A beautiful 10 kilometre drive east of Margao brings you toa quaint village that is perhaps one of Goa’s best kept secrets fromurbanisation. A little known fact is that Curtorim, known as the ‘granary ofSalcete’, received its name from the village’s characteristic agriculturallinks. The original name was Kudd-Tari or Kudd-Toddi, indicating that thevillage was blessed with plenty of fields, and that the kudds (rooms) to storethe grain were constructed along the toddir (river bank).
The village has grown from being a granary to much more andwith more development comes more problems. Rupesh Shinkre, a young lad from thevillage, and a representative of one of its oldest families is looking to bringchange about. He believes, “There are issues in Curtorim just like there iseverywhere else. I believe that the primary need is (and we are in the processof doing so) addressing the issue of waste disposal with greater severity. Forinstance, along the border of St Jose de Areal and Curtorim, there is a heap ofgarbage that slowly has begun to represent what Sonsoddo was a few years ago.”
Waste disposal in Curtorim clearly has, as it has in otherparts of the state as well, raised its ugly head in the reasonably peacefulvillage. Neville D’Souza had lived in Northern California for 20 years and thenchose to move back to his native village halfway across the world. His twochildren had never even seen their place of origin. Yet, they were forced tomove out, no sooner than they had begun to settle in. He says, “Moving out ofthe village was really hard for me. However, we had to relocate as there is noproper system of garbage disposal and as a result, people burn their wasteeverywhere. The health hazards involved are ridiculous, as burning of plasticcreates dioxins, which are a huge cause of cancer.”
Fishing is a popular facet of Curtorim’s pastimes. This isprimarily because it has several water bodies within the boundaries of thevillage, amounting to five large lakes and 16 ponds. The ecological balance wasunder threat there as well. “There are a couple of mega-projects that have beennow kept in abeyance, thanks to the vigilance of the villagers. I cannot helpbut wonder how these were approved of in the first place. Without a propersystem of disposal, which the village does not currently possess, there mayhave been seepage into our water bodies, which would be disastrous to aquaticlife. Not on our watch though. We have approached the panchayat to ensure thatthese projects are subject to proper planning and approval,” says John Silva,the president of the Curtorkaracho Ekvott, an NGO involved in protecting theinterests of the villagers.
However, issues or not, the village is a massive culturaland social hub. Several performers in western classical as well as contemporarymusic, including the popular brothers Emiliano and Agostinho da Cruz have theirorigins in Curtorim. Camaraderie and a sense of belonging is clearly part andparcel of the natives and exemplified by their actions. As long as they have apart to play in the decision making process, there is no doubt that thisvillage, and all it stands for, will endure.
