THE ALTINHO WALK
Walk past the five villas to your left and take
a look at Ramakant Nivas and the fretwork design
on its high pitched roof. The next house is called
Domus Aurea and is Italianate in design. The rain
hoods over the windows facing the West are a later
addition and are obviously not part of the original
design. Walk up the slope till you gel to the
first Station of the Cross at the foot of the
steps that take you deep into Panaji’s establishment
neighbourhood.
Panaji’s stepped streets, unique to India,
give you ample photo opportunities. Admire the
champa (frangipani) tree that hangs over the Cross
and take your time to ponder over the Latin inscription
on its pedestal.
Ecce Crux Domini, Fugue Partes Adversae, Christus
Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat. Christus
Ab Amni Malo, Plebem Suam Defendant - 14 September
1896.
Take in the scents of the madhumalti flowers
as you walk up the steps and take a breather on
the benches placed in between the first seven
solutions. There are fourteen sections in all
and they finally lead up to (or from, whichever
way you look at it) the Palace of the Archbishop
of the Goan Diocese.
Stepped streets are a typical feature of Panaji.
There is one from by the side of Our I adv of
Immaculate Conception to the High Court of Bombay
at Goa and there are several stepped streets in
the Fontainhas and Portais heritage districts.
This particular feature, unique to Panaji, is
a borrowed feature from the planned cities of
Latinesque Europe. The last step in Altinho allows
you to take a break under a shady canopy of banyan
and myrobalan tree. The Army House and a building
named Bertaires are on either of the crossroad.
Army House is built like a barrack with a low
roof covered in Mangalore tiles. Bertaires is
a fine example of Goan architecture. Take a look
at the avenues that radiate from r this point.
Listen to the rather monotonous call of large
green barbets and watch white breasted kingfishers
dart in and out of trees in a wooded patch behind
the other seven Stations. The finials on the gateposts
at Bertaires look suspiciously like stray chess
pieces! Goan master builders were given a free
hand when it come to the design and execution
of gateposts and they often drew inspiration from
things they saw around them. Take a right at Army
House and have the Bank House and the official
residence of the Chief Minister of Goa. Take the
roads on which are located the other seven Stations
of the Cross, and you get a lovely walk under
a canopy of gulmohr trees. Look at the house on
the left with its high pitched roof. Like most
houses in the relatively newer part of Panaji,
this one too was built in the late 19th to early
20th century.
This probably explains why the two large missions
that you see next are painted while. The house
on the left is the Government of Goa’s Circuit
House or VIP Guest House where official guests
are hosted. The mansion on the right is the residence
of the Archbishop of the Goan Diocese, moved here
from Velha Goa in the 19th century. Turn into
the banyan tree avenue to appreciate both these
mansions and their side elevations. The Archbishop’s
coat-of-arms decorates the main gable in the three
gabled roof. The stone doorway that leads you
into the main entrance is made of gray basalt
and was probably salvaged from a building in the
old city. It is a palace rather modest proportions
and has a lovely garden and statuary. Notice that
the statue of Our Lord Jesus carrying a Cross
has been placed on a pedestal made in gray basalt,
a stone not easily available locally in Goa.
The segmented doorway and columns of the palace
are a Neo Classical feature. The only other building
in Panaji that boasts of this architectural style
is the old Goa Medical College building on Dayanand
Bandodkar Marg. The Circuit house has Corinthian
columns, a rare future, especially considering
the A fine quality of their execution. Most indigenously
designed columns and pillars in Goan homes have
features that do not conform to any particular
recognized architectural order.
Eavesboards surround the house shielding it from
the sun and hoods over every window protect this
pampered mansion from the rain. The cast iron
railings are obviously custom designed. The stone
railing bears the eternity motif and is an obvious
influence of temple architecture. All in all,
this house is a fine example of Indo-European
architecture with some British-Colonial features
thrown in for good measure by some innovative
artisan.
You can either end your walk here or go further
up taking a left turn past the Circuit House.
There is another fine example of Goan architecture
ahead of you. It has a double hipped roof, indigenously
crafted eavesboards, a yellow ochre front facade
and windows which are outlined in white. These
are typical features of the Goan houses built
from the middle of the 18th century to the time
when Goa was liberated from Portuguese Rule.
Walk straight up to the house on your right.
This is the residence of Goa’s former, Chief
Minister, Mrs. Shashikala Kakodkar, daughter of
the illustrious Dayanand Bandodkar, Goa’s
first Chief Minister. Notice the depiction of
Goan performing artists on the Mild Steel grill
on the windows. The lions on the gateposts could
be traced to the Kadamba period in Goa. The sign
on the gate still reads D B Bandodkar in the Art
Deco style lettering of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
The late Dayanand Bandodkar was known to be a
great patron of Goan arts and crafts.
Walk past the Judges’ Bungalows and come
back to the Stations of the cross or retrace your
steps and go past the Archbishop’s Palace
but before you leave, stop for a bit and take
a look at the view to the East. On a clear day,
you should be able to see the, mangroves at St.
Cruz (Calapur village that some say has been named
after the talented artisans and craftsmen there)
immediately below you. With a little patience
and time you should also be able to get a hazy
view of Ribander and the river Mandovi on the
left of you and Bambolim hills to the right. Better
still take a left at the Archbishop’s Palace
and walk down the slope keeping Mahalaxmi, the
Chief Minister’s residence to your right.
The bungalow is a rather curious mix of Indian
and American Art Deco and Goan indigenous architecture
as are the other two bungalows that you walk past
as your come down the slope. Stand at the little
domestic shrine en route and take in a bird’s
eye view of the entire city. The tip of the church
of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception can be seen
at eye level from here and no other point in Panaji
will give you a clearer view of Goa’s spanking
new Legislative Assembly.
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