Prutha Goa

(The conference titled ‘Challenges for the Preservation of the Diverse Goan Religious Heritages’ was held at Fundação Oriente India in Panjim on the 18th of March 2018. Joaquim R Santos [University of Lisbon], Vishvesh Kandolkar [Goa College of Architecture], Amita Kanekar [Al-Zulaij Collective], and Gulafshan Khan [Deccan College of Pune] presented perspectives on the heritage of various religions in Goa.) Gulafshan Khan, who is pursuing her master’s degree in Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology at Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, expounded her lecture topic ‘Turning Visible the (In)Visible: The Muslim Heritage in Goa and its Preservation’. The Muslim minority in Goa is interwoven into the fabric of Goan society. This is a reflection of the ability of this land to integrate varied religions in a productive manner. The architecture of Goa is a good example of the merging of the styles of different religious communities. Let us consider how the Mus

  (The conference titled ‘Challenges for the Preservation of the Diverse Goan Religious Heritages’ was held at Fundação Oriente India in Panjim on the 18th of March 2018. Joaquim R Santos (University of Lisbon), Vishvesh Kandolkar [Goa College of Architecture], Amita Kanekar [Al-Zulaij Collective], and Gulafshan Khan [Deccan College of Pune] presented perspectives on the heritage of various religions in Goa.) Amita Kanekar, independent researcher in architectural history and member of the Al-Zulaij Collective spoke on her topic 'The Origins of the Goan Temple and the Challenges for their Preservation'. The problems that challenge the preservation of Goan temple architecture are: the style in which they are built is not really recognised as a specific type of architecture; the style is quickly disappearing; those who know the history of these temples are not inclined in the least to extricate them from a tangle of myth and legend by presenting their true history and origins; a

It is much easier to hold on to a job that brings in a considerable salary than to take the plunge to allow your creativity and your passion to be your guiding light. Joachim Haider is an architect, originally from Germany (but holds a PIO card at present), who came to India in 2006 after answering an advertisement to be a branch manager at an architectural company in Goa. After spending sixteen years in architectural work in Berlin, Germany, Joachim spent another five years and two months employed in the same field here in Goa. Twenty-one years of stifling one’s creative potential is bound to push an individual to the threshold of adhering to conventionalism. Joachim had a moment of enlightenment when he found himself stranded in Doha for around thirty-five hours in a hotel room. He had just lost his father to cancer and his thoughts went to the time his father had asked not to be force fed as his cancer was terminal. Remembering his father fondly and calling him a remarkable man, Joa