Photo Blog by Rajan Parrikar » Church

Monsoon Bliss in Chorão

Rajan P. Parrikar — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:43:15 +0000

This is a continuation of the Monsoon in Goa – 2010 Edition theme.

These photographs were shot over two consecutive rain-soaked days in the idyll that is the island of Chorão, also known as Chodna or Chodan. My forbears came from this part of Goa, and were impelled to move out after the sacking of the village and the Hindu temples by the Portuguese in the 16th C.

The final photograph in the series below was taken in the face of an intense rainstorm advancing in my direction. Seconds later I had to dive into my car. These are moments to live for.

St Bartholomew church, Chorão (1569)
5D Mark II, 24-105L

The lone sentinel on a dark monsoon morning
5D Mark II, 70-100L f/2.8 IS II

Nossa Senhora de Saude chapel
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

Mae de Deus church of Pomburpa seen from Chorão
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Advancing rainstorm (Pomburpa church is seen to the left)
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Palm Fronds and the Church

Rajan P. Parrikar — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:01:06 +0000

The 17th C. Church of Nossa Señhora Assunta in the village of Velsão is ensconced in a swath of palm trees. This soothing sight typifies the landscape of coastal Goa. I made several early morning rounds spread over many months to the hillock at Cuelim until I got the lighting just right.

Palm fronds and the Velsão church
5D, 300L f/4 IS

Moira Church

Rajan P. Parrikar — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:10:22 +0000

I spent an evening recently in the charming village of Moira, once celebrated throughout Goa for its delectable variety of bananas. The primary purpose of my visit was to photograph the imposing village church.

The Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception serves as a focal point for the community’s spiritual and cultural life. Built around 1619, it is conceived in the Mannerist Neo-Roman style and features a cupoliform façade. (vide The Parish Churches of Goa by José Lourenço, Amazing Goa Publications, 2006.)

Before the arrival of the Portuguese a Shiva temple stood at this site. The German researcher Dr. Gritli Mitterwallner writes in her essay titled The Hindu Past – Structure and Architecture, published in Goa – Cultural Patterns (Marg Publications, 1983):

Remains of ancient Hindu temples, which had been partly or wholly built of basalt stone, can still be detected if one explores the three Old Conquests thoroughly. During a survey of the monuments of Goa from August 1964 to January 1967, I found many an image or architectural fragment of basalt stone from ancient Hindu temples either built into churches or lying discarded near them.

One of these finds was the tripartite linga of god Siva from the razed temple at Moira (Bardez). I discovered this in the church at Moira where it was being used as a stand for the holy water basin. I removed the linga and took it to the Museum of the Archaeological Survey of India in Old Goa, donating a sum of money for a new water basin for the church.

The following exquisite scene presented itself a little before sundown.

Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception at Moira, Goa
5D Mark II, 24-105L

I was hoping to frame the church façade against the cobalt blue sky – a tiny window available moments before the onset of complete darkness. But in Goa the best plans can go awry. As I waited in anticipation, a neon lamp operated by the Electricity dept came to life imprinting on one flank of the church the shadow of an intermediate tree, as seen below.

Moira church after sunset
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

Sign outside Moira church
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Sunrise in Old Goa

Rajan P. Parrikar — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:34:49 +0000

In the middle of November I made several pre-dawn sorties to Old Goa hoping to frame the Church of St. Cajetan against the early morning sky, only to be foiled by dull, cloudy skies wrought by a lingering unseasonal storm system. On the verge of calling off the effort, I settled on one final attempt. And what a morning it turned out to be! The sky behind St. Cajetan lit up in a spectacle seldom seen in these parts.

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St. Cajetan Church in Old Goa at sunrise
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

As soon as I had this scene locked in, I rushed up the hill to the Chapel of Mount Mary hoping to catch the monuments bathed in the first light of the rising sun. I was in for yet another pleasant surprise – a sunrise rainbow arcing across from Divar island.

Knowing the ephemeral nature of these conditions, I did not wait to set up my tripod. With the TS-E 17L lens already glued to my camera, I fired off several frames handheld. In the photograph below, both the Sé Cathedral (1533) and the Church of St. Cajetan (1665) are seen in the distance.

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Sunrise rainbow from Mount Mary Chapel in Old Goa
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

Check out this link for an early morning shot of St. Cajetan Church taken in 2008 from the same hill.

Panjim Church

Rajan P. Parrikar — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:16:32 +0000

During my current sojourn in Goa, I have been giving Canon’s recently released Tilt-Shift 17mm f/4 L lens quite a workout.

The following photograph of Panjim‘s signature landmark was taken at daybreak a couple of days back. A cluster of unseasonal clouds adds character to the backdrop.

The Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception began as a shrine in the mid-16th C in what was to much later become Goa’s capital city. It was rebuilt in the early 17th C and elevated to a church.

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Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception in Panjim, Goa
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

Nossa Senhora de Belém, Chandor

Rajan P. Parrikar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:30:47 +0000

The Church of Nossa Senhora de Belém (Our Lady of Bethlehem) cuts a smart picture in the diffuse light of the setting sun. Located in the Goan village of Chandor – corruption of “Chandrapur,” the ancient capital of the Bhojas (4th – 6th century AD) and the Kadambas (10th – 13th century AD) – the church was built in 1645. After the frontispiece gave way in 1949 “it was reconstructed in Neo-Gothic style, but the nave and sanctuary of the church retain their Mannerist character.” (vide The Parish Churches of Goa – A study of façade architecture by José Lourenço.)

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Nossa Senhora de Belém in Chandor, Goa
5D, 24-105L

St. Estevem

Rajan P. Parrikar — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:36:45 +0000

The magnificent Church of St. Estevem in Goa lights up the eponymous village along the River Mandovi. It was founded in 1575, and destroyed twice by the Marathas, before the current structure assumed its final form in 1759. The church features a “cupoliform façade with prominent drum and lantern” and is built in the “Mannerist style with Baroque features.” (vide The Parish Churches of Goa by José Lourenço, Amazing Goa Publications, 2006.)

The village of St Estevem also goes by the name Jua.

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Church of St. Estevem
5D, 24-105L

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The joys of village life, St. Estevem
5D, 24-105L