case study of goa

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Diebedo francis kere- first african to win pritzker architecture prize, thomas heatherwick – fascinating architect, oscar niemeyer- hero of the modern architecture, chichu art museum: portrayal of japanese brutalism, biomimicry architecture: eastgate centre – harare, zimbabwe, vastu direction for home, top 10 fabulous wooden structures in the world, 10 upcoming futuristic projects in the world: a glimpse into architecture…, architecture of indian cities: top 10 cities for architects., are the skins of larger buildings prefabricated, what is 3d printing technology how it is used in architecture, the best designing software that every architect must use, best laptop for architecture students in 2021, 5 representations of technology in the world of architecture, unveiling the essence of architecture: a comprehensive exploration, architecture juries – 10 things to remember before them, top 20 architecture colleges in the world, top 20 architecture colleges in india, top 20 architecture colleges in canada, kala academy, goa – a well built unbuilding.

A building built in the concept of unbuilding. The building merges with the habitual activities of the people living in the society. A building to express the arts that exhibits the culture and heritage of the society which itself is an art. The art – Kala Academy, Goa. The artist – Charles Correa. However, the Kala Academy is a cultural center built by the Kala Academy Society and funded with the help of the Government of Goa. The Kala Academy Society is a non-profit organization that was established by the government of Goa that helps to promote local and international art forms.

Case Study of Kala Academy

• Architect: Charles Correa
• Funded by: Ministry of Art & Culture of the Government of Goa
• Started in: 1970
• Completed at:1983
• Location: Campal, Panaji
• Site Area: 6.3 Acres

History & Location

 The first chief minister of Goa had a dream of forming a society for arts in the state of Goa. Thus, the Kala Academy Society was formed by the Government of Goa. The society first decided to accommodate an existing built entity but later Rane who has known Charles Correa for a long time approached him. Thus, the art in the name of Kala Academy happened. The building is described as an apex body to develop music, dance, drama, fine art, folk art, literature, etc., and thereby promote the cultural unit of the state of Goa.

The site is located along the banks of the river Mandovi in the city of Campal, Panaji. This place is a mixed-use land with a military hospital, cricket ground, and a park around them. Being located in a beautiful riverfront view which habitats the fishermen to catch fish and relax themselves no wonder the site made Charles Correa excite. However, he designed it in such a way as to avoid any discomfort for the people living in that habitat.

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Planning of Kala Academy

The planning provides the space for exhibition halls auditorium, open-air theatre, lounges, cafeteria, meeting rooms, teaching rooms, black box, rehearsal rooms, and the admin block. The main building, service building, Muktangan, parking area, and exhibition space are divisions of the site. While the ground floor is being used for the public, the first floor carries the academic and administrative activities. With four entries the building had a well-defined pedestrian which never fails to surprise the people walking on the site.

The small gates in the entrances and the beautiful open space on one side with a lawn made the place even more public. The façade of the building which reminds us of the Villa of Savoye had a beautiful pergola that plays with the light and shadow, especially during the day. The entrances are open even at midnight so that the people can come here at any time to enjoy the environment.

Design of Spaces

More than just designing the spaces he just orchestrated it. That is how it should be told. The connection to the indoor spaces with the outdoor spaces just makes the people have a different experience. The poet Ranjit Hoskote once told about the building that “Let us not forget the laterite that forms its key medium – it articulates the flesh and blood of Goa’s architecture, it comes from the soi of Goa, from the soul of Goa.” There is no doubt that he told us the truth.

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Plaza & Art Gallery at Kala Academy

As the main theme of the building is to exhibit the arts belonging to the people of Goa, the main entrance directs us to the spacious plaza which itself is an art. The murals on the walls of the plaza which get mixed with the natural lighting confuse the people as if they were in a street of some other place. The confusingly interesting pattern continues even through the staircase leading to the first floor.

Art Gallery

The art gallery is the place to exhibit the art made by the people of Goa. The wall that carries those arts runs throughout the area for 30m with a height of 1.5m. All four sides are used to exhibit the arts. Spotlighting is used in the gallery with low intensity but pointing all over the wall.

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Dinanath Mangeshkar Kala Mandir (Auditorium) at Kala Academy

The auditorium was named after the great Goa-born singer Dinanath Mangeshkar. The murals of the plaza also continue to the auditorium creating an illusion of balconies where the people sit and enjoy the shows resembling old Goan theatres. Charles Correa approached Maria Miranda who is a great cartoonist to draw the murals of the auditorium which required acoustic extrusions in the drawings. The auditorium has a seating capacity of 1000 seats with a stage opening of 9.6m covering an overall area of 1300sq.m. The height of each raking rises to 10-20cm.

Open-Air Theatre

The open-air theatre happened to be on the east side of the site. Where the stage has a ceiling that is extended from the first floor of the building. With a seating capacity of 2000 (without chairs) the main open-air theatre forms the shape of a double herringbone. It connects to the east road on one side and the main lobby and the cafeteria on the other two sides. The lower seat rises by 30cm with a tread width of 100cm while the higher seat rises up to 45cm. When the seats block the noise from the road, the stage blocks the noise from the riverfront.

Mini Open-Air Theatre at Kala Academy

The mini open-air theatre stays on the north side of the building which can accommodate 300 people. However, with the farthest height of 6m, the open-air theatre is square in shape and covers an area of 56.25sq.m.

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Other Spaces

With other spaces like the black box, preview theatre, library, cafeteria, teaching studio, and the administration offices. Also, the Kala Academy has become the first preference for the people to conduct any International Film Festivals in Goa.

Another important feature is the jetty at the backside of the riverfront connecting the river to the academy. With a beautiful view just like in the movies, the jetty was the entry for the celebrities visiting the International Film Festival. After creating beautiful sceneries and being a favorite love spot for the people visiting the great Kala Academy the function of the jetty came to an end recently due to corrosion.

Being a part of the culture and art of Goa and being art itself. The government decided to break down a part of the structure which is the open-air theatre. After many reviews and reconsiderations, they agreed not to be demolished and also agreed to repair it. This is a building where the habituate of the people overpowers the design instead of the vice versa. By creating wonderful memories and promoting cultural significance the building always stands unique.

Also, read The Center for Development Studies, Trivandrum – A Laurie Baker Masterpiece

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The Open Plan of Conviviality: Kala Akademi, Goa, designed by Charles Correa

• August 12, 2019

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Every place has a program. Homes are shaped around the rhythms of movement and rest we call daily life. Playgrounds are empty so they may be filled by the energy and action of sport. But places can also transcend their conventional programs. They can be much more than the common noun- house, school, post office- that describes (and usually, circumscribes) them. While fulfilling their mandated program, they may also play a role that transcends the common sense of common nouns. This transcendence may be thought of as a core responsibility in some kind of places. For instance, one expects museums, theatres and other such spaces, devoted as they are to joining private utterance to the public, to also become sites of dialogue, and loci of engagement for different players in the city. Sadly, very few places devoted to the arts do that in India. One way in which the majority fail (and a minority succeeds) to transcend their mundane program is through architecture. Part of the successful minority is Kala Akademi, designed by Charles Correa and sited along the river Mandovi in Panjim. The architecture of this artplace (my catch- all term referring to spaces like theatres, museums, and art galleries) is the main source of its potential for transcending the narrow institutional program common to Indian artplaces.

A small confession is in place here. I awoke to the real significance of Kala Akademi’s architectural achievement rather late. Of course, the boldness of its approach was instantly evident when I visited it from Mumbai, where I then lived, in the course of research for a book on the architecture of artplaces in India. Though sprawling wide in comparison with other engaging artplaces like Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, I had found it a place that was easy to soak into. Less a building than a public space roofed by a building, it extended an expansive invitation without lapsing into self-serious monumentality. In fact, there was none of what one tends to associate with the term ‘architecture’. Kala Akademi’s drama lay in its enterable, traversable space, not in sculptural, impenetrable, form. But it was only after I moved to Goa, and began visiting Kala Akademi more regularly, that I began to understand the real nature of its architectural achievement. Three years down the line, it is clear to me that the architecture of Kala Akademi has nudged it towards becoming much more than just another multi-arts complex. I have seen art shows, performances, and films there, of course. But more importantly, I have often chosen to go there, like many others, just for the pleasure of being with a sprinkling of other people in a stimulating public place. Kala Akademi is that scarce resource, a generous and truly convivial space right in the bustle of a small city.

Now that it is there, it appears almost natural that an artplace should be the riverside veranda for a city like Panjim. But, look around anywhere in the country and you realize how rare such a place is. The institutional culture of cultural institutions in India is a fascinating object of study, as of gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands. In a moment of frustration, but without compromising our national taste for hyperbole, one may say that the worst aspects of our culture and our institutions seem to come together when we play the two words together.

To put it gently, museums (may their tribe increase), theatres (may their tribe improve), art galleries and multi-art complexes in India are remarkably blasé about winning the affection of the very people who they are built for. Put equally gently, it appears as if the existential stance of the majority of artplaces in India is: I exist, therefore my job is done. This deft (if dubious) conflation of ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ finds two expressions that form the ends of a spectrum. The ‘mature’ expression of this philosophy leads to artplaces that take a transactional view of their programme and of their duty towards artists and rasikas: buy the tickets here, that way to the exhibit (or performance), go round the corner to search for the toilets, once you are done, leave, do not loiter (or litter). Sorry, no food, except for fifteen minutes during the ‘interval’.

The other kind of artplace builds on the self-congratulation implicit in the conviction that merely existing is the same as doing your job well. Such an artplace is often snooty, or at least dismissive of all kinds of low-life that throngs to enjoy the goodies of culture it offers. It is devoted to upholding the prestige of culture and also to protecting it from the grubby paws of all those who want a piece of it.

Artplace architecture often offers an eager mirror to these institutional attitudes. Thus the Gallery of Contemporary Art at the Government Museum, Chennai is simply non- committal in its expression. The bare box of a building neither invites you in nor does the default design of the exhibits try to hold your interest. It simply stands there, offering neither a space to linger at its entrance nor any visual pleasure to arrest your flight. Like an employee warming his seat enough so a paycheck lands at his table, the building seeks to fulfill its program by merely existing.

The architecture of more elite spaces like National Centre for the Performing Arts is more purposively directed. Built in the 1980s, it seeks to invoke the fading prestige of an abstract Western modernism by offering ‘pure form’- that is, elegant building blocks that have the minimum differentiation, do not appear very penetrable, and therefore actively refuse us any purchase on their meaning. By opening each of the four main buildings on campus in different directions (and on to three different roads), it also ensures (probably unwittingly) that visitors to each facility never encounter those coming for another one. By looking over the heads of visitors and by disabling contact and solidarity among them, it succeeds in keeping them peripheral to the life of the institution, at bay even, in more ways than one.

Rare is the Indian artplace like Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, that actively reaches out, says ‘come in’, and lets you decide how you want to have a good time. Ivan Illich, implacable critic of institutional culture, has a nice term for the Prithvi kind of institution (De- schooling Society, Pelican Books 1976). He calls it a ‘convivial’ institution, as opposed to another kind that he calls the ‘manipulative’ institution. The difference between these two types, again occupying two ends of a spectrum, is fundamentally about the sense of control and choice given to the user. Convivial institutions, as Illich characterizes them, are basically open in programme within realistic limits. Sidewalks, small bakeries, telephone networks are the examples he invokes. People use them voluntarily. They need neither aggressive advertisement nor force (the way manipulative institutions, like schools do) for people to want to use them. More importantly, convivial institutions involve users in activity rather than reducing them to passive consumers. Not surprisingly therefore, they empower users and help them grow in personal terms. The question then is, what kind of architecture would be supportive of the agenda of conviviality?

The design of Kala Akademi’s public spaces provides some answers. The foundational act of design at Kala Akademi is that of opening up. The architecture of Kala Akademi clears the ground, literally, letting the gaze (and moving feet) sweep clean through from the pavement outside to the river beyond. In principle, this place says it is open to the city. No architectural sign of exclusion- apart from the gate which is kept generously wide and low- is visible from the footpath to discourage us from entering. Indeed quite the opposite. This is a building without a plinth, walls and doors with which to keep the world at bay. The ground simply runs in into the shaded heart of the building and out to the open beyond of the garden and promenade by the river. The building extends a notional porch to the pavement, made suggestively grand by a pergola at the roof level of the first floor. This suggestion of a dramatically welcoming civic ‘porch’ (and not some impenetrable sculptural mass) is the big architectural gesture of the building in the direction of the city.

The gesture is apt, since the Kala Akademi building is fundamentally a pavilion (or unattached porch), where the upper floors housing the academic and administrative spaces form a continuous roof over a sprawling and unenclosed public space at the ground level. A pavilion transcends enclosure, and thereby also the paranoia (and schizophrenia?) of the closed building box. In abjuring walls, it also transcends the strict enforcement of any limited program of use, leaving the dweller of the moment to fashion it anew each time. I have seen films, performances (including my son’s school’s ‘annual day’ programme in the huge open air theatre), and art exhibitions at Kala Akademi. I have also been in a small reading group that appropriated different spaces in the campus for its weekly meetings. And I have watched my son turn the seat-clusters sprinkled across the covered plaza into play-sculptures that may be climbed, jumped off, peeped through, and slid across with a forever incomplete hug. At all times, I have learnt to be amazed at the way the static seat clusters become dynamic people sculptures as bodies perch, nestle and depart.

Openness of space does not itself guarantee an open program. The absence of walls and of enclosure can itself be repressive, as at Le Corbusier’s Capitol Complex at Chandigarh, where we find ourselves cast adrift. Places need to have discernible shape and structure. The fragile body- forever breaking out into sweat- needs shelter, seat, and yes, food. The eye likes to make sense of every place, and know what time it is ‘outside’. Most of all however, in a place like Kala Akademi, every one of us hopes for some contact with unknown others. What is the city, and every public place within it, if not a mechanism for putting strangers in touch with each other?

By sheltering an uninterrupted space, Kala Akademi reveals that space can be fruitfully left open in either direction, vertical or horizontal. Where the typical comforting courtyard (an example of vertical openness) gathers a space together towards an inveigled centre, the horizontal freedom of Kala Akademi’s covered plaza prompts us to move away and out towards the gardens, the river and other sun-dappled spaces around. There is no single centre that the architecture sacralises on the ground, and no sense of any agent of the power to say ‘no’ waiting to jump out from behind some wall. Instead, there is a multiplicity of centers in the gridded spread of columns as well as the casual scatter of seat-clusters configured to be minor sculptural presences. These seats are an unusual kindness towards the tiring body, hanging around for the show to start, or restart. Or just plain hanging around with no particular productive end in mind.

When a public space is open in (and to) many senses, and also kind to the body (and being) can urbanity be very far? The canteen (deep inside by the rear garden, but visible very early on through the penetrable covered plaza of the foyer) offers other kindnesses. A beautiful view, breeze from the river, an inside-outside ambiguity (inside because covered, outside because of the breeze, and the dogs and crows who stand by patiently), loose chairs to allow different group-sizes, and food for cheap. The canteen- the only one I have seen that actually begs to be called a café- is where the action is, some action or the other. The late William Whyte, social scientist and student of what makes public spaces tick across the world, put it very simply. People, attract other people, he said. And people come to a place that is kind and hospitable to them. They then bring along other people, and make a place buzz, which in turn makes even more people want to come there. And so on.

A matrix of spatial hospitability encourages people to bring a space like Kala Akademi alive. It invites them to invest their imagination and time to do things within its space that the most creative institutional programmer may never catalyse. These small practices of conversation, argument, dream-selling, solo rehearsal, etc. are the cultural foundations upon which the formal artistic efforts being shaped in the academic spaces on the upper floors (or being presented professionally behind the auditorium walls) will stand or fall. But being inevitably conducted under the radar of the official gaze, these practices- lubricated effectively by cheap, good tea and snacks- populate the fringes of institutional acceptability. They can swing from being ‘simply irrelevant’ to ‘avoidable nuisances’ to ‘possibly subversive’. According to a new and prominently displayed notice, it is no longer legit to use the Kala Akademi canteen for any other purposes than ‘availing of snacks and refreshments’: no unauthorized meetings, no business to be discussed, no nothing, period.

Petition to save Kala Academy

Architecture cannot cure social ills. But it can push for health. This is one government run building that just cannot be locked up, except at its gates as they do during the International Film Festival of India every year. Kala Akademi also shows how much ground architecture can claim for conviviality. Traditions of institutional management, can still win of course. Sometime ago, during a recreational visit to the place, I was amazed to find the large main toilet block locked. Enquiry revealed that an administrative order had decreed that this hitherto taken-for granted-facility would only be kept open while a performance was underway in either the main Dinanath Mangeshkar auditorium or the Black Box. I would have to use the much smaller toilet placed outside the building by the parking lot. I was glad it was not raining. Of course, it probably made perfect sense from many different angles. Except that it went directly against the very welcome writ large over the 80,000 square feet or so of space outside that comparatively small, even if generously red tiled toilet block. The contest for conviviality is on at this artplace (as it always is, everywhere). Watch that space.

The article was first published in Art Connect, Volume 2, Number 2, July- December 2008. Published by India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore.

Link to Academia Site

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Environment, Resources and Sustainable Tourism

Goa as a Case Study

• © 2023
• Ashoka G. Dessai 0

School of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Goa University, Taleigao Plateau, India

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• Provides an in-depth read to guide critical thinking on the complex issue of the impact of tourism
• Discusses the impact of the geodynamics of the environment on the sociodynamics of Goa, India
• Offers a comprehensive text for students, researchers, academics, policymakers, and professionals

Part of the book series: Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences (AGES)

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This book suggests sustainable economy from the viewpoint of tourism fostering low carbon footprint. Focussed on conserving heritage, culture and endemic biota of a crucial biodiversity hotspot of the world, the book discusses the impact of a large population, fast-paced development and excessive consumption of earth resources by tourism in a developing economy.

The book (i) assesses the impact of overexploitation of earth resources on environmental components such as air, water, land and people, (ii) examines the sustainability of tourism on the physical, economic and socio-cultural environment including human lifestyles, (iii) presents  the potential of tourism in promoting sustainable development, poverty alleviation and conservation of nature and  (iv) formulates recommendations for tourism, fostering sustainable development in Goa, India.

The book offers students, researchers, academics and professionals a comprehensive discourse integrating geological and societal perspectives on core issues. It generates critical thinking on the complex issue of sustainable tourism by providing in-depth perspective on peoples of different hues and their role in safeguarding the future of this unique region.

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Sustainable Tourism

Public Policy and Sustainable Alternative Tourism

Tourism and sustainable development in China: a review

• Sustainable tourism
• Biodiversity
• Environmental pollution
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• Waste disposal
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Table of contents (7 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

Ashoka G. Dessai

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Mining industry, water resources, environmental assessment, waste management, back matter, authors and affiliations, about the author.

Prof. Dr. Ashoka G. Dessai has over 40 years of experience in post-graduate teaching and research, initially at Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India, and later at Goa University, Goa, India. He has conducted research in India and abroad and has successfully supervised research leading to M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees. He has published more than 52 research papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals and has been a reviewer for international research journals. 

Prof. Dr. Dessai has authored two books:  The Lithosphere Beneath the Indian Shield:  A Geodynamic Perspective  (Springer Nature, Switzerland) and  Geology and Mineral Resources of Goa  (New Delhi Publishers, India). He has delivered lectures at several universities, professional organisations and research institutes in India and other countries.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : Environment, Resources and Sustainable Tourism

Book Subtitle : Goa as a Case Study

Authors : Ashoka G. Dessai

Series Title : Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1843-0

Publisher : Springer Singapore

eBook Packages : Earth and Environmental Science , Earth and Environmental Science (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023

Hardcover ISBN : 978-981-99-1842-3 Published: 27 May 2023

Softcover ISBN : 978-981-99-1845-4 Published: 14 June 2024

eBook ISBN : 978-981-99-1843-0 Published: 26 May 2023

Series ISSN : 2198-3542

Series E-ISSN : 2198-3550

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XXIII, 234

Number of Illustrations : 2 b/w illustrations, 35 illustrations in colour

Topics : Environmental Geography , Natural Resource and Energy Economics , Tourism Management , Sustainable Development , Water, general , Waste Management/Waste Technology

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by Lester Silveira

Why the Kala Academy is so Important

There is an erroneous notion prevalent in todays soceity that heritage – is something colonial, something ancient. The latest to fall prey to this is the Kala Academy – a bustling centre for the arts on the banks of the River Mandovi in Panjim. Recent leakages have brought the tarpaulin over the affected parts and along with it, calls for the structure to be demolished. A certain part of it, that is. But demolishing part of it and demolishing it entirely is very much the same thing, and must be prevented at all costs.

The Kala Academy was set up by the Government of Goa in 1970 to ‘promote the cultural unity of the territory in the fields of music, drama, dance, literature, fine arts, etc’. It was designed by the legendary Architect Charles Correa, a Goan himself, and was completed by 1983. It instantly became the cultural hotspot in the city, and is a special building in Correa’s international repertoire, being his first in Goa, and is one of the finest examples of modern architecture in the country. For the people of Goa, it has an even greater underlying significance – an additional layer of meaning. In order to understand this, though, one would need to know the context amidst which the building entered the scene.

Goan architecture reached its peak in the 19 th  century – when a rise in social rank coupled with improved economic conditions, among other factors, forged a strong Goan identity. This was directly mirrored through the ostentatious homes and popular public buildings that sprung up in this era. The construction boom in the mid 1900s however, put an unprecedented pressure on the Goan landscape.

The pace of life has always been slower in Goa – but all of a sudden, new factories, an airport, high-rise aprartment blocks and the like all entered the foray with no local architects to guide the process. Designs were bought in from Bombay, or Portugal. New materials like concrete and glass entered the scene, but were not always used appropriately. There was an apparent lack of sensitively designed modern buildings. This lack of character was the case during the Liberation and persisted subsequently thereafter.

What Goa severely lacked was a modern icon – something to serve as a stronghold to pave the way forward. And that is exactly what Charles Correa delivered with this building. Here was finally a building of pedigree, a building that immediately and raptly resonated with the public – as it reflected the aspirations of a modern independent society, but at the same time was firmly rooted in its past.

Almeida, Sarto and Jaimini Mehta reinforce the importance of the building in this carefully written excerpt which deserves to be mentioned in full :

The Kala project undertook significant innovations in spatial organization. A modernist plan-form of post and beam construction on an orthogonal grid offered the architect the necessary variation in dimensions demanded by a programme that makes use of several performance halls, exhibition galleries, informal public gathering places, etc. The relatively low rise mass is spread horizontally and organized around an innovative ground plan with an open ‘street’ going through the entire building. This allows one to enter the building without being self-conscious about entering; it makes an otherwise serious public institution seem less “institutional” and more relaxed and appropriate. It offered respite; a new way forward for society. Both these projects are significant as they created an identity of contemporary Goa and did not merely express a commonly held idea of what Goa is all about. In a contemporary context, they reinterpreted elements — the clustered village and the public street that have only an indirect association with Goa, derived mainly from the Portuguese past. However, they speak of a large and remembered part of Goa and to that extent are credible and successful attempts at defining and expressing our identity.’

On display in the Academy are Correa-esque elements – the transition between enclosed and open to sky spaces, the non-building, the use of visual imagery – like Mario’s figures in the Dinanath Mangeshkar Auditoium or the trompe-l’œil in the open street. These blur the distinction between real and illusionary, and provide a theatrical setting to a theatrical place. Goans will subconsciously relate to this imagery that adorns the transitory spaces – similar to the elaborate backgrounds used in tiatrs (Goan dramas – which are a regular event at the Academy itself). For architecture students, it is a marvel, a name that is at the tip of their tongues. For locals, it is arguably the most famous modern cultural building – one that no one needs introduction to.

Perhaps what makes the Kala Academy so distinct is how it ‘gives back to the city’. In the 21 st  century, public space has become all the more an important commodity; a direct physical component of human rights. The very essence of the whole design is the internal street which, through little subtleties (broad steps, use of levels, light pergolas), draw the pedestrian inside from the main road and towards the Mandovi river, with chai and samosas on the way at the cafeteria. By crafting this experience, Correa has given the plot of land back to the public – a rare proposition in this day and age, and truly ahead of its time considering it was built around 35 years ago.

This breezy corridor is incredible. On a regular evening, one can find people from all walks of life and of all age groups spending time out on these broad steps chatting away. It is arguably the most inviting building in the country.

The other amazing facet of the building is its low mass and human scale. It lacks ‘sculptural and monumental ambition’, as Himanshu Burte puts it, in a good sense. As Correa implemented in several other projects, the non-building takes the back seat. By being subordinate, it facilitates activity and encourages wandering. Its greatness therefore, lies in its nothingness.

Over the years, the Academy has contributed immensely to the cultural identity of the region. Within its auditoriums, amphitheatres and classrooms, young budding musicians, tiatrists, artists and other talents have been groomed and have gone on to excel.

For all these reasons, the Kala Academy is nothing short of heritage, and is one of the most, if not the most important modern building in the whole of Goa. It was an instant favourite of the people in the 80s, has endeared itself to each successive generation almost seamlessly, and continues to be a big hit among the present generation. It goes to prove that heritage has no age bar, no qualifying ‘number of years’. It definitely warrants preservation at any cost.

What next for the building? After the government made claims to demolish the structure, the High Court has stepped in and taken suo motto cognisance on the matter. It ordered the state Government to sign an affidavit stating that they would conduct a credible structural audit of the building and would avoid making any hasty decisions regarding its demolition. Various fraternities has come out in solidarity, all appalled at the decision to demolish the building for issues as trivial as leakages.

Nondita Correa Mehrotra, daughter of Charles Correa, an architect herself, and also the Director of the Charles Correa Foundation expressed:

‘The CCF is confident that we have the knowledge pool to work with the government in finding a solution for structural restoration of the building. The foundation would like to appeal to the Government of Goa and the citizens of Panaji to involve us in the process of addressing the problems that have arisen at the Kala Academy, in a way that preserves the architecture, art and integrity of the building’

She has also started an online petition which hopes to raise as many signatures as it can before the Court Hearing. At the time of writing, it has already amassed 18,000 signatures.

Since its inception, several attempts have been made to reinterpret Goan architecture in today’s context. And though they may be good and honest, Kala Academy will always be the first serious attempt to do it, and probably the most endearing one of them all. Hopefully, the building will be conserved in a sensitive manner. The locks have come on the affected parts of the building while the matter is being resolved. But the open street is, and always will be left open. Everyday, hundreds of people continue to take part in this orchestrated walk, unknowingly experiencing the magic of Charles Correa.

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Posted by: Lester Silveira

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One thought on “ why the kala academy is so important ”.

I am truly heartbroken to know the govts plan. I was among the pilot batch of kala academy in Kathak. The academy has been my home literally with endless hours of practicing and performances in dinanath auditorium, black box, amphi , open space and open air audi. I sincerely hope the govt of Goa finds a better solution with CCF. I pray fellow Goans and artistes stand together for Kala Academy.

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Charles Correa: Cidade de Goa

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‘Portuguese architecture’ in Goa has little to do with the Portuguese and everything to do with Goa

Property brokers love to peddle ‘portuguese homes’. but these unique goan structures aren’t found anywhere else in the world..

Goa’s remarkable and unique colonial-era built heritage is comprehensively misunderstood and wilfully misrepresented. The most common error is to view the Latinate architecture of India’s smallest state via the prism of the rest of the subcontinent’s experience of British colonialism, where every aspect of planning and construction was dictated by the European overlords. But that was not the case in Goa, where the Portuguese ran out of money and energy by the cusp of the 18th century, and almost all the buildings that followed until decolonisation in 1961 were triggered, conceived and executed by ambitious natives.

In the new millennium, an overheated marketplace has developed for marvellous old Goan dwellings, which are bought and sold as “Portuguese houses”. About this lobotomised real estate shorthand, the Goan architect and Secretary of Goa Heritage Action Group Raya Shankhwalker writes:

“Ill-informed brokers have coined the term, which reflects a deeply ignorant conception of the complex, multi-layered evolution of architecture in Goa. It is wrong, even offensively wrong, and it is extremely irritating to see the term actually gain popularity instead of being discarded. The use of local materials, crafts and skills make the Western-influenced Goan house a unique architectural expression.”

These nuances matter beyond mere semantics, because the many-layered syncretic Goan identity is being questioned anew in the current national political atmosphere charged with fanciful notions of purity, and a purportedly unpolluted past. Recently, Goa’s residents were shocked to read that the central government will soon establish a regional centre of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts “to promote local indigenous culture to counter Portuguese cultural influence” and “launch a massive hunt for folklore artistes which have nothing to do with Portuguese culture”.

Once again, the intricate cultural expressions of Goa that have arisen over millennia of contact with the outside world, most specifically from 450 years as the centrepiece of the Portuguese maritime empire, are treated as suspect, as though they do not qualify as Indian enough. The argument is quite like what continues to rage about the Taj Mahal, which the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sangeet Som called “a blot on Indian culture…built by traitors”. His colleague GVL Narasimha Rao agreed, “It is a symbol of barbarism.” More worrisome still was Som’s boast, “What history are we talking about? The creator of Taj Mahal imprisoned his father. He wanted to wipe out Hindus. If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and we will change this history.”

The threats sounded very much like warning shots in Goa, where many churches are undeniably built on sites previously occupied by Hindu temples (and most likely Buddhist, Jain and animist shrines before them) but are nonetheless cherished today by pilgrims and devotees of all religions. In this regard, it is exceedingly important to understand the many ways in which Goan experience of the Portuguese Estado da India is unique in the history of colonialism. In this riparian sliver of the Konkan coast, after an initial heyday that lasted for a couple of centuries, the Portuguese only managed to maintain control via painful negotiations with the local elites, who continually extracted considerable concessions to shift the balance of power in a way that was both alien and offensive to other European contemporaries.

Unique identity

Two additional potent factors exacerbated this singular situation. From the very beginning of colonial rule there was an official promotion of intermarriage with the locals. Later, the products of these alliances, along with all other Goans, were granted equal rights and freedoms with all other citizens of Portugal.

All this appalled the British no end. In his classic travel book, Goa and the Blue Mountains , the usually dauntless adventurer Richard Burton blanched when confronted by “black Portuguese” who enjoyed “perfect equality, political and social, between the two colours”. Fully conscious of the inherent irony, he voiced outrage that “the native members of a court-martial, if preponderating, would certainly find a European guilty, whether rightly or wrongly , n’importe. ” It caused him considerable distress to witness Europeans subjected to parity with Indians.

Goa and the Blue Mountains was published in 1851, a full generation after secular, liberal republicanism was being practiced in Lisbon. By this time, a comprehensive internal rout was underway in Portuguese possessions around the Indian Ocean, as Goans seized both economic and political power in a wide arc from Mozambique to Macau (both of which served under Goan governors). At home, Panjim rose as Nova Goa, the three-dimensional expression of an assertive, self-confident native worldview. As the passionate city historian Vasco Pinho writes, here Panjimites “were assured of the rights to life, property and initiative. Grill-free houses, kept open even at night, spoke for the unsung freedom from fear the like of which has existed perhaps nowhere else”.

Citizens of the world

These well-travelled Goan citizens of the world, taking advantage of extraordinary liberties earned long before other Indians attained equality, generated distinctive cultural expressions. The emergent “cozinha de Goa” or cuisine of Goa amalgamated influences from Brazil, Africa, Europe and East Asia with ingredients and technique of the Konkan. Indo-Portuguese art turned secular, eventually seeding modern India with a series of masters like Antonio Trindade, Angelo da Fonseca and Francis Newton Souza. The late scholar Jose Pereira writes: “It was in Goa that Indian musicians first began to compose in western musical forms, incorporating into them motifs and nuances of their own immemorial tradition…Goans not only initiated the westernisation of Indian music, but also pioneered in Indian ethnomusicology.”

Pereira, a polyglot and a polymath, was a compulsive cataloguer. In a series of landmark books, capped by the tome Baroque India: The Neo-Roman Religious Architecture of South Asia , he made the pioneering effort to meticulously delineate just how different Goan churches are from any others in the world. In an article in a special issue of Marg magazine in 1980, titled Goa Dourada, he wrote, “The roots of the Baroque are partly Hebraic and West Asian, Christianity having arisen in the part of the world, but only in India was it able to establish contact with so many of its antecedents.”

In the heavily trafficked entrepot of Goa, Pereira writes:

“The Baroque did not come into an architectural void, but into areas which had long established modes of building. In the South were the temples of stately temples of venerable dynasties, the Pallavas, Cholas, Cheras and Chalukyas, and of the kings of Vijaynagar [and] Adil Shah II, the chief innovator of his dynasty at Bijapur where colossal mosques and tombs were soon to rise. Gujarat was graced by the elegant traceries and marble arabesques of its mosques and Jain temples. The Baroque…like the crystal of the Vedanta metaphor in contact with flowers of many colours – came to be tinged by the traits of these several traditions.”

Indigenous treasures

If Pereira’s scholarship provided the hardware for Goan architecture’s case for reckoning on its own terms as an Indian form with global significance, the killer software was provided in the 21st century by Paulo Varela Gomes, the passionate Indophile Portuguese architectural historian who passed away last year. Over two highly effective stints as the delegate to India of Lisbon-based Fundação Oriente , this relentlessly curious and open-minded professor of the University of Coimbra came to the conclusion that he was viewing “churches and houses that are unique in the world history of architecture” and decided to delve into the roots of how this stunning oeuvre came into existence.

In his superb study Whitewash, Red Stone (Yoda Press, 2011), Varela Gomes touches on the general scholarly consensus “that the houses built in Goa…in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries constitute an extraordinarily coherent and distinct current in the panorama of housing around the world. These houses are now being named ‘Portuguese Houses’ perhaps because of the influence of tourism since ‘Portuguese’ is a more exotic denomination than Goan…There is no need to point out that houses such as those in Goa exist nowhere in any town or village in Portugal, Brazil, or Portuguese-influenced Africa. They are solely Goan.”

But as important and perceptive as those comments are, the truly invaluable contributions of Varela Gomes come from his highly persuasive interpretative study of Goan church architecture, where he strikes bullseye unerringly:

“The reason for the hybrid character of Goan church architecture has often been explained as the result of the fact (more often than not undocumented by building documents) that they would probably have been ornamented by converted local craftsmen and artists, and also sometimes, by Hindu or Muslim painters, artisans and sculptors…To me, this explanation, as all others based on ‘influences’ and ‘contacts’ fails to account for the character and integrity of the churches of Goa.” 

“One can see Portuguese vault composition, Flemish vaulting or ornament, Bijapuri tower design, Konkan stucco patterns and ornamental design,” wrote Varela Gomes. “But the churches as overall buildings did not result from the sum of their constitutive parts. Their builders and patrons knew how they wanted a Catholic church to look and how they wanted it to be experienced. Their understanding, I believe, was not Portuguese, Flemish or Indian, but Goan Catholic or Indo-Portuguese. To anyone with architectural or artistic sensitivity, these churches don’t seem to be the end-result of a compromise but the affirmative artistic statement of a cultural position.”

That cultural stance is simply native pride. Goans were the first Indians to seize the reins of their destiny, and they were not shy about expressing highly evolved aesthetic and cultural preferences. This is the crucial difference between the colonial structures in Goa and Mumbai or Kolkata. These “were not buildings imposed upon Goans, or buildings negotiated between Goans and foreign prelates or authorities…they were buildings by Goans, designed by Goan architects and masons, including Goan Catholic priests, and in many cases, commissioned by Goan landowners or Goan local communities”.

In other words, they are an indigenous treasure, treated exactly as such by the natives of Goa, who will happily pay their respects at churches and temples without discrimination. This universalist face of Goan Catholicism can be seen at the exquisite Baroque marvel that is Santana de Talaulim church on St. Anne’s “cucumber feast” day on July 26, where huge crowds flock to petition the deity for male offspring, but only a small minority are Catholics. Another example is the annual celebration of the “Apostle of the East”, St. Francis Xavier, at the world heritage precinct, including Se Cathedral (the largest church in Asia) and Bom Jesus Basilica, where tens of thousands of Hindus and Muslims arrive from all over the country to pay their respects.

Far from foreign, there could be nothing more beautifully Indian in every aspect of the practices involved. That acceptance is precisely what Mulk Raj Anand wanted for Goa’s churches. In his introduction to that seminal issue of Marg bristling with Jose Pereira’s contentions, he wrote:

“There has been so far, through the weight of the great religious archetypes of Hindu temples on our minds, a noticeable allergy to the dynamic churches and cathedrals of the Christians everywhere in India. Now, in the face of the polymorphic architecture of Goa, one hopes the revelations of the gigantic churches, with their richness of adumbration of forms, with the foliage of winged leaves, the mythic signs and pregnant symbols, the spiral-like arches, the dynamics of the mellifluous Christian art of Goa will become part of the cosmic labyrinths of holiness which are everywhere in our land.”

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Architecture of goa: seeking vision and identity — the current scene.

With Goa, independence from centuries of Portuguese rule, and the subsequent political integration with India, have led to a curious dilemma: While Goa seeks to be part of the larger Indian polity, culturally our society has become more conscious of its Goan identity, and wants to preserve and express it. Like music and literature, architecture has sought to express this "Indian yet Goan" character.

Interestingly, this concept of Goanness is still being evolved; we will 'know' what constitutes Goan architecture only when we see it expressed in temporal forms. A survey of architecture in the forty years since independence shows various strands of this search for expression; this essay, however, will examine not just the present architectural trends but also trends that began to reveal themselves in the last years of Portuguese rule.

In the past, Goa's identity was defined by its beautiful natural environment together with the prevalent Indo-Portuguese and vernacular styles of architecture. Since architecture mirrors local material culture, and there had been little change in that culture for centuries, Goan architecture remained relatively static until the 1960s.

However, a few stray examples of a far different architectural style did crop up. The earliest, the Mandovi Hotel at Panaji, was built to cater to the influx of visitors expected to attend the Exposition of St. Francis Xavier in 1952. There being no architects in Goa then, the hotel brought them in from Bombay, then designed the Mandovi, our first multistoried building, in the Art Deco style then prevalent in that city. The Art Deco style may thus have been a necessary stepping stone to a more robust modernity.

A truly modem building, the original airport terminal at Dabolim, came up in the mid-1950s when Benard Geddes was Goa's Governor. The word "modem" is used here to mean something more particular than "contemporary"; it means the new type of architecture that is contributing to the art of architecture. The designs were prepared in Portugal, as the project was under the Overseas Ministry. Making extensive use of large glass areas, wooden partitions, and hollow block external walls, it was one of the finest small airport buildings in the world. Unfortunately it is now off-limits to the public as it has been taken over by the Naval Air Wing. 

Simple plans, functional design ...

The last few years of Portuguese rule, under Gen. Vassalo e Silva, saw quite a lot of construction undertaken by the government. The Governor, an engineer by profession, indeed several bright architects from Portugal and Goa into the Brigada ; their simple and functional designs made use of the latest structural methods and materials. Examples of this were the one ­room village school, the Junta godowns at Cortalim ferry, the military barracks at Ponda, and the military chapel at Rawanfond, Margao.

The prototype school, rectangular with a small verandah, used hollow-block walls, operable glass louvers, and a reinforced cement concrete roof; a mural of glazed blue decorative tiles flanked the entrance. The simple chapel plan featured a steeply sloping reinforced cement concrete roof slab over hollow-block walls with pre-cast grilles for light and ventilation.

In the same period a plan for Old Goa included landscaping the area between the Se Cathedral and the Born Jesus church and installing a statue of the poet Luis de Camoes. Stating that the facade of Born Jesus was meant to be in exposed laterite, the engineers and architects had the existing plaster stripped off. Now we know that the plastering helped protect the walls from weather and also conformed to the rule that churches had to be painted all white.

Building spurt followed Liberation lull

With Liberation, an initial lull was followed by a spurt in building very undistinguished Bombay-style storied apartment blocks, a way of living hitherto alien to Goa. The architects were either from Bombay or had been trained there. At that time even the very poor in Goa had a house to live in; it might have consisted of just mud walls and a coconut thatched roof, but it was still a house. Middle-class families had good homes in salubrious environments in the villages. But with good schools, cinemas, and other recreational facilities coming up in towns, and the public transportation system very poor, people opted to move into the towns.

Thus, apartment blocks proliferated. This brought in a breed of developers who, to maximize their profits, built cramped flats with rooms like cubby holes, which unfortunately were quickly snapped up; and so it continues till today. Still, two notable exceptions can be listed. The first group-housing scheme of its kind in Goa, at the Patto Bridge in Panaji, consisted of individual two-storied houses in a well-planned layout. Another exception, the Cosme Matias Menezes building at Margao, had well-planned spacious flats on each floor and the company's retail outlet at ground level.

With storied blocks coming up, sloping mangalore-tiled roofs gave way to flat reinforced cement concrete slab-terraced roofs. This trend carried over to individual bungalows as well. Though apartment blocks in general were very undistinguished, there was much innovation in other building types.

In the 1960s, the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary at Siridao was the first to break away from the prevailing Indo-Portuguese style. It followed a simple cruciform plan; the equally simple external elevations expressed the volumes within. The church with its attached bell tower sits surrounded by fields and a waterway.

Photogenically right, but not right for Goa

During this same period, three buildings strongly influenced by Le Corbusier came up: the Minor Seminary at Pilar, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries at Panaji, and the Carmelite Monastery Church at Margao. The first two, with their elevational treatment and structures for recreational activities on the roof, were photogenically very appropriate for architectural magazines, but actually not suited for Goa. The exposed concrete walls accumulated heat and became badly disfigured after the rains due to fungus formation.

Graphically designed fenestration enhanced the Carmelite church's very sculptural quality. This building was planned according to the new liturgy being introduced in the Catholic Church; the fan-shaped seating focused on the altar, which had brilliant light flooding it from windows set high in the bell tower.

The Don Bosco Church at Panaji, built in the 1970s, also had fan-shaped seating; roof beams converging over the altar reinforced the focusing effect. Later, when the church at Bambolim was built in the 1990s, the lightness of the wonderfully airy space within it was emphasized by the Mangalore-tiled roofing over a light steel structure. Because of its proximity to the national highway, a high blank wall serves as the roadside facade against which the altar sits. From this, its highest point, the roof slopes down gently on all sides.

Stylized temple columns, rooted in history

No comparable breakaway from the traditional has taken place in Hindu temple architecture. Existing temples have often been subjected to inappropriate and tawdry additions and alterations; and even new temples are being built without seeking to find a way whereby temple architecture would speak to our new and very different age.

For a notable exception we must turn to the Shree Salisthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevotham Math in South Goa. Here, the contemporary stylized forms of the columns in verandahs and courtyards have been derived from the post-Chalukyan period, while the roof's pyramidal shapes speak of local temple architecture.

With tourism flourishing, hotels have proliferated, especially along the coast. Ironically, this sector did not innovate and explore elements rooted in the cultural milieu; instead, seeking to attract rich Western tourists, the luxury hotels indulged in ostentatious decor bordering on the ridiculous when they depicted a distant period in history or even another exotic country.

Gulf expatriates brought new wealth into Goa, resulting in increased demand for planned housing developments. Unfortunately, tasteless and overly decorative bungalows took centre stage, vying to outdo each other.

By the 1970s, the modem International Style had come to be identified with the functional but characterless 'box', devoid of all cultural references; fortunately, it never found a niche in Goa.

Hotel all clustered Village, art academy as open ...street

The search for an appropriate architectural response will thus have to be looked for elsewhere, and the answer could be in the popular Hotel Cidade de Goa in Dona Paula, a serious attempt to reinterpret Goa's vernacular architectural language, by overlaying it with Portuguese urbanism. The plan-form is a simple parallel wall structure placed perpendicular to the contours; subtle variations in the projections of the facades create an impression of a clustered Mediterranean village.

Another example, built around the same time, is the Kala Academy, a large cultural institution on the banks of the Mandovi at Panaji. The Kala project undertook significant innovations in spatial organization. A modernist plan-form of post and beam construction on an orthogonal grid offered the architect the necessary variation in dimensions demanded by a programme that makes use of several performance halls, exhibition galleries, informal public gathering places, etc.

The relatively low rise mass is spread horizontally and organized around an innovative ground plan with an open 'street' going through the entire building. This allows one to enter the building without being self-conscious about entering; it makes an otherwise serious public institution seem less "institutional" and more relaxed and appropriate.

Both these projects are significant as they created an identity of contemporary Goa and did not merely express a commonly held idea of what Goa is all about. In a contemporary context, they reinterpreted elements — the clustered village and the public street that have only an indirect association with Goa, derived mainly from the Portuguese past. However, they speak of a large and remembered part of Goa and to that extent are credible and successful attempts at defining and expressing our identity.

These lessons were lost with the advent of the Post-Modernist style. Exuberant columns, pediments, entablatures and the like were pasted on to facades giving rise to an architecture that would be more appropriate in Disneyland. Fortunately this trend seems to be petering out and the task of identity formation goes on. 

It can be seen particularly in three projects: the hotels Nilaya at Arpora, the Pousada Tauma at Calangute, and the Coconut Creek at Bogmalo. Together they represent a conscious attempt at organizing this type of building in a new way by splitting it into smaller pavilions spread around the site, interspersed with lush Goan landscape and water. One sees the whole only as so many fragmentary images that are still in harmony with nature; landscape becomes a very important partner in place-making. The boundaries between what is nature and what is man-made are blurred, as is the case in rural Goa.

The "Houses of Goa" Museum, located on a small triangular traffic island within private property, is a highly personal statement by its architect, and houses a private collection of elements of Goan residential architecture. The building flares out from its small base creating a projecting ship-like prow where two bulging sidewalls meet, so locals have nicknamed it the "Titanic". The flaring-out provides additional exhibition space on each successive upper floor. These areas are further augmented by floors projecting out of the building, supported by metal pipe brackets.

The museum's bold character transcends the limitations of its small size. It seeks no justification on the basis of functionalism, or the application of a new technology. Rather, it presents itself as a possible icon of Goa, with a " take it or leav e it" attitude; it presents a bold and confident Goa.

Mozaic, Goa- Pioneering Sustainable Architecture of Regional India

Beacon of sustainability since the times when architecture fraternity was devoid of the new age world, Mozaic has stood out over the years due to its unique solutions and holistic approach and consideration towards the environment. Under the guidance of architect Dean D’ Cruz, the firm has focused on sustainable building practices while keeping the regional sentiments intact. Most of the designs are earthly combined with cost-effective strategies and have a subtle fluidity that effortlessly connects the indoors with the outdoors. 

The firm believes in the coherent disposition of spaces with a sense of functionality and climatology while also being constantly aware of the future consequences. 

Architect Dean D’ Cruz moved to Goa after completing his graduation from J.J. School of Architecture, Bombay. He initially worked as an assistant to Gerard Da Cunha and got inspired by Laurie Baker’s basic design approach, which Gerard also adopted. He subsequently realised the beauty of the intrinsic details in the hands-on approach towards design rather than focusing only on the outcomes. Eventually, when he co-founded Mozaic, he instilled those principles of sustainability in his work and, thereupon, became one of the pioneers of environment-friendly and cost-effective buildings.

Now, let’s look at a few projects by Mozaic:

1. Laguna Anjuna (Traditional Boutique Hotel)

Nestled amidst the grove of coconut and various fruit trees in the seaside village of Anjuna, is the traditional Portuguese style resort of Laguna Anjuna. Taking inspiration from the conventional dwelling style of Goa, the resort design comprises thick laterite stone cottages with tile-roofed high ceilings, carved pillars and lintels. With its exceptional site planning skills, Mozaic has conceptualized interlaced courtyards with cobblestone pathways and successfully preserved the existing trees on site. 

Today, the hotel is one of its kind, with innovative spaces immersed in nature and close to the traditional roots along with a touch of sustainability.

2. Commander Narayanan’s Residence (Low- Cost Residence)

Sustainable in its spirit, the residence imbibes a subtle tone of traditional values and a hint of ingenious craftsmanship. Stacked into three levels, it stands on a hilltop near Vasco da Gama. The residence carefully uses the hill rock for foundation as it uses Laterite Stone for the entire construction. Adorned with the rustic vibe, the residence calmly absorbs into its context with rough exteriors and equally simplistic interiors. However, the innovation is at various levels, and the design also uses local materials such as coconut wood and shells in the interiors, which creatively reduces the footprint.

Despite the cost-effective aspect, the earthy abode proficiently creates a design metaphor. While the design aims towards repaying the site with a minimal carbon footprint, the roof is a total reflection of the site as the sloping roof perfectly aligns with the slope of the hill.

3. Karwar Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption at Karwar, Karnataka, is remarkable in the domain of Sacral Architecture. It creates renewed perspective towards religious buildings while defining a distinctive presence with utter simplicity. The congregational space is encompassed with granite walls, twelve tree-like columns and a roof with sustainable Mangalore tiles. However, redefining the conventional image of the space, it also forges numerous metaphors out of Christianity. While the twelve columns represent the Twelve Apostles, a mini pond is designed near the entrance to signify an actual Baptismal Font with seven steps relating to the seven Sacraments.

Furthermore, the entire building is conceptualised in the form of a Roman amphitheatre-like space marking the actual origin. The gradual unfolding of the entire area gives rise to several transitions giving scope for accommodating different size groups. The stepped layout efficiently helps in giving better viewing. While the roof floats above the granite walls, the entire area rises and then transcends down ultimately towards the sky-lit altar.

4. Mahua Kothi (Jungle Lodge)

Situated near the obscured expanse of the Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh, the lodge is a culmination of a resort in the spirit of mud houses. Commissioned by Taj, the lodge stands relevant to the context it is built in and has adopted local building methods and materials. The cottages referred to as ‘Kutiyas’ are mud houses with sloping roofs giving an earthy vibe along with rustic interiors. 

The project strikes a balance between the need to be sustainable and eco-friendly, in coordination with the site context and facilitating high-end resort facilities while being as natural and organic as possible. Without the use of fancy technologies to be sustainable and green, the regionalist approach brings in the ideal sustainability quotient required.

5. Nilaya Hermitage

Nilaya Hermitage is a traditional style boutique hotel and is another excellent display of sustainable techniques by Mozaic. The 8 room hotel is situated in Arpora, Goa, on a hilltop and overlooks the beautiful stretches of the beach. While it imbibes a cosmic ideology in the room interiors, the exteriors are equally rough and earthy with exposed stone textures. Built with the stone excavated from the hill behind, it advocates the use of locally sourced materials as in other sustainable projects by the firm. Besides, it also reuses old artefacts such as temple columns coupled with renewable coconut timber for its roofing.

Rich in its aesthetic , it also exhibits the powerful and stylish use of mosaic as an eco-friendly measure to design the different cosmic themes of sun, moon, earth, air, fire and stars.

Kanika Trivedi is an architect and a writer who believes in Design Activism. Architectural writing can be a strong means to spread awareness about the underlying issues in architecture fraternity. She also believes that a space is nothing without its context and so there is a lot to learn while you incessantly explore new circumstances and their interpretations.

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Innovation in Digital Organizations – Case Study of Nykaa

Digital organizations.

• Venkatesh Naga Devaguptapu Goa Institute of Management

The case deals with the evolution and growth of a leading e-commerce organization operating in the niche space of beauty and fashion. The organization has formalized the business in its area. Due to its online business model, its growth remained intact during the COVID period. The organization is led by Ms. Falguni Nayyar, the founder and women entrepreneur who ventured into the space in her early 50s, defying the norms.  The organization has established for itself a successful and profitable track record. The organization has recently ventured into stock markets for IPO (Initial Public Offering) and is valued at USD 7.5 Billion. The case study captures and provides comprehensive insights into the learner's evolution, growth, and strategy.

Author Biography

Venkatesh naga devaguptapu, goa institute of management.

A seasoneed HR professional with over 20 years of functioanl, research and teaching experience

Currently working as professor with GIM, Goa

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Tourism and the Environment Case Studies on Goa, India, and the Maldives

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ANIL KURUTHICODE Haridasan

Dr Suresh Kumar Kundur

Introduction The Maldivian archipelago located 500 km from southern tips of both India and Sri Lanka. Is a beautiful string of 1,190 low-laying coral islands scattered across the equator in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, giving us a rare glimpse of what is aptly described as tropical paradise. Just consider this sparkling white sunkissed beached, crystal-clear lagoons studded with profusely colored corals; azure warm seas with an undisturbed exotic marine life palm-fringed island the providing serenity all of it summarized by the famous Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta on describing Maldives as “one of wonders of the world”

Kalidas Sawkar

F M Nadaf Nadaf

In the 21st century, tourism has become an indispensable component of for any economy. Tourism has a huge potential to bring economic development due to its multiplier effects. Similarly, tourism also plays a vital role in the socio-cultural integration of a country and brings great changes in the local population with regard to jobs, income, standard of living, exchange of culture, ideas etc. Tourism is vital to the Economy of Goa. All these years more emphasis was given to the development of beach tourism. As a result of which, beaches of Goa are intensively used and abused in the last half a century. Hence, for the sustainable development of tourism in Goa, there is a need to promote nature based tourism. This paper which is largely based on secondary information, explores the possibilities of taking tourism beyond the golden, sunny and sandy beaches of Goa.

IJSRP Journal

Tourism is an important activity that has been present across the world for ages. Notwithstanding its numerous merits and benefits, tourism has its weaknesses and shortcomings too. This paper attempts to provide a balance sheet of the economic and socio-cultural impacts of tourism on Goa, a state in India known for its relatively tourism-centric economy. Based on the same and on experiences drawn from other tourism dependent regions across the country and the world, the paper draws a list of options for Goa for the future – options that would minimize the problems created by unplanned tourism while at the same time extracting the maximum that planned and responsible tourism can offer.

isara solutions

Interal Res journa Managt Sci Tech

Both population explosion and environmental degradation are becoming a challenge in tourism development. In the context of India, this seems to be proving to be absolutely correct. The development work being done to meet the needs of the growing population is harming the natural resources and their consumption is also increasing rapidly. As long as the growing population does not stop, the wastage of natural resources will not stop. The speed with which the population is increasing in India is really a matter of concern. Due to this increasing population, unemployment and poverty are also increasing in the country. The tourism industry is playing an important role in generating employment and foreign exchange. It is the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country, which has an important place in the country's GDP. But the tourism industry is also facing many difficulties due to environmental degradation. Due to the environment, there is a decline in foreign and domestic tourists, due to which there is a possibility of reduction in employment and foreign exchange. Therefore we can say that both population explosion and environmental degradation are presenting a challenge before the tourism industry. There is an urgent need for the government to pay more attention to this and should sincerely take concrete and necessary steps to remove it.

Manoj Patel

nitesh ugavekar

Tourism, as a social event, brings a transformation in the society, due to long guest, host association but many times, tourist destinations remain as image unique cultural identity. Goa, a beach tourist destination in India, is one of the most preferred tourist destination that has witnessed the pros and cons of tourism. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the perceptions of cultural change at selected tourist destinations of South Goa district, Goa- India. The following study is purely field based, where in 337 responded were surveyed through a questionnaire at six coastal tourist destination, where tourism is the prime activity. The analysis reveals that majority of the respondents agree that there is positive as well as negative impacts due to tourism. Further, Factor analysis resulted in four tourism-related factors: Cultural Enhancement, Adverse Effects and Economic Developments & Threat to the local culture.

Dr. PRAVEEN RIZAL

Tourism sector is not only a growth engine but also an employment generator of the nation. Nevertheless, it is the number of tourist arrival which defines the present status and future prospects of tourism. Further, various measures have been used to rank the top tourism economy in the world especially on the basis of tourist arrival, tourism receipt, tourism expenditure etc. The present study is an attempt to overview and rank the comparative status of tourism among the Indian states, with the help of Density of Tourist Population (DTP). The study concludes that DTP can be used as an easy and simple alternative method to rank the states. According to DTP ranking, Delhi, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu has been ranked as the top five states and Union Territories (U.Ts), and Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya are the lowest five states. The present study advocates for sustainable tourism policy in top ranked states/U.Ts and Tourism destination development policy in lowest ranked states/U.Ts. It has also been observed that the North-eastern states of India need more comprehensive planning in this regard. In this context, the present study does not advocate to stop the inflow of tourists in the area of high DTP area. Rather, it alerts the planner and gives a light to plan properly and take immediate sustainable planning and research for the top ranked states/U.Ts and Tourism Destination Development planning for the lowest ranked states/U.Ts.

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Gradient-Based Optimisers Versus Genetic Algorithms in Deep Learning Architectures: A Case Study on Rainfall Estimation Over Complex Terrain

• Bhisikar, Yash
• Govindaraj, Nirmal
• Devaki, Venkatavihan
• Anilkumar, Ritu

Gradient-Based Optimisers Versus Genetic Algorithms in Deep Learning Architectures:A Case Study on Rainfall Estimation Over Complex Terrain Yash Bhisikar1*, Nirmal Govindaraj1*, Venkatavihan Devaki2*, Ritu Anilkumar31Birla Institute of Technology And Science, Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus 2Birla Institute of Technology And Science, Pilani, Pilani Campus 3North Eastern Space Applications Centre, Department of Space, UmiamE-mail: [email protected]* Authors have contributed equally to this study.Rainfall is a crucial factor that affects planning processes at various scales, ranging from agricultural activities at the village or residence level to governmental initiatives in the domains of water resource management, disaster preparedness, and infrastructural planning. Thus, a reliable estimate of rainfall and a systematic assessment of variations in rainfall patterns is the need of the hour. Recently, several studies have attempted to predict rainfall over various locations using deep learning architectures, including but not limited to artificial neural networks, convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, or a combination of these. However, a major challenge in the estimation of rainfall is the chaotic nature of rainfall, especially the interplay of spatio-temporal components over orographically complex terrain. For complex computer vision challenges, studies have suggested that population search-driven optimisation techniques such as genetic algorithms may be used in the optimisation as an alternative to traditional gradient-based techniques such as Adam, Adadelta and SGD. Through this study, we aim to extend this hypothesis to the case of rainfall estimation. We integrate the use of population search-based techniques, namely genetic algorithms, to optimise a convolutional neural network architecture built using PyTorch. We have chosen the study area of North-East India for this study as it receives significant monsoon rainfall and is impacted by the undulating terrain that adds complexity to the rainfall estimation. We have used 30 years of rainfall data from the ERA5 Land daily reanalysis dataset with a spatial resolution of 11,132 m for the months of June, July, August and September. Additionally, datasets of the following meteorological variables that can impact rainfall were utilised as input features: dew point temperature, skin temperature, net incoming short-wave radiation received at the surface, wind components and surface pressure. All the datasets are aggregated to daily time steps. Several configurations of the U-Net architecture, such as the number of hidden layers, initialisation techniques and optimisation algorithms, have been used to identify the best configuration in the estimation of rainfall for North-East India. Genetic algorithms were used in initialisation and optimisation to assess the ability of population search heuristics using the PyGAD library. The developed rainfall prediction models were validated at different time steps (0-day, 1-day, 2-day and 3-day latency) on a 7:1:2 train, validation, test dataset split for evaluation metrics such as root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R-squared). The evaluation was performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis as well as an image-by-image basis in order to take magnitude and spatial correlations into consideration. Our study emphasises the importance of considering alternate optimising functions and hyperparameter tuning approaches for complex earth observation challenges such as rainfall prediction.