“Panjim was a ward of Talegiao, a marshy land
mainly inhabited by the fishing community, with ships
sometimes docking at the coast; from there emerged
this capital city,” says Dr Celsa Pinto, as she begins the
intriguing tale about Panjim. Her new books, ‘Anatomy
of a Colonial Capital: Panjim’ and ‘Colonial Panjim: Its
Governance, Its People’ cover various aspects of how
Panjim was before it became the capital.
“I thought of the concept since I felt that there
were no academic works on this particular urban space
and all the concentration has been on Old Goa, which
was the first capital of Portuguese India. The concept
came to me in the 1990s, but I started working on it
in 2004 as I was busy with my duties as Director of
Education, Government of Goa. In 2010, a year before
retirement, I started my writing,” explains Dr Celsa. This
is her sixth and seventh book.
Giving a brief introduction to her books, she
informs that the book ‘Anatomy of a Colonial Capital:
Panjim’ deals with land acquisition, landfilling and
land use, covering the unofficial capital, public works
and edifices, while the second book, ‘Colonial Panjim:
Its Governance, Its People’, highlights issues such as
health, law and order, sanitation and the urban society.
“As an 11-year-old when I first arrived from Karachi
to Goa, it was a dilemma whether to call it Nova
Goa, Pangim, Ponje, Panaji or Panjim. Panjim was the
unofficial capital for more than 80 years from 1759
to 1843. Many of the public buildings in Panjim were
built with the stones from Old Goa. From the early
17th century, they were thinking in terms of the new
capital. During the second half of the 17th century and
the some part of the 18th century they were thinking of
shifting the capital to Mormugao. It would be far away
from Maratha attack and closer to the sea, a situational
aspect with the port. But what made the final shift from
of Cidade de Goa to Panjim was the construction of
the causeway cum bridge called ‘Ponte de Linhares’
(Old Patto Bridge) that dates back to 1632-1633,” she
explains.
In 1759, the Adil Shah Palace and later the Military
Station of the Portuguese was totally renovated and
repaired, making the unofficial shift to the Panjim
Palace. The first plan of Panjim was drawn in 1766 with
the areas around the palace, the Panjim church and
Fontainhas, the first organically developed settlement.
Initially, the premises were rented from two leading
international traders in Panjim, Mhamai Camotin’s
family and Joao Baptista Goethals.
“The rudiments of urbanisation was started by
Viceroy Dom Manoel de Portugal e Castro, who took
the first steps of urbanisation between 1827 and 1835.
Campal owes its origins to him; it was called Campo
de Dom Manoel and later became Campal. He was
responsible for the huge drain that runs in the city with
six bridges. He was responsible for coastal hygiene,
levelling the sand dunes, covering up the salt pans,
fields, marshes and bogs,” adds Dr Celsa.
The second book highlights public works including
sanitation. “The house to house collection of garbage
began in 1859 in Fontainhas, Campal and the palace
area and we still have the same problem. Panjim was
affected by epidemics and the government had a
tough time dealing with the issue of public health and
sanitation. They are several methods like vaccinations,
inspections, and the paid catching of rats and snakes.
There was an infirmary in Reis Magos for ships coming
from British India.”
The books are factual and interesting to read,
offering a time travel experience as the structures and
places in Panjim still stand the test of time. “I have
written the book for researchers and scholars but it can
be read by the residents of Panjim who should have
some idea about the place they are living in. It can
also be an eye opener for authorities, as with limited
officers, the orders of the gazettes came after two
days with weekly reports on all aspects of the state and
Panjim,” she concludes.
