Old Goa

Off we go…

Early one summer morning, Caroline, Martha, Melina and I headed to the Margao bus stand where we boarded a bus to Panjim. From here we boarded another bus that took us to our final destination, Old Goa.

This was the capital of Goa during the Portuguese rule. The state capital was later shifted to Panjim and so it has remained to this day.

BASILICA OF BOM JESU

Once there, we first visited the Basilica of Bom Jesu, the famous shrine that houses the relics of St. Francis Xavier. Although the interior is very pretty, the peaceful atmosphere was killed by the excited chatter of tourist’s voices.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

There is a little altar of the Blessed Sacrament beside the main altar. It is said that the image of this altar cannot be captured on film. I couldn’t check that out as I didn’t have my camera with me, so we climbed some wooden stairs leading to a painting gallery. It’s a dusty little loft, but the ancient paintings are quite bright although the themes are rather gloomy-looking. After browsing through the bookstore in the Basilica, we paid a mere Rs.10/- to watch the Light & Sound Show. It’s an hour long, interesting walk that takes you through the entire life of Christ, St. Francis Xavier and also Bl. Jose Vaz.

Our next stop was just across the main street- the Archaeological Museum. I eagerly purchased a ticket and entered the museum only to walk out within a few minutes. We didn’t find it interesting enough. So, we then walked to St. Augustine’s Chapel which lies in the Museum complex itself. This large chapel was empty, devoid of any furniture, images or statues, yet it still had a strong ‘God feeling’ about it.

Se CATHEDRAL

Sharing a wall with this building, is the Se Cathedral, a huge cream colored building that houses the baptismal font used by St. Francis Xavier. Apart from the main altar, there are almost a dozen altars lining the sides of this church. One of these is dedicated to the ‘growing’ cross. Outside, if you stand facing the cathedral, you will notice that one of the towers is missing. It is said to have crumbled down years ago, but has been left untouched as it gives the cathedral a nice look. I suppose, the church would have looked as ancient as it is if it wasn’t for the fresh coat of cream, almost-yellow paint.

St AUGUSTIN'S TOWER

The grounds are well manicured and, a short distance away, you can visit the Chapel of St. Catherine, a tiny stone structure that has a haunting quality to it. It’s empty now, but one can easily see the main altar and a little loft at the back end of the chapel. There are stairs leading to the loft, but I climbed a few steps and ran back down and out of this chapel. You may not believe it, but it felt like I could almost see and hear long-robed nuns walking beside me, chanting on their beads.

RUINS OF St AUGUSTIN

Once safe outside, we waited a while deciding where to go next. Caroline saw the St. Augustine’s Tower peeing at us from amongst the trees in the distance, so we crossed the street and were soon standing at the foot of the tower. Currently under renovation, this tower was once part of a huge monastery that held within its walls a chapel, many altars, rooms for the priests and many other rooms. All that’s left now of what used to be a one-storied massive building are crumbling ruins- a tower, the altars and many nameless graves. You can also see quite clearly some windows, doorways and a staircase that led to the upper level, now extinct.

CONVENT OF St. MONICA

Right opposite the ruins is the Convent of St. Monica, the first ever convent in India. One glimpse at its massive walls and fine-grilled windows gives us an idea of what life must have been like for the nuns who lived inside. This place I now used as a study centre for the nuns. Beyond the reception area, the convent is closed to all visitors, but you are permitted to walk through a narrow, extremely high-ceilinged passage that leads to The Weeping Christ Chapel. It is just as beautiful as the other old churches around, but here, the altar still stands. As the name suggests, here you will find the ‘weeping cross’ from which Christ had wept tears into the open hands of a nun praying at his feet.

A few feet away form this convent is the Museum of Religious Artifacts with many exhibits made of pure gold. And last along this lane is another little chapel, the name of which I can’t remember. If the guard isn’t watching, you can enter and sneak up the spiral staircase and go to the choir loft or even to the little tower window. The view from here is really beautiful. We sat awhile outside this church enjoying the cool breeze and the coolness of the stones at our backs. Then, while walking back the way we had come we saw the Convent of St. John, which is now a home for the aged run by the Franciscan Hospitallers.

St. CAJETAN'S

For lunch, we stopped at a little restaurant at the end of the lane. Here, we enjoyed a goan meal of rice, fish curry and sausage chilly-fry. After this we took turns visiting the public toilets which are cheap and very clean.

A little more walking and we reached St. Cajetan’s, a church that is built on the lines of St. Peter’s in Rome, but on a much smaller scale. There are beautiful paintings adorning the walls inside. The main altar is in the center of the room and under it is an old well. If you lift the little trap-door under the altar table, you can take a little peek. People believe that if you’re good, you can see a little lamp shining brightly in its watery depths. But that’s only if you’re good.

St. CAJETAN'S MAIN ALTAR

The eager guard took us the crypt behind the church. It’s musty, eerie and was used to dress and prepare the body for burial. A few, old, cob-webby and broken coffins are still standing against the walls. It is also said that there was a tunnel here, connecting this church to the main Basilica, but the entrance has now been walled up.

The outer wall of the church has four figures, that of a man, a bull, an eagle and a lion. Each of these represents the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

MANGUESHI TEMPLE

Our last stop was the Church of Our Lady of the Mount. To get here, we had to trek up a hill until we came to the white church set in the middle of a beautiful garden. We sat here for about an hour, enjoying the view and a few mangoes we had stolen from the church garden. We were also eyeing some guavas, but none were within our reach.

COLVA BEACH

We then caught a bus back to Margao, but this time we took a direct bus that goes via Ponda. The ride is long but not tiring or uncomfortable. En route, you can catch a glimpse of many Hindu temples including the Mangueshi Temple.

From Margao, we went directly to Colva Beach to enjoy the sand, the water and some ice-cream.