Exploring Old Goa on Foot
The once-bustling Goan capital is said to have been the richest and most splendid city in Asia during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, before a spate of cholera and malaria epidemics forced a move in 1759. Today, this World Heritage Site is tepid testament to the splendor it once enjoyed. The tranquillity behind this well-preserved tourist site (barring the grubby stands selling refreshments and tacky souvenirs) belies the fact that it was built on plunder and forced conversions, though you'll see little evidence (like the basalt architraves) of the mass destruction of the Hindu temples initiated by fervent colonialists.
The entire area can easily be explored on foot because the most interesting buildings are clustered together. To the northwest is the Arch of the Viceroys, built in 1597 in commemoration of the arrival of Vasco da Gama in India. Nearby, the Corinthian-styled Church of St. Cajetan (1651) was built by Italian friars of the Theatine order, who modeled it after St. Peter's in Rome. Under the church is a crypt in which embalmed Portuguese governors were kept before being shipped back to Lisbon -- in 1992, three forgotten cadavers were removed. St. Cajetan's is a short walk down the lane from Adil Shah's Gate, a simple lintel supported by two black basalt columns.
Southwest of St. Cajetan's are the highlights of Old Goa: splendid Sé Cathedral [ST], which took nearly 80 years to build and is said to be larger than any church in Portugal; and the Basilica of Bom Jesus . The so-called Miraculous Cross, housed in a box in a chapel behind a decorative screen, was brought here from a Goan village after a vision of Christ was seen on it -- apparently a single touch (there is a hole in the glass for just this purpose) will cure the sick. The surviving tower of the Sé's whitewashed Tuscan exterior houses the Golden Bell, whose tolling indicated commencement of the auto da fés, brutal public spectacles in which suspected heretics were tortured and burnt at the stake. Nearby, the Convent and Church of St. Francis of Assisi (now an unimpressive archaeological museum) has a floor of gravestones and coats of arms; note that the images of Mary and Christ are darker-skinned than usual.
Lights! Camera! Carnival!
Each year in February, during the festivities leading up to Lent, the people of Goa get down for 3 days and nights of hedonistic revelry as King Momo commands them to party hard. Carnival, Goa's most famous festival, is a Latin-inspired extravaganza of drinking and dancing that traces its roots to ancient Roman and Grecian ritual feasts. Cities and towns come under the spell of colorful parades, dances, floats, balls, and bands, concluding with the red-and-black dance at Panjim's Club National. Another great time to visit is in April when the Big Chill (www.bigchillindia.in) sets up camp. Organized for the first time in 2007 by the parent U.K.-based company, the festival took place on the delightful sands of Asvem beach and featured a weekend of classic Big Chill acts as well as newer names in the world of trance and New Age music, playing from afternoon 'till late evening. (Note: The Big Chill is not a camping festival, so book your accommodations early if you want a place to stay in or around Morjim and Asvem.) And then there's October, when filmmakers and stars congregate for the annual International Film Festival of India (http://iffi.nic.in), held in Panjim, for 10 great days of film-frenzied action.
