Travel Goa under Budget : Day2 (The Archaeological Museum)

NOTE : This post is a part of “Travel Goa under Budget” which is a Goa travelogue providing trip advise and travel plan to keep your expenses to the minimum so that you can enjoy the beauty of Goa in a cheap and inexpensive manner but at the same time safe and memorable.

 10 July 2011

In and around the Capital : Day 2 : The Archaeological Museum

After having a good time in the Bascilia of Bom Jesus and having spent quality time in freaking around the premises of the church I begin to move to the other prominent premises which had drawn my attention ever since I landed here in Old Goa. This was called the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India)Circle and was just adjacent to the chapel and this is one site which can’t miss your attention if you have landed in Old Goa.

This appeared to me as another church building and was painted in white.

This building is also something which I have seen in many movies.

The surroundings was very clean and green and I have to admit that it was well maintained.

One of the Cleanest roads i have been : The ASI Circle

There was also a large amount of crowd as many of the tourist who visit the Bascilia of Bom Jesus also make it a point to pay a visit there even though they find it interesting or not or the museum holds anything substantial for all visitors or not.

I am not trying to diminish the significance of the museums but seeing it from a tourists perspective who have landed in the party capital of India museum is the last thing which one would like to enter.

But the museum by the look which it offered  from the outside naturally had drawn my attention and this place appeared to be interested as it was a isolated building and appeared like a tourist or picnic spot rather than a museum.

One another attention drawing feature outside the museum was the bent pine shaped tree which appeared magnificent and stood apart rest of the trees in the surrounding.

This landmark building was very similar to another landmark building in another part of the country the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun and I couldn’t believe that it apart from being a institute also was a one of its kind museum in Asia.

The pine like tree that drawn my attention with the museum in the backdrop

Frankly speaking the thought of going inside the museum really didn’t excite me especially when I knew that it was close to 4:30 in the evening and I have to vacate the museum before 5  and in half an hour I definitely won’t be able to enjoy or research about the various facts and figures this place was providing.

But as you remember I have landed in Goa with a purpose I had to enter the museum and spend atleast half an hour there.

Not that anything within the museum wasn’t interesting but things outside the museum appeared far more interesting to me at that particular point of time.

So finally I got a ticket which costed only Rs 5 that would provide entry inside the museum and I went in

The interior of the museum was cool and provided me a bit of relief as it was hot outside .

Archaeological Survey of India.

The museum was established in 1964 and reorganized in 1981–82. Housed in the convent portion of the church of St. Francis of Assisi, antiquities displayed in 8 galleries include the objects from the prehistoric and early historic period to the late medieval period. The importance of this museum lies in the display of the portrait paintings of governors and viceroys, wooden sculptures, pillars, capitals, postal stamps likewise many other objects which belong to the Portuguese period in Goa.

 The " Portrait Gallery" occupies the first floor of the museum and has over sixty paintings of the Portuguese Governors and Viceroys that ruled Goa beginning with the first- Dom Joao de Castro( 1545-48 ) and other notables like Dom Vasco da Gama ( 1524) and the only Goan Governor, Bernardo Peres da Silva ( 1835 )and the longest serving governor, Jose Ferreira de Pestano ( 1844-51 and 1864-70). There is even a portrait of Portugal's right wing prime minister and dictator, Antonio Salazar. The "Sculpture Gallery" contains some artifacts dating to the pre-colonial era.

360*180 panorama of the church

There are a lot of Stone sculptures and idols dating back to the Kadamba years and also a stone pillar brought from San Thome, Madras , the site of martyrdom of St Thomas Rejuvenating The Look The Museum was rearranged and reorganized completely in connection with the CHOGM Retreat in Goa mean while 1982. A long hall lying to the left side of the entrance to the Museum was converted into 2 galleries by laying RCC floor with a newly constructed wide staircase at the extreme west to facilitate access to the first floor. The new Annexe building thus provided additional area to the existing Museum and finally the entire first floor re-laid with a teakwood floor resembling the original in order to bring uniform look to the whole complex. 

The 3-6m high bronze statue of Afonso de Albuquerque greets the visitors at the entrance. In the visitors lobby sea routes of early explorers, map showing site museums in India, map of Goa and a few photographs of monuments of Goa and Daman , and map showing centrally protected monuments in India are on display. Displaying Some Priceless Possessions The important exhibits on display in this Gallery are the standing Lord Vishnu accompanied by Goddess Lakshmi and Garuda on left and right respectively, with exquisite carvings accommodating ten incarnations on the Prabhavali, standing Surya accompanied by Danda and Pingala, Gajalakshmi, Mahishasuramardini and seated Uma-Maheshvara.

These are primarily in the Gallery 2,3,4 and 5 are located in the quadrangle in the ground floor.

In Gallery 2 are displayed models of various types of Shikharas, replica of pillar, architectural pieces, a Shiva-Linga and a 'Nandi'. 

In Gallery 3 are displayed seated Ganesa, Mahishasuramardini, standing Vishnu with Garuda, Vetala, seated Uma-Maheshvara with Kartikeya, Bhringi and Ganesha on the pedestal, Hanumana, Kala Bhairava, Indrani and torso of a Hindu saint. In the showcase minor objects i.e., the head of Brahma, head of Nandi Kula Devata and architectural pieces are on display.

In Gallery 4 are displayed medieval hero-stones, sati-stones, a Shiva-Linga and a panel depicting self-immolation. The sati stones displayed along side the hero-stones, commemorate 'Sati' or widow burning and have panels showing the heroes in battle, thus serving both as hero and 'Sati' stones. In Gallery 5 are inscribed slabs in Marathi, Arabic/Persian pertaining to Ibrahim 'Adil Shah and other 'Adil Shahi kings of Bijapur of 16th-17th century. 

360*180 of the church

The Marathi inscriptions record grants to Hindu temples, while the Arabic/Persian inscriptions record the construction of a Masjid (Mosque) and a bastion to the fort at Old Goa. A huge stone panel on the other side of the verandah depicts a coat of arms in the centre and St. Peter and St. Paul proclaiming the gospel and a Portuguese inscription on either side. In the niche of the wall is a stone pillar brought from Santhome, Madras in AD 1630. A piece of the iron of the lance with which the St. Thomas, the apostle, was supposed to have been killed was preserved in a small niche at the top of the pillar. The two sides of the pillar are painted with the figures of St. Thomas and St. Francis of Assisi. In the centre of the open courtyard, life-size image of St. Catherine is displayed under a Goan type pillared shed.

The showcases have been provided to display the important objects the pedestals are prepared to display the heavy stone and wooden objects. The portraits are displayed utilizing both natural and artificial light. 

There was also a theatre (don’t expect it to be a IMAX) which showcased a short film on various World Heritage Site in India trying to arouse a sense of interest in the heritage and cultural values and monuments of India by giving information about them in a interesting and gripping manner.

The museum premises

And yes one good thing about the various holiday destinations in Goa which I have visited so far, facilities for drinking water is made available in plenty and free of cost. Therefore you need not buy mineral water and this does saves a lot of money. And this water was very safe for consumption.

Also there is washrooms provided in many places in this tourist sites which is also free of charge but this was against the sanitation facilities provided in bus terminuses which charges minimally.

Photography was prohibited inside the museum therefore I hardly had any chance to photograph any of the exhibits and portraits as it was decently guarded with security guards passing by you every two to three minutes.

I am not sure whether this extra security was due to the day being Sunday or it is the same during the week days also and yes another important thing to  note is that the museum is closed on Fridays.

The other galleries in the first floor mostly depicted the Portugese culture and by the time I could have gathered any significant information on this there were whistles going around in air indicating that it was time for the tourist to move out as it was closing time and soon the crowd begin to slowly exit and I too begin to stroll out .

Despite the efforts made by the authorities the museum closed at half past five in the evening but you can still wander and roam around in the lush greenish surroundings of the museum which itself was nothing less than a picnic spot and yes the view of the Bascilia of Bom Jesus seen from here through the trees was also something that a photographers eye cannot miss and I did take some shots.

I spent some time simply strolling down the lawn and needless to say the fresh air which was blowing out now had a rejuvenating effect of its own.

The view of Bascilia of Bom Jesus as seen from the Archaeological Museum

Then I thought I will call it off for the day as I had to get back to Margao and find accommodation for myself.

I didn’t want to sleep in the waiting hall of the railway station despite the comfort which it offered.

Therefore my next post would be about hunting a decent accommodation in Goa. Can you guess the cost of the per night tariffs which I would have found out.