The Cribs of Goa

Text by Cedric & Tami.

Compared to the U.S., Christmas celebrations start very late in Goa. If you were to drive around in the days leading up to Christmas, you'd think that the Goans had forgotten about Christmas and that the holidays were going to be quite a somber affair. But on the 24th of December all the decorations come out, the evening lights turn on, and there is quite a contagious mood of celebration throughout the area.

It was this way when we were growing up too...the mad dash on the 24th to put up the decorations before leaving for midnight mass. The decorations remain in place for the full 12 days of Christmas, then are put away on January 6th.  During this festive Christmas period the focus is on visiting with friends and family, as well as feasting on of a variety of special dishes like the famed Goan sorpotel, and on delicious, labor-intensive homemade sweets like dodol and cul-culs.  There is also a New Years Eve mass to help everyone start the year of on the right foot.

The Christmas decorations in Goa have a strong religious theme, consisting primarily of stars, cribs (nativity scenes), and more recently, LED lights.  And while you can see the occasional Santa and snowman, these types of decorations are still few and far between...at least for now in South Goa.

Another Goan tradition, which I had been unaware of, is the cribs that are made for public display by local church congregations and neighborhood groups.  These cribs range from a simple Joseph, Mary, and Jesus-in-the-manager nativity scenes to large displays that included shepherds, wise men, palaces, etc. from familiar bible stories, and other elements from the local Goan village (huts, farms of live grass, forests, waterfalls, and even ponds with live fish!).   For many of the more elaborate cribs that we saw, there were long lines of people eagerly waiting just to view them each night.  Thank you Noel for driving us to see so many of these beautiful and creative Christmas displays!

And apologies to those who were expecting this post to be about the homes of the rich and notorious.

This simple crib was by our apartment

A scene from a more elaborate crib

This big display had real grass growing in the fields and catfish in the pond

A traditional Indian village is often included in the crib

A crib in a star.

An example of the primary outside house decoration -- lighted stars!

A Goan wedding to remember

By Tami & Cedric.

We had the honor of an invitation to a Goan Catholic wedding while in Goa. The bride is my sister-in-law's cousin and though we didn't know them, they extended us an invite and made us feel very welcome.

The Portuguese invaded and occupied Goa from the late fifteenth century till they were ousted in 1960. During the early years, they mass converted a large number of the native Indians to Christianity and to date, Catholics make up a significant portion of the Goan population. (The link is worth reading if you're Goan or just interested in the Portuguese/Catholic impact on the region).

The day before the wedding, we were invited to the bride's "Roas" ceremony (pronounced like roast without the last "t"). The ceremony starts with short prayer, after which, the bride is annointed with holy oil by her parents, close relatives, and the priest. Next coconut milk is applied to the bride by her parents, relatives & then friends. This symbolizes purity, and is also meant to make her skin & hair soft and beautiful. The coconut milk was applied carefully and lovingly by her parents, then the elders and applied more generously by sibling, relatives and friends. All throughout we felt the love for the bride. It was followed by songs & music performed by the guests - and dancing. Of course, it ended with a wonderful Goan dinner. By this time, we had been introduced to a lot of the family and felt quite at home.

Beginning with a prayer and a hymn

Holy oil being lovingly applied by the parents

A liberal application of coconut milk

To a dunking at the end.

Tami, Jo and Chinky singing along to the Sorpotel song

Members of the family are gifted musicians

That had people up and dancing.

The wedding took place in a beautiful chapel on a hill. My sister-in-law remembers walking up to this chapel on Sundays since there was only a very rough road. The road is still very narrow, but paved. Much of the wedding ceremony and reception would be familiar to anyone who has attended a western wedding.

The beautiful church where the wedding took place

Beautiful blue tile

The reception kicked off with the help of an MC, who introduced the couple and guided the party through the cake-cutting, bouquet and garter throwing, first dances, etc.  The music included waltzes, jives, traditional Goan ballads, and modern dance pop.

The bride and groom spent quite a bit of time on the dance floor, enjoying dances with wedding guests, family, and each other.  At one point, the men made a circle around the bride & took turns dancing with her, and the women did the same with the groom. After a while, the bridesmaids "broke" the men's circle to rescue the bride & reunite her with her husband. Near the end of the evening, the guests on the dance floor tied ribbons to the bride and groom and circled them while still dancing until they were good and properly bound. The night ended with the wedding guests wishing the bride and groom well, while getting final pictures taken to remember the joy and merriment of the evening.

Lots of waltzes and cha-cha-chas

The bride dancing with the men...

..and the groom with the women

The bridesmaids come to get the bride

Wrapping them in ribbons of love

Getting around in rural India

There's room for a few more....

Small mini-vans and autorickshaws are the preferred public transportation option for short distances in rural India. Often, they're the only option. People congregate at pick up points and wait for a vehicle going in their general direction. Vehicles wait until they're full - very full - before starting off. Travel is cheap and, compared to the state transportation buses, very convenient.

Luckily, we can afford to hire a car and driver to take us around when there are no friends or family available. I could probably drive in rural India, but it would be slow going and stressful. I can't even dream of driving in a city.

...though there is a limit!

Imagine cheerful, thumping music coming from this rickshaw

 

Our time in Mumbai

Cuffe Parade at dawn (from Nariman Pt.)

We spent five days in Mumbai's Cuffe Parade / Colaba area. The timing was fortunate as it allowed Tami some time to recover with no travel. When I lived in Mumbai, in the mid-80s, I spent a lot of time with friends in this and surrounding areas and I wanted to wander around and reminisce. It hasn't changed much in the almost 30 years since I last lived here. Sure, there are new skyscrapers, but most of the old buildings survive.  The area retains its vitality and I love walking around deliberately oblivious of the hustle around me. The iconic building in this part of Mumbai is the Victoria Terminus (now called the Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus), an imposing railway station. See pictures online - it is quite something.

The J.N. Petit Library and Reading Hall

The Standard Building

Flora Fountain

The Army Navy Building

The David Sasoon Library

The Majestic MLA Hostel. I love the way Mumbai cabs are decorated.

The Eros Theatre (cinema) - a beautiful Art Deco building marred by that huge billboard

Rajabhai Tower at Mumbai University

Prince of Wales Museum (now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya)

 Marine Drive is a sweeping arc of a road along the bay in south Mumbai. Its broad sidewalks are great for strolling and the parapets a wonderfully romantic place from which to watch the sunset. What I didn't know, was that it is also south Mumbai's exercise yard early in the morning, with people walking, running or practicing yoga. As always, there are chai-wallahs walking among them ready offer a hot cup of sweet, milky tea.

Marine Drive in the early hours

At Sunrise

Marine drive remains popular throughout the day

And is lined with a number of Art Deco buildings

There are many beautiful churches in Mumbai and I visited three of them - the sparse Afghan Church, the beautifully frescoed Cathedral of the Holy Name, and St. Thomas's Cathedral (after which the original Church Gate was named)

The Afghan church (1858, Anglican) commemorates the dead in the First Afghan War of 1838. Yes, the west has been fighting there since then & winning? Not.

Afghan Church

The Cathedral of the Holy Name (Roman Catholic)

Holy Name Cathedral

St. Thomas's Cathedral (1718, Anglican). The original church was added to later

This Neo-gothic chancel was added in 1865

And best of all, we got to hang out with our friends (unfortunately, no pictures of Zoojar & family)

With Pradeep and Jayashree

With my cousin Glynnis

With Mihir