Goa provides a wonderfully affluent architectural heritage to visitors. The all-embracing preservation and excavations endeavors conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India have brought forth and brought back bits and pieces of ages in the form of ancient sites like epigraphs, caves, sculptures, religious places such as churches, temples, ancient forts, mosques, etc. In addition, an awe-inspiring familial architecture depicted in centuries-old houses of the upper class keeps an outstanding place in the journey of the lovers of architecture.



Temples



Built up structural temples come into view at some stage in the 10th -13th century AD. These made use of basalt and laterite blocks for door and pillars frames. Though lilliputian in size, these temples were consisted with Garbhagriha, antarala and mandapa, hinting at the blend of Dravidic and Nagar styles, but for a good deal of ornamentation. In the course of Kadamba Yadava rule, however, ornamentation or embellishment became pronounced probably via external influence.



The highly remarkable instance of this phase and the increasingly popular, ancient existing temple in Goa is the Mahadev temple constructed of basalt at Tambdi Surla, the village, which is thinly populated at the Goa-Karnataka border, lying at a few 65 kilometers east of the capital Panaji. Located on the bank of a rivulet, this is the stand-alone in existence black green-tinged basalt stone tradition of Goa; bearing a resemblance to Yadava and Hoysala architecture in the monolith pillars.



Shivaratri is celebrated as the most important festival and it is acknowledged as a nationwide monument. An archetypal Goan temple would have a tall, pagoda-like deepmal or deepstambha (lamp tower) and octagonal, in front of the doorway of the key temple in the major courtyard, tiny auxiliary holy place and a Tulsi Vrindavan (basil enclosure) on the left side of the chief temple, a naubatkhana or drum tower for temple musicians to take a seat above the central doorway and perform, a big temple reservoir at the back of the naubatkhana, rath (temple car) asylum on the left, an agrashala–pilgrim rest room– and managerial offices surrounding the holy place on both the sides and at the back, a porch, sabhamandap (main hall), and ardhamandapa (middle hall) and the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) accommodating the deity. After having the darshan (seeing) of the deity, it is traditional to make a pradakshina, parikrama, or clockwise walk round the holy place.



Jesuit Architecture in Goa



Here are some Jesuit footprints left in the sands of time - traces indicative of how in their time Jesuits cherished and served up in all things. The places in Goa, where Jesuits primarily laboured before their expulsion by Pombal in 1760, have been reviewed here. College of St. Paul, Old Goa On the road from Old Goa to Ponda after having a short walk from the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, there comes on the left side amongst a bunch of trees what has the manifestation of an enormous arch in stone.



This is all that leaves the great multifaceted of a building that was the Old College of St. Paul’s, the first house of the Jesuits in Goa. What began in terms of the school of the Holy Faith for the shape of young boys from the east, India and Africa so that they might afterward take to their own people, was handed over in 1543 for direction to St. Francis Xavier and to the Society. Now there is the fascia to be seen of the Church of the college, which was considered the largest in India ever in its time.

In addition of the basic instruction, advanced education in Latin, Music, Science and Arts was also imparted, including lectures in theology and Philosophy. Not only this, the degree of Master of Arts and the Doctorate were awarded, so that a few could not hesitate to name it “Universidade de Goa”, as well as the “Sorbonne of the East”. It could match up to the colleges of Europe.



The Jesuits was compelled to be rather astute in their endeavors to put into practice this latest project for the Santa Cassa da Misericordiaa Senate, and the Franciscans stood against it strongly by saying that they should construct on what used to be then a drudgery square called Terreiro dos Gallos.



But, on the night, previous the day on which they were to be lawfully controlled from erecting the site, two fathers and one brother transformed a tiny house into an impermanent church and on its door emblazoned the word ‘JESUS’. Next day early in the morning, the door was opened and a bell was rung. The neighbors were taken aback to notice a priest all set to rejoice mass. The antagonist could not ever dislodge the occupants thereafter.

The complete structure was done in 1589 under the capable supervision of Br. Domingos Fernandez. A few of its protracted passageway and drudgery apartments were shattered by the havoc of time and tide and by the furious flames of enormous fires in 1663 and again in 1783. One more storey, situated on the top, was knocked down between 1886 and 1887.

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