Prutha Goa

A walk around Panjim city with Vishal Rawlley revealed the city in a different light, one never envisioned. As a citizen, one can become jaded in the approach to one’s own heritage, only because it is what we see on a daily basis. We walk through the city without taking in the subtle signs of Goa’s past dispersed all over. Vishal Rawlley is a man of versatility: a graphic and web designer, documentary filmmaker, illustrator, storyboard artist for feature films and so on. He says, ‘I grew up in a small town in Orissa, and cities were a fascinating place. You know, everyone wants to go to the big city… I studied filmmaking and made a lot of documentaries on urban culture, cities and city communities.’ Vishal, who spent 15 years in Mumbai, was involved in a project called TyPoCiTy, documenting and categorising typefaces in the city of Mumbai in view of graphic design and social importance. This project was the result of a research fellowship received by Vishal Rawlley and Kurnal Rawat f

The book Public History of Goa – Evolving Politics, Culture and Identity edited by Fr Savio Abreu SJ, Fr Anthony da Silva SJ and Fr Rinald D'Souza SJ was released on 10th of April 2019, at Xavier Centre, Porvorim by the Vice Chancellor of Goa University Dr Varun Sahni. Public History of Goa is a collection of selected History Hour lectures held at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research (XCHR). XCHR is a renowned research institution established in 1977 that holds a vast treasure house of historical manuscripts from the 18 th and 19 th centuries, some even older. Of particular significance are the manuscripts from the House of Mhamai in Panjim. One of the Centre’s main aims is to draw scholars as well as the common man to open democratic discussions on various topics. The History Hour at XCHR, which is one such avenue for intellectual discussions, was introduced by former director Fr Délio Mendonça SJ with the support of Goan journalist Frederick Noronha. This was meant for

Sanjeev Sardesai is an unusual amalgamation of the educational qualifications of a botanist, the profession of a graphic designer and the passion of a historian. The latter has motivated him to start two groups called Hands on Historians and Sanscritic. In the year 2002, after working for nearly two decades in the hotel industry, Sanjeev gave up his position as a general manger. This was because he realised that tourism was virtually dead. ‘Today after thirteen years of leaving that industry, I still stand by my statement that there is no organised tourism in Goa,’ says Sanjeev, who believes that tourism is the urge of people to travel from one destination to another to discover the culture and heritage therein. So what could our state hold that stokes this desire?! Sanjeev decided he must find out for himself. There is tangible (visually perceived) and intangible (experienced) heritage. Hands on Historians is a forum focused on being a practical historian while Sanscritic (‘sans’ –

  (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

The conference titled 'Challenges for the Preservation of the Diverse Goan Religious Heritages' was held at Fundação Oriente India in Panjim on the 18 th 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. Architect and research scholar Joaquim Santos spoke about the Catholic religious architecture in Goa and deterrents to its preservation. Some of the apathy towards caring for Catholic structures and even conscious destruction of Catholic monuments could be traced to an animosity towards the Portuguese regime. Perhaps it is because these stand as an ideological and political reminder of that time with the obvious Portuguese influence on the architecture. In 1934, all the significant churches in Old Goa were listed as national monuments. When Goa became part of India, the

Panjim was raised to the status of a city, and officially became the new capital of Portuguese India under the name of Cidade de Nova Goa , on the 22 nd March 1843. The process of transformation of Nova Goa began long ago in 1759 when Cidade de Goa (Old Goa) became a hotbed of disease that spread its tentacles to the city’s suburbs. The epidemic prodded Viceroy Dom Manoel de Saldanha e Albuquerque to adopt the palace of Adil Shah as his residence and the pinnacle of political power in Portuguese ruled Goa. Later, Viceroy Dom Manoel de Portugal e Castro contributed monumentally to the reorganisation and reformative changes in Panjim, remaining undeterred by the prevalent political turmoil during his tenure. Dr Celsa Pinto, one of Goa’s prominent historians, documents the structural establishment of Nova Goa in her book Anatomy of a Colonial Capital: Panjim, followed by the related Colonial Panjim: Its Governance, Its People , which discusses aspects such as urban governance, jail a

Goa is a historian’s delight with so much of its history still being unravelled. The legacy of the Portuguese rule has been a heritage of unique standing. The Tertiary Carmelites, not to be confused with the Discalced Carmelites reformed by St Teresa of Avila, are an integral part of Goa’s past. Today, the ruins of the monuments connected with this order lie open to desecration and looting with impunity. Much less regard is offered in terms of a study and preservation of this significant historical site. The Tertiary Carmelites are in fact one of two indigenous priestly orders that welcomed Goan vocations to the priesthood. The Jesuits and other religious orders did not display a favourable attitude towards Goans, which led to the requirement of congregations that would be open to the natives of Goa. The Oratorians of Philip Neri, which came into existence in the 1680s and was recognised by the Vatican in 1707, was the first Goan priestly congregation in Estado de India. However, the