, I will focus on remnants of Panjim‘s past. The photographs will strive to convey a sense of the city’s surviving heritage assets and its (fast-fading) character.

One final note before we head to the gallery – the book, Walking In and Around Panaji (2005), put together by Heta Pandit and her colleagues at Goa Heritage Action Group is a good starting point for an exploration of Panjim and surrounds.

This first photograph was taken from the Reis Magos fort across River Mandovi.

Panjim on the River Mandovi
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The next photograph was shot late evening from the upper maintenance deck of the Doordarshan tower (notice the long shadow), looking towards Patto, Mandovi bridge, and the island of Chorão across the river. I had to obtain special permission for access to the tower. The climb up the dark, dank space was quite hairy given the heavily corroded iron railings & stairs.

A bird's eye view of Panjim
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By way of comparison, this is a photograph I took of an old (c. 1900) photograph from the Central Library archives. The bridge leading into Ponte de Liñhares (1632) that joins Panjim with Ribandar is seen, as are the salt pans to the right, and Chorão across the river.

Panjim circa 1900 (© Souza & Paul)

The final photograph was taken in Corte do Oiteiro (colloquially called Cortim). Houses of this type, featuring windows laced with nacre, characterize Panjim‘s old quarter.

Old house in Panjim's Cortin quarter
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The tiny settlement of Usgalimol (also referred to as Pansaimol) near the village of Rivona in Sanguem taluka in south Goa is host to an extraordinary site – a gallery of petroglyphs inscribed on a bed of laterite. The objects set in stone include human and animal forms, symbols, and implements. The area of interest covers approximately 60 x 30 sq. metres and is located cheek by jowl along the River Kushavati. During the monsoon season, much of it lies submerged under water.

The significance of this locale was realized only in the early 1990s. By then, navvies had begun hacking away at the laterite bed. The timely intervention of the Goa State Dept of Archives & Archaeology averted a major cultural tragedy. Look at the bottom-right in the first photograph below for the damage inflicted.

A serious study of the site awaits inauguration, but preliminary surveys have been done by, among others, the former Director of the Goa State Dept of Archives & Archaeology Dr. P.P. Shirodkar, and researchers at the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa.

Prehistoric rock art gallery in Usgalimol, Goa
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The labyrinth symbol has been found all over the world. For more on this topic, click here.

Petroglyph of a labyrinth in Usgalimol, Goa
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Prehistoric rock art in Usgalimol, Goa
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Prehistoric rock art in Usgalimol, Goa
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Prehistoric rock art in Usgalimol, Goa
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Prehistoric rock art in Usgalimol, Goa
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