Goff the goan dance

Goff is an exotic confluence of colourful cultural strands. The wearing of the plaint-goff represent the quite but conscious assimilation of the impressions left behind by several dynesties, which ruled over goa during past centuries.the dance is annually presented by the peasants community in canacona sanguem and quwpem taluka in the shigmo festival which is the most popular folk festival of goa.
it is a folk dance with cords,manifesting joy and happiness of goan peasants after a beuatiful harvest. it is performed during the shigmo festival in hindu phalgunmonth. each dancer holds a colourful cord hanging at the centre point a of the "Mand" the place of perfomence and starts dancing by involvingother dancers and forming a beuatiful colourful by involving strips at the end of the first movement.
there are four different braids of the Goff. the songs sung by the dancers are dedicated to lord Krishna. ghumat, simel and other melodic instruments accompony. the dance goff has an affiniting with the tribal dance forms of Gujrat.   

Three Kings Church of Goa

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 such place is the Three Kings Church in the Cansaulim village in South Goa. The Three Kings Church is situated at Cuelim hill. The church is famous for the feast of “Three Kings” celebrated every year on 6th January.

According to some people this church is a haunted church .It is said that long time ago there were three 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 committed suicide by consuming poison. King Holger's place is the current Three Kings Church in goa, where there have been reports of sightings and general unrest.

                                                                     
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 you go there before sundown you will be able to enjoy a mind mumbling sunset. The Three Kings 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.

Do visit this magnificent place and preferable in the evening so that you can see the awesome view of sunset from the top of the hill. The Three Kings Church is a must visit place for nature loving tourists.

Mae De Deus

One of Goa's finest creations is the Mae De Deus Church in Saligao, Bardez. Its has got a fantastic view in the evenings and the nights and also  has a paradisical charm. That is the best time to view the Gothic architecture in Goa.

Originally situated at Daujim, a tiny suburb of Old Goa in the 16th century, of which today only the tallest cross on a pedestal is seen amongst shrubs and coconut groves. The church dedicated to the Mother of God or Our Lady came to be built at Bardez in the 19th century. The Saligao Church was inaugurated on November 26, 1873 and its foundation stone was laid on February 7,1867.

It was a dream of the Saligaonkars to see this Church as they had made many efforts in this direction. One such Saligainkar was Francisco Salvador Gama Pinto who discussed the proposal of building a church at Saligao with the archbishop of Goa. The Archbishop followed up this proposal and the inspector of Public works, Major Martins, was asked to draw up a plan for a Gothic Church.

The exquisite wooden statue of Mae De Deus is a beautiful example of Goan workmanship painted in golden colour. This wooden statue was originally from the Mae De Deus Church of Daujim-Old Goa and was taken ceremoniously in a decorated boat across the Mandovi River to Betim, and in a flower bedecked bullock cart over to Pilerne. At Saligao hill, where a band struck a tune, a salvo of 21 gun shots rented the air and thousands of people raised cheers which echoed over the green hill.

The statue was installed in the church. All the black stones which adorn the church in several places were excavated from the site of the Mae De Deus convent in Daujim-Old Goa.

The immaculate white Mae De Deus Church of Saligao has the typical pointed arch, with buttresses supporting its exteriors, belfry, and spikes all so arranged to create a wonderful and first piece of Gothic architecture - the only one of its kind in the whole of Goa. It is not only the pride of Saligaonkars, but for us Goenkars too.

Chopra Fort

Chopra fort , located in Bardez , Goa, rises high above the Chopra river. Before thePortuguese arrived in Goa in 1510, this location was the site of another fort. The fort changed hands several times after Portuguese acquired Bardez. Trying to end the Portuguese rule in Goa, Prince Akbar joined his father’s enemies, the Marathas in 1683 and made this place his base camp. It became the northern outpost of the Old Conquest. After the Portuguese recovered from an encounter with the Marathas, they strengthened their northern defences and provided shelter to the people there.

The present fort was built in 1717, replacing the older fortifications. Across the Chapora river, the Hindu ruler ofPernem, the Maharaja of Sawatwadi who was an old enemy of the Portuguese held the fort for two years after it fell to the Marathas in 1739 in its first test. When Goa's border moved northwards with the acquisition of Pernem as part of the New conquest, the fort lost its military significance towards the end of the century. It is a pleasant place to wander that offers fantastic views north across the Chapora river to Pernem, south over vagator and also far out to theArabian sea in the West.

The fort sits on a prominent position which commands views in all directions. It also has steep slopes on all sides. The fort follows the outline of the higher slopes. This forms an irregular outer wall that uses the natural form to add defensive height to the fortifications. This offers an advantage over dry diteches being dug. At the top of the steep approach track, the main gate is small and unpretentious, but narrow and deep. Depending on defence requirements, the positions ofbastions are irregularly spaced with enormous embrasure for cannon. Each bastion has a cylindrical turret offering a special character to the fort.

Inside the fort, the church, once dedicated to St.Anthony, has disappeared and inside only a few signs exist of the Barracks and housing that once filled this vast area. The wide expanse of open space is only a tumble of stones, where a few herds of goats graze and cashew bushes grow. A natural valley to the beach protected by rocky promotaries provides an excellent natural access to the sea.

Temple of Tambdisurla

The temple was built byHemadri, the minister of the Yadava King Ramchandra. The Jain style construction has led to debates about the origins of the temple, since the Kadamba Dynasty ruled Goa between the tenth and fourteenth centuries. The temple is built in the Hemanpanti style from basalt, carried across the mountains from theDeccan Pleatue and carved craftsmen. It is considered to be the only specimen of Kadamba-Yadava architecture in basalt stone preserved and available in Goa. The temple survived  invansion and theGoa inqusition due to its remote location in a clearing deep in the forest at the foot of theWestern ghatswhich surround the site.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is reminiscent of the temples at Aihole in neighbouring Karnataka. There is a linga (symbol of Lord Shiva) mounted on a pedestal inside the inner sanctum, and local legend has it that a huge King cobra is in permanent residence in the dimly lit interior.

The temple consists of garbahira, antarala and a pillared Nandi mandapa built of basalt. The four pillars, embellished with intricate carvings of elephants and chains support a stone ceiling decorated with finely carved Ashtoken lotus flowers.

The intricate carvings created by skilled craftsmen adorn the interior and the sides of the building. Bas-relief figures of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma, with their respective consorts appear on panels at the sides of the temple. Unusually, the mandap (pillared hall) is covered with a roof of plain grey sloping slabs. The temple faces east so that the first rays of the rising sun shine on the deity. There is a small mandap and the inner sanctum is surmounted by a three-tired tower whose top is incomplete or has been dismantled sometime in the distant past.

There is a headless Nandi (bull, Shiva's vehicle) in the centre of the mandap, surrounded by four matching columns. The symbol of the Kadamba kingdom, an elephant trampling a horse is carved on the base of one of the columns. The river Surla flows nearby and is reachable for ritual bathing by a flight of stone steps.The festival of Mhashivratri is celebrated with pomp and gaiety at the temple by local people residing in surrounding villages. The temple is built in a place which is quite inaccessible and away from the main settlements of the time. The temple is small compared to the average Goan temple.