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SAO TOME WALK
This walk takes you, through the heart of Panaji’s
brief historical links with Goa’s Portuguese
rulers. Partisan views run high here and visitors
will sense the rhythm and pace of an era gone
by.
If there is one place in Panaji where one should
begin a heritage walk, it should be at the chapel
dedicated to St Thomas. S Thomas, patron saint
of builders in India, is probably the one Christian
saint most surrounded by controversies. The masons
and carpenters of Panaji through subscription
built this little chapel in Tobacco Square. Sociologists
will find it interesting that the saint is considered
a patron saint of builders only in India. Elsewhere,
particularly in Europe, Sr. Joseph the Carpenter
is venerated as the patron saint of builders.
Was St. Thomas really a builder by profession?
Does he hold a lance in his right hand or is that
a tool that masons in Goa use to this day for
excavating earth? No other Christian saint is
as full of mysteries as is this Apostle who was
sent to India by Jesus Christ himself!
Before you take a look at the chapel, though,
you might want to walk around the square on which
it is located. The Office of the Postmaster General
of Goa once used to be at Tobacco House, a building
where trade in tobacco was initiated as a last-ditch
attempt at rescuing a failing Goan economy. The
revenue from the sale of tobacco from the Americas
did precious little but the location of this compact
little building tells a tale of its own. The statue
of Dr. MC. Dias, Surgeon that stands in the little
triangular garden facing the South is a testimony
to the affection this surgeon enjoyed from the
citizens of Panaji.
Now take a look at the stucco mouldings over
the windows of G.X. Verlekar & Sons, Jewellers
and IA. Gonsalves & CIA Negociantes em Ferramente
ETC. Armas e municoes. Once an arms and ammunitions
store, this establishment now sells hardware,
garden tools and paint supplies. Observe the wooden
railings that encircle narrow balconies indicative
of the building’s importance and antiquity.
These narrow balconies were designed at a time
when fresh air from the river was given great
importance. The citizens of the old city had seen
people succumb to disease due to cramped space
and these narrow balconies were incorporated into
the design of Italianate-style house to overcome
the design defects of the past.
Place this historic building firmly on your left
as you turn into the street named Rua Luis de
Menezes. Take particular note of the building
that houses the quaintly named Inocencio (Innocence)
Fernandes & Sons. Notice its indigenous columns
and railing that face the street. Compare these
with the railings placed in the prestigious Tobacco
Square in 1938. Even the interventions made in
this street in the first quarter of the 20th century
are worth taking note of. Partisan values run
high in this neighbourhood and out early in the
morning after a quick around much before the morning
after a quick breakfast of “assembly line”
Udipi Fare from the South Kanara District of Karnataka
at the well-known Vihar Vegetarian Restaurant.
Look at the high pitched roof over the entrance
over the building housing Casa Radio Electra.
The cast iron railings are an import from Bombay
but the wooden tracery over the high pitched roof
and the decorative finial in terracotta is definitely
the work of a Goan master craftsman. Walk to the
end of the street and then take a right turn into
31 January Road. Names here are in Portuguese
and English. Test your linguistic capabilities
by trying to pronounce the name of this shop,
Estabelecimento de Cera, Candles, Wax Merchants,
1930, for the sheer tongue twisting joy of it.
This Street is filled with wax merchants, petty
tradesmen and wine merchants. Just as artisans
occupied the houses around St. Thomas Chapel when
settlers from up the river Mandovi first occupied
Panaji, this street was given to bakers, candle-makers
and wine merchants. Reasons of caste exaltations
have often been cited as one of the reasons for
mass conversions of Hindus to Christianity. It
is also possible that lower caste Hindus who converted
to Christianity were the only ones willing to
take up low-ranking occupations such as candle
making and baking that involved the handling of
animal fat. Today many other tradesmen occupy
the street, adding their own character to its
history, thus giving the entire precinct a unique
charm of its own. Go up the stairs of Hotel Venite
lot a leisurely cup of “tourist-style”
tea and some Goan fare. If mangoes are in season,
try their mango milkshakes and be transported
into a culinary heaven.
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