What to see in Old Goa

The name 'Old Goa' is a recent creation. Ironic isn't it. The name came into existence in the 1960s through a monthly magazine.  According to the Goan historian late Padre Moreno de Souza, postal letters were returned as the name 'Old Goa' was unknown at that time. Old Goa is an abandoned city. The city was abandoned in the XVIII Century due to plague. 

The city was established in the XV Century by Adil Shahis of Bijapur, present day Vijayapura. It was fortified city then. Then came the Portuguese invasion, the Adil Shahis suffered defeat. Under the Portuguese rule the city grew immensely as it was a spices trading center. Trading wasn't the only intention, spread Christianity was the other. Hindu people were forcefully converted, a time period which is called Inquisition. Destruction of Hindu temples, conversion and cultural transformation continued till end of Inquisition in 1812. Grand looking churches were built, many of them over the ruins of Hindu temples. Along with churches, convents, schools, and hospitals were also built. The city was a very active place until it was deserted due to plague.

In the present time, Old Goa is like an open air museum of historical edifices. Each of the edifice a unique piece, different architectures, some in original condition, some are restored and a few in ruins. For a tourist, Old Goa has a lot to show. A bit of planning is required if one wishes to see all the places listed below.

Basilica of Bom Jesus: This happens to be the most visited tourist attraction of Old Goa. In fact most tourists start their tour from this monument constructed during Portuguese occupation. ASI inscription at the site describes it as follows: The construction of basilica of Bom Jesus was started in 1594 and upon completion it was consecrated in 1605 the church is cruciform on plan. Its three storied façade has a main entrance flanked by two smaller entrances. Entire façade has moulded basalt casing and the remaining part is exposed in laterite. Inscribed at the top of the façade, the letters "IHS" symbolise the first three letters of Jesus in Greek. This is just a part of the four para description. The interior is richly decorated with complex awe inspiring sculptures. The most sought after artifact here is the preserved corpse which is said to be the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier.  Though entry to the church is free, a museum within the church is ticketed.

Ruins of St. Augustine church: One of the largest churches during its time. Presently only a tower remains of the once magnificent structure. It was constructed between 1597 and 1602 using laterite. Dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, this church was built by the Augustine order. The Augustin order was expelled in 1835. The church was abandoned, subsequently neglect lead to its ruin leaving behind a sixty feet tall tower.

Church of Lady of Rosary: This is a Catholic church was constructed between 1544 and 1547 CE. It is said that Afonso de Albuquerque issued an order to build the church dedicated to the Lady of Grace at the very site where he received the news of Portuguese conquest of Goa. It is said that this church is one of the oldest structures built during Portuguese rule. The building is very Portuguese architecturally and preserved in its original form.

Chapel of St. Catherine: A plague planted at the site describes this monument as follows: This chapel was built in 1513 A.D. by Alfonso de Albuquerque to commemorate his entry into the city on St. Catherine's day was further enlarged in 1550 by George Cabral the governor and rebuilt in 1852 of laterite blocks. It has a tower on either side of the facade. The interior is plain having one altar.

Church of St. Francis of Assisi: A plague at this historical church describes this monument as follows: This church was built in 1661. The three tier facade has octagonal tower on each side and in the central niche there is a statue of St. Michael. The main entrance is decorated with circular pilasters and rosette band. The stylar nave is barrel-vaulted while the crossing is rib-vaulted which supports the choir. The internal buttress walls, separating the chapels and supporting the gallery on top, have frescoes showing floral designs. Above the tabernacle, in the main altar, is a large statue of St. Francis of Assisi and Jesus on the cross. Statues of St. Peter and St. Paul are seen below. The adjoining walls of nave retain painted panels depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

Se Cathedral: This cathedral dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria was built in 1510 CE to commemorate the capturing of Goa by the Portuguese on the day of the feast of Saint Catherine. It is the most imposing building at Old Goa. In this cathedral are five bells, amongst them the golden bell is said to be the biggest. Another interesting artifact is the large hanging silver oil-lamp. Since this is a east-facing cathedral, it makes to see it in the morning hours.

Chapel of St. Cajetan: This XVII Century church has an Italian connection since it was built by monks of the Order of Theatines. Its hemispherical dome is similar to the dome of St. Peter Basilica at Rome. Inside the church are statues of St. Matthew, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John the evangelist. A Latin inscription “domus mea domus orationis” which means “my house is the house of prayer” is etched inside.

Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount: Built between 1510 and 1519 CE this Roman Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary is one of the oldest in Old Goa. It is situated on a hill overlooking Mandovi river. Like most churches, it is built of laterite. The structure was in ruins until it was restored recently. This chapel courtyard is the venue for Monte Music Festival which is held in the month of November.

Church of Saint John of God: This church was built in towards the end of XVII Century by members of the order of Saint John of God. The members belonged to a hospital in Mozambique and, on arriving at Goa founded hospital there. The establishment ceased to exist after 1835 CE. The church is an interesting structure. Its façade is a typical Goan gable façade with three sections on two levels with one central door. Two three-storey towers flank the façade. The building was in state of ruins for a few decades before it was restored in 1952.

Royal Chapel of St. Anthony: This XVII Century chapel is situated opposite to the ruins of St. Augustine. This church was of great regard amongst the Portuguese since it was dedicated to the national saint of Portugal i.e. St. Anthony. This Church was closed in the year of 1835 and reopened in 1894. The Royal Chapel's architecture is interesting. Its facade is a semicylinder topped by a quadrant dome. Its interiors is dominated by three arches and blue walls. Presently in a poor condition, one could imagine the beauty of the interiors. 

Arch of Viceroy: Viceroy’s Arch is a laterite structure built in 1599 CE by the then Viceroy Francisco da Gama in memory of his grandfather Vasco Da Gama. On the arch's riverside face is an idol of Vasco da Gama in his uniform. On the other face is a brass idol of St. Catherine. The arch served as the main entrance for the Old Goa once. It is said that a viceroy on assuming the office would come to the arch in a procession and the ceremonial key to the office was handed over. Later when Old Goa city was abandoned, the arch was a state of neglect until its restoration in 1954.

Gate of Adil Shah Palace: Though this arch is clearly a part of a Hindu temple doorway, plagues planted at the site describes it as follows: The gate of the palace of Adil Shah this gate, made of basalt, consists of two pillars decorated with mouldings and fragmentary lozenge shaped perforateil screens. The lintel above the pillars is not original towards the inner side. Some structural remains of laterite have been exposed which might form part of this complex. The palace of Adil Shah was a magnificent building which became the residence of the Portuguese governors till 1695 and was afterwards used by them on festive occasions. Subsequently, the palace building was demolished in 1820 by the orders of the government. Going by the arch design it belonged to a temple, probably built during Kadamba times. Probably Adil Shahis demolished the temple barring the surviving arch. Then a palace was raised over it. Later when the Portuguese took over, the palace was demolished however the arch was left as is. If archaeologists conduct a thorough study of the land around this arch they might unearth temple ruins.

Arch of Conception: Old Goa was a fortified city during Adil Shahi rule. The city had rampart walls and a moat around it. There were four gateways namely When the Portuguese took over, the walls were dismantled and the rubble dumped into the moat. This is one of the four gateways namely- Quay gate, Baçais gate, Riverside gate and Mandovim gate. The first two gates were integrated into different buildings, the third gate was demolished and the last one i.e. the Mandovim gate survived. During the Portuguese inquisition, this gate came to be known as the Gate of the Punished where the condemned people were made to pray before an image of Our Lady placed in a niche over the gate’s archway. Later the gate was renamed after Our Lady of the Conception. More details about this monument can be found at this page.

St. Paul's College Gate: This gateway presently unconnected to any premises was the gateway to The Church of St. Paul. The institution was founded by two priests, Diogo de Borba and Miguel Vaz for the purpose of training young converts. The college building was constructed between Nov 1541 and Jan 1543. The college is said to have had a vast library, a hospital, hostel for converts and a printing press. The church was demolished in 1560 due to its fragile condition and construction of a larger church commenced which was opposed by other churches here. The building was set on fire several times between 1591 and 1675. One interesting fact to note is that the mortal remains of St. Francis Zavier was kept in a silver box at this church before moving it to Basilica of Bom Jesus. By 1827 the college and church were in a bad shape. In 1827 the Portuguese government put an end to the institution by ordering its demolition. Despite the college's turbulent past, its gateway survived the forces. 

Millstones of gunpowder factory:  Portuguese were the first of Europeans to land on the Indian subcontinent. With the arrival of Europeans came their language, customs, culture and technologies. Their conquests were driven by advanced warfare tactics called artillery i.e. large calibre guns like cannons. Cannons required ammunition which is gunpowder and stone/steel balls. The Portuguese had mills to produce gunpowder and, probably foundries to make steel balls. Large grinding stones were used for the production of gunpowder in Casa de Polvora, Paneli. The mill stones were salvaged from factory site at Paneli and kept for public display near the historical museum. It is said that raw material for making millstones were brought from a quarry in Maharashtra. While on this topic, readers might be interested to know about the gunpowder mill inside Chitradurga fort.

Archaeological Museum of Goa: This museum is situated behind Se Cathedral and next to Church of St. Francis of Assisi. The museum exhibits artifacts of prehistoric period to medieval period, with a focus on relics from Portuguese time. There are two larger than life size bronze statues, portraits of the Viceroys of Goa, postage stamps, coins of various kingdoms, wooden sculptures, inscriptions, maps, arms, etc. Apart from the ASI museum there's also a Museum of Christian Art and Wax museum.

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Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa

It was after two decades since I visited this historical church. The last time was some time early 2000s I was here with my business associate based out of Goa, we had taken a day off from work that day. Going back in time, my first visit was another decade and half, with my college friends in 1987. I remember our guise showing us the 500YO corpse of St. Francis Xavier. We had taken a few snaps of our group in front of the building. In those 38 years, the building seems same. Of course it has to remain as it is, after all this is one of the few World Heritage Sites of our country.

This visit was with Pushpa and my friend Srinu from Hyderabad. Srinu had driven down from Hyderabad to spend a week or two with us at Dharwad. Srinu and I visited the Chalukyan realm- Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole, it was his first visit there. Then we returned home, rested for a day or two and then drove down to Goa via Belagavi on Sept 1st. Before checking into a resort we managed to visit a few tourist spots such as Harvelem waterfall, Harvalem rock-cut cave shrines, Lamgao caves and Corjuem fort. The resort was situated close to Assonora in a remote location of Northern Goa. That evening we drove to Vagator beach, missed the sunset, spent some time on the beach, had dinner at Jaws restaurant and came back to the resort.

Sept 2, 2023. We left the resort early morning, had This towering edifice built in the XVI Century CE by Portuguese architects is an engineering marvel. Though it appears like a multi-storied building, the interior is just one huge space. There's a narrow ledge running around the side and front walls at the first lintel level. It's my guess that this building is around 65' at it's highest point. The neighboring  white building is a regular one, ground plus two, which is approximately 40' tall. The white building houses missionary offices and may be monks' living quarters as well.

The three projecting support walls seem to be later addition to this west-facing building.

Being a heritage site, this is under ASI care. A plague installed by the Archaeological Survey of India describes this World Heritage site as below:

The construction of basilica of Bom Jesus was started in 1594 and upon completion it was consecrated in 1605 the church is cruciform on plan. Its three storied façade has a main entrance flanked by two smaller entrances. Entire façade has moulded basalt casing and the remaining part is exposed in laterite. Inscribed at the top of the façade, the letters "IHS" symbolise the first three letters of Jesus in Greek.

As one enters the choir, the altar of St. Anthony is located to the right, and a wooden statue of St. Francis Xavier is kept to the left. On the northern wall of basilica of Bom Jesus, the cenοταρη of Dom Jeronimo Mascarenhas, the benefactor of this church is placed in the corresponding wall, there is a profusely carved wooden pulpit with canopy.

The main altar is flanked by altars of our lady of hope and St. Michael. The richly gilded main altar has Bom (infant) Jesus; and a large statue of St. Ignatius Loyola with the "IHS" medallion is placed above the Bom Jesus.

The holy trinity of "the father, the son and the holy spirit" is depicted at the top of main altar. The chapel on the northern side is dedicated to the "blessed sacrament"; whereas that on the south side has sacred relics of the body of St. Francis Xavier. The interior of this chapel is adorned with scenes from the life of the saint. A corridor adjoining this chapel leads to the exquisitely carved wooden door of an oblong sacristy. The sacristy has vaulted roof with an apse at the end to the west of the sacristy, the cloister of basilica of Bom Jesus and the professed house are located.

The facade is a symmetric form and divided into four tiers to reinforce the structure. The stacked pillars have both functional and aesthetic values. While Tier-1 pillars are circular, the upper tier pillars are square sectioned. Along the rectangular windows level is a ledge running inside on the front & side walls. I guess the ledge is provided so that windows can be accessed. I guess the windows are kept closed in during monsoon and opened in drier months. Weather is mostly warm and humid, windows this height allows air flow.

The highest tier of the facade displays a logo accompanied by decorative sculptures. Within the circle are the letters IHS which symbolizes the first three letters of Jesus in Greek.

A view of the arch over the doorway.

The great hall of this church. Notice the ledge on the side walls at the rectangular windows' height. Since photography is not allowed inside the church, this is the only shot of the interior. The altar is a rich mass of golden sculptures, a befitting color for the deity and it's paraphernalia.

We spent about half an hour inside. The basilica is connected to the neighboring building which houses a museum and missionary offices. The ticketed museum has a collection of idols of missionary monks. The idols are quite realistic, giving us a feel of attire of those times- long robes, overcoats, sandals & shoes. Many of the monks heads were partly shaven, like a circular gap on top of their hairy heads. Surely that is more than just symbolic, there must be some rational behind that hairstyle. Also there were other artifacts and a few paintings too. I can't recall much of it now i.e. after almost a year.

With the basilica premises is St. Francis Xavier memorial. People could pay their respects by lighting candles here. Some people have put garlands as well which is ancient Hindu tradition. Original Goa was known as Gomantak. On the European colonist arrival people of Gomantak were basically Hindu. The Portuguese traders turned rulers with the missionaries changed the culture of this land. Anyway, that's history. 

After the tour of Basicalica of Bom Jesus, we headed to another complex of buildings across the main street. The complex contains two big churches- Se Cathedral and Church of St. Francis of Assisi, and ASI museum. I wanted take Pushpa and Srinu to the former to show an ancient hanging oil lamp.

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Caves of Lamgao, Goa

Sept 1, 2023. After a quick tour of Arvalem waterfall and Arvalem caves, we headed west towards Bicholim. We still had 3 hours for the check-in at a resort near Assonora. So we thought of covering two more places- Lamgao cave and Corjuem fort. Lamgao cave is about 4 km from Bicholim. The narrow road passing through several localities is really tight and twisty, only one car could pass at a time. As we approached the location, it was deserted. If not for the board pointing the direction, we might have missed it. The last 300 meters is a footpath flanked by arecanut plantations.

While touring Goa, one needs to be prepared for thermal shock on stepping out from an airconditioned space. The hot & humid weather can sap out energy rapidly. And the still air in a plantation adds to the discomfort.

The cave is slightly elevated from the footpath, may be 6 to 7 meters high. Srinu and Pushp decided not to enter the cave since the place had a eerie feeling. Also the place was littered with trash, looks like this historical place has become a drinking / gambling den.

Photographing this cave was tricky with bright sunlight blazing down and the dark interior of the cave. The cave is basically a natural one which was enlarged by humans. This too like Pandava caves is laterite rock-cut shelter.

In this view, the ancient sculptors have made columns and beams. The cave's floor is uneven and dirt, there's no laterite floor. Also the inside walls are natural, meaning they don't seemed to be touched by human hands. Going by the looks of the place, this project is incomplete, abandoned much before completion.

My ears were alert, ready to pick up any growls from the smaller chambers inside. The smaller caverns were dark, just a sheet of black. Who knows what creatures were resting inside. Better not to go deeper.

This cave is marked as Buddhist cave on Google Maps. It could be Buddhist or Jain or Shaivite.

Another view of the column. The lower portion is missing a portion yet the column has held up.

Nothing more to see, I rejoined the group and we headed back. On the way we stopped to take a few pictures of the rock-cut Rudreshwar Devasthan. Rudreshwar is a form of Shiva. This rock-cut shrine is on the same hill as the cave seen earlier.

The two-column three-passages format is a proper Hindu temple format. The same design was seen at Arvalem Shivalinga cave.

A damaged idol of Nandi opposite the temple. Someone has left a cute little white colored Nandi here.

Barely 15 minutes in the arecanut plantation I was soaked in my own sweat and raring to get out of this place. Our next destination: Corjuem fort, about 9 km from here.

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Arvalem caves, Sanquelim, Goa

...continued from Arvalem Waterfall.
Sept 1, 2023. The last time I'd stepped into these cave monument was 20 years ago. Back then this monument was being done up for tourism. I remember the open yard was dug up and construction work was in progress. I'd taken a few pictures of the Linga idols in the caves. Shabir had told me that locally people call them Pandava Caves. However, officially they are known as Arvalem caves.

The caves are hacked out from a large laterite outcrop which is very common in the Western Ghats. One other place which has large tracts of laterite is in Bidar district. In the XII Century CE, the social reformer Basaveshwara's disciples had taken refuge in laterite caves when war broke out between king Bijjala's army and members of Shivasharana community. Most of those caves situated in and around Basava Kalyana. One of the caves known as Sharanara Gavi is tourist friendly, it is situated at the base of hillock on which 108 feet idol of Jagatjyoti Basaveshwara.

There are three separate cavities here. The closest one is an empty chamber. The next two are the ones with Linga idols in them.

The tour of these caves must start from here after reading the description etched into a stone slab.

The following is the transcription of the inscription posted by Archaeological Survey of India, Goa Circle: Excavated into the laterite hill, the Arvalem caves consists of two major caves and a residential chamber. The first phase of excavation includes triple shrines; the first cave of the triple shrine on the north-west side is a square chamber having Pitha in the centre, enshrined by a Linga like shaft of schist stone provided in its visible top form as a disc, perhaps standing for solar disc. The rectangular part below the disc-top contains an inscription "Sambapuravasi Ravi" a name of donor in early part of the 7th century A.D. characters. This indicates synchronisation of Siva and Surya and matches with the name of donor.
The central shrine is with a similar Pitha enshrined by a Linga with visible cylindrical top and square bottom which is similar to the early usage of Linga at Ellora, Elephanta etc.
The third shrine on the south-east side had a similar rock-cut Pitha also having similar shaft with the inscription, which assumes the form of a spearhead, a possible representation of Kartikeya. It seems to be reasonable to assume the combination of Shiva, Kaumara (Kartikeya) and Surya cults displayed here in the same manner as the southern Pandyan caves.
The second phase cave is provided by a pillared facade, fairly well finished and contains a rock-cut laterite Pitha in the centre of which is found a Linga shaft with visible cylindrical part. Apart from the above cave shrines, there is one more at the extreme corner of north-west with a similar Pitha enshrined by a Linga with inscription on the shaft datable to the last quarter of the 6th century A.D. Brahmi characters.

This is the largest cavity with five separate spaces; one large hall, and four chambers each containing a Linga. All Linga are mounted in a pedestal which remains integrated to the original laterite block of these caves. Except for the Linga, these caves are made of a monolithic block of laterite.

Linga with disc

Cylindrical top Linga

Spear-headed Linga

This is the second cave with a pillared facade.

The stone workers have attempted to give a touch of decor around the passage. They've also taken care of basic requirements like steps and ventilators. Ventilators allows air flow and also visual access.

Done with Arvalem caves, we head towards Assonora. I'd mentioned another ancient cave marked as Buddhist caves, situated near Bicholim. That would be our next stop. 

Laterite is a relatively soft stone. It's easy to shape the blocks. During my numerous visits to Goa, I'd seen a stone worker shape laterite blocks using a pick-axe. Those blocks were being used for a residential building.
Before I close this post I would like to add a line or two about another laterite monument- the rock-cut  temple of Amminabavi village near Dharwad. Amminabavi cave is a subterranean cave said to be made single handedly by an ascetic which lived the Rudrabhoomi (Hindu burial ground) situated just outside the village. The cave was created sometime early 1970s. The ascetic had settled well into his cave temple and when things got too comfortable he got into trouble with law and his current whereabouts are unknown.
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Arvalem waterfall

The first time I saw Arvalem waterfall was 2003, the year our business set foot in Goa. The waterfall was close to our business associate Shabir's home at Sanquelim. Shabir had taken us to Arvalem caves and then Arvalem waterfall, both places are on the same road off Sanquelim-Ponda road.

Arvalem waterfall is a result of Cudnem river diving off a 50 meters cliff. The mouth of the gorge at the waterfall is about 7 meters wide. During and just after a good rainy season, the roar of Arvalem waterfall can be heard half a kilometer away. Between 2003 and 2005, I must've visited this waterfall two or three times. Once it was during the peak of monsoon, the waterfall was like a ferocious monster. 

Sept 1, 2023

This trip to Goa was planned in the last week of September on Srinu's arrival at our place. We got accommodation at a resort near Assonora in North Goa. On Shabir's advice we skipped Dharwad-Ramnagar-Goa highway and took Dharwad-Belagavi-Chorla-Goa highway. On entering Chorla ghat road, the memories of 2003-05 came alive. I'd travelled Chorla ghats on a bike, a bus, and number of times by car; traveled during day and night; during clear and rainy days. With all the variables, one thing was constant- the road on Karnataka side was pathetic and the road on Goan side was always like new. This trip, the road on Karnataka side was bad but not as bad as in 20 years ago.

The first major town we touch in Goa is Sanquelim. As we approached the town, more memories came alive... the restaurants we ate at, the shops we visited, a glimpse of the town bus-stand, etc. Sanquelim had grown over the years, one of the main junctions had traffic lights and medians. Despite the changes, the town had retained its charm. I had no difficulty in locating the road leading to the historical caves and waterfall.

We decided to see the waterfall first and stop at the caves on the way back. We left our car at the parking place just outside the waterfall-temple complex gates and went by foot. The path goes past Rudreshwar Mandir and then a staircase runs parallel to the stream. One needs to be careful on the steps since they are slippery in the rainy season. Here it is, the marvelous Harvalem waterfall.

That's Pushpa, and Srinu our friend from Hyderabad. A fine mist rises from the waterfall keeping the surroundings moist. 2023 rainy season has been poor, probably received just 30 to 40% rainfall compared to last year. If the rains were better, this waterfall would've been a different sight with a heavy spray covering the entire space. 

The waters of Cudnem river after the falls. The steps seen on the left is the temple's bathing ghat. During one of the previous visits, the water level of this river was at least four feet more than the present.

Barely half hour outside the airconditioned car, the warm & humid Goan weather had hit Pushpa. She decided to rest while I took a few pictures.

The stubby columns in waters are flow controllers, I think they reduce turbulence. Also there's a cross-over along those columns. Anyone wanting to cross the stream could go there. To my knowledge, crossing the stream with this flow is not advisable. May be when the water level is much lower.

This Rudreshwar Mandir, a temple dedicated to a form of Shiva. I had been inside the temple during an earlier visit.

This is the rear view of the grand temple. Goan temple structures are different, most of them have an open hall attached to the temple. The sloped roof portion is the temple, the dome is right over the sanctum. The extension in the front is an open hall which is used for cultural events. Most temples in Goa and Western ghats are in the same format, only the size and design will vary. Two other major temples of Sanquelim are Radha-Krishna Mandir and Dattatreya Mandir.

I really wish to see this waterfall again after a good rainy season. So praying for good rains in the future years. From here we go to Arvalem caves, also called as Pandava caves by local people.

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Goa in 1987 rainy season

June/July 1987
Done with second year Pre-University exams, the SSMRV PUC II gang was in buoyant mood. We went for the newly released 'Premaloka' starring Ravichandran and Juhi Chawla. Juhi was a brand new face on the silver-screen, the movie was a super-hit in no time and every teenage boy was humming e nimbe hanninantha hudgi bantu nodu, e baaloo... We occupied an entire row in the balcony and the crowd was entirely teenagers like us.

Few days later we were all set to go to Goa; Venkatesh, Ashok, Jayanna, Chandrashekar, Anand, Jayanth and me. After dinner, we all met at Ashok's home. Ashok's dad was informed that he was going to participate in a roller-skating competition.

In the train, we settled into our berths and chatted away for some time and slept off. Next morning we passed by Dharwad and now the landscape changed suddenly ...now our train was running through dense & green forests of Western Ghats. The next stop was Londa junction ...a pretty long one. We explored the railway station and chatted with our train driver, a friendly person who patiently explained Ashok's questions. The engine was a steam powered locomotive. Ashok asked if we could ride it ... the answer was no, it would be against the rules. It was time to leave, from here the train would be going mostly downhill .... through Western Ghats to the Konkan region. I liked the weather; sky was packed with clouds and the air was mostly misty and cool. The effect of white mist haunting the woods was magical. Everything in sight was damp with mist and rain. The journey was slow, at times the train moved real slow that we would get off the train and walk along it. We had many stops and we would jump off the train at every opportunity. We would try to identify plants and I did find one little curry-leaf plant next to the tracks. Hawkers were aplenty and we bought from literally everything; idli, vade, bhel-puri, fruits, tea.... Suddenly someone would get into the mood of singing and everyone woudl join in. Our co-passengers would smile at our antics.

Soon we were passing by Dudhsagar station and the train does not have a scheduled stop here but it did stop for a minute and to our good luck our bogie was right on the bridge across the stream with the falls to the left of our train. Except for one (with the camera), we jumped off the train and got the narrow wall- one wrong move we would fall into the gushing stream. The camera clicked and the train started moving.

We jumped off and quickly got on the train. That's when we actually saw the milky white water pouring down from God knows where. This is one of my best train journeys.

The rain was getting heavier as as we got closer to the coast and it was pouring heavy when we reached Margoa around noon ...that's where the train journey ended. We found a hotel and rented one room. The rain just kept pouring ...no signs of let up. Streets and tourist spots were deserted most times.

Venkatesh and Ashok were the planners. During the 5 or 6 day visit, we visited Mangesh temple, Ponda, Church of Bom Jesus, Panjim, and a bunch of beaches; Miramar, Calangute, Anjuna, Vagator... I relished the Goan baji-pav (it's not pav-baji) and had it at every restaurant or shack we entered. At Calangute beach, Ashok got friendly with a shack-owner and got engrossed in a conversation about Charles Shobraj. It seems Shobraj had visited her place few times.

The afternoon we visited Miramar beach, the rain had let up for couple of hours. The gang had a good time in the water, except me, I was watching their belongings.

Jayanth noticed a wooden crate floating pretty close of the beach and they tried to drag it ashore hoping it had some treasure in it. They struggled quite a bit but the crate held it's position and finally gave up as it started drizzling and picking up pace. The gang hastily dried as dry as possible and dressed up in damp clothes and rushed to a four table tea-shop. We ordered snacks & tea and as we waited Jayanna asked for his gold chain. I was surprised and asked him if he had given it to me. He begged not to joke and I told him not to fool around. He was on the verge of tears... I asked him to check me, lifted my sweatshirt off my lap and the gold chain fell off the pocket. I was shocked. Even till now, I just cannot recall Jayanna giving it to me. God knows how he took it ... we never discussed it again.

One strong reason for guys visiting Goa is booze and it went without saying for us too. We boozed every night. During one of the sessions, Anand got so sloshed he could not stand by himself ...you can imagine the rest or skip it and move on the next para.

During one of the bus-rides, between Panaji and Margoa, our bus had to wade to through water couple of feet deep. We could see water every where. This part of the road passed through a low-lying area. I asked a question about rain to one of the locals in the bus ... no response! We wondered if did not understand English or if he did not want to talk to strangers. Those days agriculture was still active and we could see green paddy fields through out our journeys. It's a beautiful place indeed ... with mining and tourism at it's peak people have shied away from fields now.

The last day we spent mostly at the hotel and went shopping ...jeans and nothing else. Ashok struck a deal at one of the shops and we picked up some 15 pairs. Soon we were in the train and back to singing and laughing. I had planned to get off at Dharwad, stay at my grandparents' place for a week and then return back to Bangalore. As train slowed down at Dharwad station, Jayanth was with me at the door and said he was broke asked me for ten rupees. I was no better but gave one precious 10 Rupee note ...back then life was lot more simple and fun. We did so much with so little money.

For the trip was unforgettable; friends, train journey, rain, baji-pav & port wine.

I got all these pictures from Jayanth last week Jan 2010 and added them to this post March week-1.

In a launch crossing Mandovi river.

At Basilica of Bom Jesus.

At Red Fort Ponda.

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Pandava Caves & Harvalem Falls

Here are two spots one should visit when in Goa. The best time to visit would be towards the end of rainy season.

These are the Harvalem caves also known as Pandava caves.

In these rock-cut shrines are five Shivalingas, I had photographed three of them during my visit.

About half a kilometer from Harvelem caves is Harvalem Falls situated in a valley. This photo was shot during the onset of summer. During rainy season the waterfall is a terrifying sight, its roar could be heard at a distance and force of the water kicks up a continuous spray.

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