-Brian Mendonça
It is perhaps easy for those in Goa to know
where Porvorim is – because of its proximity to the capital. But Poriem? Yet
both these places constitute Goa. Is an understanding of Goa only limited to
nodal cities like Mapusa, Panjim, Margao and Vasco? In the popular imagination
this may be a reality. In Mapusa, if you speak of Vasco to the local folk, it
seems like a distant land.
The North-South divide has been further
polarized by media who accentuate difference rather than similarity. There is
also the tacit understanding that the cities are ‘developed,’ ‘modern,’ and can
boast of civic infrastructure like transport, electricity and water to promote
ease of living.
Is this really true?
Driving down the road from Porvorim to Poriem
- a distance of 38 kms. was a delight.
‘GPS aunty’ guides you from Porvorim along NH 66, past Greenpark Hotel on your
left, until the newly-made flyover when you swing right under the flyover
(Opposite Milagres church, Mapusa) and head out towards Bastora. The sleepy
land welcomes you as the Goa of yore. Heading towards Carona, past Ucassaim,
you come across the magnificent Calvim cable-stayed bridge. There is also a
cute railway crossing where superfast trains hurtle by.
In the long afternoons buffalo rest under the
shade of tress in the company of crows and white flamingo-like birds which
swoop across the road with their huge wings. The winding road has hardly any
traffic except for out-station vehicles bearing MH and KA registrations which
scurry onward on inter-state trips.
Poriem is in Satari taluka. Satari was so named as it originally
comprised seventy villages. It takes an hour by car to get to Poriem from
Provorim. You need to cross Bicholim in
Bicholim taluka. There is a riot of habitation here as you are propelled onto
market streets and the clamour of bus stands till you are pushed into the peace
of Poriem.
Poriem, has a charm all its own. Trees abound
on the road on either side. You almost feel you are in the Mhadei Wild Life sanctuary
which comes later. This is the road which leads you out North-East out of Goa
via Morlem and Keri to Chorla Ghat and then onto Belgaum. You are almost on the lip of Anjunem dam and
moving to cooler climes as the road begins to climb.
Satari is full of temples. Old sedate temples
with exquisite architecture hold their own with new temples being feverishly
built. The folk are simple and eager to help if required. They also speak a
dialect of Konkani which is not heard in other parts of Goa. Since Satari
borders Maharashtra to the East, locals are comfortable speaking a mix of
Marathi and Konkani.
The drive to Poriem is rejuvenating. There is a
need for people to know more of the Goan outback. Rather than rely on the
kitschy travel tripe dished out for tourists, there needs to be an awareness of
retreats like Poriem which are thankfully untouched by the feverish malignancy
of ‘development.’
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Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, St. Inez, Goa on Sunday, 2 December 2018.
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