Of Daggers and 'Dumroos'

Sunset over Sindhudurg fort, Malvan

Our i10 after 100 kms.

 -Brian Mendonca

This September I really wanted to test the car (above in pic) after a rehauling in the workshop. The i10 did the 100 kms. one way, with ease. The roads are smooth on the NH 66. After you branch off towards Malvan the road gets narrower but more picturesque with scenes of village life.

We were transfixed in time, as it were, since the digital clock on the dash had not been reset, and my wristwatch was lying in Mapusa with the watch repairer.

Trail to the sea.

We left from Goa at 9.53 a.m. and reached Shrigaonkar restaurant at around 12.30 p.m. - after a romp to MTDC's property at Tarkali beach, which was full.  

The trip was done during the Ganesh week and the festive spirit was in the air. At several places, as we sped past, we noticed women dressed in all their finery walking by the roadside on their way to to the temples carrying offerings for the deity. 

There was a distinct soundscape of devotion that pervaded the air. In the evening, in the houses, there used to be aarti where devotees gathered to sing devotional songs with musical instruments like the ghumat and dhol for Ganesha. 

At several places I noticed young men in music shops assiduously getting their instruments into shape. At one place where I picked up a dumroo the young man showed me a variety of them ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 400. The playing surface is made of goat skin and sounds hollow with a treble element. When we were young, men brought monkeys to the locality and got them to dance to the dumroo.   

Modaks with ghee.

When I asked artist and writer Savia Viegas what to pick up from Malvan, she said 'A dagger.' She pointed out the significance of the Malvani dagger in Maratha history. Though I could not pick up one I had to content myself by playing the dumroo. 

The day we arrived was spent at Coconut Garden Beach House, Tarkali road - one of the few which agreed to take us in. It was a short walk from the room to the gorgeous sea. We watched the sun set on the Sindhudurg fort with the sky like a palette on fire. A moment when we were lost in the universe. 

Shivaji began construction of the Sindhudurg fort in 1664. It took three years to build. Portuguese architects were invited to design it along with a workforce of 3000 from Goa.* 

We discovered a new place to eat called Chaitanya. The mutton Malvani was delicious and so was theveg. thali. They even obliged Dwayne with his fav chicken lolipops. After that I treated myself to a Malvani paan topped with a cherry.

Mutton thali with vadde, Chaitanya

Throughout the trip we were treated to spells of alternating rain and sunshine. We took it all in our stride. What we came away with was the simplicity and faith of the people of Malvan. At Deulkar's, in the market, where Queenie bought her masalas, they encouraged us to step into their shop and see the more than life-size statue of the Lord Ganesha which they had installed - which we did. 

This was our second trip to Malvan, but this time our takeaways were different. We were more in tune with ourselves and each other. We enjoyed the journey and I am sure we will be heading back for more. 

An ST bus which almost ran us over.

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Pix taken by Brian Mendonca on 21-22 September 2023.  Updated 24/9/23. See also Malvan Masala (2017). *india(dot)com