Preserving the past perfect

One is often asked “What is heritage?” Well! It is thepositive legacy of history, simplistically put, and preserving this beautifullegacy of our glorious past is one’s sacred duty. Heritage is oftenmisunderstood to be only monumental in nature. Apart from the built (monuments)heritage, we have natural-environmental heritage, cultural and several otherdomains of heritage.

Heritage is a very comprehensive term. It begins with yourfamily surname and goes beyond your tombstone. Way back on September 30, 2000,some of us came together under the brilliant leadership of Ms. Heta Pandit, aheritage activist from Bombay, and founded the Goa Heritage Action Group. Forthe last 12 years we have been working in the field of heritage preservation,which includes saving a monument like Massano de Amorim, a gunpowder factory,Betim Cross, Agarwado-Pednem Kshetrapal temple, Juvem Hill and fort, NagveSattari Virgal, Miramar heritage trees, Sakhali fort, Fort wall on Kadambaplateau, Tonca Pillar, Adil Shah’s Palace, Gopinath idol , ancient sculpturesin Kotarlim Sanguem and several others. We have also been moving the court overpreservation of heritage, held campaigns for the notification of the rareChicalim Caves, organised heritage festivals and several such measures.

Sometimes, we are successful in our movement and at othertimes, we face failures, but we take both in our strides. I tell my students,heritage preservation begins at home, firstly by talking to grandparents andpreserving what they have given to us, it could even be a box. We need to besensitised about our history, heritage and culture. Many opine that heritagepreservation is a losing battle. But I beg to differ. In fact, there isdefinitely, a growing awareness in preserving heritage structures, be it anancestral house or a chapel. Some of us even enjoy eating on a banana leaf, orfrom an earthen pot. For students who are interested in heritage, I do theKushawati heritage trail, Old Goa heritage walk, the Mhadei heritage trail andheritage walk of Dona Paula and Miramar.

The way ahead

In Goa, we need heritage regulations to be in place so thatwe can have preservation of more heritage zones. We have submitted a list of 93monuments to be notified by the concerned authorities. In fact when we movedthe court on the Sristhal Mallikarjun temple case, they denotified themonument.  Also the Goa State Archaeologyshould update its list regularly.

We also stand for adaptive reuse of heritage buildings; theOld GMC is a classic example. We fought for its preservation along with thedoctors. Another scheme that’s noteworthy is the Heritage House scheme. Thisneeds to be implemented on a priority basis by the government. We have a richfort heritage which also needs attention, the overgrowth of vegetation needs tobe cleared at most places.

In light of this, we have asked the Parrikar government toaddress the following heritage issues, which have been neglected all theseyears:

Uzgallimall-Pansaimall:Is an ancient unique rock-art which showcases Goa’s megalithic/neolithic life.It is situated on the banks of the Kushawati near Rivona in the Sanguem taluka,and the site needs urgent attention as it has the potential to be a worldheritage site. We need to work towards achieving that prized status for thispriceless and invaluable site.

Overgrowthof vegetation and cementing of heritage structures: Secondly the historicheritage forts of Goa such as the Halarn (Alorna), Betul fort, Khorjuvem fort,Thivim-Colvale twin forts, Cabo de Rama in Canacona need to be cleared of theovergrowth of vegetation. The conservation works carried out at the Juvem (StEstevam) fort are also not adequate as new alterations, new interventions,cement and stones have been added to it thereby defacing and disturbing thehistoricity and heritage character of the original fort. In the name ofconservation new stones and cement plastering is done on other monuments too.The classic example is the ancient Tambdi Surla temple where the ASI havecemented on the temple. The temple’s heritage has been destroyed by the ASI andRs 27 lakhs have been spent on this. The same has been done at St. AugustineChurch at old Goa.

Kadambaplateau: The natural heritage as well as historical heritage of the Kadambaplateau is being destroyed due to reckless and indiscriminate constructionactivity on the said plateau. The 11th century Kadamba Rajbid, fort arch,underground palace of the Soundekar kings, fort walls, tanks are gettingdestroyed. The moat of the fort on the Kadamba plateau is also being filled up.

Notificationof  monuments: The caves at Dharbandoda,Fatorpa on the Govindghat, Chicalim underground caves, the mosques at Khandeparand Ganjem dating to the Adilshahi era, the cave at Karaswada, Thivim behindthe new central jail complex, the Chandor fort wall, the TaideBrahmanimaya  temple and the cave atJaqui-Netravalli need to be brought under the control of the Goa StateArchaeology department and notified as heritage monuments.

HeritageHouse Scheme: The heritage house scheme, which was launched during the tenureof Mathany Saldanha as the Tourism Minister needs to be revived. It has beenkept in cold. Incentives for heritage house owners such as Transfer ofDevelopment Rights, a repair fund and other possible ideas need to beconsidered.

HeritageRegulations: Due to the absence of any heritage regulations large scaledestruction of natural and built heritage has taken place in Goa. Hills arebeing cut, trees are being and historical monuments are being demolished allover Goa. Due to rampant constructions, world heritage site at Old Goa is alsounder grave threat. Protection of the Miguel Caetano Dias heritage statue andgarden opposite the GPO at Panjim is also paramount.

Pedestrianplan for Panjim city and historic precincts across Goa: Important heritageprecincts like the Panjim Church Square, Fontainhas, Campal need to bedecongested and noise levels of motorised traffic cutting through these areasshould be reduced.

Creationof a world class cultural city in Panjim: Panjim is a picturesque and charmingcity located on the banks of the river Mandovi. With its quaint traditionalquarter of Mala- Fontainhas, heritage buildings like the Adil Shah Palace, theold GMC, the Kala Academy and many more, Panjim has the potential to be a worldclass cultural city.

Gopakapattan: The historic port of Gopakapattan needs to be studied, listed andrevitalised.

Listing of important bird sanctuaries under Natural Heritage: Carambolim, NerulWetlands, Pilar Lake, St Cruz Wetlands, Bondvolled Resoirt and others need tobe listed and buffers identified.

A courseon heritage: There is a need to have a course on Heritage Management,Conservation, Tourism Management, Crafts, Performance of Intangible heritage

Inclusionand partnering with indigenous Goan communities and village panchayats: The GoaGovernment should partner with the village panchayats in saving the natural andbuilt heritage of Goa by asking each panchayat to bring the unnotified naturaland built heritage within their jurisdication. A separate heritage fund needsto be created to help every Panchayat in saving, cleaning and notifying thenatural and built heritage in every village of Goa. Forest communities andthose in traditional occupations need to be made partners in eco-tourismventures and heritage trails, so that they to have a share in the pie ofeconomic benefits.

Tappinginto local knowledge at village level: Creation of group events to tap intolocal knowledge.

Prajal Sakhardande is Goa’s time traveler, whose fascinationwith history started at a very young age. He holds an  MPhil in Pre Portuguese Goan Heritage and iscurrently reading for a PhD in Post Liberation Political History of Goa. Someof his achievement include the restoration of the 15000 year old ChicalimCaves, the notification of 93 heritage monuments and setting up regulations forHeritage Preservation in Goa. Prajal has been at the forefront of the fight forpreserve many facets of Goa’s heritage and continues to study, research andfight to keep the state’s past alive