Centre for Responsible Tourism, Goa

VILLAGE CURCA
By Pantaleao Fernandes

▲ Distant View of the Curca Church
The village of Curca can be approached from the Bambolim hillock or from Batim. The former approach provides an aerial view of the village and lays bare before the onlooker what the village has on offer – salt pans, a meandering rivulet, fields and temples.
However, the ancient church crowning the hilltop situated roughly in the middle of the village is a spectacle to behold while one approaches from the other road. The white of the church contrasts with the dark green shades of the hill drawing instant attention.
At the end of the Batim road, one has to cross a new bridge spanning a rivulet. The ancient arches of a stone bridge come in view.
Walking to the old bridge, one can see a marble plaque that announces the date when the bridge was commissioned. Crossing the bridge, one can access a tiny wharf where a boatman waits with his dainty dugout – a locally made canoe, scooped out from the log of a mango tree.
Stepping into the boat is tricky – it wobbles on the water at the slightest sign of imbalance but the boatman counters your weight and extends a reassuring hand. Once settled down in the boat, all the fears vanish and the ▲ Going on a Ride on an old Fishing Canoe                                                 thrill of an adventure takes over. The boatman uses a combination of rowing and poling to get the boat going. If the tide is with him, his task is easy; otherwise, well it is an uphill task. As the canoe floats under the bridge, one can’t help but admire the perfect workmanship and precise engineering with hardly any mortar.
Prior to the construction of the bridge, a group of ▲ Fisherman with his Crab-Trap                   boat-men rowed passengers across with the help ▼ Ari Erected Midstream Aids Fishing         of these same canoes, giving the place the name ‘Tarikodem’ meaning ‘near the river crossing’. While the cool breeze caresses the hair, one might come across other fishermen either carry traps for the tasty river crabs, or casting the pageur (a circular net) from their canoe.
One also comes across some tall poles erected midstream – nets secured to these poles locally known as the ari provide a regular catch.
After about forty-five minutes of pleasure cruising and learning about local fishing from the boatman, he docks at another wharf.
A short distance brings one to the Bumika temple. One can visit the temple and toll the bell and wake up the devi or accept Prasad from the bhatji if he is at the temple. A tall papal tree with a ped around it is the next destination for that is where the local women will showcase their culture. Seated on the ped under the shade of the tree  Local Dances in Progress                                                        one gets to see dances like the dalo and fugdi. These women also churn out delicious home-made sweets like ladoos, chuda, puran poli and sheera which can be tasted while the dance is going on and downed with a glass of hot lemongrass black tea or cosai, a local herbal brew.

▲ Curca Spring
A spring located in the village provides a refreshing experience. A short walk up a hillside and one there in an enclosure a clear stream of spring water gushes forth, channelized through a pipe for the benefit of those who want to refresh. Wash away the sweat and dust and get ready for a delicious home cooked vegetarian meal.
Rice and dal and ros and channa and paloras and chillie pickle is the standard fare. Any local vegetables growing in the village vegetable patches or in the courtyards of the villagers like raw papaya, banana
flower or drumsticks.

▲ The Village Bakery
About 3.00 in the afternoon, the local bakery is busy baking its evening bread. The bakery is very old and is fired by using firewood. Local bread, poi (brown bread) kankon (bangle shaped crisp bread), and boll (sweat bread) are baked daily and sold like hot cakes. The konkon is still a favourite evening tea time snack and is best had dipped in hot tea. The boll too makes a mouth-watering snack if buttered and consumed straight from the oven. Both the butter and the boll melt into your mouth!
A short walk from the bakery, is located the house of Jose Rodrigues. It is a typical Goan house with beautiful old cement flooring and matching balustrade in the veranda. Jose and his wife prepare all the traditional Goan catholic sweets like dodol, bebinca, dos, bolinhas, neuros and a whole lot more. He is overwhelmed with orders during the Christmas season as his ▲ Evening Tea with Local Snacks                            reputation spreds far and wide.
Seated in his veranda, tea and his snacks can be truly enjoyed in the traditional Goan way!
He also prepares and packs the choicest Goan masalas and these can be picked up from him at very reasonable rates. Since they are properly packed and sealed, these packets regularly find their way around the ▲Goan Masalas Made at Curca                                                                    world.
The visit to the village cannot be completed without visiting the hill on which is situated the Church of Our Lady of Rosary. The view from the tiny plateau on which the church stands is truly awesome! The panorama sweeps from the distant Siridao Bridge on one side to the fields of Velha Goa on the other. Salt pans, fields and fishing ponds complete the picture.
The church was built in the 17th century in the Mannerist Neo-Roman style having three storeys and five bays. Its twin towers are crowned with spear type finals.
The interiors of the church are majestic with a groin arched ceiling. Pencil sketches of the Stations of the Cross adorn the walls.
◄ The View
Contact: Fr Freddy +919822156955

Discovering the secrets of Keri  (CRT)

By Pantaleao Fernandes

Keri, the mountainside village, deep within the hinterlands of Sattari is a welcome retreat all year round. During the monsoons, the grey clouds saturated with rain hang very low, kissing the mountains. Gurgling mountain streams and gushing waterfalls are a monsoon speciality but trekking to the mountaintops to discover their secrets has to wait until the monsoon ends.

Keri has many sacred groves within and around the village. What are sacred groves? Our guide, a local villager will explain the ecology of the sacred grove and seek out the ancient stone icons of the resident deities that lie hidden for centuries.

Who do the locals worship? There is at least one temple in each hamlet that comes alive during the zatra day where the goddess is taken out in a palanquin, but there is one temple where the locals worship the roin or the anthill. Which is this temple? Find out from the guide.

The village folk are simple people dependent on agriculture, which still covers the village with a green carpet. Some of them live in neat mud cottages, covered with cow dung floors and lead happy lives. They celebrate festivals like Ganesh Chaturti, Diwali and Sigmo with great gusto.

So how does one explore the village? Breathe the deep mountain air first or stroll around the village? It is best to leave it to the guide as he will unravel the mysteries and secrets of the mountains which are truly awesome. He will also take visitors on a skywalk that provides a

bird’s eye view of the village. It is like a walkway, high up in the air, providing a glance at a few houses, a rivulet and a small vegetable patch that the locals cultivate.

So where does one have meals in the village? A few hotels provide the standard fare but that does not add value to the village experience. We have requested villagers to extend their cuisine to a few guests and they have willingly agreed. Our guide will escort you to their rustic mud house where you are expected to squat on the cow dung covered floor and wait for the hostess to serve you on banana plantain straight from the traditional earthenware pots, moulded and baked by Goa’s own potters. Eco-friendly ladles are handmade by the hosts using the discarded coconut shell and a stick from the bamboo grown locally.

First comes the hot boiled-rice, followed by ross, chillie pickle, rava coated and fried breadfruit, fried, and batter coated deepfried breadfruit. The veggies include raw papaya bhaji and terro. Sol kody is served to help digestion. A sweet called mangane is served in small cups for desert. Hot water with the distinct taste of smoke is served to quench the thirst.

Dalo, the dance of the women folk is performed somewhere during December on a sacred ground called the maand. At night the women gather there dressed in their traditional attire, their hair decked with local flowers and sing and dance to their heart’s content to celebrate harvest and life in general.

The good news is that one does not have to wait for the official date to witness these songs and dance.  Our hosts are adept at many cultural dances and folk dances that have evolved from mundane household tasks.

As one relaxes in the verandah, the housewives bring out the millstone and grind grain. While grinding they sing songs to provide them with the rhythm and also make light their work.

Next they beat the paddy with the pestle. Again songs are sung, helping the work along. Now its time to churn the milk. One woman does the work while the others sing.

Now they head to their tiny courtyard, surrounded by banana plants and tall aracanut palms. They burst into song and dance. The melodious voice of the leader sings the refrains which the others repeat after her. For the grand crescendo, they pick up their traditional cymbals and clang them together to bring out a metallic beat. When it finally all ends, they are tired but happy.

A glass of hot black tea brewed with lemon grass drives away the drowsiness brought about by the bountiful meal. It is now time to bid adieus to the hosts and leave.

After all this our guide still has another well guarded secret up his sleeve – the private collections of artefacts and implements used by the villages for the last few centuries. Get an insight into the lifestyle of the villages for the last hundred years and beyond. The guide will provide an explanation behind every exhibit.

If you want to explore Keri firsthand, contact CRT

Contact: Fr Freddy +919822156955