Dear Members and friends of Goa Chitra, On the eve of celebrating its 5th anniversary, Goa Chitra launched, Goan Quest 2014-15 on 2nd Nov. 2014, to showcase to its visitors the fast fading Tangible and Intangible Heritage of Goa. This event will be held every Sunday at Goa Chitra, through the season and shall commence from 5:00pm onwards until 10:00pm. The Goan Quest series is supported by the directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa.
Intangible Cultural Heritage: represents the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith. Goa because of its ancient culture and the European acculturation influence is rich in this intangible cultural heritage distinctive only to this part of the Indian Continent and all efforts are needed to preserve and showcase these special traditions. The curator of the museum Mr. Victor Hugo Gomes believes that by preserving and promoting these facets of Goan identity and promoting tourism on these lines a symbiosis can be created whereby Goan culture is sustained rather than endangered by tourism. With the backing of a strong research and development model, the Goan Quest conceptualized by Mr. Gomes, is a different model of engaging tourists with the heritage of this land without diluting the traditions and losing the identity of our ancestral past. The first Goan Quest held on Sunday, 2nd Nov. 2014, was well received by the Tourism stakeholders and was attended by interested tour companies and hotel representatives who are keen in promoting the unsung aspects of Goa's appeal; its traditions, rituals, oral expressions, distinctive cuisine, music, dance, costumes, and trades of the ethnic communities. After a welcome drink the guests were given colourful folk props and welcomed by a brass band. This was followed by a colourful Shigmo parade through the Goa Chitra property. Along the way the Guest could watch and participate in different live demonstrations of cane weaving, pottery, mat weaving etc and had the opportunity to interact with various artisans of Goa. Different folk dance performances and serenade’ s entertained them as they were taken on a guided tour of the Goa Chitra ethnographic museum and the newly opened Goa Chakra transportation museum. This was followed by snacks and a eleven course authentic Goan buffet as they watched different folk dances from different communities. The evening ended admits fun and dancing to the tune of popular Goan music by solo artists and a live band. “By promoting traditional communities who are the true ambassadors of our culture Goan identity is kept alive rather than be destroyed or diluted” states Mr. Gomes The objective of the Goan Quest-2014-15 is to revive and showcase traditional arts, crafts and folk forms for the benefit of visitors by involving the community members and will be held every Sunday Coming Sunday, 9th November 2014, selected artisans from the various communities will perform traditional dance forms and demonstrate and display their arts, crafts cuisine and music during the event. The visitors will also be given the opportunity to participate in these cultural activities thus empowering both the artist and the art. The highlight of the evening is a exclusive Six member acoustic band, Rythem and Blues-Acoustix. For details and reservation kindly contact goachi...@gmail.com or call 08322772910, 08326570877 or 09850466165. Goa Chitra presents Goan Quest On Sunday 9th Nov. 2014 from 5pm to 10pm. Celebrating the Tangible and Intangible heritage of Goa A unique experience of the fast fading traditions of Goa As the world becomes more global, culture gets exotic. The world travelers today seek opportunities to interact and understand cultures .The Goan Quest is a special Goan experience that allows the tourist to interact and gain a better understanding about the culture of this land. GOAN QUEST FEATURES Meet and interact with the ethnic communities and share in their culture and festivities. Get welcomed by a Brass Band and Arti. Be a part of the Traditional Shigmo Parade. Experience the music and dance of the Gawda community. Try your hands at pottery, bamboo and mat weaving, broom making etc. Watch traditional feni distillation and Taste the traditional brew. Enjoy and be a part of traditional folk dances. Dance to the rhythms of popular Goan and retro tunes. Savour a sumptuous traditional eleven course heritage food of Goa. Handicraft stalls selling products. Demonstrations and Art exhibition. Organic Farming and farm products for sale. Guided tours of the world renowned ethnographic museum, Goa Chitra and India’s first ancient transportation museum, Goa Chakra. Goa Chitra Museum Museum Of Goa That Inspires The World- Graded as a "Must See" place by 'TIME' International. Featured as a "Hidden Gem" in 'National Geographic Traveler' , One of the best places to Visit in Asia, “Top Choice” on ‘Lonely Planet’, One of the 3 must places to visit on GQ Magazine, Listed No. 1 place to visit by ‘Trip Advisor’, 12 page cover feature in MARG, Covered in Russian Media as a Must Visit, One of the 7 things to do in Goa, An Essential part of Margao on Culture Holidays, 11 main attractions in Goa, ...Over 300000 visitors since 2009. Goa Chitra has been attracting famous celebrities like the God Father of Hollywood Cinema, Mr. Robert De Niro and his daughter Ms. Drena De Niro; renowned Indian poet, lyricist and director Sampooran Singh Kalra Gulzar; the Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk; winner of the Man Booker Prize Kiran Desai; astronomer and Padmabhushan Awardee, Dr. Jayant Vishnu Narlikar; Padma Bhushan and eminent Indian poets Dr. Surjit Patar; Prof. Naseem Shafai; Ms. Sukhvinder Amrit; Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Executive Director, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, Former CAG of India, Mr. Vinod, Rai; Governor of Goa, His Excellency Mr. Bharat Vir Wanchoo; Mr. Khwaja, Union secretary for Tourism; Governor of West Bengal, His Excellency Mr. M.K. Narayanan; the former Union Minister of Tourism, Ms. Kumari Selja; the former Governor of Goa, His Excellency Dr. S.S.Sidhu;, Former Union Tourism secretary Mr. Sujit Banerjee besides Chief Minister of Goa, Mr. Manohar Parrikar.