Wandering Angel

by Flebin Francis (India)

Making a local connection India

Aldona is the most beautiful village in the world? How often do you hear the whole village saying that? Wherever we went in the village and whoever we spoke to – we heard only one thing – It is the most beautiful village in the world. Asking them, how many villages have you been to is not a valid question. They are simply in love with their village. We spoke to a shopkeeper who makes savories, we spoke to a pharmacist, we spoke to people who run lovely boutique hotels here and we spoke to a recent resident here. Everyone had just one thing to tell us – Aldona is the most beautiful village in the world. Well, I must admit that a lot of literary giants are choosing to live in Aldona, so it must be true that it is the most beautiful village in the world. Aldona as per author Maria Aurora Couto, who is a resident, has its roots in Haldi or Turmeric – a crop that was the planted here in this village. As per another resident, we spoke to – it comes from the word ‘Hal’ that in many Indian languages including Konkani means plough. He argued that this is an agricultural village named after the agricultural instrument. In the recorded history though it was called Haldona till Portuguese twist made it Aldona. Most villages in Goa have a church around which the village life is centered. It may have been a temple before it was a church and some villages do have both a church and a temple. Here it is the Sao Tome, a church built in 1596 CE on a plateau next to Mapusa river. Whitewashed in pristine white standing in the middle of greenery, Goan churches are always charming to look at and so is this one. Thanks to our friend Gouthami, we took a tour of the church and discovered the lovely paintings inside. On the side of the church, there was a house around a courtyard with various fruit trees. Technically, it is called a rectory. We noticed some nicely maintained wooden parts and a lovely altar. The most interesting part was the long list of donors along with their villages who have made donations to the church. The day we went, the church was getting ready for a wedding and I met the beautiful bride sitting outside dressed in her white gown and tiara, wearing a smile that only a bride can. What was interesting was the green bangles that filled her forearms – a perfect example of how customs and traditions never die or may how they influence the communities that live together. Calvim Bridge is built on a tragic story. 4 schoolgirls and two adults died while crossing the river in Feb 2012 and that is when this bridge was commissioned. The Plaque gives the names, dates of birth and photos of all these people and the Calvim bridge is dedicated to them. But for this story, this would be just another steel and cement structure connecting the two villages across a river. To me, this was another great example of remembering the locals who lost their lives in an accident. This is what makes Goa special. I was told that you get lovely Samosas in the evening across the bridge and it is this Samosawala who drives the maximum traffic on the bridge. What bridges can do – feed hungry souls every evening with some tasty samosas 1 People DO speak English in many places. It is one of the languages that is taught in schools in India and if you’re going to be on the tourist trail, which most people are, you won’t have many issues with this. 2. You should get health insurance for India. When my dengue fever was at its worst and I was supposed to get a platelet transfusion, a doctor said I should fly home and do it there. Although health care isn’t a huge expense here, emergencies are India is seasonal in part due to the monsoons which are not always fun to travel in. The months that lead up to a monsoon are incredibly hot and are best to be avoided. Thank you Sir