Heritage
A Moment for our Monuments
The plight of various monumental buildings around Goa is deplorable. It is time to ask a few pertinent questions about the future of our rich past
HETA PANDIT
W
hat do the Basilica of Bom Jesus-Old Goa, former Goa Institute of Management-Ribandar, the old building of Goa Medical CollegePanaji, old Secretariat Palacio-Panaji, old Aguada Jail-Sinquerim, old PWD building-Panaji, old Lyceum/High Court of Bombay at Goa-Panaji, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel ruins-Chimbel and the Kala Academy have in common? Well, they are all located in Goa for one. They’re all monumental, iconic buildings located in strategic locations scattered all over our tiny but beautiful state. Most importantly, they all have some historical,
32 | My Goa | July 2021
archaeological, architectural, social, cultural and aesthetic value. They all have an emotional and evocative connect with the people of Goa and these people may not be very vociferous in their concern today but that is because they, as individuals, are only looking at each one of these icons individually. Let us then, help them see things the way they were. Let us, take a drone’s eye view of all the monumental buildings and see if we get a clearer picture of the way things really are. If I had been a student at the Lyceum (1851-1961), the Old Portuguese secondary school in Panaji, I would either have walked to school or scampered up the turning stairs to my classroom, ran back home for lunch and then back again for the second half of the school day. I would recall that my school was initially called the Liceu Central de Nova Goa at first and later, the Liceu Nacional Afonso de Albuquerque and would recall, with pride, like the late historian Percival Noronha that “the standard of education at the Liceu was as good as a college degree today”. When the old school building was
emptied, restored and upcycled to serve as the High Court of Bombay at Goa, it seemed appropriate. Its status as an educational institution and an upholder of justice, Goan values and ethics simply fitted into its new avatar. It was upcycled by the Government of Goa Public Works Department (PWD) and legal luminaries from Bombay remarked what a pleasure it was working in the building. Having come from the Gothic architectural marvel of the High Court of Bombay, “it fitted us like a second skin”. What the need for a new Court building (and that too on top of a hill which should have retained its trees instead) was, we do not know. What the fate of the old Lyceum/High Court of Bombay at Goa is, we do not know. The old PWD building, located on the bank of the Ourem backwaters, with mangroves forming a beautiful backdrop to the open space, was so lovely a location that it was seen fit to host the Serendipity Arts Festival with exhibitions by artists and performers entertaining and educating visitors. It is empty today without any discussion or debate in the public domain as to its future fate. If the Kala Academy is
