Prutha Goa

Yashodan Heblekar and his wife Dr Jyoti Heblekar are unusual in their repudiation of the fast paced city life that most associate with money and ease. Jyoti is a practicing Homeopath and Yashodan an insurance salesman with an engineering and an MBA degree. Eccentric and innovative in their approach to life, the husband and wife team, along with their son and daughter, Tanmaye and Shrusti, who are also the resident butterfly experts, have created a butterfly conservatory around their house called Mystic Woods. The flight from the city prompted the couple to build a house in Pisgal, Ponda (Goa), which is unique in its construction in that it supports a garden on its roof and is built on huge rainwater harvesting tanks. The roof garden has come under fire for its apparent infeasibility. Prophets of gloom and doom have predicted roots growing through the roof, leakage and erosion of soil in the monsoon season. Fortunately, science and a bit of luck have rescued the house from any such cala

Theatre is a conduit to releasing the inner self and the psychological and sociological benefits of being part of a theatre group are plentiful. In the world of theatre, what does the box theatre bring to this equation? Let us discuss its presence in Goa through the Hauns Sangeet Natya Mandal and the Hauns Theatre Training Centre. It is not surprising that one of the most noted theatre companies of Goa saw its naissance in Ponda, also known as Antruj Mahal for being a culturally vibrant locale with its numerous temples. The establishment of the Hauns Sangeet Natya Mandal in 1950 was the culmination of the efforts of artistically and culturally kindred spirits. Of these artists, two are the now deceased Vishwanath Naik and Surya Wagh. They sought to play their part in contributing to the plentiful festivals and fairs that Ponda is famous for by staging and performing in dramas. It did not matter that most of them were illiterate or had minimal formal education; it was the hard work and