Showcasing History For Posterity Museums filled with antiques are a dime a dozen, but a walk through Victor Hugo Gomes' out-of-the-box ethnography museum at Benaulim is like turning the pages of Goa's rich eco-cultural and agrarian history, finds Paul Fernandes in THE TIMES OF INDIA (Goa edition, Dec 13, 2008)
"It is a tribute to our forefathers, their eco-friendly agrarian techniques, their traditional way of living and their deep concern for the environment," Victor Hugo Gomes says of his Goa Chitra Museum. The soon to open museum that's based in Benaulim is filled to the brim with objects ranging from occupational tools to quaint utensils and even rare instruments such as the 'technology' used for preparing milk products. The Journey Angered by people's visionless shift to modern utilities and filled with pride about Goa's traditions, Victor, 40, was driven by a searing passion to collect rare things for posterity. A fine arts graduate and national award-winning painter, the trained heritage conservationist spent almost half his lifetime hand-picking the pieces from remote corners of Goa. "I gathered old and discarded implements and tools from attics and storerooms simply because they were mementoes of a fading lifestyle," he recalls. "I spoke to elders in different places and was shocked to learn that many things were lost, but tried to document the ethnicity and rituals associated with every item I collected," he adds. Only an eccentric could have filled such a museum single-handedly, many think. "I lived a lot in forest areas and slept and lived in difficult conditions while gathering them," he recalls. He transported them in his car, unmindful of damaging it, often loading it with wooden objects such as the whole jaggerymaking plant (photo via epaper.timesofindia.com). Wife Aldina, a college lecturer, adds, "If Victor heard of houses being broken down he would rush to pick up pieces he could find. He would just rush to the remotest corner, even if dead tired, to source material. People even laughed at his strange passion." In fact, Victor broke the marriage covenant of having children in his bid to leave a rich legacy for Goa's children, says Aldina. "It was a difficult decision but one made by choice," she stresses. Finances were another point. Victor poured all his earnings into fulfilling his dream. Having studied restoration and conservation at the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), he returned to Goa and helped set up the Christian Art Museum and later, eked out a living by restoring old houses. "Whatever I earned from my restoration work went into gathering and saving these rare objects from extinction," he says. Most of the objects were badly battered by the elements and neglect. His experience as a curator helped in their painstaking restoration. "A team of workers and carpenters worked for several months. Some objects needed extensive restoration while very few were picked up from antique shops at great cost and few were gifted by friends," he says. As the collection grew into a treasure-trove, realization hit Victor about its richness and inestimable value. "We think modern technologies are the best, but the pieces collected show the hardwork, wisdom and ingenuity of our ancestors." Museum, Ahoy! The construction of the museum for the large assortment of objects, designed by himself and set against the backdrop of the organic farm -- another showcase of his skills -- took three years to complete. Built bit by bit. "The material for the house, right from stones to wood for the roofing and to the doors and windows, came from 300 houses from all over Goa," says Victor. Aldina adds, "Victor has a scientific mind and being creative as an artist there's no half way for him." Victor has formed a trust in his mother's name, Dona Angela Memorial Trust, with the long-term objective of securing the museum's upkeep and management in the future. "The museum should be a place where children can walk in freely and enjoy man's link with nature and culture - a classroom, a playroom, zoo and garden for them." He dislikes that antiques today have become "lifestyle objects" for the nuveau riche. "They do not understand the object's value and utility," he opines. Explaining the ingenuity of implements crafted by artisans of yore, he says, "Take the crab catcher apparatus for instance, there's no way the crab can come out from this simple bamboo trap." "We are dying as a society and once we have lost our old technologies it means we regress to primitivity," Victor, for whom modern amenities hold no fascination, philosophizes. "My aim is to put our heritage and indigenous technology on the world map and the museum should create a sense of pride for our culture among our youth," he concludes. TNN Antiquity's Ingenuity * Kerosene-fired refrigerator, iron, fan, oven, lamps, petromaxes * Nail-less ghano (wooden machines) that extracted oil and sugarcane juice (for jaggery) * Traditional games such as tabulam (board game of chance) * Ploughs that suggest the types of soils -- hard, soft and sandy -- they were used on spike roller used to soften soil after ploughing, before sowing * Seed drill machine that helped farmers sow seeds automatically * Musical instruments, including valve trombone, C-tenor saxophone, souzaphone, gumot, temple drums and surpanvo (shepherd's flute) * Rare wooden kitchen and service implements such as shovge (vermicille makers); also scrapers, graters and milk churners * Ancient modes of transport such as bridal cart, bridal palanquin, religious palanquin, calderina (a seated palanquin) * Weights and measures, including ancient rato, rob and tolas, besides measures of volumes * Canework, including kondes (raincoats), mats, baskets, fish traps * Grinders, wash basins, rice dehuskers * Pottery pieces * Tools and implements used by carpenters, metalsmiths, goldsmiths and others CONTACTS: Journalist Paul Jose Fernandes fdspa...@rediffmail.com Victor-Hugo Gomes victor.h.go...@hotmail.com ARTICLE ONLINE: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIGO&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T&AW=1229284361359
