Last week, I wrote about living through the monsoon in Goa, and a friend suggested I do a series on it. I wondered what I could possibly write about next (hadn’t I written enough already!?)––but the answer came to me soon enough.
Rivona is one of the first places that caught my attention when I was about to move to Goa. There are many routes one can take to get to my village in the South from Panjim, but in those early days, taxi drivers from North Goa––unfamiliar with the inner lanes of the South––took the route via Rivona. There wasn’t much of the place I could see from the road, but I remember crossing several spice plantations, sleepy villages, and a sign board for ‘Rivona Buddhist Caves.’ I mentally made a note to visit someday, but once I moved, I started taking alternate routes to get around and forgot all about Rivona.
That is, until this weekend, when I was browsing through Soul Travelling’s website to see if there were any day tours I could do. The South Goan hinterlands are not like Himachal or Uttarakhand, where you can follow any trail and trust you’ll find your way back. Most forests here are dense, have no trails, are home to snakes and scorpions, and there’s a high chance of getting lost––so I rely on responsible tourism companies to explore the lesser-known spots until I become more familiar with the area.
The day began at a temple. Anyone who knows me would be shocked to read this, as I usually do everything I possibly can to avoid temple visits. I hate the crowd, the filth, the transactional nature of prayer, the meaningless rituals, the wastage of food and flowers, the casteism, and the devotion-less tone with which most priests recite prayers, like rote-learned mathematical tables. But here I was at Shri Ramnath Damodar Sansthaan in Zambaulim on a fine Saturday morning, of my own volition. It was surprisingly peaceful, with barely anyone around, except for a few priests. Situated on the banks of the Kushawati river, the temple complex was clean, and Heidi, my guide for the day, shared how the Portuguese had destroyed several Hindu temples during their rule. The locals saved the deities and later rebuilt temples to house them. This was one such temple. The murti of Shiva incarnated as Damodar was originally based in a temple in Mathagam, now Margao, where the Holy Spirit Church now stands.
She also enlightened me that Hindu temples traditionally had lower doors to encourage people to bow as they entered the house of God, but inspired by the high ceilings of churches that aided acoustics, they began incorporating the same in their architecture. Some Hindu temples in Goa also feature large crystal chandeliers, not something we see often in other states.
Our next stop was a lovely spice plantation or kulagar run by a local family. They grow areca nut, coconuts, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper, turmeric, and a host of other spices. They served us a scrumptious breakfast with the Goan equivalent of kadala curry and dosa—but made with different beans, and accompanied with roasted tomato chutney, nutmeg jam, and a pudding like ragi barfi. We took a walk around their plantation after the delicious meal and saw the natural springs that flowed into their farm from various spots.
We then proceeded to my favourite spot of the day: the Usgalimal petroglyphs that are over 4000 years old! They belong to the Neolithic period and feature images of animals, labyrinths, and human figures carved on laterite stone. The petroglyphs, located on the banks of the Kushawati river, were discovered as late as 1993 when the layers of mud covering the engravings got washed away by the monsoon floods. Local villagers saw them and took archaeologists to the site, which is now under the ambit of the Archaeological Survey of India.
The petroglyphs were stunning and the location even more so: with a gushing river beside another picturesque spice plantation. We sat there for a while, tempted to jump into the water but settled for observing the water flow past at full speed due to the strong current. After some time, the manager of the spice plantation brought down a few coconuts and passed them to us from across the river for us to sip and enjoy. It was a delightful experience.
Our final stop was the Buddhist Caves. Heidi shared that Rivona was originally called ‘Rishi Van,’ or ‘forest of the sages.’ The caves are also known as Pandava Caves with associations to the Pandavas from the Mahabharata. The caves date back to the 7th century and are believed to have been constructed by Buddhist monks.
Dotted with baby bats hanging silently on the walls, the main laterite cave is large and cozy, making it perfect for monks to rest and meditate back in the day. While the cave itself was interesting to see, there wasn’t much else to explore, though the walk to it—crossing rice fields and flowing streams—was lovely.
Goa is full of surprises and I can’t help reiterating this time and again. The more I step out and explore, the more I discover. I’ve made a handful of trips here over the years, and it’s been a year and a half since I moved, but I know I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of this beautiful place. Whether it’s an unexpected temple visit, a walk through a spice plantation, or a brush with history through petroglyphs and ancient caves, it’s these small encounters that make me fall deeper in love with this place every day 🙂
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