Goa beyond the beaches (Part II)

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Goa beyond the beaches - Part II

Text and photographs copyright Neville Bulsara, 2006. All rights reserved.


Having visited and photographed in Mapusa, Panjim, and Old Goa (see Goa beyond the beaches - Part I), my group didn't need any further convincing that there was far more to Goa than it's beaches. It was obvious that their experience so far had left them with a thirst for more. I, for one, aimed to please!

If there is one thing that my travels have taught me, it is that there is a difference between a traveller and a tourist. Tourists tend to visit a place with several pre-concieved notions, tend to stick to the most-happening tourist spots listed in the travel guide. All very well, but what they lack is a sense of wanting to really know and experience the essence of a place . Travelers, on the other hand are driven by the desire to discover - to really know what a place is all about; to disover and feel first-hand. To take a part of the place back with them - and to leave a part of themselves behind. That is - and always has been - the essence of what travel is all about.

As a professional travel photographer, my aim is to capture and bring back evocative travel images that convey a sense of place - transport the viewer to where I was, and let him or her experience the gamut of emotions that run through me. My images hence tend to be far from the cliche images that tourists are familiar with. If I have to be a travel photographer - I have to be a traveller, not a tourist! And while a traveller too may have a set of pre-concieved notions before he or she visits a place, part of the travel experience is the systematic demolition of those notions when confronted with reality. Of course, one must seek out that reality, which - as I said - is what travel is all about.

My group was just going to have their notion of reality turned around on it's head...

Confronted with the plethora of churches, chapels, and road-side crosses and altars, the average John or Jane Doe of a visitor could be excused for thinking that Goa is a predominantly Christian state. Nothing could be further from the truth - as my group discovers much to their surprise as we drive into the district of Ponda in central Goa. The geography - and culture - changes considerably as we leave the coast behind us; we're now confronted with rolling hills, streches of paddy fields, and verdant forests. Gone too, are the ubiquitous icons of the christian faith that predominates the west of Goa. In it's place are symbols of the ancient religion that flourished here before the time of the Portugese - Hinduism.

The Portugese during their reign here, did their two bits in establishing - and furthering - the Christian faith. Their efforts intensified at the time of the Inquisition, when they banned all "pagan" religions; any and everybody suspected of practicing any faith other than christianity was put to the rack (and more!). Many a temple was demolished during this time.

Rather than seeing their precious icons of the faith reduced to rubble, devout Hindus smuggled the religious idols from near the coast further inland into the district of Ponda. Here, in the forested interiors, they established temples and continued to practice their faith. With the passage of time, communities chose to move inland rather than convert to Christianity.

Hinduism hence thrived in and around Ponda; and while the majority of people across the whole of Goa are Hindus, nowhere are the symbols of Hinduism more visible than they are in Ponda. The courtyard of practically every household loudly proclaims the religion of it's occupants courtesy the Tulsi plant. Ponda is also home to the dozen plus temples that house the original idols smuggled in from around the coastal areas of Goa.

Our sojourn to Ponda takes us 28 kilometers east of Panjim. Our first stop is the Shree Lakshmi Narcenha Temple - undoubtedly one of the prettiest of all temples in Goa. The temple (like all other temples in Goa) has a large bathing tank (also used to wash clothes!) fed by an eternal spring. Bathing tanks were used by the devout to have their customary - well, bath before heading off to pay their devotions to the idols. A large musicians gallery stands at one end of the tank on an elevated platform; the gallery is used by performing musicians during important festivals. As luck would have it, the management of the temple has off late installed some high-tech lights that sprout their ugly heads right out of the middle of the tank. In my opinion while this may be utilitarian, it does little to add to the natural unspoilt beauty of the place. On the contrary, its an ugly duckling if ever there was one!

Our next stop is the Shree Naguesh Temple. Like most other temples in Goa, this temple too sports a deepstambh (Lamp Tower) in it's courtyard. Deepstambhs vary in size, the one here is five stories in height. Traditionally, butter and oil lamps were lit in the recesses of the deepstambh at the time of important festivals; today, they are illuminated by electric bulbs. Following a quick recce of the complex, I trudge my way up to the balcony of one of the several rest-houses that fringe the complex to select a vantage point that allows me to photograph the deepstambh against the backdrop of the main shrine.

The Shree Shantadurga Temple - Goa's most popular temple - is our next port of call. According to legend, two of the most famous gods of the hindu pantheon - Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu - had a disagreement of sorts, threatening as a result the very fabric of the cosmos. It was at this time that the Goddess Durga stepped in to broker peace ("shanti") between them. Her manifestation to achieve this task is known as Shantadurga - Durga who brings peace - and therein lies the history of this temple.

All said and done, this temple is not terribly different from the multitude of other temples in Ponda. A discerning photographer can however find several opportunites here (and everywhere else!).

Photographers are driven by a vision of sorts, and each photographer sees things differently. Throw a bunch of photographers together and ask them to photograph the same subkect and you'll be surprised how different each photographer's images are of the same subject. A case in point - at the Shantudurga Temple complex, one of the participants in my group spotted - and made - an image of a white window surrounded by "empty" red space. In art terms, this is known as "negative space" - space that is devoid of much detail and is not bounded by lines or form. However, I observed that this negative space was actually enclosed by whitewashed bevels, which led to me making an entirely different image altogether - one I called "Negative space, Positive Space". As I said, we all see things differently, and one of the greatest advantages of a photography tour is the chance to see how others see. I know of no other way to better one's artistic vision.

Notions and pre-conceptions being demolished in ample measure, I decide to call it a day. We head back to Mapusa for the night. Several more surprises lie in store for my group - material for Goa beyond the beaches - Part III...

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