A welcome break
A holiday at Mumbai and Goa was full of thrills and spills for Haimanti Pakrashi. She shares her fun times.
My humdrum existence got a welcome break in October when I visited Mumbai and Goa with my parents. We stayed at Mumbai for just one day and headed for Goa by the Konkan Kanya Express.
Goa, though famed for its beaches and sunshine, has so much more to offer a rolling landscape, rivers like Mandavi, Zuary, thick vegetation, churches and bungalows and of course, the fun-loving Goanese full of song and laughter.
We put up at the Vasco City in Marmagao Port Trust Guest House from which we could get a breathtaking view of the Arabian Sea. The Marmagao Port is commonly known as the Iron Port of India since it exports the maximum amount of iron from the country. One can also see near the port huge deposits of iron which give the impression of red tillas.
The next day we took a guided tour of South Goa Marmagao harbour, Dabolim international airport, Bogmalo beach, the Bom Jesu (infant Jesus) Church in which the
body of St. Francis Xavier is preserved (and which the locals believe protects Goa from all adversities), Dona Paula (the lovers spot), Mangeshji temple (built by famed singers Lata, Asha, and Usha Mangeshkar in their ancestral village), Shanta Durga temple, Panjim city, and the Maramar and the Kolva beaches.
The natural beauty of the already fascinating Panjim city was enhanced by the post-monsoon showers and gave it a fresh look. Kolva beach, our last destination for the day, afforded us an out-of-the-world view of the sunset.
The next day, we took off by ourselves to explore the churches and the bungalows of old Goa. Though it was a long drive to Panjim, we hardly felt the exhaustion because of the wonderful scenery. We also visited St. Monicas Convent, a nunnery built in 1637.
Legend has it that during a prayer session here in the 17th century, Jesus had opened his eyes and that his wounds had bled. This incident is said to have taken place again four days later in
the presence of bigger crowd.
Albuquerque, a Portuguese governor, had built a church for the fulfillment of a vow in 1510, that now stands as a greyish-blue monument near St. Monicas.
On our way back to Panaji, we saw numerous churches, bungalows, fishing villages, and pepper plantations.
We then visited the famous Calangute beach and I collected shells. A young Konkani girl gifted me a starfish. We then took the traditional river cruise on the Santa Marina and were regaled by Goanese music and dances peppered with some Hindi film hits. We were completely exhausted when we reached Vasco.
The next day, we visited the small village of Chandor, about 60 kilometres from Vasco. The 300-year-old house of Luis de Menzes Braganza is located here. This house is decorated with Belgian glass, Venetian chandeliers and Chinese crockery.
The Menzes were originally the Desais, landlords of the place before being converted by the Portuguese. The landlady has now opened the
house to tourists to earn revenue. We had lunch at one of the numerous Udipi vegetarian restaurants which are very popular here.
Back in Vasco, while our parents took their much needed siesta, I went off with my sister to explore the Arabian seashore nearby and captured some beautiful frames in my camera.
We spent our last evening in Goa in the Bogmalo beach and enjoyed the sunset. Since we had the beach almost to ourselves, we enjoyed it even more. The Mandavi express took us back to Mumbai the next day.
We did the normal tourist stuff Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Nariman Drive, Malabar Hill, Mahalakshmi, Hanging Gardens, and finally Fashion street! We also had the rare opportunity of getting a panoramic view of the city from the 39th floor of a high rise building.
The day after that Shashthi, an early morning flight brought us back to Kolkata and to my daily routine. The first day was however more tolerable for me because I had to attend Voices Pujo
Parikrama.
The writer is a Coordinator,
St. Johns Diocesan School
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