Goa Style ... Diaries

For the longest time ever,I have been dreaming of the Goa style interiors. Does the  mention of Goa make you imagine ... sun swept sand ... thatched roof ... whitewashed walls ... mattresses with throw cushions ... well ! Beeeep ... wrong answer ... that's probably Cancun you are thinking of or may be the Greek islands ... :o)

Definitely not Goa style ... cause the real Goa style is a different thing alltogether ... :)

It is truly an indigineous style ... a style that evolved out of the Portugese, Hindu and Islamic influences.There are elements which strongly speak of local life ... as it was and as it is ...

We took a vacation to Goa before moving to Gurgaon.And let me show you what a beautiful  Goan bunglow I got to enjoy.It is over a 100  years old ... and restored in ways which would make any romantics heart melt ...   O.K so mine was all over the floor... :)

 This is the home of Bennita and Ganesh and their two darling girls Trikaya and Trisha ... and its a very a warm welcome to this bright yellow bunglow  Arco Iris with its beautiful Azulejos tile entranceway.

Goan interiors are often decorated with this beauitful decorative borders ... around the doors ... around inbuilt shelves ... cupboard spaces ... I enjoyed discovering the hardwork that goes into these... many times very ornately handpainted designs.And not surprisingly there are not many involved in this art these days ...

Being authentic to the Goa Style ... Benny and Ganesh have created lovely mosaic  tiled flooring  in all the rooms of their bunglow ... added  to this ,their every growing collection of old Indian colonial furniture ... the drawing room is soooo ... inviting ...with eyes wandering to every corner and not wanting to miss out any details ... while light filters in through tthe beautiful french doors theat open out on to the veranda that  runs all along  front of the bunglow.

 The Bishops chair ... a lovely piece of colonial furniture... reminisent of the Colonial history of Goa.Do forgive the shaky picture the photogapher was overwhelmed ... :)

I am absolutely in love with these chairs ... saw them in a lot of antique stores all over Goa ... some day I'm sure to pick up the entire set ... ;)

The seat at the entrance ... of Goan homes is a very typical feature ... it served many purposes in feudal homes ..and a lot of activities the ladies indulged in happenend here.This here is a beautiful balcony adjoining one of the rooms in the bunglow ... and who but my older girl Aimee enjoyed it the most ... :)

Benny and Ganesh have a passion for collecting... restoring ... and adding new pieces to their collection of furniture ... and these beds ... weee ... the whole feel takes you back into another era... :)

...the true feel of dining in Goa, is not in dining at the Leela Kempinski or the Taj ... its here at the Arco Iris ... the red flooring ... with mosaic borders ...the curtorim wind blowing throughout  the bunglow... :) ... the chairs that had many tales to share if they could ... that they once also belonged to Heta Pandit ... who is an absolute bible for me when it comes to talking about Goa ... and the lady behind the Goa Heritage Action Group

These columns are made of local Laterite stone ...patiently carved piece by piece by a craftman (something not so easy to come by these days) ... but then if you are as passionate as Benny and Ganesh ... you figure your way out and search high and low ... untill the whole bunglow was a piece of authentic Goan restoration...

... the beautiful cast iron grills all over  Goa ... soooo make me wish, I was the pied piper of Hamlin ... walk down the streets and magically all the beautiful grills come off the balconies and follow me away... don't ask me what I'd do with all the goodies ... may be all that excitment would drive me nuts ... treasure  ... treasure at last ... ;) ... don't believe me ... ??? ... you really need to take a walk down the streets of Goa ... :)

You also absolutely must, read the whole story of the restoration of Arco Iris ... here ... here (this one is their Face book page) ... I do hope you enjoyed a peek-a boo into the world that is real Goa Style ... and I shall share more on Goa Style details as I bump across them ... so do tell me what you felt ... was it a wow wee moment for you as well .... :)