Arabó is a tiny ward of the village of Dhargal on River Chapora in north Goa. The name, a Goanized form referring to “Arab,” furnishes a clue to its past. Arab merchants sailed here in their dhows in mediæval times trading goods with the locals. It is a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of place, a sleepy outlier not yet (thankfully!) listed on any map or travel brochure.

Arabó piques contemporary interest on at least two counts. One is the subject of this post – the Desai House, unique in the state. Arabó is also the birthplace of the great music composer, the late N. Datta (Datta Naik), whose collaboration with the poet Sahir Ludhianvi gave us many enduring film melodies (see the end of this post).

The Desais are among the earliest Gaud Saraswat Brahmin families of Goa, and were for some time feudatories to the Bhonsales of Sawantwadi. The Desai House presents an incongruous sight with its striking exterior of exposed laterite and turrets on either flank. The original house belonged to a Muslim merchant who sold it to the Desais. The structure seen today dates back to around 1890 when the Desais gave the house a makeover.

These photographs were taken over a span of several years. During the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi in 2007, I was invited by the Desais for a private tour of their home.

Desai House in Arabó, Goa
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

Notice the holes punched in the laterite to accommodate gun barrels.

Facet of the laterite exterior
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Balcony in the foyer
5D, 24-105L

The interior layout hews to a traditional Goan Hindu design with its characteristic Rajangan (quadrangle).

Rajangan - the central courtyard
5D, 24-105L

To this day the Desais accord space and reverence to the Islamic flagpole left behind by the earlier Muslim owner. Every year on the occasion of the Moharram festival, the local Muslims are guests of the Desai family.

Islamic flagpole
5D, 24-105L

Inside one of the turrets
5D, 24-105L

Top view
5D, 24-105L

This sketch, reproduced in Ethnography of Goa, Daman and Diu by A.B. de Bragança Pereira (Penguin Group, 2008), depicts the original house. The tree is still there (see first image above).

Sketch of Desai House

PS: Selections of N. Datta here and here.

Gleðileg jól !

This shot was taken from the area between Goðaland and Þórsmörk. Seen in the foreground is the glacial plain of Krossá, among Iceland‘s most dangerous glacial rivers, and in the distance, Mýrdalsjökull glacier.

Goðaland and Þórsmörk, looking towards Mýrdalsjökull
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 MP

December is a festive time in the historic village of Old Goa, now a World Heritage site. Sé Cathedral was elevated to the rank of a cathedral in 1533, and the final structure was completed in 1619. It is the largest church in India.

The second image below was taken from the hill at the Chapel of Mount Mary overlooking the Mandovi river. To the left of the frame is the Church of St Francis of Assisi.

Sé Cathedral, Old Goa
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

First rays of the morning sun
5D, 300L f/4 IS

An assistant ferryman on the job on the Mandovi river in Goa.

Caetano Sapeco of St Cruz, Goa
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

Vanxim – pronounced “Vaanshi(m)” – is a speck of an island in Goa within a stone’s throw of another island, Divar. It is the last unmolested piece of real estate remaining in Goa, but plans are afoot to cure that situation.

In the second and third images below, notice the difference in colour rendition. It can be partly attributed to the manner in which Canon and Zeiss handle colour.

Cross on Mandovi river at Vanxim, Goa
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

The prayer in Konkani inscribed on the façade says: Have Mercy on Us, O Protector of the World’s Indigent.

Church of Santo Cristo (1879)
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

Church of Santo Cristo, Vanxim
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

These images made at daybreak on the Chapora river in the Goan village of Colvale exude an air of serenity. Mornings here are indeed refreshingly calm and punctuated by birdsong. But they also reveal a dark side. Seen on the canoes are the hordes of migrant labour brought in by the criminals builders to service Goa‘s destruction construction boom. This sand mining of the river bed has already destroyed the fragile riparian ecology.

Mornin' on River Chapora, Goa
5D Mark II, 135L

Sand mining
5D Mark II, 135L

Colvale
5D Mark II, 135L

Early mornings in Goa are were like nowhere else in the world. Not long ago, Goans arose to a serene landscape serenaded by birdsong. We took the quietude and beauty of our surroundings as our birthright. But good things don’t last long (especially in today’s India). The assault on Goa‘s environment by builders & miners in cahoots with local politicos, and the unsustainable influx of outsiders into Goa have lead to a calamitous depreciation in what was perhaps the last surviving idyll in the land. In this series, I shall attempt to convey the visual essence of the Goan morning as we have known it, now on its last legs.

The present post features images made earlier this month from the bridge on River Chapora in Siolim. This is a magical locale, one that I have staked out numerous times. As the position of the sun changes through the year, so do the crepuscular atmospherics leading into sunrise. February mornings bring low hanging mist to the terrain. For a different take from another time of the year, see this.

Since the height of my tripod barely exceeded the height of the fence ringing the bridge, I had to perforce shoot handheld. As luck would have it, on this particular morning a fishing vessel appositely moored provided foreground interest to the composition. Upon the sun’s arrival, the first rays illuminating the coconut trees behind me in the village of Chopdem was another sight to savour.

Sunrise over River Chapora in Siolim
5D Mark II, Zeiss 50mm f/2 Makro Planar + Singh-Ray Reverse GND Filter

Mornin' in Siolim
5D Mark II, 135L

Coconut fronds lit by the first rays of the sun
5D Mark II, Zeiss 50mm f/2 Makro Planar

Thick monsoon clouds loom over the Zuari river in Goa.

This was an unplanned shot. I was returning to Panjim one evening in Sept 2007 after a long day out. As we approached the bridge the atmospherics suddenly assumed an irresistible mien. I had the Canon TS-E 90mm lens on me and put it to use.

Monsoon clouds over Zuari bridge
5D, TS-E 90

The voyage across Goa‘s mighty River Mandovi begins late in the evening in fading light. Port of embarkation: Ribandar. Destination: the lost island of Divar. Total sailing time is expected to be 5 mins and 25 secs.

Ferry at Ribandar, Goa
5D Mark II, 14L II

Capt. Emidio Fernandes is at the helm.

Capt. Emidio Fernandes
5D Mark II, 14L II

Midway we encounter unexpected turbulence. A barge loaded with the droppings of Goa‘s ‘mineral farmers’ (aka miners, the destroyers of Goa‘s environment) is headed straight for our ship.

Barge on River Mandovi, Goa
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Summoning all his experience, Capt. Fernandes skillfully dodges the incoming missile and your friendly photographer lives to shoot another day.

On the way to Divar
5D Mark II, 14L II