http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/09/17/stories/2006061750030100.htm
Many histories ZERIN ANKLESARIA The various strands of Goa's composite culture are all strung together here. Rich architectural heritage: The interior of a Goan home (Photo reproduced from the book). We tend to think of Goa as a quaint Mediterranean outpost transported, by a quirk of history, to the shores of the Arabian Sea. This is erroneous, since Goa, or Govapuri or Aparanta as it was, is a land of many histories, outlined in the new and very prestigious tome on the subject. Within the last 50 years, exciting discoveries have been made of Early Stone Age tools, and in 1993 more than 120 tools of the Middle Paleolithic period were uncovered under a layer of debris in a cave, proof that it had been inhabited. Mesolithic rock carvings were also found in two locations, largely of animals, incised with such skill that they are still clearly identifiable as deer, ibexes, and so on. The prize find was a Megalithic Mother Goddess in granite, fully eight feet long and two and a half feet broad, holding a newborn baby. Eons later, in the time of the Chalukyas, a huge Ganesh idol was carved on a rock at Reddi, an image that is still an object of worship. In early times, Goa, known to Greek geographers as Arike, was the major port for its rich hinterland, and had a flourishing trade with sea-faring nations. A large number of gold coins are still turning up, originating from places as various as Rome, Venice, Arabia and Aksum, a major centre of Christianity in ancient Eritrea and Ethiopia. Arab traders had settled on the Konkan coast centuries before the Muslim conquests, probably dealing in horses, and African farmers in the first millennium A.D. used iron implements of Goan provenance. During the reign of the Kadambas, precious metals and cloth, food grain and spices were exported; also exotic items such as camphor, perfumes, elephant tusks and hippopotamus teeth for their supposed aphrodisiac qualities. Repressive interlude The 450 years of Portuguese rule were largely repressive. The infamous Inquisition was enforced for more than two centuries with greater severity than in the home country, and all manner of absurd restrictions were enforced with the idea of effecting cultural change. At weddings no songs could be sung, and the couple was not to be anointed in the traditional way. Newborn babies were no longer to be placed on raw rice, nor could their birth be celebrated with banquets. Dietary and sartorial rules decreed that salt must be cooked with rice, not subsequently added, and dhotis and cholis were proscribed. The planting of tulsi was also forbidden. But there were unintended benefits. Goa became the centre of a hybrid culture with an intellectual vitality that combined Brahmin scholarly traditions with those of Catholic priests, who came in large numbers. The fame of "the Rome of the East" spread throughout the Christian world, and the enclave acquired a distinctive character which helped it to assert its identity as a separate State after Liberation. Since then progress has been rapid despite political instability and rampant corruption. Goa is the most prosperous of our small States and its per capita income, at about Rs. 50,000 per annum, is the highest in India. The book seeks to be all-inclusive, covering the numerous strands of Goa's composite culture. Apart from history, there are essays on literature and language, architecture, the arts, Goan identity and much else, and a reviewer has to be ruthlessly selective. There are also aids to serious study such as an index, a glossary and an annotated bibliography. A detailed chapter is devoted to music, describing traditional forms such as the mando and the dulpod, and outlining the achievements of the Mangeshkar family, Kishori Amonkar and the inimitable Remo. That other famous Goan, Wendell Rodricks, is also here, contributing a fine essay on costumes and displaying some of his creations. In one, the model wears nothing above the waist except two mussel shells held precariously together with bits of string, and matching clam shell earrings. Though she dares to bare, would we dare to wear? One wonders. Gourmet cooking comes as naturally to Goans as music, and half a century ago the chefs in Bombay's leading hotels were all Goan. To have one at home was a potent status symbol, and the Malabar Hill dowagers would stoop to Byzantine intrigues to capture such a prize. So, if Mrs. A, having dined on light-as-air pastry and gut-churning vindaloo, succeeded in luring Francis into her kitchen with lavish inducements, Mrs. B, in aggrieved retaliation, would purloin Adeline, with matching offers, to keep an expert eye on her grandchildren. Mario Cabral e Sa writes with verve about famous foodies and their eccentricities. One wined and dined his guests on the choicest dishes and smoked Havana cigars which he lit with 100-rupee notes. At the other extreme Victorino, the doyen of Goan cooks, started on a princely salary of one rupee a month, and would advise his apprentices to "taste the food while the pot boils". Exemplifying his teaching he came to a sad end, dying prematurely of tongue cancer. Some mouth-watering recipes are given, so labour-intensive that one would need the forbearance of Goa's entire panoply of saints to slave for hours in the kitchen and then see the Crab Curry or Bebinca disappearing in minutes. Rich in flora and fauna The State is exceptionally rich in flora and fauna. The Ghats have 50 varieties of fauna per hectare, 3,500 species of flowering plants, 84 known species of orchids, and more. Apart from the impressive facts and figures we are told forest tales — a bird story, a snake story, and even a true love story. A rampaging bull elephant who was the terror of the surrounding villages strayed, one day, into a wildlife park. There he espied the serene and lovely cow of his dreams. The Earth shook and the heavens trembled. It was love at first sight. Giving up his wild and wicked ways he settled down. And they lived happily ever after. Visually, the architecture section is the most impressive, with striking photographs of the ancient temple at Tambdi Surla and the much later Mangueshi temple. There are splendid interiors too, notably of the Great Hall in the Palace of the Viscount of Pernem done in shades of blue with huge round windows almost floor to ceiling, and the hall of the Menezes Braganza home in Chandor. Contemporary buildings such as the State University complex and the Kala Academy have been designed by Satish Gujral and Charles Correa, and a more native style is created in new resorts such as the exquisite Nilaya Hermitage. Here, small stone-fronted pavilions are scattered over the grounds, interspersed with lush greenery and water courses to blend harmoniously with the landscape. But where is that most charming of structures, the typical home of the Christian landowner, with its tiled roof, its balcao with seats built alongside the steps leading up to it, and arched windows with panes of iridescent oyster shells to keep out the glare and fill the interior with light? We were shown around one, 150 years old and still in use, with furniture carved in the Indo-Portuguese manner, and crockery of finest china decorated with floral motifs. And, believe it, there were chamber pots to match, so beautiful that one could never imagine using them for the purpose for which they were intended! In a book that is otherwise so comprehensive, there is nothing more than a three-line mention of these unique houses epitomising a gracious and vanishing lifestyle. What a pity. Goa: Aparanta, Land Beyond the End, Dattaraj V. Salgaocar, with Mario Cabral E Sa and Wendell Rodricks, edited by Victor Rangel-Ribeiro, Goa Publications, Rs. 3,500.
