Heritage

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

What 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, 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

booked up and artists are waiting in line to exhibit their works, should we not be considering this as a potential venue for art, a theatre school, a performance venue? It has beautiful period flooring and the rooms lend themselves to small group shows. There was even talk of its imminent demolition in 2018, but a loud cry of protest from art lovers and the people of Panaji put a hold on those plans. What the fate of this PWD building is, we do not know.

A similar fate awaited the Old Goa Medical College building in Panaji some years ago. Asia’s oldest medical college was to be demolished and turned into a multi-storied car park!

Timely intervention (and a sensitive Chief Minister then) put a stop to those plans and today it serves as the venue for the International Film Festival of Goa. It comes alive, once a year and then goes back into monumental slumber for the rest of the year. A large building like that, as any one will tell you, needs to be used every single day. How this can be brought about, we do not know.

Committee after Committee (comprising experts, business doyens and industry champions) have sat in deliberation over the fate of the old Adil Shah Palace, (also called the Viceroy’s Palace and also called the old Secretariat). Today, this monumental, historic edifice stands looking like a pathetic version of its former self – nothing more than a glorified traffic island. Part of it has been converted to the offices of Smart City Panjim which has, in its wisdom, punctured holes in its walls to put in air conditioning and packed in parquet false ceilings, changing the architectural features and character of this Mandovi river fronting beauty of a building. This too, is used as an art space during the Serendipity Art Festival once a year. What its fate is, beyond the once-ayear holy dip into art and culture, we do not know.

One of the most tragic cases in this long drone-eyed view of iconic heritage structures is that of the former Goa Institute of Management building at Ribandar. Once the Hospicio Real or Royal Hospital, this too is located at a scenic spot overlooking the river, the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, with the ferry boats cruising back and forth to Divar and Chorão.This expansive building, with its chapel and historic chapel bell, lends itself to better usage. No one knows why the GIM was summarily dismissed from here and the building allowed to go to seed. The Cyber Crime Cell occupies a small annexe in the building and again, artists display their work once a year at the Serendipity Art Festival. What fate lies in store for it, we do not know.

Another tragedy is that of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Chimbel. It is the first church built by Goans under the Order of the Tertiary Carmels, founded by Goan priests and is symbolic of a declaration of freedom against Colonial and Brahminical religious oppression. It was Goa’s first psychiatric hospital and was also once a refuge for destitute women and girls. Today, it is in ruins and no one, not even the local village group that is passionate about saving it, really knows what is to become of it.

This brings us to a few and rather awkward questions. Is this a deliberate attempt at neglect and abandonment by intent of Goa’s most monumental buildings? Is the intention to obliterate a certain 451 years of our history and get into a blind-fold mode? Are we to murder our architecture and serve selective amnesia? None of us want to be reminded of colonial history but by neglecting and deliberately ruining our architectural marvels, all we are doing is throwing out the babies with the bathwater. All of these monuments are in the ownership or custodianship of the Government of Goa and its various departments. If you look at each one individually, you don’t see it but if you look at them all and join the dots, the picture is clear. A drawing of conclusions perhaps; that our friends in real estate will be able to place on their drawing boards someday soon

Mt. Carmel Church, Chimbel

Pic: JoeGoaUK

Heta Pandit has authored 8 books on Goan heritage. Heta is a Homi Bhabha Fellow and a founder member of the Goa Heritage Action Group. She lives in Saligao, Bardez with her cat Maia