09 Mar 2019  |   05:36am IST

Why isn’t Panjim a 365-day home for art and culture?

The jewel of Goa, Panjim, is one of the most happening places around town, and not only because of its captivating infrastructure, but with the various festivities and events taking place. During this very time, people have the opportunity of viewing and being a part of heritage venues and artistic- cultural buildings. And yet, Panjim can do so much more and be a 365 day destination of heritage, art and culture

Nicole Remedios

If Panjim, Ponje, Panaji is itself a work of art why does

it need art and film festivals to give it the charm and grandeur. During IFFI, Serendipity and other festivals, old venues are spruced up, charming spaces come alive, the Adil Shah palace and the old PWD building become home for artists, musicians poets and playwrights. The question is, Panjim doesn’t need an occasion to be what it is. Occassions need Panjim

The people of Panjim, the authorities who run it need to make one of the most beautiful towns in the world, a place where creativity, charm, passion flows.

A lot of other festivals that were being held earlier have been lost over the years. Once upon a time, a pre-carnival event was always organized where people enjoyed throwing water balloons and painting faces.

  A lot of people also lament the famous Fontainhas festival of arts that no longer exists.

Pantaleo Fernandes an author and cultural researcher shares light on how the Fontainhas festival of arts really portrayed the culture of Goa when he visited it years ago, “The Festival of Arts at Fontainhas was probably one of the first arts festival celebrated in Goa on such a scale. The beauty of the event was that the organizers took into confidence the local people who opened their hearts and their homes for the festival. Almost every house turned into mini art galleries. I remember seeing for the first time photographs printed on fine cloth. At another living room there were portraits of the villages of Goa, another painter had vividly painted images of Christ. The streets had become a live theatre – with villagers from far corners of Goa bringing their folk dances alive.”

What has happened to Goa? Aren’t we going to preserve our traditions and culture? If we ignore, then soon enough the famous events like Samba Square activities and red and black dance will see days of darkness, as people have already noticed how these things have been vastly commercialized. Luckily, this year, Panjim had a chance of celebrating the pre-carnival event - Asalto revived by Messis Tavares, the President for Grupo Alegria, a Social and Cultural Association.

A Key to the Heritage and Cultural Venues of Panjim

The founder of Soul Traveling Varun Hegde seems to be aware that certain places are open to public, sometimes on request, but with a requirement of regulations.

“Opening of places comes with certain regulations; else it will all be a messy affair. I’m glad these places are slowly opening up, and I believe this is the way to go where people will slowly get used to these places being open and then can frequent them with time”, says Hegde.

Similarly, Jack Sukhija the Partner of Panjim Heritage Inn, agrees that opening up heritage places for people all around the year is a good idea but revenue should be generated for the maintenance and sustaining he buildings. “If these places are taken care of, no one minds keeping it open for the public; we should have a certain kind of respect for these preservative cultural buildings. We need to keep it lively, but an overdose of anything isn’t helpful. So moving cautiously, but we need the festivities”

Fontainhas has always been the attractive Latin quarter of Panjim with tiny lanes and streets all across the area, the same infrastructure if applied to the other inner roads in Panjim, can make it a divine zone. In fact after asking a few people on their opinions on this, most have said not to restrict the idea only in Panjim, but everywhere else in Goa.

There are so many areas across Goa which needs to have this kind of infrastructure and which will benefit the people living there too.

According to Pantaleo, everything has its period of rest and rejuvenation and Goa is no exception. We need to take time off and ease pressure off the infrastructure for a while.

Whether to open all the heritage structures constantly to performances or tourists depends on their demand. This has to be thoroughly studied and incorporated into the tourism policy which can then focus on specific areas and market them as niche segments.

 

And

  above all, if Goans cannot work towards keeping Goan traditions alive,

  even our cultural spaces will get invaded and dominated

  by others.