Visiting Dona
Paula and enjoying the River cruise in Goa
A panoramic view of the Dona Paula - confluence of Zuari River with Arabian Sea
I
continue from where I had left off in my previous blog. Having had our lunch we headed back to our
service apartment, so as to avoid the harsh afternoon heat and for a brief
siesta as well. Thereafter, we started
for Dona Paula at around 4.30 P.M in the evening and reached there in about 45
minutes. Dona Paula is a secluded
bay about 7 kms. from Panaji, with its magnificent view of the Mormugao harbour,
it is one of the must visit destinations of Goa. This idyllic rocky tourist
attraction lies at the junction where the Mandovi and the Zuari rivers meets
the Arabian Sea. The Dona Paula monument
is located on a small islet, linked to the mainland by a small bridge and a
quay. However, during my visit the
entire stretch was under renovation and hence the entire area was barricaded
and tourists were not allowed to venture beyond the barricade. But as I had also visited the destination in
2011, I have used my old pictures to convey the real essence of the
destination.
A long shot of the cliff head of famed Dona Paula - present day view
A close up of the Dona Paula - as seen at present from a distance due to repair work
This destination is also steeped in various local
stories about a local lady named Dona Paula, who was in relationship with
Portuguese nobility and hence was killed by being thrown off from the
cliff.A small collections of such
anecdotes read as follows –
Dona Paula as it looked from nearer the site in 2011
The famed 'Image of India' one looking East and other West depicting confluence to two regions
The busy market selling wares of local flavour
One legend has it that she was the lady-in-waiting
of the Governor-General's wife, and in course of time the Governor fell victim
to her beauty and charms. They were found out and the governor's enraged wife
had her stripped and bound and rolled over the cliff, into the sea, wearing
only her string of pearls, a gift of love from the Governor.
A SHORT VIDEO OF THE WATER SPORTS ETC. IN DONA PAULA, GOA
The local fishermen of the area and other natives
of the place narrate quite a few ghost stories about Dona Paula. Even the setting of moon phase has several
connotations in their stories, some say that on moonlit nights, while others
swear that on pitch dark nights and few others say that on the stroke of
midnight, she rises from the sea and roams the area, wearing only a string of
pearls and nothing else.
One of the many jetty s where from one board's the river Cruise boats
As the River cruise in Mondovi River commences
A local fishing boat passes by
Another story that does round amongst the natives
is that on Gasper Dias, a nobleman, on whose estates a fort was built because
of its strategic importance, is also said to have been one of Dona Paula's
lovers. Her ghost, local villagers say, appears looking desperately for the
nobleman.
One of the many floating casinos - The Deltin Casino
Another of the many floating casinos - Casino Pride-II
Another one of the many floating casinos of Mondovi River - Big Daddy casino
However, now a days the most popular legend is that
Dona Paula is believed to have been the daughter of one of the Portuguese
Viceroys and her lover is believed to have been a native fisherman, a
relationship which aroused strong racist feelings amongst the Portuguese, who
got her killed by throwing her off from the cliff.Now her ghost roams at night in search of her
native lover.
A Sea Gull flying around for some food thrown by Cruise passengers
A locally ferry transporting passengers across the Mondovi River from Panaji
A typical Portuguese architecture - a home and a chapel
There is a statute at the rocky cliff head and many
just pass it off as the statute of Dona Paula and her lover.However, the said whitewashed statue sculpted
in 1969 by Baroness Von Leistner and named as the "Image of India"
and is said to be depicting the figures of Mother India and Young India, one
looking to the East and the other to the West. The Wheel of Ashoka, is in the
middle half buried in stone to represent the ancient culture that nurtured this
fusion of ideas and emotions.Apart from
this windswept spot, there are a lot of local water sport activities that are
available here like boating, para-sailing, water scooters, yachting, swimming,
wind surfing and fishing.As for the
ladies there are a lot of small shops selling local and other trinkets, which
one might like to buy as souvenirs of their visit.
Artists performing Dhangar dance during cruise
Artists performing Kunbi dance on the cruise
The artists performing Musal dance during the river curise
The artists performing the Corredinho dance during the cruise
An integral part of Goa landscape - a Chapel by the river side
A panoramic view of the Miramar beach
As the sun sets and sets the water on fire - as seen from the River cruise
Another view of the setting sun from the River Cruise on Mondovi River in Goa
A fast moving river patrol boat of Goa Police
View of the lighted Chapel against the setting sun in Goa
As the sun light fades - the Casinos light up
A close up of the Casino Pride II all lighted up as night falls on Mondovi River
Another cruise boat - all decked up at night with florescent colors glides by
View of the Treebo run serviced apartment in Arpora
A photograph of Salt Restaurant in Arpora, Goa (sourced from web)
Having spent some quality time at Dona Paula, we
retraced our route back to the vicinity of the Panjim Township and visited the
Miramar beach. Thereafter, we headed for
the jetty nearby and purchased the tickets for famed Mondovi River Cruise. The cost the tickets vary from Rs.250/- to
750/- per person based upon the size and amenities being provided in the
boats. We settled for a middle priced
Rs.450/- per head cruise boat. The boat
started its journey at around 6.15 P.M and there was an open deck on which the
tourists were seated, with a small raised platform at one end where from local
disc jockey’s played loud music, inviting the children and ladies in groups to
dance on the stage. After some time a
local troupe performed live local dances and the host described the details of
dances being performed. A short detail
of the dances performed were – (1) Dhangar
Dance - Dhangars, a shepherd community believed to have
migrated from Kathiawar region of South Gujarat and settled in the hilly north western
fringes of Goa; (2) Kunbi Dance - Kunbis,
the earliest settlers of Goa, are a sturdy tribal community, who though
converted to Christianity, still retains the most ancient folk tradition of the
land. Their songs and dance belonging to the pre-Portuguese era are uniquely
social and not religious. The fast and elegant dance by a group of Kunbi women
dancers, wearing traditional yet very simple dresses, lends a colourful touch
to this ethnic art form.; (3) Mussal
Dance - The Kshatriyas, the warrior class of 'Chandor', perform this
dance-cum-song to celebrate the victory of Harihar, the Hindu King of
Vijaynagar over the Cholas in the early 14th century; and (4) Corredinho
Dance - A Portuguese folk dance and a beautiful example of Portuguese cultural
influence, this elegant dance is highly popular among Goan elite youth.
Corredinho Marcha de Fontainhas, a song-cum-dance, is famous for its rhythmic
and exquisite footwork where normally six couples take part. The colourful
costumes are a feast to the eye.
There are vendors who do the rounds on the decks selling their ware,
mostly food items, but very few people were interested in buying, instead most
of us had our eyes riveted on to the nature’s splendour that was unfolding
before our eyes or else enjoying the dance show put forth by the troupe. We returned back to the jetty at around 7.10
P.M and by that time the nightfall had been ushered in and we headed back to
our hotel. That night we dined at a
upcoming shack restaurant known as ‘The Salt’ in Arpora, as it was walking
destination from our place of stay. We
had authentic Goanese food, with the all-time favourite ‘Fish n’chips’ thrown
in, along with main course and we enjoyed the ambience, food & service to
the hilt. Thus, ended our second day of our Goa tour.
As we happened
to reach Goa on Monday evening, we had not planned for much for that day,
taking into consideration the fact that flights at times get delayed. The furnished apartment that I had booked for
our stay in Goa was in North Goa and in Arpora locality. As the Baga
beach was the nearest and in a walking distance, we decided to visit this
destination in the evening. Baga is located at the north end of the contiguous beach
stretch that starts from Sinquerim, Candolim and stretches right up to Calangute. We spent the evening enjoying the various
activities taking place in the beach and also enjoyed the sun set from the
Beach. The beach has a long row of
colourful umbrellas with sitting decks placed below them in a neat row all
along the coastline. Since we had placed
ourselves in a serviced apartment, we through it fit to have our dinner at the
beach side shack and then head back to the apartments. Accordingly, we decided to dine at the
famed shack, called as St. Anthony’s running since the 1960’s and we enjoyed our
evening to the hilt, as the ambience as well as the food was worth every penny
spent.
Here is a short video of the Baga beach
Early next
morning, as scheduled by us, especially it being a Tuesday, we had decided to
visit the temples in South Goa and the Churches in Old Goa. Accordingly, we
started in the hired vehicle early in the morning, so as to avoid the stinging
late morning/afternoon sun.The first
destination visited by us in South Goa was the famed Balaji temple, which is
situated in Kunkulied village. The
temple whose full name is Tirupati
Balaji Padmavati temple and it is placed amidst a lush green complex, with a
carpet of grass that is interspersed with flowering plants, provides for a
soothing experience.The temple complex
consists of the main temple, housing a tall statue of Lord Balaji and similar
in appearance to the deity in Tirupati.Next to this main temple is a smaller temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha
and Goddess Padmavati and this temple complex too like all the other temples in
south India has a tall ‘dhwaja stambha’.Despite having started early, walking on the
paved path was next to impossible due to the heat and we had to trudge
alongside on the green grass.Having
paid our obeisance in the temple, we proceeded further to visit the next temple
in South Goa.
The entrance to the famed Balaji temple
The lush green temple complex of Balaji temple
The most famous temple destination in South
Goa is the Mangeshi temple, which is
about 450 years old and dedicated to Lord Shiva and is situated in Ponda.The main features of this temple is the seven
story lamp tower called ‘deep stambha’
and a magnificent water tank that is considered to be the oldest part of this
temple complex.Apart from this there is
also a prominent Nandi Bull in the temple precincts.Earlier the temple was well exposed for
viewing, however, at present the corridor in front has been covered thereby
obscuring the temple façade to some extent.It is one of the most beautiful temples in Goa and is a must visit
destination.
The magnificent 'Deep Stambh' in Mangeshi temple
The corridor in front of the main temple in Mangeshi
The water tank in Mangeshi temple
We retraced our
way back to Old Goa to visit the old churches there, as it was the part of Goa that
housed the Portugese invaders and they had developed many churches in the
region over the centuries.These
churches are really an architectural wonder in their own rights.The first of such church that we visited was the
Basilica of Bom Jesus, which is
famous for housing the mortal remains of St.Francis Xavier and is also an
UNESCO heritage site.No amount of
narration would truly portray the architectural beauty of this church and I
would rather let the photographs do the talking.
The outer facade of Basilica of Bom Jesus
The inside view of the altar of Bom Jesus church in Old Goa
An ornate altar inside the Bom Jesus church
Another close up view of the altar inside Bom Jesus Church
A painting inside the church of Bom Jesus depicting remains of St.Francis Xavier
The next church
that we visited was the Se Cathedral
that is located right across the road, opposite to the Basilica of Bom
Jesus.The
main entrance of the cathedral has Latin inscriptions of Corinthian columns.
Out of the eight chapels in the Church, two have ornamented perforated wooden
screens and remaining six panels have scenes of Saint Catherine’s life carved
on them. This filigree carving gives a royal look to the place. The Chapel of
Blessed Sacrament is famous for decorated wall and ceiling painting. The arches
of the altars are decorated with old paintings. One can also find many small statues,
wooden figures and other artefacts.The
Se Cathedral also holds a huge brass bell called as Golden Bell that is the
largest in Goa. The main altar of the church stands as a dedication of
Catherine of Alexandria.Only a
pictorial representation can do justice to the beauty of this church as well
and you may enjoy the photographs.
A panoramic view of Se Cathedral
View of the altar of Se Cathedral
Close up of the altar in Se Cathedral
One of the statutes inside Se Cathedral
Chapel of Blessed Sacrament inside Se Cathedral
St. Catherine of Alexendria inside Se Cathedral
By
the time we were finished with visiting the Churches, we were totally famished
and being a Tuesday, we had to have a vegetarian food only and hence as advised
by our driver, we headed for Krishna Restaurant to have our lunch, which is in the vicinity in Old Goa. The driver dropped us there and went for
lunch, but thereafter, despite calling on his mobile number umpteen number of
times, it was found to be unreachable and with all the camera equipment in the
car, there was a sense of panic that set in and just as I was about to approach
the local police, the driver came in claiming that his mobile has malfunctioned
and thereafter, we headed back to our service apartment.I am putting this incident on record so that
all those who follow my blog do not leave their costly equipment in their hired
vehicles to avoid unnecessary stress and anxiety.
Family having lunch at Krishna Vegetarian Restaurant
The famed 'Gateway of India'& 'Taj Hotel' of Mumbai in one frame
We
had a full day to ourselves on the second day of visit to Mumbai, as for the
half day on our first day of our visit, we had explored visiting Mumbai, which is
detailed in my previous blog (titled ‘Visiting Mumba’).We had planned a visit to the famed Elephanta
Caves on the second day.I tried to
glean some information from the reception clerk of the Hotel regarding ferry
timings from the famed ‘Gateway of India’, but he did not have much information,
except for that the ferry ride starts at 10.00 A.M.Since I too could not gather much
information, I decided to start from the hotel at around 9.00 A.M.However, the late serving of B’fast, despite
my having instructed them on the previous day, delayed our scheduled visit by
about 20 minutes and we started only around 9.20 A.M.The weather was a bit sultry that day, but
when I reached the famed ‘Gateway of India’, I found that there was no dearth
of boats leaving for Elephanta Caves and there were a plethora of operators
offering return trips from as low as Rs.140/- per person onwards to average of Rs.200/-
per person, depending upon the size of the boat used for ferrying and the
service starts from around 9.00 A.M onwards.
The ferry boats at Gateway of India jetty ready to ferry passengers to Elephanta Caves
All set to embark on the journey to Elephanta Caves
As the Sea Gulls fly alongwith the ferry boat
Waiting for the train ride at Gharapuri island
Lovingly
called the City of dreams, Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and
is brimming with life 24X7.One of the
most famous monuments of Mumbai is the ‘Gateway of India’, which was built to
commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Many in 1924.The monument is a huge gate like structure
constructed in Indo-Saracenic architecture style, overlooking the Arabian Sea
and the Mumbai harbor and it took four years to complete this structure.The area is a sought after destination by
both domestic as well as foreign tourists visiting Mumbai and being set with
background of the famed Taj Hotel, a large number of instant photo makers will
converge on you to get a photograph taken with either of the structures as
background and do a brisk business.Besides this there are hordes of other vendors pedaling their wares
from balloons to food items, who will also bicker you to buy their
products.But the main thing that the
tourists must be aware of is that being an overcrowded location, especially the
ferry ticket counter area, it is infested with notorious pick pockets etc.,
therefore, visitors should be extra vigilant in this region.
As the climb for the Elephanta Caves begins
Since
the mechanized boats ferrying passengers to the Elephanta Cave start the
journey from the small jetty at the Gateway of India, there are a plethora of
boats of all sizes, shapes and colour jostling along the jetty, waiting for
their turn to pick up their load of passengers.The Elephanta Caves are situated about 11 Kms from the Gateway of India
on an island called Gharapuri, which is also called the ‘Island of the Caves’.The journey from the Gateway of India to the
island takes about 45 minutes to an hour depending upon the type of boat one
has purchased tickets for and from the jetty of the island, it is another 1.5
to 2 Kms. trek to the base of the hills, wherefrom about a 100 odd stairs take
you to the hill top.However, there is a
small train like contraption that ferries passengers from the jetty to the base
of the hillock and it’s ticket costs Rs.10/- for a return journey and during
the hot summer days it saves a person a lot of hard work and sweat, if one
chooses to travel by it.We immensely
enjoyed our ferry ride from the Gateway of India to the Island of Caves, with
the Sea Gulls flying around the sea breeze making the journey a pleasant &
memorable one.Occasional sighting of
huge tankers or other ships, including a cruise ship was an added bonus during
the trip through the Arabian Sea.
We finally reach the famed Elephanta Caves
The entry to Cave No.1
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (2)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (3)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (4)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (5)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (6)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (6)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (7)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (8)
Historically,
the Elephanta caves date back to the 2nd Century B.C, wherein some
relics related to Buddhist culture have been discovered. The rock cut caves are attributed to medieval
India and are dated back to 450 to 750 A.D.
Being an important trade route, this island remained under control of
various Kings right from 400 AD and the rock hewn caves are attributed to have
been constructed during the reign of Pulakesin-II of the Chalukya dynasty of
Badami. The
most important amongst the caves is the great Cave 1, which measures 39 metres
from the front entrance to the back and the main body of the cave,
excluding the porticos on the three open sides and the back aisle, is 27 metres
square and is supported by rows of six columns each.The layout of
the caves, including the pillar components, the placement and division of the
caves into different parts, and the provision of a sanctum or Garbhagriha of
sarvatobhadra plan, are important developments in rock-cut architecture. The
Elephanta Caves emerged from a long artistic tradition and one will see some
of the highest watermarks of medieval India's sculptural art.
Cave No.2 - The entry to the cave
Cave No.2 - The sculpture inside (1)
Cave No.2 - The sculpture inside (2)
As we return back - the view of Gateway of India and Taj Hotel from the sea.
The
Cave number 1 is resplendent with various stone cut motifs and sculptures and
the chief amongst them is the 7-metre-high masterpiece
“Sadashiva” that dominates the
entrance to Cave. The sculpture represents three aspects of Shiva: the Creator,
the Preserver, and the Destroyer, identified, respectively, with Aghoraor Bhairava (left
half), Taptapurusha or Mahadeva (central full face),
and Vamadeva or Uma (right half). Representations
of Nataraja, Yogishvara, Andhakasuravadha, Ardhanarishwara,
Kalyanasundaramurti, Gangadharamurti, and Ravanaanugrahamurti are
the other forms that can be viewed in this gallery. The details of the sculptures or motifs in
Cave are detailed as follows –
Slaying of
Andhakasura : Depicting Shiva slaying a demon
called Andhaka. One of the most animated panels in Elephanta. Shiva is
represented with eight arms in this panel.
Kalyana
Sundara: The
more humanly theme of marriage depicted in this panel. Arguably, Parvathi is
portrayed superbly than Shiva in this panel, with her her head slightly tilted
towards him with a hint of coyness.
Shiva-Parvathi :
One of the highly damaged panels in Elephanta. This depicts Shiva and Parvathi
engaged in a game of dice. The divine couple tries to cheat each other in the
game as much as possible, though Shiva loses in all the games. Shiva loses
everything, the trident,moon, earrings, snake and even the loincloth. The
mythology is associated with a complex philosophy.
Nataraja : Nataraja,
literally translate as the king/lord of dance.
In mythology Shiva is
considered as the cosmic dancer, who performs his divine dance to destroy the
weary universe.
Ravana
Shaking Kailasa :
Ravana, unsuccessfully tries to lift Kailash, the adobe of Shiva. There are
popular mythical stories associated with the Demon king Ravana, the lord of
Lanka and Lord Shiva.
Mahayogi
Shiva : A rare posture of Shiva meditating on
a lotus. Considered as the aadiyogi ( or the first guru of
Yoga) by the Yoga tradition, Shiva is depicted as the original
master of yoga.
Gangadhara: The
story depicting Shiva bringing River Ganga to earth. The fall of the river is
so powerful that Shiva has to make it fall on his matted hair first, before it
further descends.
Mahesh Murthy: The three headed iconic image representing
three aspects of Shiva. The masterpiece image of Elephanta. It's debatable to
find a more spectacular sculptural expression created during or after the
medieval period in India.
Ardhanarishvara :
Probably the most mystical theme to narrate. Shiva and Parvathi as a single
body, depicting the complex philosophical theme of male-female energy of the
universe.
Here
is a short video of the travel to the Island and the caves
N.B - Some of the details have been browsed from the UNESCO website
