A PASSAGE TO INDIA: February 2023

Goa is perhaps best known for sun, sea, sand and full moon parties. There's that bohemian vibe about the place, like Bali but less crowded, a lot less of the drunken louts foul mouth types. Foreign visitors from the West are older, they sit by the pool or out on the beach, enjoy quiet dinners with cocktails, dance to a small band that plays the kind of music they enjoy.

Various mammals basking in the sun...

India produces some of the best cashews, I had my fill...

On the street where I lived for a week...small, cozy villa-style apartments close to eateries and shops in Candolim...really good location...

Daily supply of fresh fruits

New whatsapp friends

It's the first time I'm coming across casinos in India. These floating ones have the usual tables with croupiers the small casinos on land have just slot machines. Non gamblers spend time in the entertainment areas for dining, music and dance for which they purchase a package...

There's a fancy hotel across this stretch of water and their guests take this public ferry if they prefer the local experience...it's quaint!

In the middle of this road a church sits on a roundabout...

Toto machines or something that resembles it

It's the perfect building to house a collection of old Portuguese/Goan artefacts...I don't mean the ladies here!

This interesting Houses of Goa museum and its neighbourhood comprise several houses built in the Goan style with a mix of Hindu and Portuguese elements. It was conceptualised by a local architect of Goan Portuguese descent and he added fun and whimsy to the exhibits. The museum itself is a ship-shaped building!

The Goan style homes would be lovely to explore but these are private residences...anything mixed will produce a hybrid that's always different, more interesting as styles, taste come together - in India, they would refer to them as Anglo-Indian...

Goan food is not your typical Indian fare. It's refined, lighter with less of the spices and chilly. It's super!

Had the chance to explore an old Goan style private residence of mixed Hindu Goan influences. It was a gracious home filled with antique furniture painstakingly hand-carved.

The lunch that followed was good!

Old world charm

Exquisite handwork...

The villa and its large compound are works in progress. The owners have opened up their home as part of a tour offering a Goan lunch. I wish them well for their passion to preserve their Goan culture and heritage...

The Museum of Christian Art is my favourite place in Old Goa where most of their heritage structures are located. Most are churches or something or other related to the Catholic organisations. The building itself is old but on entering the Museum, it's a different world. It's well curated the exhibits are leftovers from the days of the Portuguese colonisers. As art pieces they are different and unique.

This exhibit is outside the Museum where it has sat for centuries. They've wisely left it there.

The Portuguese were in Goa for at least 450 years. First, the armies colonised the land, claimed it in the name of 'God' and King/Queen and Portugal (or Spain or England, as the case may be)...than their missionaries moved in to colonise the minds of the conquered peoples. Those that defy it's 'off with their heads', or fed to the lions depending on the country...Any place that has 99% of its inhabitants having the same religion never had a choice or any say...very often these same cults talk about 'freedom of choice' and 'free will'. Ditto for families...

From different angles, great views of the Arabian Sea

Another fort with a lovely view of the Arabian Sea...

...which has a beautiful old church...first, kill the 'enemies' than to church to 'pray' for forgiveness...after torturing the captives cruelly...confess it and all's forgiven...they're assured they are doing it for 'god,' their king/queen, country...

Installation art

What's left of St. Augustine Church and its Tower...a large compound of ruins, wisely, they left it alone - it's a living museum just across the road from the Museum of Christian Art...there's no entry charge - in many places of historical ruins or natural formations, there's an entry charge which can be hefty, and such places need little or no maintenance...

As the State was under their Portuguese Master for 450 years, the Hindu temples are fairly new...it's pretty obvious the locals were not allowed to worship their own 'heathen' gods and had to be converted into their Master's preference. The temples here are certainly different from all others I've seen elsewhere in India.

The beautiful Swastika (Svastika) symbol - I've written at length about it in previous posts...

There was a fair going on and this tentage is a riot of colours...

The different architecture of the Shantadurga and Shri Mangueshi temples, without the elaborate carvings and figures.

The Aguada Fortress occupies a huge compound covering Upper and Lower Aguada in Candolim district...

Did a hike to the Dudhsagar Falls, it was crowded...their old folks are spritely and are not afraid to negotiate the rocks, with a little help from the youngsters...

There are several old churches of note in Old Goa, these 2 are the most memorable. The 16th Century baroque Basilica of Bom Jesus is perhaps the most recognised landmark associated with Goa...the other is the Church of St Cajetan. They are more rustic than those throughout Europe and Russia, which have been made very grand, rich, with lots of figures and gold details...and a hefty entry charge. India's heritage attractions may cost 1 or 2S$ to enter, some areas are free for even foreign tourists...without anything grandiose...but that's the unspoilt part that makes it authentic which I prefer...