Review: Devaaya Ayurveda & Nature Cure Centre, Goa

"This is my 4^th stay at Devaaya and love coming here every year. Earlier I used to come for 2 weeks, now I come for 3 weeks. This is like staying in one quite corner of the world that lets me spend time with myself, while I tend to my body, mind and soul." Says a middle-aged woman who lives in Nottingham, United Kingdom as we chat over lunch overlooking the swimming pool and Mandovi backwaters. We are at the Devaaya Ayurveda & Nature Cure Centre at Divar Island in Goa.

The lady was wearing a blue green batik cotton gown that adds the extra ease to her body language and her face is glowing as she prepares to go for her next therapy session. Organic vegetarian food does not excite the tongue too much but it’s so easy on the stomach that does not feel an iota fuller than it should.

I walk around the 5-acre campus that has water all around. Divar is a river island, surrounded by water on all sides and this property additionally has a layer of backwaters around it, especially if you visit it during monsoons. To me it seemed like a re-creation of a Goan village with its multi-colored houses that are never away from water and its open spaces that touch the waters. Each room overlooks the fields or backwaters.

A therapy center stands on top of a small mound where the resident visitors are given Ayurveda and Naturopathy consultations. They undergo various therapies based on their problems or their inherent nature. A typical days starts with Yoga in the open of weather permits, followed by breakfast, treatments, lunch, therapies, meditation and some entertainment. I liked their focus on doing it the right way by not allowing walk in visitors or easy options like day packages. They insist on a minimum stay of 7 days and 2 weeks is recommended duration as it is what the visitors need to see an impact.  Most of their clientele is European women who come here to de-stress and de-toxify, but I was told many Indians have started joining the bandwagon.

Therapy huts too overlook the greenery and a Kriya center has been aesthetically built around the trunk of an old tree. We could spot so many flowers and butterflies in the campus. Incidentally lot of artwork in the gardens was covered to protect it from the rain.

This place is so much of a quintessential quaint Goa and yet the anti-thesis of what is perceived to be Goa – as you get to eat only vegetarian food and no alcohol or smoking is permitted.

Check it out when you are in a mood to detox and spend some time with yourself in an idyllic location.

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Go Goa XXI– Bigfoot Museum, Loutlim

This museum is an attempt to re-create the Goan village seen as it used to be. There are various household, religious places, marketplaces and occupations depicted spread over a hill. Let me walk you through some of the key attractions of this museum.

The entrance door that is ornate and gives an impression of a place that is rich.

A sculpture of Saint Mira Bai in red laterite stone that is supposed to be a longest of its kind and find mention in many record books.

An impression of a big foot on a rock that gives this place its name. Myth is that if you touch the foot and make a wish, it will come true. An illuminated story is told through a series of paintings about the legend of bigfoot that makes it a holy place – worth worshipping.

There are spice plantations around the place like many other places in Goa

A butterfly park is work in progress.

With greenery all around, there are birds all around.

In an attempt to make it a living cultural space, there is an exhibition hall that showcases the works of local artisans. A curio shop reminds me of similar shops in similar tourism economies.

The whole place has audio guides that come up and speak when you are closer to the displays. It can be a bit jarring, but ensures that you do not miss out on any details displayed in the museum.

I would not say a must visit, but if you have time and if you are in that part of the town, you can spend couple of pleasant hours here.

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Go Goa XX : Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary - A walker's paradise

Located at the southern edge of the Goa, bordering Karnataka, this lesser known wild life sanctuary is a nature walker’s delight.  It cuts you off from the mundane world and surrounds you with sheer greenery amidst flowing water almost everywhere.

Eco-tourism complex at the entrance of the sanctuary will give you entry tickets for you and your camera and vehicle. They would also give you a map of the sanctuary and tell you the main points to be visited. There are a few cottages here where you can stay, an interpretation centre and a butterfly park.

First point we visited was Bela Lake – about 7 Kms from the main gate. It is an artificial lake with a small watchtower by its side. The day we went it was raining so there was no chance of any animals visiting this small water hole. We noticed some vegetation at the base of this shallow lake – beautiful yellow plant with a red tip making it look like a flower. A few varieties of fish were also present in the lake. The mud road through the tall trees makes it a beautiful path to walk around. Only bird we spotted was a giant eagle.

We then moved towards what is called Tree Top. Now this is a tall tree with a fragile ladder attached to it and has a watchtower kind of stand on top. To reach this point you have to walk around 700 meters meandering with and sometimes through a narrow stream of water. As you walk the path you see the stairs made by mud and leaves that fell between two fallen trees and slender branches of some trees hugging the other trees, some twisted branches making you wonder how they got twisted and stones of different colors and make at the bottom of the stream. 

Our best find on this trail were wild mushrooms that were growing on broken tree trunks and on ground. Once we realized there were mushrooms there, our eyes started spotting many of them. We also spotted some flowers that we had not seen earlier and quite a few crabs in and around the stream.

Third spot was a seasonal waterfall that lies in a village called Kuskem about 15 kms from the main gate in another direction. We see the waterfall striding down the near vertical and lush green hill and looks beautiful with a front drop of light green paddy fields. A small 15-20 min trek took us to the base of the Kuskem waterfall where we could see it falling on a spot from where it begins flowing as a stream through small and big rocks. What I liked the most is the sound of water and twittering of the birds.

Goa Tourism websites indicates that you can camp inside the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary if you want though you would be pretty much on your own. I think a good birding trail can be followed post monsoons in the forest. I remember a Goa forest officer’s presentation on birds of Goa and lots of them were from Cotigao. He also mentioned some sacred groves in the forest and I think I sighted one but I am not sure if it is one, so would write about it only after I have validated it. There are villages inside the sanctuary making it a very living place from the human population perspective.

It is a perfect day outing for tourists staying in southern beaches like Palolem and Agonda. There is public transport that takes you quite close to the sanctuary though it is quite sparse. Unless you are willing to walk 25-30 kms, you would need your own transport at CotiGao Wildlife Sanctuary.

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Review: Baba's Wood Cafe, Panaji

I have been in Goa for good 8 months now but have hardly tried eating out and lot of it has to do with the fact that I am vegetarian and Goa is primarily known for its sea food. 

Last week I was happy to discover Baba's wood cafe, very close to Latin Quarters of Fountainhas. Located in a quaint lane, first thing you see is the designer furniture shop with aesthetically displayed furniture and art work from many local artist. Some parts of the walls have been painted to make it look like a small town. 

On the right is a kitchen with a blackboard displaying the special dishes of the day, giving a very European look to the place. At the end of the Kitchen is a traditional oven where Pizzas are baked on wood fire. 

Maria, the owner of this Cafe told me that they are the only authentic Italian cuisine in Panaji. I ordered a Pizza, and loved it. It had vegetables, just a hint of cheese and was thin crust baked right in front of me. I also tried lemon shorbet - it was a bit too sweet for me, but it could be because I am off sweets and tend to feel it more than others. Next time, I want to try their soups, salads and of course pastas and Gelato. 

I also realize this is a place very popular with locals specially for the Italian wines that they can taste here.

If you like Italian food, head to Baba's Wood Cafe when you are in Goa.

Goa being a popular tourist destination, most coupons & vouchers websites offer excellent deal on travel sites like Expedia India or GoIbibo. 

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Go Goa XIX: Walking with Birds in Maina, Curtorim

One fine morning while Goa was still waiting for the rains we walked through the narrow streets of quaint Maina village close to better know Raia and Curtorim. It is a typical Goan village with narrow roads passing through the paddy fields. While the fields look like a green carpet on earth, the blue sky provides the contrast and the clouds here and there move around to provide the eternal change. Hills Stand on the horizon as if guarding the fields. Coconut trees loom on here and there. Water forms natural ponds and attracts many birds.

There is an absolute quite except some one off villager passing by on foot or on cycle. We spotted many birds with the help of Goa's bird expert Pankaj Lad of Canopy Tours, but could catch only a few with the camera and here are they for you:

Baya Weaver

Little Cormorant

Indian Pond Heron in Flight

Little Green Bee Eater

Purple Swamp Hen

Rose Ringed Parakeet

White Breasted Water Hen

White Browed Wagtail

List of some other birds spotted at Maina include:

Lesser Whistling-Duck     
Cotton Pygmy-Goose    male in breeding plumage 
Indian Spot-billed Duck     
Indian Cormorant     
White-eyed Buzzard     
White-breasted Waterhen     
Purple Swamphen     
Bronze-winged Jacana     
Asian Koel     
Greater Coucal     
Common Kingfisher     
Stork-billed Kingfisher     
White-throated Kingfisher     
Pied Kingfisher     
Green Bee-eater       

Black-rumped Flameback     
Rose-ringed Parakeet    nesting in coconut trees 
Common Iora     
Common Tailorbird     
Ashy Prinia     
Baya Weaver    several nesting 
White-rumped Munia    

Thank you Pankaj for this lovely walk.

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Go Goa XVIII: Budbudi Tal aka The Bubble Lake, Netravali, Goa

Clap and the lake bubbles, is the famous legend associated with this tiny lake that actually looks like a small temple pond with a structure standing in the middle of it.

Tucked away in the middle of spice farms, in the village of Netravali, Budbudi Lake is a rectangular step well style lake is an artificial lake that would have been constructed anywhere between 300-400 years back. It is a fresh water lake and gets water from the underground springs and has outlet at one end from where the water goes out and is used by the farmers around for irrigation.  We were told that when it was being constructed, a layer of sand was stuffed below the surface and that sustains aquatic plants on its base that emit methane gas. When this gas tries to escape, it comes up in the form of small bubbles. Visually the bubbles look beautiful when they pop up and create concentric circles through the ripples they cause. The lake can keep your eyes engaged for a long time as you keep looking for the nest bubble spot. You can also create bubbles by jumping on the stones around the lake or by clapping – basically anything that leads to vibrations in the lake.

There are small tiger fish in the Budbudi lake – the ones that are used by saloons for pedicure. I sat with my feet in the water and within few minutes the fishes were nibbling the dead skin on my feet. It tickles a bit but then you start enjoying it. If you can keep your feet stationary, fish would flock to fill all the space available on your skin.

The small rectangular laterite stone structure is the middle is dilapidated now but it might have been a part of the temple. A white colored stone among the many fallen stones on it, is believed to be Shiva Linga. You would need a local with you to point this out. I somehow felt this might have been a place for Tulsi plant as the temple belongs to Krishna and it is not unusual to have a Tulsi bang opposite the main temple. Standing next to a recently built temple of Gopinath, Budbudi Lake actually is the remnant of the beautiful temple that would have stood in place of the current temple. In the farm next to this lake, we actually saw the saved wooden pillars from this temple and they were not just beautifully carved but had aged very gracefully too. One look at them and you would be tempted to see the temple standing on these pillars but what you see today is concrete and tiles.

Tanshikar spice farm located next to this lake is a good place to stay or eat. They have few mud cottages and they conduct trekking tours around Netravali, besides selling spices grown on their farms. You can see the 200+-year-old mud house that the Tanshikar family continues to stay in.

Netravali is almost on the border of Goa-Karnataka, good 90+ kms South of Panaji, but the drive is very pleasant through the villages flanked by fields on both sides. Your mobile phones will not work unless you are on BSNL network, in which case, they may. So, go with all the directions in hand and not depend on your GPS systems.

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Go Goa XVII: Pre-historic Rock Art, Pansoimol, Goa

I came to know about these rock art carvings at the Goa State Museum and had put it on my to be visited list, but it was an article in the newspaper with pictures of this rock art that made me get up and drive down to this rock by the river Sharawati and admire them first hand. It is a long drive from Panaji  - good 70+ kms in the southeast direction. We were thankfully staying at Arco Iris and the drive was about 30 kms from there, but since we were searching for this it took us almost an hour to reach the place. Till the village of Rivona and Colomb, we could follow a straight road when a small hand painted board on the right directed us to take a right turn. After this we were on a road that was not kuchha but it was not pucca either. After following some fallen ASI boards we reached a dead end and all we could see was a small rivulet and a thatched hut there. We got down and a man in tomato red T-shirt stepped out wearing a welcome smile almost like the one you expect from a cast away when he gets to see a human being after a long time. He was the ASI guard for the site and we crossed his office cum hut to reach the huge rock, where his own cloths were spread out to dry.

He enthusiastically started showing us the carvings, some of which were not very visible so he drew an outline with the water to make it stand out. He started with a set of three carvings that depict the human birth. A sperm, a placenta and a lady just after she has given birth. This can be easily linked to pre-historic mother figure or the fertility cult. This was followed by a dancing figure balanced on one leg making me think if this could be the earliest version of Nataraja. There were numerous carvings of humped bull and a few deers and one peacock that we could see. There were many types of hunting equipments and animal traps carved out. A pair of feet accompanied most prominent figures. There is one place with three feet carved together and another with two giant feet carved together. There are many figures that you cannot make out. A part of the rock has a lot of carvings that are confusing to an untrained eye.

Most curious carving is a labyrinth about meter or so in radius that is so well carved that you wonder what would be the purpose of this. Among all the petroglyphs, this one stands out the most. Some reading on the Internet tells me that it is potentially the oldest known representation of a labyrinth. Similar carvings have been found around the world and many of them have been found in India including some on the temple carvings but all of them probably are from a period later than this one. ASI guide said many people from nearby villages come and offer milk on this labyrinth and some of them even sit on top of it and meditate.

Backdrop of the rock is the shallow Sharawati flowing on a bed of colorful pebbles and rich green tall trees – providing a perfect contrast for the rusty tinge of the laterite stone.

What makes this place even more unique is that such carvings exist in South India on granite stone and in central India on sandstone, but this is the only place where they have been found on the hard and iron-rich laterite stone. The deep engravings in precise formations also indicate the presence of appropriate sharp equipment to carve. I am not an archeologist, but to my knowledge these are the only carvings that are not on walls but on a horizontal surface akin to having carvings on the floor. The site has existed in open area for ages and gets submerged in the waters of the river during monsoons. I am not sure if anything can be done to preserve this precious heritage, but the least that can be done is to have some brochures printed or boards displayed so that visitors can make some head and tail of the carvings and know about them from authentic sources.

I was told that Nand Kumar Kamat of ASI discovered this place in 1984. Discovery basically involved removing lots of mud and cleaning the rock. Apparently a round of cleaning is done after every monsoon now. Archeologists believe these carvings can be anywhere around 8000 - 9000 years old belonging to Mesolithic period. Technically the place is called Pansoimol or Usgalimol, but I did not find a board using any of these names. It seems there are more such rocks in this area but there was no way for me to find out where. While driving back from the rock, I realized I might be driving on some of the petroglyphs. Some distance ahead there was a huge cut in the rock creating a kind of artificial lake that had emerald green water – looking beautiful, but probably a result of mining in the area.

If pre-history or rock-art interests you, this is a must visit place in Goa.

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