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…
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…
This is the first installment of a 2-part series. The cafés of Panjim are part of its living heritage and inspire deep affection from its residents. Although called cafés, they are nothing like their counterparts in Europe. These are modest eating houses that serve breakfast and small meals throughout the day, and where the beverage…
Greetings to all on the occasion of Diwali. This year the Hindu Festival of Lights falls on October 26. Hindu tradition admits several interpretations of Diwali. All of them project a unified theme, one of renewal and optimism, symbolizing the triumph of the human spirit over the forces of darkness. In Goa, we have historically…
