narakasur in goa 2011

hi everyone.I have posted before about narakasur in goa and few photos of narakasur.now diwali is coming closer so people in goa have started making narakasurs.If you visit goa at this time of year you can see many small and big narakasurs all around.people of all ages take part in making narakasur but it is mostly small kids and youths doing the major work.since few days are remaining now The making of the devil has started!!!!

A lot of efforts are put making these narakasur idols.These narakasur idols are made using wood,grass and paper.first a skeleton has to be built and then complete the statue using grass and sack and paper.the coloring is mostly done on the day before diwali.The huge narakasur idols on takes more than 10 days to make and its not an easy task.It involves lot of artistic work.
i'll be posting more photos of narakasur's so stay tuned :)

Dhalo-a Goan folk dance

hi everyone.Today i would like to write about "Dhalo",which is a popular dance in Goa.Goa has a rich cultural heritage and traditional folksongs and dances form an important part of this cultural heritage of Goa.Goa has many types of traditional folk dances like fugdi,lamp dance,dekhni etc.All these dances are famous in Goa and mostly practiced in rural areas."Dhalo" is one of these dances which is well known and is important part of the Goan culture.This dance is performed only by women.It is a way of worshiping Mother earth for protecting our houses."Dhalo" is performed in the hindu month PAUSHA on moonlit night.It is mostly celebrated for 5,7 or 9 days.
For performing this dance women of any age group can participate.They form 2 parallel rows or semicircle with mostly 12 women in a row.All women in one row form a link between themselves with arm around the back arrangement.They sing mostly konkani or sometimes marathi songs in unison while dancing.The dance basically involves prancing backward and forward.The place where "Dhalo" is performed is referred as "Dhalyacho mand" which simply means in an open space.The "mand" is considered to be a sacred place and wearing footwear in "mand" is not allowed.

The festival begins on full moon day which is called as "Dhalyachi poonav".The dhalo songs are mostly dedicated to nature and often refer to the flora and fauna.The songs sometimes also reflect the stories of their day to day life and their affection with nature.The dhalo comes to end with an even called "mand shimpane" which mean sprinkling water on the "mand".

butterfly beach---a serene beach in Goa

As we know Goa is famous for its beaches.beaches like Vagator,anjuna etc. are very famous.But there are quite a few beaches in goa which are unknown or not so famous among tourists.one such beach is the butterfly beach in Goa.

butterfly beach goa

The butetrfly beach is a serene beach located in the canacona district of Goa.This beach unlike other beaches in goa is away from the glamour of tourism.you won't find shacks,shops or any other tourist facility on this beach.This in indeed a quiet beach with very few visitors.The butetrfly beach is an undeveloped from the tourism point of view.But for those tourist who are in search of peace they can surely get to this secluded beach as there is not much rush here and can enjoy this calm and cool beach.

But its not easy to go to butterfly beach.Either one can hire a local boatman from palolem beach to take you to the butterfly beach or the other way is to reach there through the jungle which is almost one hour walk.while taking the boat ride one can see dolphins sometimes.

3 kings church at cansulim

Goa is visited by millions of tourist every year.There are so many places in Goa which are famous as tourist spot.But there are some places which are worth to be visited by tourists but very few people know about them.one of such place is the 3 kings church in the cansulim village about 15m from velsao in south Goa.

The 3 kings church is situated at Cuelim hill.The church is famous for the feast of 3 kings celebrated every year on 6th janaury.

The 3 kings church

According to some people this church is a haunted church.It is said that long time ago there were 3 portuguese kings living in goa.they often used to fight to gain power in the land but they were tied by the portuguese diplomacy between rulers policy.one of the kings(king holger alvunger) one day invited the other two kings in his place and poisoned them to death.he himself fell out with the public and commited suicide by consuming poison.king holgers place is the current 3 kings church in goa,where there have been reports of sightings and general unrest.

3 kings church seen from the foot of the hill

However this is one of the most scenic spots in Goa.It is worth climbing the hill and getting here since one can get a breathtaking view of surrounding lush green regions and the Arabian sea,and if u go there before sundown u will be able to enjoy a mind numbling sunset.the 3 church is one place to enjoy peace and wonderful natural beauty.The place isn't established as a tourist spot but it is still visited by many tourist and nature loving people.It is a paradise for photographers as well.so do visit this magnificant place and preferable in the evening so that you can see the awesome view of sunset from the top of the hill.

some photographs taken during the sunset which clearly shows the mesmerizing beauty of this place:

The 3 kings is a must visit place for nature loving tourists.

Mahaganapati temple in khandola

Goa is famous for temples.There are many temples in Goa.Many of these temples are famous even outside the state of Goa,and people from neighbouring states like karnataka,maharastra visit these temples.Temples in Goa have historic significance.many temples dates back to 15th  or some even to the13th century.
one such famous temple in Goa is located in the tiny  Khandola village.This temple is one of the oldest temples in Goa.The Ganapati temple was originally located on the Divar island.Goa was under the portuguese rule at that time.portuguese were destroying many temples in goa.This temple was also destroyed by them in 1540 but the devotees of lord ganesha moved the idol to khandepar village in ponda taluka to protect it from the destruction caused by portuguese.After few years the idol had to be moved to narve village for some reason.But in the year 1750 the idol again was moved from narve and settled in khandola which became the permanant place.

old Ganapati temple in khandola

After many years the temple comitte decided to replace the old idol with a new idol.but during the 'prasad ritual',the lord demanded a permanant place in the temple.So the old idol was kept in the temple.
Today we can see 2 idols in the garbagriha ,the new idol established in 1969 and the old 13th century idol which is to the left of the new idol.
This temple is very famous in Goa as well as the neighboring states.At any time during the year one could find lot of visitors to the temple to seek blessings of the lord.The main festival celebrated here is Sankashti Chaturthi.The temple is decorated with lights during this time.
here are some pics of the khandola temple: