My Goa Journey
Author: Dr. K.S. Kang
Day-1
My son decided to take us on a journey to Goa. Starting from my home town early in the morning by cab we reached the nearest airport Dabok, hundred kilometres from my home town, to take flight to Mumbai that would take us from Udaipur to Mumbai and then to catch another flight that would take us to our destination Goa. Here I would like to mention that officially this was my first flying experience, though I had some experience of flying during my childhood during Dusshera Mela in Kota when a plane took us to the sky for fifteen minutes to make three rounds of the town before getting down. This was the only flight that I had with my parents and sister in my life so far. For my wife it was first flying experience. At the appointed counter our boarding passes were given, luggage was booked and the frisking by security officials completed well in time. After the security check we went on upper floor of the building by an escalator. After some time we entered the plane through a tunnel connecting the upper storey of the building with the entrance of the aircraft. Here we were greeted by well decked smiling air hostess and other crew of the plane. This aircraft had capacity to take nearly 250 passengers. After all the passengers entered and took their seats Captain of the plane introduced himself through a public address system. After that an air hostess demonstrated to the passengers the correct way to wear seat belt, and correct way to use oxygen mask and inflate life jackets in the time of emergency landing on water surface. The duration of this flight was nearly one hour that was to take us to Mumbai. Air plane crew thanked us for selecting the flight by Indigo- which is a low cost but quite comfortable airlines with its headquarter at Gurugram. Founded in 2006 A.D, it is the largest airline service of the country as far as number of passengers carried and fleet size was concerned. It nearly had 61.6% share of domestic market in May 2024 A.D. Mr. Rahul Bhatia is its Co-founder and Managing Director the other founder being Mr. Rakesh Gangwal and Mr. Peters Elbers is its Chief Executive Officer. Starting as a private airline company it got its aircraft in 2006 A.D and commenced operation a month later. It rose to become the largest Indian carrier by passenger market share in 2012 A.D, and it went public in November 2015 A.D. On 17th August 14 it became the largest airline service in India surpassing the giants like Jet Airways just six years after starting its operation. In January 2013 A.D it became the fastest growing low cost airline in Asia just behind Indonesian airline Lion Air. In August 2015 A.D it placed an order for 250 Airbus A 320 neo aircraft worth $ 27 Billions making it the largest single order ever in Airbus history. In October 2019 it surpassed its own record of the single largest order in Airbus history by placing the order for 300 air bus 320 aircraft worth Rs. 2.3 lakh crores. In January 2023 it became the first Indian airline to own more than 300 aircrafts. In Feb. 2023 it added the first wide body aircraft a Boeing 777-300 ER to its fleet. In June 2023 it place an order for 500 airbus A 320 neo family flying machines making it the largest flying machine order in entire commercial aviation history.
In the flying time of about one hour we reached Mumbai and fortunately our next flight from Mumbai to Goa was also from the same terminal. As the airline service was the same that is Indigo, so we had little difficulty in changing the plane and after flight of another hour landed at Dabolim Airport Goa. From here, after collecting our luggage, a taxi brought us to Candolim where we checked in the Taj Resort and Spa, Fort Aguada Candolim in the afternoon.We checked in at the Resort and greeted with a welcome drink and Goan music on guitar and lute by two musicians and singers who were both singing as well as playing the instruments. After taking lunch of Pizzas at the restaurant of the resort, we were taken to our rooms where resort employees were already waiting with our luggage. It was a great transformation from dry hot weather of Rajasthan to humid wet weather of Goa with its famous torrential rains. This Fort Aguada Resort and Spa is situated in Candolim 1.9 kms away from Sinquerim beach. Free private parking, accommodation with an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness centre and a garden are some of the features of this resort. Built on the 16th century Portugese fort, Fort Aguada showcases the real Goan cultural spirit. This place is known for stunning panormic view of the Arabian sea and the surrounding landscapes. Construction of this fort began in the year 1609 A.D and was completed in 1612 A.D under Ray Taoara, the then Viceroy of Goa. Located in the south of Candolim town at the shore of Mandovi river, the fort was built to defend Portugese against the Dutch and the Maratha assaults. Our cottage’s number was 410 and we were taken to our cottage from the reception of the resort by cab. From the window of the cottage we could see the waves of the Arabian sea in full swing, as it was full moon so the swell of the ocean was at the prime. Waves breaking on the walls of Fort Aguada reminded me of two poems Break, Break, Break by Lord Alfred Tennyson and Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold interestingly both poets belonged to 19th century England.
Break, Break, Break
Lord Alfred Tennyson
Break, break , break
On thy cold gray stones, O’Sea !
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
O,well for the fisherman’s boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad
That he sings in his boat on the bay !
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of that vanish’d hand
And the sound of the voice that is still !
Break, break, breaking
At the foot of thy crags, O sea !
But the tender grace of the day that is dead
Will never come back to me.
Dover Beach
Matthew Arnold
The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air !
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon blanched land,
Listen ! You heart he grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on Aegean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once,too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love , let us be true
To one another ! For the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plains
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
In the evening we went to see the Sun Set Point that was at the walking distance from our cottage. Here I experienced the first torrential rain of Goa that came so heavily in waves that we had to take shelter under a shade. That brought to close the first day of stay in Goa.
Day-2
After the comfortable, sound sleep of about 5 to 6 hours during the night, Day 2 started with a cup of steaming hot tea on the terrace of the hut watching the sea waves hitting the beach and the walls of the structures put up across the beach like the walls of the resort and the rampart of Fort Aguada. After taking shower and getting ready we went to the restaurant of the resort to fill our tummies nearly to the capacity with free complimentary breakfast provided by the resort. After finishing the breakfast we hired a cab for the day to take us to the different places of tourist interest in Goa.
First of all our Cabman Aman took us to The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception that was built at the time when this area was under Portugese settlements with a number of small Portugese villages. It was put up basically to cater to the religious needs of the Portugese sailors. As the church opened only on Sunday Masses and morning prayers so we had to content ourselves by seeing its enchanting exterior that had grand architecture. The Immaculate conception is the belief that Virgin Mary was free from original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of The Catholic Church. The iconography of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception shows Mother Mary standing with arms outstretched and hands clasped in prayer.
From Church we went to the part of the old Goa that is known as Fontainhas which is one of the most popular streets, located in Latin quarter inhabited mostly by Portugese. It is also known as Rua 31 de Janerio. Roaming in the cobbled streets of the old town among the brightly painted old house of Panji which is a quaint and beautiful part of the town it was observed that the lanes were flanked by vibrantly colourful Portugese style villas with wrought iron balconies. One of the building marked the year of construction in 1834 A.D named Casa- Da- Moeda was used as a Mint during the Portugese regime.They were almost last remains reminding the people about Portugese colonial rule. After that we came to a 94 years old bakery nestled in 31 Janerio Road. Founded in 1930 A.D its name was Cafeitaria 31 de Janerio. It is famous for serving fresh baked goodies in a wood fired oven. It beautifully portrays through a glass covering its famous oven and an old bicycle that was used by Vendors to distribute the products of the bakery. We had a cup of tea and and some other products of the bakery and bought bright coconut balls and a Goan chocolate cake from the shop. There was also a wall painting of vendors with a bicycle and a heap of bread in the basket tucked up on the carrier of the bicycle, recognising their precious services by these words
Respect to our poder
Iramos for giving us
our daily bread. Dev
Borem Korum and Obrigado
From bakery we went to a curiosity shop named Vehla Galleria to see the famous Portugese tile painting art and to buy some products. All the material was imported from Portugal. Situated on Rua-de- Qarem Fontainhas this store specialises in traditionally hand painted azulejos and a line of ceramics and other products imported from Portugal. Then coming out of this shop just across the street was an art gallery of oil paintings which was situated at E-212, Rua 31 de Janerio, Altinho, Panaji . It was owned by gentleman of Portugese origin from the last five generations. His Highness of Jodhpur Maharaj Gaj Singh had also contributed to this gallery. It was named after the masterpiece of Rabindranath Tagore for which he got Noble Prize in literature.
Before describing our next destination that is State Museum Goa a few words about Goa. It is a state in western India with Panaji as its capital bradly divided into North and South Goa. Despite being the smallest state of Indian union it has a long, diverse and a rich history. The Usgalina rock engravings belonging to upper Palaeolithic or Mesolithic periods exhibiting some of the earliest traces of human settlement in this region. During the iron age this area was ruled by Mauryan and Satvahan rulers. Then it came under Kadamba dynasty from 2nd Century C. E to 1312 A.D and by the muslim rulers of the deccan from 1312 A.D to 1367 A.D. It was then annexed by Vijaynagara Kingdom and later on conquered by Bahmani Kingdom. It was Bijapur Sultnate that founded Old Goa in 1510 A.D. Then Portugese invaded it in 1510 A.D after routing the Bijapur regime. Portugese rule lasted for about 450 years before it was taken by the Indian Army in 1961 and merged with Indian Union as a union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. In 1987 A.D it was given status of full statehood of Indian union becoming the smallest state of the country.
The Museum of State Government of Goa is divided into four sections as per the history of this area. Earlier it was set up on a small scale in 1977 A.D at St. Inez, Panaji. It was shifted to the new premises constructed at Palto and inaugurated by President of India Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma on 18th June 1996 A.D. It consists of four galleries in accordance with the four periods associated with Goan history. The first gallery exhibits a diorama depicting an ancient temple of Lord Shiva and Tambadi-Surla, carved wooden pillars of temple at Sankahali, models of Tulsi-Vrindavan Tarang, traditional musical instruments and worship utensils. In the second gallery besides the rock carvings of pre historic period and early copper plate inscriptions dating back to 4th century A.D, a copper plate inscription of King Kadamba Varmana dating back to 1049 A.D, stone sculptures of diverse deities, Hero and Sati stones. Third gallery presents wooden statues of Christian saints, Pieta and furniture pieces. Remarkable objects like first available printing machine, lottery machine and a flag and banner to commemorate Portugese Victory over the Dutch Forces is also shown. The fourth gallery depicts the story of Goan freedom struggle from Portugese rule through photograph exhibition. The Annexation of Goa was the process in which Republic of India merged the Portugese territories of Goa, Daman and Diu. It started with the armed action of Indian Army known under the code name Operation Vijay. It was commenced in December 1961 A.D. However, in Portugal it was referred as invasion of Goa. First Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru hoped that popular freedom movement and world opinion would force the Portugese auhtorities to grant it independence. But when Indian government saw that Portugal was not in any mood to grant freedom to Goa, the then Defence Minister Mr.V. K Krishna Menon suggested taking Goa by armed action against Portugese forces. Operation Vijay involved air, sea and land strikes for over 36 hours ending in the decisive victory of Indian forces and liberation of Goa from Portugese rule and its merger with Indian Union. This engagement lasted for two days resulting in 22 causalities on Indian side and 30 causalities on then Portugese side thus ending Portugese rule of 450 years on Goa. After the end of Portugese rule, Goa was placed under military administration headed by Mr. Kunhiraman Palat Candeth as Lieutenant Governor. Civilian rule replaced military rule on 8th June 1962when Lieutenant Governor nominated an informal Consultative Council of 29 nominated members to assist him in the administration of the territory. Fourth Gallery of the museum exhibits the photographs of Indian military heroes like Mr. V.K. Krishna Menon, Vice Admiral R.D Katari, Army Chief General P,N, Thapar, Air Marshal Aspy Engineer, Lt. Gen J.N Chaudhry, who later on became army chief, Rear Admiral B.S Soman, GOC 17th Infantry Maj. Gen K.P Candeth who later on became Lieutenant Governor of Goa, Brigadier Grewal, Air Vice Marshal Erlic Pinto. We also went to another art gallery but were disappointed to find it closed as it was under renovation and maintenance. Tourists are advised to find out in advance to find out whether the sights will be open that day or not so as to avoid disappointments at the eleventh hour. Beaches were also closed as a security measure during the monsoons so as to avoid any untoward incident. As we came out of the museum we were too tired so our taxi driver dropped us at the resort with the promise to return the next day too and show us some of the other sights in Goa. With that our second day of stay in Goa came to a close.
Day-3
On third day of our visit to Goa we again set out after having a hearty breakfast at the restaurant of the resort. Today also Taximan, whose name was Aman and who had familiarised with us came at the appointed time and first of all he took us to one of the most famous cathedrals of Goa- Basilica of Bom Jesus that contains the preserved body of St. Francis Xavier in a silver casket this famous monumental church of Goa. Ceremony to honour his death is performed on December 3 every year. Placed on a high platform in a silver glass enclosed casket, the remains however are not clearly visible. After every ten years the body is displayed before the devotees. This iconic Church of Goa is the must visit pilgrimage centre, particularly for Christians. It has been recognised as World heritage site by UNESCO. It holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. Work on this church began in 1594 A.D but still no one was able to put a cross on the church. It was consecrated in May 1605 A.D by Archbishop Dom Fr. Alexo de Menezes. Bom Jesus is a word from Portugese language meaning good infant Jesus. As it contains the body of St. Francis Xavier and as St. Ignatius Loyola turned him towards religion so a few words about them before moving forward.
Francis Xavier was born in the castle of Xavier in Kingdom of Navarre on April 7 1506 in an influential noble family. His father passed away when he was nine years old. In 1525 A.D he went to study in Paris at College Sainte-Barbe, University of Paris where he spent eleven years. In 1529 A.D he shared lodgings with another gentleman named Pierre Favre. He earned reputation here as an athlete and a high jumper. A new student, though much older than them named Ignatius Loyola came to stay with them. He succeeded in convincing Pierre to become a priest but he failed to convince Francis who had aspirations for worldly achievements. He did not take Ignatius seriously and he took him casually as a joke and was sarcastic about his efforts to convert him. But Ignatius did not give up and slowly and gradually he broke down his resistance. One sentence of Ignatius Loyola that changed Francis’ life for ever was “ what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul”. In 1530 Francis completed his degree of Master of Arts and started teaching Aristotelian philosophy at College de Beauvais, University of Paris. St Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius Loyola were one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity Montemarte, Paris in 1534 A.D. and founded Jesuit Society. After that St. Francis Xavier led an extensive mission to Asia, mainly the Portugese Empire in the East and was influential in evangelisation work most notably in early modern India. He was extensively involved in missionary activity in Portugese India. In 1546 A.D he proposed the establishment of Goan Inquisition in a letter to King John III of Portugal. He actually asked for a special minister whose sole aim would be to further Christianity in Goa. As a representative of the Portugese King he was the first major missionary to venture into Borneo, the Malacca Islands, and Japan and other areas. Here in face of local opposition he had less success than he had in India. He was about to extend his mission to Ming China when he passed away on Shangchuan, Taishan in China. He was beatified by Pope Paul V on October 25, 1619 A.D and canonised by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622. In 1624 A.D he was made Co-Patron of Navarre. Popularly known as Apostle of the Indies, Apostle of Far East, Apostle of Japan and Apostle of China he is one of the greatest missionary since Paul the Apostle.
A few words about St. Ignatius Loyola also who was mentor and friend of St. Francis Xavier. He was born in Castle at Loyola as his parents belonged to a minor nobility from the clan of Loyola. Soon after his birth his mother passed away and he was looked after by the wife of a local blacksmith Maria De Garin. He joined army at the age of 17 years after becoming a page to the treasurer of the Kingdom of Castille Juan Velazquez de Cuellar. He saw action when he took up arms at the ageof 18 years for Antonio Marique de Lara, 2nd Duke of Najera. Under Duke’s leadership he participated in many campaigns without getting injured. However in the battle of Pamplona in 1521 A.D he was gravely wounded and he returned to his father’s castle at Loyola. Due to injuries his one leg got shorter than the other as a result of he had to limp throughout his life. While recovering from his injuries and surgery he underwent spiritual conversion and discerned a call to religious life. The book that influenced him the most for his entire life was De Vita Christi by Ludolph of Saxony. It inspired him to devote his entire life in service of God and emulate the example of Francis of Assisi. After completely recovering from his wounds he decided to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land to “kiss the earth where Lord had walked”. In March 1522 A.D he visited the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria de Monteserrat. There he carefully examined his past sins, confessed and donated his fine silk clothes to the poor and wore a sack cloth. He wanted to settle in Holy Land but he was sent back to Europe by Francisians and he came to Barcelona where he attended a free grammar school in preparation for University entrance exam. He moved to France to study at University of Paris. It was here that he came into contact with St.Francis Xavierto s who was sharing his lodgings with Pierre Favre. At that time Loyola was 38 years old while St. Francis Xaviers and Pierre Favre were only 23 years old. He inspired them to come to the path of religion in service of Christianity. His miraculous sentence that transformed the life of Francis Xaviers was “ what will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul. He gathered around him six companion, all of them his fellow students to take vows of poverty and chastity and to form Jesuit Society. These six companions were , Francis, Alfonso Salmeron, Diego Lainez, Nicholas Bobadilla from Spain, Peter Faber form Savoy, and Simao Rodrigues from Portugal. It was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 A.D and Ingatius sent his companions on missions across Europe, Asia, and Africa to create colleges,schools and seminaries. He also wrote Jesuit constitution with the help of his secretary Alfonso-de Polanco that was adopted in 1553 A.D. He passed away in Rome in July 1556 A.D, beatified by Pope Paul V on July 27, 1609 A.D and canonised by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622 A.D. Numerous institutions were named after him across the world like Loyola University, founded in 1852 A.D in Maryland and Loyola College in Chennai. A number of biopics have been produced based on his life like a Spanish film Loyola, the Soldier Saint, and a Filipino film Ignacio de Loyola in 2016 A.D.
This cathedral contains the body of St. Francis Xavier who died on Sanacian Island while going to continental China on 3 December 1552 A.D. His body was first taken to Portugese Malacca and two years later it was shipped to Goa. It is said that his body was as fresh as it was on the day of his burial. It is one of the oldest Church not only in Goa but India as well. The floor of the church is of marble inlaid with precious stones. Apart from the gilded altars the interior of the church is simple. The main altar holds a large statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was one of the closest companion of St. Francis and co-founder of Jesuits Society that is responsible for spreading Christianity in Asian and African countries. The gaze of the gilded statue of St. Ignatius Loyola is fixed upwards in awe at the name of Jesus, on the gilded emblem of the Jesuits, encircled in radiant rays. Over the emblem is the Holy Trinity- God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit- the ultimate muse and focus of a pious Christian. The altar table used in the holy mass is gilded and adorned with the figures of Christ and his Apostles at The Last Supper. It also exhibits the paintings of scenes from the life of St. Francis Xavier. The mausoleum on top of which is placed the silver casket holding the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier was a gift from Cosimo III de Medici, The Grand Duke of Tuscany. This mausoleum was designed by the 17 th century Florentine sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini. It took him ten years to complete it. On the ground floor of the Church the vestries, garments and other relics used by the Priests and Saints have been displayed. On the upper floor, overlooking the tomb, is Bom Jesus Basilica Art gallery containing the works of Goan surrealist artist Dom Martin. It exhibits St. Xavier’s vestments and other relics, the paintings of famous Christian Theologians, philosophers and thinkers like St. Augustine- author of the famous work The City of God and political thinker and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, Italian priest and author of the famous works Summa Theologiae and Summa contra Gentiles.
From Church our cabman named Aman took us to Sahkari Spice Farm located at Ponda in South Goa is a 113 acres spice plantation. At the entrance we were greeted by a golden and white coloured cat that jumped before us from nowhere. My wife patted the cat. This farm has rich plantation of originally grown spices, fruits and herbs that tourists can explore through guided and informative tours. At the entrance of the farm tourists were welcomed in the traditional manner with a garland and kumkum on their forehead. Then they were served welcome drink made of coconut water kokum juice or raw mango juice. After introductory refreshment tourists were divided into groups and a group of ten to twelve tourists were allotted to an experienced guide. Our guide took us on a narrow bridge over a water stream which was one of the four streams that irrigated the farm all the year around. Then he took us to the trees, shrubs and herbs of various spices. In fact the farm was a rich repository of fresh spices like cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, cashews, cardamom, betel nuts, all spice leaves, lemon grass, nutmeg, turmeric, vanilla and the like. Our guide also showed us the machine that was traditionally used to grind cashew so as to brew Feni out of it. The best part of the tour in the farm was when our guide poured a cool liquid on your back bone to give an instant relief to the tired limbs of the tourists, and a half pint of Cashew Feni that acts as both as a digestive as well as appetiser and the tasty spicy lunch, both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian, of Goan cuisines whose cost was included in the entrance ticket of Rs. 500 per adult.
Another novel experience awaited us when our driver took us to see Divar Islands for which we had to cross the river on a steamer boat as the Island was on the other side of River Mandovi. Here I was reminded of another poem by American poet Walt Whitman entitled Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry, as our cab drove into a steamer with half a dozen other vehicles, and passengers. It took us ten minutes on the ferry ride to reach the other shore of the river. Our vehicle came out of the steamer and moved into Divar Island. This island lies in Mandovi river and it is one of the major island of this river. The other islands in this river are Ilha-de-Goa, Chorao, Vanxim, Cambarjua, St. Estevam and the like.
The original inhabitants of Divar Island were people who once lived in old Goa. They were mainly of Laso-Indian and Goan descent. It is believed to be a site of Hindu pilgrimage. People had to leave due to a plague that reduced the population of this place considerably. Located approximately hundred kilometres upriver from state capital Panjim it is also connected to Old Goa through ferry service. A launch also connects this place to the city of Panjim from further north-west in the island village of Vanxim. First of all we went to see Church of Our Lady of Compassion, Piedade which is one of the largest Church on the island that has a great panormic view as it is situated on a raised ground. It was designed by a Goan priest and is the first christian structure built here and is a charismatic building dating from the early sixteenth century. The huge bell that today adorns the Se Cathedral in Old Goa was originally donated to this church by a master of a sinking ship who took a vow that if he survived he would donated his ship’s bell to the first church of the village or town his ship touched. Coincidentally it touched the Divar shore. Keeping his promise he donated the bell to this church that was located on a hillock. Unfortunately every time the bell the rung it shattered the windows of the Church and the houses located in the vicinity. So this bell was taken from this Church and placed in Se Cathedral at Old Goa and the bell of Se Cathedral was brought here. Some of the notable people associated with this Church were Don Mattheas de Castro the first Indian bishop of The Catholic Church. He was a native of Divar and was consecrated Bishop of Chrysopolis by the Vatican and sent to India during the Viceroyality of Conde-de-Averias as Vicar Apostolic for the kingdoms of Bijapur, Golconda, Abyssinia and Pegu. His nephew Dom Thomas-de-Castro was consecrated Bishop of Fulsivelem by the Vatican in 1671. He became Vicar Apostolic for the kingdoms of Cochin, Tamor, Mysorre, Cranganore, Cannanore, and the Coast of Canara. Father Jacome Gonsalves, another notable personality associated with this island was made Catholic missionary to Sri Lanka. He is also regarded as Father of Sinhala Catholic Literature. Father Jose Antonio Gonsalves, another leading personality of Divar, was one of the initiators of the Conspiracy of the Pintos and planned a rebellion against Portugese rule in 1787 A.D. He was Professor of Philosophy at the former Jesuit College of Maddel, Chorao. It is also home to musicians like Anibal Castro who was well conversant in playing a multiple instruments like guitar, Saxophone, flute, sitar, etc. Jose Mathias Pacheo, a band leader at Madras Gymkhana Club. He migrated to Ceylon and worked as Piano tuner in Colombo before returning to Madras to set up music business of hiring pianos and other musical instruments. Another leading musician belonging to this place was Lucila Pacheco, the first female to play an electronic instrument and caused sensation in Bollywood.
As this island hosted various temples of Saptakoteshwar, Ganesh, Mahamaya and Dwarkeshwar. Due to Christianisation of Goa in 16th century many idols were shifted by Goan Hindus to other places. It is also believed that the current cemetery near the Church on the hill top was once a Lord Ganesh temple, though ASI studies could not find any such archaeological evidence. Rui Gomes Pereira in his book Goan Temples and Deities writes that “ The original temple of Saptakoteshwar was constructed in 12th century by the Kings of Kadamba dynasty as it was their patron deity. It was destroyed by the Sultan of the Deccan in the middle of 14th centuury. The idol of this temple was relocated to Naroa in Bidholim. Later the temple was reconstructed at the same site by Madhav Mantri of Vijaynagar at the close of 14th century. However, it was then abandoned due to diversion of pilgrims to the new temple that housed the idol. So by the time Portugese discovered it in 1515 A.D these temples were a forgotten ruin in the wilderness. As per Dr. Olivinho J.F. Gomes, Professor of Konkani, Divar was one of the first places where the Portugese converted the locals into Christianity. The Hindu Brahmins and Kshatriyas readily embraced Christianity creating Bamonn and Chardo communities. From the Church we went to see the ruins of these temples and then we returned back to the main land again enjoying the ferry ride form one shore to another on Mandovi river.
Another novel experience awaited us in the form of Cruise voyage of one hour on River Mandovi. Tickets for us were booked on mobile from the jetty from where the decorated cruises commenced their voyage. But at the Jetty we had to face the heavy torrential rain that had nearly made me sick as I started shivering with cold. I had not seen such a terrible torrential downpour in my life. There were different Cruise services operating in Goa like Royal Sunset Cruise, Ohana Sunset, Paradise Cruise to name a few. However ignoring the shivering we got on the Cruise that was decorated with electric bulbs and it was playing loud music. There was atmosphere and environment of fun, frolic and gaiety on the deck of the cruise that took us on a ride on Mandovi river. Snacks and drinks were available,of course on payment, on the deck of the cruise. Most of the tourists were singing and dancing on the music that was being played on the cruise. Besides the dance of the tourists Cruise entertained the guests with the folk dances of Goa by the local artistes. During the cruise ride I observed a number of decorated buildings on the surface of the river which were Casinos as it was the law of the land that live gambling cannot be played on land,so all the Casinos were on the river. Only mechanised gambling can be played on land. Hence, all the live gambling centres were floating on the surface of the river with diverse names like Deltin Royale, Casino Pride, Deltin Jack, Big Daddy, Casino Carnival to name a few. We enjoyed the cruise ride except the loud blaring music and I felt concerned with people who worked on the deck must be suffering from partial deafness due to the blaring loud music in which they had to live atleast for a couple of hours. Some of the tourists-particularly young one- enjoyed the ride very much. From the cruise Jetty we rushed back to our resort as I was already having a slight cold, sore throat and fever. Reaching the resort we took a light dinner and took our beds after taking a tablet of Paracetamol to get some relief by the morning. That brought to close our third day of stay in Goa.
Day-4
In the morning I felt some relief as the fever had left my body though I still suffered from slight cough, cold and sore throat. So we decided to remain mainly in resort as I was not in the finest state and then next day we had to travel back so we wanted to avoid exertion that may aggravate my malady. While having breakfast we saw a circular announcing various activities for the tourists of course at a fee, so we decided to make use of that offer though some of the activities like Table-Tennis and Cricket were free but still we decided to go for Archery and Air-rifle shooting. After a brief nap post breakfast we went to the place where these activities were being held and paid the requisite amount for five arrows and ten bullets to be fired from Air-Rifle and participated in these activities with moderate success. Here we also saw Sun set point again and the Jail at Fort Aguada. The last evening was spent by all of us together by the pool side of the resort watching the waves of rainfall and the waves from the Arabian Sea that were crashing on the walls of Aguada fort whose embankment was running into the Arabian sea. from the windows of the restaurant of the resort where I had snacks and a cup of coffee. We came back to our hut after taking a delightful dinner of Goan local cuisines at the restaurant that was exclusively meant to serve delicious Goan cuisines to the tourists.
Day-5
On the last day we enjoyed the last complimentary breakfast at the resort, that was diverse and full of variety. After the breakfast we hired a cab that took us from Candolim to Dabolim Airport after the driver of quarter of an hour. Though we reached well in time but on the airport it was announced that our flight to Mumbai was running two hours behind schedule due to rough and uncertain weather. After booking our luggage and getting the frisking clearance an interesting incident took place at the airport. Flight to national capital was delayed by forty five minutes due to half a dozen passengers who did not turn up in time perhaps due to some reason like traffic congestion as one of the passenger was quite old on the wheel chair and their names were being announced repeatedly on the microphones of the airport and as the doors of the aircraft were about to be closed they turned up and airlines also decided to accommodate them by allowing them to board the plane. Perhaps tey gave a second thought that it is better to wait for them then to accommodate them on some other flight. Delaying a flight by quarter of an hour and that too to national capital due to a few passengers could only happen in India. Our flight to Mumbai was running two hours behind schedule and as our connecting flight to Udaipur was from another terminal so we were a bit worried as changing the terminal would take at least some time. So as to save time to reach the other terminal at Mumbai Airport we took taxi as a result of which we were quite well in time to get the flight to Udaipur. After one hour of flying from Mumbai we reached Udaipur and after collecting our luggage we hired a cab from Dabok Airport Udaipur that brought us to my home town by dinner time that is about 8.30 p.m on 26-7-2024. Thus our Goa journey ended on a note of joviality and happiness.
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