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Goan homes... unrecognised treasure

GOAN HOMES: DA CUNHA SAYS THE TREASURE IS STILL TO BE UNDERSTOOD

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Every culture expresses their
genius in different ways.
Goans seem to have 
concentrated on their 
houses. All the crafts 
and skills were 
centered around their homes. 

Frederick Noronha

Panaji (Goa): It's strange: you live in a home all your life to 
suddenly wake up one fine day to realise the true worth of this 
legacy. That, says architect Gerard Da Cunha, is just what is 
happening to Goans.

Da Cunha is working on a book on Goan homes. He has just finished 
working on an eye-opening exhibition which surprised many by 
portraying the wealth of Goan homes.

                           'I HATE IT'
                            ---------

There have been all sorts of responses to his work. Visitors came 
in from France, Macau, Austria, Belgaum, Lisbon, the US and 
elsewhere. Many were part of the Goan diaspora, here to discover 
their roots. 

One lady returned from Portugal to encounter the house she grew 
up in as a child in Goa. Another, a German woman with blue eyes
whose father Goan, pleaded eagerly "Can you help me trace my 
house." Yet others came in and said: "I hate what's going on (in 
a Goa that is fast losing its charm to concrete jungles). Can we 
bomb all these buildings!"

Da Cunha says his aim is simple. He's just trying to make the 
average Goan "aware of what a wonderful heritage we have. We have 
one of the greatest heritages of domestic architecture in this 
world. Goan houses are really phenomenal houses."

It is, as he puts it, an attempt to "record and honour" the 
wonderful heritage of domestic Goan architecture. This, he says, 
is very important now since traditional Goan houses currently 
face a "great threat" due to commercial interests and also the 
rapidly changing social structure.

Every culture, he argues, expresses their genius in different 
ways. Rajasthan is full of clothes and silverware. Some cultures 
express themselves in music, or by making huge monuments. 

"But Goans seem to have concentrated on their houses. All the 
crafts and skills were centered around their homes. They've had 
so many different kinds of windows, for instance. How it 
happened, one doesn't know. So many accidents of fate.... Maybe 
somebody started it off, someone else copied it," as Da Cunha 
explains.

Da Cunha is to publish a book shortly. He rates his exhibition as 
a success. Says he: "As the exhibition carried on, it got better 
known. Mainly by word of mouth. People also came because their 
houses were there. We had a lot of houses there -- we picked a 
false ceiling from somewhere. Something else from somewhere else. 
We did 150 houses in all."

Says Da Cunha: "I think it aroused a lot of interest in the way 
we live. People often take it for granted. Once everybody saw it 
all together, the worth of (Goan homes) all came out."

Goan architecture is a quaint mix. There were influences which 
came from the West, basically Portugal. This married local 
influences, and then it took its own direction. 

                       RICHNESS OF IT ALL
                       ------------------

"What surprised me is the richness of what we have. We certainly 
have a rich heritage. When it comes to Goa, everybody talks of 
the beaches. Nobody realises that this is our strongest point," 
argues Da Cunha.

But can the houses that ooze old world charm survive in a 
rapidly-changing Goa? Specially with the type of economic 
pressures being put on this small state?

Argues Da Cunha: "They can survive if they're put to different 
uses. Fortunately or unfortunately, tourism can play a part in 
reviving these houses. They can play a new role as heritage-
homes, boutiques, restaurants, or even as offices. I myself work 
in one old house."

Strangely, even as the government has gone about imposing more 
stringent laws ostensibly to protect conservation zones and 
control building activity, the concretisation of Goa has got all 
the more worse. Perhaps that was because once the stringent laws 
were in place, some politicians and racketeers with dubious-
motivation were in business. They had strong incentives to go 
about scheming to break the law, and reap the huge profits that 
resulted illegally to them. 

Does Da Cunha agree with such a view?

"Laws don't really protect anything," argues Da Cunha. He feels 
that the change would come when people realise "how valuable" an 
old property is, as has happened in areas of Florence and Venice. 
Little boutiques or guest houses would make more sense in the 
long run than ugly concrete structures. It would retain the charm 
too, he argues. 

It's already happening in the Fontainhas (also known as Mala) 
locale of Panjim -- sometimes called the Latin Quarter of this 
haphazardly-grown once pretty town. Da Cunha points to fashion 
designer Wendel Rodrick's exclusive showroom, the Panjim Inn, 
Fundacao Orient and other such centres that are coming up in old 
homes in this locale.

                        OLD HOMES FELLED
                        ----------------

In the last few years, many old homes and structures have been 
felled to make way for multi-storied buildings. Says Da Cunha: 
"But Goans are intrinsically quite proud of their houses. Unlike 
other people, Goans don't live in the cities. They mostly live in 
the villages and they travel to work." 

Goan homes, in this architect's view, stand out from the rest in 
terms of their richness of detail. "There was a remarkable 
dignity about the old houses. They reflected Goan life, in a way. 
Goans I think were very formal. Aren't the old Goans and the 
Portuguese-speaking ones? They had and have a certain grace, 
formality, dignity, and perhaps are a little pompous too!"

Goa's homes of old often had thick walls. For the climate -- 
often hot and humid -- this made a lot of sense. But Goan homes 
were not all that functional. Homes in Kerala, for instance, 
responded to the climate more seriously, feels Da Cunha. In Goa, 
the house had just one big roof. In Kerala, every room had a 
domer-window which let off heated air. 

Given his preferences, Da Cunha is obviously against Goa rushing 
headling into urbanisation. Though, it can't be avoided 
altogether, he concedes. 

"Some amount of urbanisation is a natural thing. It happens. (But 
too much of it and) you'd spoil the basic character of the 
village. It happens along the highways. So the first place to get 
ruined would be Porvorim to Mapusa. Bambolim. Then, it starts 
creeping inwards," he says.

What about the argument that Goa's old houses can no longer cope 
with the 'need of the time'?

"I don't think so. A lot of this box-driven development is really 
to do with making money. Now you have thousands of flats in Goa 
which are unoccupied. Nobody wants to buy them. Lot of people 
were buying for speculation," says the bearded Da Cunha (44).

                           TO PORTUGAL
                           -----------

His plans don't end here. For a start, the exhibition will move 
to Portugal, actually Porto, the city selected to be the cultural 
capital of Europe for this year. "Then, I'm going to take it 
round the country (India). That's my dream," says he. Da Cunha 
has plans or invitations to put up the exhibition at Kathmandu in 
Nepal, Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Jaipur. If 
things work out his way, he'll take a bus with his work on show.

"I'm planning to increase the size of the exhibition. We made 24 
large panel photographs, some 20 x 30 inches, on laminated board. 
Once I saw everybody coming in, I added to the exhibition," says he. 

Was this work something he enjoyed? Yes indeed, but for a strange 
reason. 

His high-pressure lifestyle in laid-back Goa has made Da Cunha "a 
bit of a recluse". This particular task forced him to take time 
off, meet a lot of people, and get back in touch with those 
living not so far away from home. "For long, it has simply been 
to do my work, travel all over the place, and then come back to 
my family. I hardly meet people or socialise much. So it was good 
to meet a lot of people."

Now he sees this as a success, Da Cunha also plans to go onto a 
"bigger dream" -- an exhibition on the vernacular architecture of 
entire India. 

Da Cunha's Goa book focusses on a range of issues. Starting with 
houses in Goa before the coming of the Portuguese. On how it was 
built in mud and other material, and how this suited local 
lifestyles. It goes under the title of 'From Mud to Marvels'. 
Other chapters are named 'Elements of Style' and 'House Form' 
(which refers to smaller homes). Way of Life looks at the Goan ethos. 

                       OTHER PRESSURES TOO
                       -------------------

Besides financial pressures, Da Cunha also sees other threats to 
the stately Goan house. "If six sons inherit a house, it's going 
to be difficult to divide. So that makes it easy for them to go a 
builder, and (barter the home) for a flat each and say Rs 100,000 
in a building set up there". But, says he, you can divide the 
houses quite well if you're clever about it.

His advice to expats being tempted to buy flats that are 
proliferating in the state: "Don't."

Buy an old house, suggests Da Cunha. "There are hundreds of old 
houses in remote parts of Goa which are all unoccupied. In 
Uccasiam, Nachinola, Moira. It's worth repairing it." He concedes 
that it could at times prove troublesome. "But the rewards are 
there."

What about the problems that people, particularly expatriate 
Goans, face in repairing their old homes. Something that is 
aggravated by the shortage of labour?

"Maybe something could be worked out by which people could repair 
their houses. I don't see why I couldn't help that," promises Da 
Cunha. 

"Goans have always been proud of their homes. But maybe they 
didn't show it," argues the architect. (ENDS)
****************************************************************
NOTE: *Houses of Goa* is currently available at a pre-publication 
discount of 40%, at Rs 875 + postage and packing. More details 
from Gerard da Cunha at <archauto@bom2.vsnl.net.in>
#    *********************************************************** 
#    frederick noronha, freelance journalist, fred@vsnl.com
#    near lourdes convent, saligao 403511 goa india ph 276190 or 278683
#    *********************************************************** 
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#    Photos from Goa		http://www.goa-world.net/fotofolio/
#    GoaResearchNet		http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1503
#    ***********************************************************
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