THE MARGAO WALK
Quoins outlined in green against a snow white
facade with a creative peak given to the heads
of the glazed windows complete this pitcher of
perfection at the Instituto de Artes Feminas.
The Institute offers diploma courses tailoring
paper flowermaking (a fashion that took over Goan
home decor in the early 1920s and has been popular
ever since) and machine embroidery on fabric.
Hand-embroidered silks and garments were first
brought into Bombay and Goa by Chinese vendors.
As these silks became popular, especially with
the wealthy society women of the Salcete District,
no formal wardrobe was considered complete unless
it had at least one set of the heavily embroidered
pano baju ensemble. This ensemble consists of
a long-sleeved blouse, a sarong-like lower garment
and a narrow scarf casually slung over the left
shoulder and fastened with a jewelled brooch.
It probably has its origins ii Kerala and can
be dated to the time when St. Thomas first arrived
in the south of India in 54 AD.
Abel Lourenco’s house, 413, is another
source of delight. Look carefully at the verandah
railing. It is made from authentic Chinese porcelain,
in the “eternity and lion’s feet pattern,
considered auspicious all over China and South-West
Asia. Slim timber posts support the verandah roof
and an elaborate tracery houses large glass panes.
Designs for windows and doors changed after glass
was freely available. Earlier, mother-of-pearl
shells in lozenge shapes had been fitted on to
wood battens. The timber used for these windows
was selected depending on what was cheaply available
at that time One could say that because the shells
were available in plenty and could be replaced
with such ease if damaged, the Goan homeowner
was almost indifferent to the timber he used for
the windows. With glass, however, the focus shifted
to fine timbers. Now the Goan homeowner had an
expensive and fancy material to use and sought
befitting timbers for its display!
House No.4 is a house with these fine timbers.
The wood that has been used in this structure
has been carefully selected to offset the simplicity
of an otherwise plain building. The houses numbered
65 and 66 are also beautiful. Admire the wooden
tracery on the posts used to support the roofs.
The vaulted timber arch in the porch is an unusual
feature. Ornamented timber brackets support the
highly decorative railings on the first floor,
as well as the eavesboards and the verandah trappings.
Definitely worth a second (and third, if you
have the time) visit, is the Correiro House located
just where Dr. Aires Sa Road and Abade Faria Road
meet. Curiously, the house faces the North, a
direction not generally preferred by either the
Goan Hindus or Christians. Perhaps the original
builders of the house had the foresight to see
the kind of traffic this small lane would generate
over a hundred years and decided to draw their
home away from the road! It is a very pretty house.
The garden boasts of jackfruit, mango and breadfruit
trees. A perforated compound wall allows generous
sea breezes from the West to come over the high
plinth and into the house.
Walk up to the next group of houses on Abade
Faria Road, Lotlikar House, Lar de Santa Clara,
Borkar Nursing Home and House No. 8, all sport
some fine cast iron and timber railings, moulded
doorways and windows. Admire the great big mango
tree in the compound that follows this cluster
on your right. Exquisitely crafted timber railings
adorn the houses that surround the Physiotherapy
and Rehabilitation Centre. Take your time looking
at these railings. They are hard to find and even
harder to replicate in today’s times.
Having done that, turn a ‘cultural’
corner to look at the Damodar Sal, a family temple
that is open to the public. Before you step into
Margao’s most interesting Hindu house, however,
take a look to your left. You will see the side
facade of a house with rather extraordinary mouldings
in stucco cement and another with a high pitched
roof over the balcao. The story of the high pitched
roof over the Goan balcao is a long journey in
time that begins in the middle of the 18th century.
It origins can be traced to the influence the
Portuguese alpendre may have had on Goan home
designs, although the end product is definitely
the creation of the Goan master builder. The mouldings
over windows, on the other hand, are definite
copies from catalogues and design books brought
over homeowners.
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