ATOP THE BARADI HILL – Bennet Paes While the Portuguese still held on to a piece of the Indian sub-continent, it was customary for the upper strata of Goan society to take leave of the pre-monsoon ‘calor’ (heat) and escape to a more relaxing atmosphere elsewhere. ‘Mudança’is what they called it in Portuguese. Change is what they call it now, and the much touted phenomenon of ‘global warming’ seems to have given added impetus to Goans of all shades to join the club. As a kid, I remember going on ‘mudanças’ to our own summer hideout on an islet at Betul in south Goa. Atop the neighbouring ‘Baradi’ hill stood a cross which, according to legend, cured the faithful of incurable ailments and thus came to be venerated as a cross of miracles. I also remember my father clasping my hand to climb the revolving stairs leading up to that cross. Up there, leaning on its peripheral railing, we wondered at nature’s bounty below. The breathtaking landscape highlighting the mouth of river Sal opening up to the waves of the Arabian Sea; a patch of white sand at the tip of Mobor beach separating the two waterways; and nearer below, a carpet of greenery covering a cluster of holiday homes along the river bank. A chapel was built by the side of the cross, and later extended to accommodate a growing number of worshippers. Third of May each year is marked as the day of feast of that “Holy Cross”. Today is its anniversary.