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 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
5D, 35L

Seen from Reis Magos fort
5D, 24-105L

Devotion
5D, 24-105L

Reis Magos Fort - first rays of the sun
5D, 24-105L

Art by Mario Miranda
Reproduced with permission of the Mario Gallery

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

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

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 of choice is chao (tea). The mains consist of bhaji-puri and curries of legumes accompanied by Goan pão. Rounding off the menu are waist-expanding, soul-enriching sides such as samosa, batata-vada (potato fritter), and mirsang (batter-fried hot chili pepper), all distinctively Goan in flavour. The food prepared at the cafés is vegetarian.

Our cafés have been good social levelers. Here, one’s position on the socio-economic totem pole is of no consequence. The menial worker, the doctor, the fisherwoman, and the mining robber baron frequent the same cafés, and share – sometimes jostle for – a table at peak hours. These establishments are owned by Goan Hindus, and the Catholics count among their most fervent patrons.

The earliest cafés of Panjim – Shivramachi Brahmani, Café Puna – no longer exist. For the past several decades, Café Central has been considered the primus inter pares of the city cafés, and is the subject of this post. In Part 2, we will survey the best of the rest. [Update: Part 2.]

Atmaram S. Gaitonde opened Café Central in 1932 on the ground floor of Residênçia Fátima, the (now-demolished-and-replaced-with-third-world-concrete-rubbish) building near the Municipal Garden, across the lane from another city institution, Clube Vasco da Gama. Today the space is occupied by Mr. Baker and the Jesuit House. A word on pronunciation: “Central” is intoned Portuguese style, with a long ‘a’ and trilled ‘r.’

The bhaji-puri was not invented at Café Central but it was perfected there, and in time came to be regarded as the gold standard, pronounced so by Goans as well as the resident Portuguese gentry of the day. Accounts of the zeitgeist of that period invariably figure Café Central, the attendant bonhomie, and the bhaji-puri. Several other traditional delights emerged from the café’s kitchen bearing a unique interpretation, and the secret formulae at the heart of these delicacies have survived to this day.

In 1971, Café Central shifted to the premises it occupies today, less than a kilometre away. With this move came a major change in business model, one that dealt a blow to its devotees: both the bhaji-puri and the café’s sit-down operation were retired. From then on, Café Central would recast itself as a conventional store, stocking in-house bakery goods and signature treats. The sublime bhaji-puri is gone but many of the old classics still line the shelves – such as the world’s finest samosa, the bread toast (‘fatio’ in Konkani, from the Portuguese ‘fatias’), and the award-winning batata-vada, all made fresh every day, year-round. (Batata is the Portuguese word for potato, a crop first introduced in India by the Portuguese.)

The popularity of Café Central remains undiminished. It is now run by Ravindra Gayatonde (founder’s grand-nephew) and his partner Kedar Bandekar. A few jewels from the icon’s culinary collection are displayed below. I was given unfettered access to the cavernous interiors of the very busy kitchen attached to the store. In an environment thick with flour particulate and sputtering oil, wielding the camera was a bit of a challenge.

This is the Panjim of my childhood – elegant and uncrowded, a far cry from the swamp it has now turned into. The arrow points to the original location of Café Central. The structure on the left of the frame has given way to today’s hideous Velhos & Filhos building.

Original location of Café Central in Panjim
Photo credit: Snapshots of Indo-Portuguese History by Vasco Pinho

Atmaram S. Gaitonde, Founder of Café Central
Photo courtesy: Ravindra Gayatonde

Café Central today
5D, 24-105L

World's #1 samosa
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Fatio - bread toast
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

World's second-best batata-vada
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Jagdish Pednekar, member of the culinary team
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Open for business
5D Mark II, 24-105L

All the posts in my ongoing series on Panjim‘s heritage are consolidated here.

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 adopted the retelling of Lord Krishna‘s slaying of the demon-king Narkasur as our motif for the occasion. See this blog entry from 2009.

These images, taken in the streets of Panjim during Narkasur Nite 2006, are among my earliest photographs as a serious photographer. Although shot at ISO 1600, they are effectively noise-free at these sizes. (The Canon EOS 5D was a landmark body in the low noise department.)

PS: My informal account of the Narkasur celebrations of my young days is recorded in this old post from Goanet.

Effigy of the demon Narkasur (Panjim, Goa, 2006)
5D, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

Lord Krishna and Narkasur in battle (Panjim, Goa, 2006)
5D, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

Let There Be Light!
5D, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

More scenes from around Goa in our ongoing romance with the monsoon.

Morning in Campal, Panjim
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Monsoon foliage: Colocasia (tero) and Cassia tora (taikilo)
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

In the fields at Korgaon
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Sugandi Toraskar of Korgaon
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

Goa‘s contribution to the world of Indian classical music has been extraordinary. Our traditional strengths and focus have been in vocal music. In the instrumental department, we have produced world-class sarangiyas, violinists, and percussionists in the distant past. Tantuvadyas such as the sitar and sarod have historically not generated much enthusiasm in the Goan musical milieu.

For the past 25 years, Chhote Rahimat Khan, Head of the Sitar faculty at the Kala Academy in Panjim, has been training Goans on the sitar and developing local talent in this area. Chhote hails from Dharwad and grew up in a family of traditional musicians. A brief sketch is available here.

A couple of afternoons ago, I spent an enjoyable hour or so with the ustad in his music room at the Kala Academy. These are images from that session, which included an impromptu recital by Chhote on his beautiful custom-designed Made-in-Miraj sitar.

Chhote Rahimat Khan
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

Chhote with his custom-designed sitar
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

The ustad in his music room at Kala Academy in Panjim
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

I had my Tilt-Shift lens with me and couldn’t resist doing a portrait of Chhote‘s sitar. These are a couple of instances of the Scheimpflug Principle in practice.

Scheimpflug principle: downward tilt of lens brings the frets plane into sharp focus
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

Upward tilt of the lens enables selective focus
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

Harvesting salt from the land is an ancient practice in Goa, one that predates the Portuguese by centuries. Not long ago, wide open spaces of salt pans graced the Goan countryside. Specific villages and sub-communities – such as the mithgaude (“mith” being the Konkani word for salt) – specialized in the occupation of salt farming.

As is now well known, Goa is being rapidly third-worldized. With their lands and homes under pressure from the real estate juggernaut, the traditional salters are now on their last legs. This going to seed of Goa‘s salt culture has been documented by Reyna Sequeira of Goa University (I haven’t read her thesis but am well aware of her conclusions).

It didn’t have to be this way. The salt harvested in Goa is renowned for its flavour and is a vital condiment in every traditional Goan kitchen. No Goan cook worth her salt will touch the packaged rubbish sold in stores. An American entrepreneur would have marketed Goan salt crystals in an attractive bottle, slapped the “Organic” label on it, and made a lot of money, and maybe saved the tradition in the process.

I recall my young days when farmers in bullock carts laden with salt went door to door during these final days of May before the arrival of the pre-monsoon showers. This coincided with the festival of purumento (“purumetachem fest”), a seasonal open bazaar where folks stocked up on provisions for the coming season.

Salt of Goa's earth
5D, 85L II

Salt pans at Agarvado
5D, 24-105L

Geometry of salt
5D, 24-105L

In Agarvado
5D, 24-105L

Harvesting salt in Batim
5D, 24-105L

Fresh salt for sale by the roadside in Batim
5D, 24-105L

Happy Easter to all!

The Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Imaculada Conceição (1541) is among Panjim‘s signature sights, an obligatory photo stop for every visitor to the city. It was not long ago (when Panjim was still a world-class city) that the Church Square and its surrounds were a pedestrian’s delight, a vibrant evening hangout for Panjimites, young and old. Today it is like any other cacophonous, chaotic, unpleasant Indian city square. Which is to say, Goa has now fully embraced India.

Photographing the Church early in the morning or at night is a challenge. The artificial lighting blows out the features of the façade directly in front of the lights, and resulting dynamic range overpowers the capabilities of today’s camera sensors. An earlier attempt of mine highlights (pun intended) the issue.

This time I tried to work around the problem by placing a Singh-Ray 2-stop reverse grad filter ahead of the lens to hold back the brightest band within the frame. The results were much better, thanks in no small measure to the fantastic Canon Tilt-Shift 24mm f/3.5 II lens, which, unlike its optical peer TS-E 17L, admits filter holders.

The conditions that lead to the second image below were fortuitous. With daylight fast approaching, the lights automatically turned off about 1 sec into the 4 sec exposure.

16th C. Panjim Church at dawn
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II + Singh-Ray 2-Stop Reverse GND Filter

Daybreak
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II + Singh-Ray 2-Stop Reverse GND Filter

The next two images were made in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Late evening
5D, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

Another late evening view
5D, 24-105L

The final three images are photographs of old photographs.

Church Square c. 1900, Central Library Archives
5D, 24-105L

Panjim Church c. 1920 (?), © Souza & Paul, Central Library Archives
5D, 24-105L

View of Panjim and the church c. 1900, Central Library Archives
5D, 24-105L

For earlier installments of Panjim Promenade, click here.