-Brian Mendonça
Marcelatulo sigmo vajota / Nachom
disota. (2)
[Watching the Shigmo at Marcel makes me want to dance.]
There are two ways to go to St. Estevam from Panjim.
The island lies in Tiswadi taluka of Goa and is shoulder to shoulder with Old
Goa, the Rome of the Orient.
One of the ways is via the Belgaum route which
branches left from the Merces roundabout. As you get onto the slick six lane
highway you pass the habitations along the Kadamba plateau. Guided by GPS after
Corlim you reach a T point at Banastarim where one road branches to the left
towards Marcel. (The other branches to the right and heads towards Belgaum.)
Just before Banastarim you cross the Cumbarjua canal
over a bridge. The canal is a narrow strip of brackish water of 15 kms. that
connects the Mandovi and Zuari rivers. It was here that the Portuguese ships
were repaired in days of yore after Cumbarjua was annexed by the Portuguese in
1510. Portuguese sailors who could not sail due to illness were replaced by men
from St. Estevam who sailed to Portugal. These serene Goan backwaters are also
where crocodiles lurk.
As you negotiate the rather steep turn towards
Marcel, the smell of mogras assails
you for that is where the flower sellers sit. As you proceed further,
Government College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Khandola sits on the right.
In good time you meet another bridge over the Cumbarjua canal. On the way on
the left you can spot ‘Satisfy Bar and Restaurant,’ Khandola in bright red. The
name could not have been clearer. The restaurant is also on Google Maps.
The other route is shorter but takes longer. It is
via Old Goa and Ribandar. We came back on this route in pouring rain with nary
a street light, when the skies showed no mercy. The Basilica of Bom Jesus, could
not be seen though we passed within kissing distance of it. This world heritage site was in absolute darkness.
Construction for the Basilica began in 1594. It was consecrated in 1605.
Earlier the village of St. Estevam was plunged into darkness
during the downpour. The only succour in the house of the deceased seemed the
whisky which the gents stomached balefully.
Goan painter Angelo da Fonseca (1902-67) hailed from
St. Estevam. A painting of his adorns the church of St. Stephen which dates
back to 1575. His familiar Indianized style is unmistakable.
St. Estevam is also a place in Karnataka about 135
kms. from Panjim. The St. Estevam in Goa is 23 kms. from Panjim and doable in
40 minutes.
As I made my way within
the cemetery of St. Stephen’s church, St. Estevam I noticed the name on a slab
which seemed to be dislodged by the ongoing renovation. The lettering read
‘Dissolvina’. It seemed an apt and sober reminder that whatever mirth one
enjoys it will all one day dissolve and pass away.
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Thanks
to Cheryl Alvares for guiding me towards St. Estevam with the crisp directions,
viz. ‘Always take the left.’ Published in Gomantak Times Weekender St. Inez, Goa, on Sunday, 11 November 2018.
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