Houses of Goa

Towards the end of my week in Goa, I visited this place in the sketch above. Known as Houses of Goa it is a 3 storey museum of ...well.... houses, in Goa. Some of the very wealthy mansions as well as the typical village houses are documented through measure drawings and photographs and presented with a lot of detailed and descriptive writing about the lifestyle. I was also happy to see sketches and paintings of the houses done more recently added in as part of the collection on view.

Apart from plans and models, the collection also includes sign boards, architectural detail elements,  ornamental pieces and all kinds of household articles that are a reminder of a past lifestyle. Goan architecture is heavily portugese influenced and this is evident in the smallest of details.

 I tried to capture some of them, the ones that caught my eye the most. After wandering slowly through the 3 floors I came back out and sketched the building when a tall gentleman passing by on the road came up to me and asked if I wouldn't mind if he watched while I sketch. I said I wouldn't and he stood behind me for some time. It was only as he left and entered his house next door that I realised it was Gerard DaCunha, the architect of the Museum!

Houses of Goa is an island surrounded by road and on one side, Gerard's house faces the museum. On the other is Gerard's office - his architectural practice. The office also houses the official Mario Miranda Gallery. So after the sketching was over that's where I went next. I'm a huge fan of Miranda's work and was so absorbed in studying his sketches that I didnt produce any of my own in the gallery.

Panjim

Somewhere between Christmas and the new year I took an early morning walk through the streets of Panjim - the old part of the city - just east of the creek. The previous day we had visited our friend Bhavana who now works at CCF and is currently putting final touches on a map of Panjim. Not any old map, but a beautifully documented detailed map that should soon be available to tourists. With heritage walking routes and lots of info. Bhavana walked us through some of the narrow winding streets herself and I noticed this Chapel on Rue De Natal near her office.
So the next morning I was there early sketching. I had my back to a smallish square which had a large well and a house looking out onto the square. At about 9 in the morning the front window of the house was thrown open and a middle-aged man stood at the window with a violin in his hand. He started playing the violin and never stopped. Not songs, not particularly melodious either... just a bunch of frenzied riffs. At length I finished my sketch, packed up and left. He was still playing away.

We walked a little more exploring the old parts of the city and found a street that was a series of steps. As we climbed higher and higher we could look back and see all the roof-tops of Panjim spread below us.

I tried doing a quick sketch but the street-dog territorial warfare and the sun started to get to me.

Retracing our steps we soon found ourselves back in the little square with the well. The violin music continued. It was almost noon. Old ladies passed by with baskets on their heads laden with fresh vegetables - greens, brinjals, radishes. They knocked on front doors that opened directly onto the narrow streets.

I couldn't help but sigh at the romanticism of old-city-Panjim life. Imagine daily door delivery of vegetables in a quiet heritage neighbourhood, with violin music in the background! Sigh. 

Goa.... finally!

Yes. I finally made it to Goa. Yes. This was my first visit to Goa. Really!
And it was amazing. It was everything I had built it up in my head to be. 8 lovely lazy days in the sun and sand and sea but also in the shade, and on a scooter scooting around, taking in the sights.
Lots of lovely people to meet, a mini-reunion of college friends. A very happy new year!
I managed to sketch quite a bit. Bliss! I inaugurated my first japanese fold Moleskine at Majorda beach. Majorda has a backwater formation and you can swim in the sea or wade in the back-water. The seafood and pancakes from "Blue-Waves", the beach shack we adopted were quite delicious.

And our entire stay was made all the more special thanks to our wonderful hosts - Garima and Roy who live in an old house in Moira. Obviously, having never done the tourist-hotel side of Goa, I'm not qualified to compare but something tells me I'm really lucky to have stayed here. Its a large house with a wide verandah. The two chair like seats that flank the entrance are typical of a lot of old houses in the area. The verandah is locally called a "Balcao" and has longer bench seats at the end too. We pretty much lived out here - breakfast, lazy afternoons and sundowners. The rest of the trip will come in blog installments as there is a LOT happening in my sketching life now :-)

And if anyone knows a better way of showcasing sketches done in the accordian fold format [any tool available on the web where I can scan it so you can flip through it online] please do let me know.

Happy new year everybody!