South India 2015

As we began to plan our fourth trip to the subcontinent, we decided it was time to explore South India…

From Mumbai to Chennai via the southern tip of India: we visited Goa, some sites of Karnataka we had not seen before, toured the Western Ghats, got bored in Kerala before getting our fill of temples in Tamil Nadu.

Read on to learn how we fared along the road, what we saw, liked (and did not like).

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Churches of Goa

(vero;2016-April-12)

We spent four days in Goa and based ourselves in Panaji, the state capital. It was a good choice, the city is pleasant and one evening, we had the luck to attend a passion play given in front of the main church. We toured the churches of Old Goa and made another trip inland to Margao. On our last day, we decided to check the beaches and took a bus to Calangute which we did not like at all. We continued walking northwards: Baga was not better, but once we passed the river, we found a pleasant path skirting the rocky coast to Anjuna and then Vagator. Unfortunately, we did not reach Vagator, as Vero slipped while descending the cliff above this town and twisted her ankle so badly that we had to turn back, but it was a nice outing nevertheless.

Panaji: the church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1619 on the site of a chapel dating 1541. The outside stairs, the central pediment and the belfry were added in 1871. The huge bell in the belfry comes from the monastery of St Augustine in Old Goa which collapsed in 1942.

Margao: Church of the Holy Spirit. It was built in 1564 over the site of a hindu shrine, ransacked by Muslim raiders in 1589 and rebuilt in 1675.

Margao: Church of the Holy Spirit. Its façade has been whitewashed with lime in the typical fashion of Goa's churches, but the brick side walls have been left “as is”.

Margao: interior of the Church of the Holy Spirit, detail of the main altar.

Old Goa: unlike the other churches around, the basilica of Bom Jesus is the only one which has not been whitewashed and sports its laterite bricks. The church was built in 1594 by the Jesuits.

Wax figures at the entrance of Bom Jesus basilica in Old Goa: fidels pick them as offering in the hope of a cure against any ailment which might afflict them. If the ailment is specific to a certain body part, they pick the corresponding limb (or head).

Old Goa, basilica of Bom Jesus: tomb containing the mortal remains of Goa's saint patron, Francis Xavier. Francis Xavier had been sent to India by the Portuguese king and arrived in Goa in May 1542. He is said to have converted around 30,000 people in his life time. He died while on a voyage off the coast of China in 1552 and was temporarily buried on a nearby island. When people were sent to retrieve his bones and bring them back to Goa three months later, they discovered that his corpse did not show any sign of decay, even when it was enshrined in the basilica one year later: clearly a miracle which led to Francis Xavier's canonisation in 1622.

Old Goa, basilica of Bom Jesus: main altar with a glittering statue of Ignatius de Loyola in his usual exalted preaching posture. We have seen similar representations of Loyola in Rome.

Old Goa: the outside of the Sé cathedral, 76m long and 55m wide. Construction started in 1562 and took nearly 90 years before completion. The “golden bell” up in the belfry is said to be the biggest in Asia.

Old Goa: main altar in the Sé cathedral with panels depicting scenes from the life St Catherine of Alexandria to whom the church is dedicated.

Old Goa: main altar in the Chapel of Ste Catherine.

Old Goa: domed ceiling inside the Chapel of Ste Catherine.

Old Goa: Church of St Cajetan built in 1665 by Italian friars sent to India by Pope Urban III. The church is shaped like a Greek cross and is said to be modelled on St Peter in Rome.

Old Goa: statue of Vasco da Gama, topping the Viceroy's Arch, a gate leading to the Mandovi river.

Old Goa: the richly decorated altar of the Church of St Francis of Assisi. Note the elaborated ceiling.

Old Goa: the ruins of the monastery of St Augustine, founded in 1572, abandoned in 1835 and collapsed in 1942. They are not far away from the main churches but do not see a lot of tourists which gives the place a melancholy and romantic feel. In the background, the white façade of the convent of St John of God.

Old Goa: the tower of St Augustine, the only standing remain of St Augustine's church and monastery.

Old Goa: we recommend the hike up the hill to the Church of our Lady of the Mount, from where you have a great view of the white churches surging from the forest around them. From right to left, Church of St Cajetan, Sé Cathedral, Church of St Francis of Assisi and Church of our Lady of the Rosary. Panaji and the Mandovi River in the background.

Panaji: we were very lucky to be there when a passion play was performed one evening in front of the church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It was played by amateurs and we could relive various scenes from the new Testament, culminating in the crucifixion as shown here and the resurrection.

The coast on the way from Anjuna to the Baga River.

On the coast from Anjuna to Vagator: tall statue of Christ against the sea.

Go back to The Dhobi Ghats of Mumbai or go on to Hampi or go up to Photos

$updated from: Photos.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:41 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$