Saligao Serenade

by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas

In an earlier essay (A Red-Letter Day for Saligao) I had detailed the events that took place at the time of inauguration and installation of the image of Mae de Deus in Saligao Church on 26 November 1873. This statue formerly belonged to the Mother of God Friary, located in Daugim near Old Goa.

The Daugim monastery and its church had been inaugurated on 31 October 1569. But by 1878, the friary had disappeared and the church was in a tottering condition. However, the miraculous statue of Mae de Deus was taken to Saligao on 24 November 1873. The pulpit, the main bell, and three altars were taken to Mapuca Church in 1839. One of the bells and an organ was taken to Moira Church. Another bell adorned the Church of Jua (on St. Estevam island, Ilhas). Two other bells and the reredos (altar backdrop) were dispatched to Assolna Church in Salcete. Then, what was still standing of the Friary and Church after all the years of neglect, was razed to the ground. Only the Cross remained erect, where, for three centuries, the Monastery and Church of the Mother of God once stood. Read the rest of this entry »

by Mel D’Souza

When I was a young lad growing up in Saligao, Goa,  back in the 1950s, we didn’t celebrate Christmas in the village the way it was celebrated by fellow villagers living in other parts of the world, where British and Western traditions prevailed. Theirs were luxuries we couldn’t afford.

We knew about “Father Christmas” (Santa Claus) and the toys he gave to little kids. But my mother, who didn’t think it necessary to spend money on toys, had told me much earlier that there really wasn’t a Santa Claus. So, our Christmases revolved around the nativity scene – the stable where Jesus was born, the star that guided the Three Kings to Bethlehem, and the Christmas carol, Silent Night. Read the rest of this entry »

[This article was initially written in 1992-93 by a team from the ward Mollebhatt in Saligao, in association with Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas, and published in the Souvenir of the sesquicentennial celebrations of St Anne’s Chapel (1843-1993). The team comprised Idalina Rego, Lucy Cordeiro, Cassiano D’Lima, Eleuterio Remedios, Vanessa Godinho, and Sylvia & Joaquim Vaz. The version reproduced below was modified and updated by Fr Nascimento in June 2004]

How did the ward Mollebhatt in Saligao get its name? One version is that the place known as Diulacho Sorvo (property of the temple) was a sacred place dedicated to Lord Vetal in the Pre-Portuguese era. In order to have sufficient flowers for the daily morning puja, every house had a flower garden known as fulancho mollo, hence the name Mollebhatt. Some people refer to the ward as Mollembhatt or Mollembatta. There is a traditional dulpod sung in this ward and it goes as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Have you ever had the opportunity to observe a beehive at close quarters, watching those industrious creatures going about their business vigorously and tirelessly? With our own busy lives these days and also the rapid spread of urbanisation, even spotting a beehive is a rarity. But when I was a young lad growing up in Saligao, things were different. The beehives on the belfry of the Saligao church were a treat to watch.

Our “gang of four” – Salvador Mascarenhas, Johnny Machado, Dominic Andrade and myself — focused our eyes on the hives, waiting for honey to fall into our mouths. Of course nothing of that sort happened. The bees swarmed around unconcerned, their rhythmic buzzing adding to the bel canto of the Saligao choir singing inside the neo-Gothic church led by our famous choir master, the late Eustaquinho D’Souza from Dakhtem Morod. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas

My friend Salvador Mascarenhas and I were now on the last leg of our walk through the vaddo (ward) of Cotula in Saligao. Close to the former house of the Gama rose family that I wrote about earlier, is the house of Dr Raimundo da Gama and Camila Mariana Tereza da Gama. Dr Raimundo da Gama had a sizable clientele in Coimbra, Portugal. Nearby is the residence of Celly and  Gil Coelho’s large mansion. He was headmaster of various English high schools in Goa. In its proximity is the house of Annie Pinto whose daughter, Sr. Mary Jane, née Rita Pinto, was twice Mother General of Holy Family of Nazareth Congregation of Sancoale, Salcete.

Behind her house is the Krist Raj Bhavan (home for male senior citizens) established in September and run by FMCK nuns. Adjacent to it lies the stately house of the world-famous ophthalmologist Dr. Cláudio Raimundo da Gama Pinto, who has to his credit an Institute of Ophthalmology named after him in Lisbon, Portugal. At his birth centenary, the Portuguese Government brought out two stamps, one light brown and green in colour of 2 reis and another black and white of 3 reis entitled Republica Portuguesa 1853-1953 Gama Pinto, Correios, Estado da India. A road was named after him in Panjim and there is also an avenue named Avenida Professor Gama Pinto in Lisbon.

In 1978, on the 31^st of August, a tribute to Dr Gama Pinto was organized by ophthalmologists from Portugal and Goa at the Saligao Institute in Arrarim. After the session the eminent ophthalmologists went to Dr Gama Pinto’s ancestral house in Cotula, and at the hands of Prof. Dr J Ribeiro da Silva from Lisbon, a commemorative tablet inscribed in Portuguese was placed therein.  Its English translation is “The Great Ophthalmologist Prof. Cláudio Caetano António Júlio Raimundo de Gama Pinto was born here on 30^th April 1853.  Where a group of eminent Ophthalmologists from Portugal have gathered to pay their homage to the great Master who so honoured Portugal as well as his birth place Goa with the extraordinary contribution to the eye surgery placing a tablet offered by the Association of Ophthalmologists of India represented by its branch in Goa to commemorate the homage”.

I have written a book on Dr Gama Pinto, published in November 2002 and titled “A Paean to an Ophthalmologist: Prof. Dr. Gama Pinto”. Dr. Cláudio da Gama Pinto was born in Saligao (Cotula) on 30^th April 1853 and died in Lisbon on 26^th July, 1945 aged 92 years.  His parents were Francisco Salvador Pinto, leader of the old Progressive Party of the Council of Bardez and the first President of the Bardez Municipality and of Camila Mariàna Tereza da Gama.

Affectionately called Salu Pinto, Dr Claudio’s father was undoubtedly the greatest single benefactor of our village of Saligao.  It was he, practically single handedly, who gave us our beautiful church, of which every son and daughter of Saligao may be justly proud.

Next to the house of Gama Pinto is the house of Vitinho Mendonça. His son Lino Mendonça lives there along with his wife. Opposite their house, across the internal road, is Lynn (Ismael) da Gama’s house, who rose to be the President of the Central Council of Goa of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, as well as the Chairman of the Confraternity (now Association) of Our Lady of Victory in Saligao Church. For several years he ran the affairs of this Association with great responsibility. Dominic Soares from Cotula married Tereza da Gama, Lynn’s sister. Dominic Soares is one of the talented footballers of Goa, and represented Vasco Club. He now resides with his family at Tabravaddo on St. Anne’s Road running from Aula to Sangolda. 

Then there is the house of Sr. Celine Coelho. She too had been the Mother General of FMCK nuns. Her brother Cyril Coelho is also a dedicated social worker. Next comes the house of Napolean Vaz, who was for a long time in charge of the Church Committee and who freely shared his knowledge about church affairs with all.

Finally, a word on Mae de Deus House for senior lady citizens in Cotula. Mr & Mrs Luis Mendonça, to comply with the last request of their dear departed youngest daughter Dr. Lila Mendonça, herself a Holy Cross nun, bequeathed their ancestral home to the Holy Cross Society. It so happened that Holy Cross Society, due to unforeseen circumstances, were unable to undertake the task of caring for the aged.  They requested the FMCK Regional Superior to consider the matter and offered her the house together with a handsome donation.  In November 1973 the Home was opened, inaugurated and blessed by an illustrious grandson of Saligao, Archbishop Eugene D’Souza. A dream had been translated into reality and three Franciscans Missionaries of Christ the King took charge of the House with 19 women on the roll. This Home came into existence due to the tireless efforts put in by the late Fr. Albert Saldanha (Arrarim), President of the Committee of the Centenary Celebrations of Saligao Church (1873-1973).

In this walk through Cotula we may have missed some prominent personalities. We ask for their forgiveness, but would appreciate if their details are inserted here by someone (via comments) to make this walk a truly memorable event for anyone else embarking on it.

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

As my friend Salvador Mascarenhas and I continued to walk through the vaddo (ward) of Cotula in Saligao, we found ourselves at the house of the late Sebastian Pinto. He was an Africander, a social worker, and always smiling. Opposite is Amanda Lopes e Souza’s residence—she is now in Portugal. She was a good pianist and a very amiable character. She was senior to us at Mater Dei, and we were also acquainted with her brother Jerry, and Gloria. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas 

As I wrote in an earlier essay, when I was a young lad growing up in Saligao, the children always waited eagerly for the onset of the monsoons. The pitter-patter of the first rains on the tiled roofs was cue enough for us kids to run under the gógó of our house for an impromptu bath-acid rain would be something that future generations would have to contend with! Friends from the neighbourhood such as Mohan, Naran and Surya joined me in singing their version of the rain song in Marathi: “Êrê êrê pausa, tula detô paisa, paisa zala khota, paus zala motta. Ega ega sari, mhajê moddkê bari, sar allê dhauvun, moddke gele vavun.” The magic of the first rains also inspired Oslando de Souza from Arrarim to compose his immortal song, “Poilo Paus“. Read the rest of this entry »

by Mel D’Souza

The first Sunday in May is when the village of Saligao and its sons and daughters living in other parts of the world celebrate the feast of the Church of Mae de Deus (Mother of God).

Celebrations abroad usually start with Holy Mass followed by a social gathering where Saligaokars partake of good food, dancing and fellowship. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

A great joy, a feeling of exaltation, a festive aura seemed to permeate and spur the village of Saligao. The day had an electrifying effect that charged everyone with nonpareil happiness. The village seemed to have woken up on the morning of November 26, 1873, as one unique and compact mass to celebrate the great day in its history, and to render the greatest possible homage to Our Lady Mae de Deus under whose mantle protection and maternal care all of the village would be placed from this day. Read the rest of this entry »