Jesuin George Fernandes
If you are in Goa, especially in the old conquest areas of Goa, you cannot be too far away from one of these quaint little religious structures known as “Santo- Kuris” in local parlance. These priceless treasures of heritage that dot our highways, by ways and winding path ways have stood like sentinels for centuries lending a distinctive old-world charm and character to our landscape. They have always been part of our lives with happy childhood memories woven around these sacred structures that have over the years also acquired a very important cultural, social and historical significance.
The sight of an old antiquated white washed Santo-Kuris often transports me to the sussegad unhurried days of yore; the summer evenings when old and young would gather around the neighbourhood Cross for the litany. Unlike today, the time schedules then were only approximate… Those who congregated early would engage in lively discussions over hot topics of the day till the others trooped in. At times, the bonhomie discourses got so engrossing that it seemed like everybody had forgotten about the main business for the day – the litany!
But now and then, one of the elders would look around and if he saw enough people would say “koreia murea?” If the response was “koreia” the litany would kick start in full gusto with little boys and girls literally blowing their lungs out for which they were generously lauded by the seniors. After the litany, the elders were treated to “kop”, a shot of pure unadulterated feni which they gulped down in a peculiar ritualistic fashion with eyes closed.
Assis the sailor (tarvotti) often kept the young & old engaged well into the night with his spiced up stories of the exotic lands he had travelled. Those who had never crossed the seas would listen spell bound as the Master story-teller unfolded exaggerated ‘tales’ of rotating skyscrapers of Tokyo to the singing mermaids of the Pacific ocean. The stories of his adventures in World War II captured the fertile imagination of the young and the old. But leaving aside his penchant for exaggerations, Assis was a prim and proper dignified man. He never stooped to talk about things like “the girl at every port” that seamen often boast about , perhaps keeping in mind the mixed profile of his audience and the sanctity of the place.
Nostalgic stories apart, what actually triggered this piece is the disturbing fashion of bringing down age old Holy Crosses; our priceless treasures of great nostalgic & heritage value to make way for modern concrete ones. No amount of money can replace and no artist can create ‘jewels’ that have been shaped up and polished by the hands of time itself. All over the civilized world, heritage structures are treasured, protected and maintained at considerable cost to the exchequer. But as they say, good fortune and good sense seldom go together – it’s painful to see precious History-in-Stone being destroyed by some nouveau rich people in their eagerness to show off their new found affluence. Why can’t the necessary additions be made to these little gems of heritage that our ancestors had so painstakingly built and preserved to meet modern needs and the surroundings beautified, without destroying what actually belongs to posterity?
