Vijaydurga - A Lesser Known Temple of Goa

I have visited Goa umpteen times since 1970 for paying obstinance to our kuldevata (family deity) and also attending marriages and other religious functions of my close relatives. During such visits, I have covered most of the tourist places – both popular and lesser known.  Recently, my wife and I visited Goa to attend the thread ceremony of one of our close relatives’ son in Kamakshi temple, Shiroda. It was a two-day function. We had no plan to combine this function with visit to other places except to make a mandatory visit to our family temple, Navdurga in Madkai.

The decision to visit Vijaydurga temple was taken at the spur of the moment when one of my relatives told me about his plan to visit the temple more so because of the serenity and peaceful atmosphere of the place  away from the hustle and bustle of nearby urban places. His description of the single lane road journey of 9 kms from Ponda through secluded dense forest and a serene lake adjunct to the temple interested me more than the ultimate destination. Since we had the free time between 2.00 pm to 5.30 pm, we decided to visit this temple after lunch.

The 22-km route from Shiroda to Keri.

The 22-km car journey from Kamakshi Temple, Shiroda via Ponda took about 45 minutes to reach at the gate of Vijyadurga temple. The last 4-5 kms journey was through ghat section with winding road. The topography of the last 4-5 km of journey gave me an impression that in the night, one may get lost in the pitch-dark road as there are some diversions. And there is no one to guide as the route is almost secluded. There was enough parking space in front gate of the temple. But ours was the only car parked. 

The road to Vijaydurga temple, Keri goes through dense forest.

Vijaydurga temple.  The left staircase leads to a serene lake.

Vijaydurga temple. Note the influence of Portuguese architecture on the façade of the mandap.

My first impression about the Vijaydurga temple was why was this place  chosen to set up this temple and why has the place still remained calm and serene notwithstanding the fact that Goa has seen tremendous developments in the last few years. How did the vicinity of the temple still remain virgin? 

The reasons which I came to know from the website of the temple is that this temple along with Shantadurga temple and Laxmi-Narasinh temple were originally located in Sancoale (now called Sankholi). During the Portuguese rule, these temples (also some other temples in Goa) were destroyed. Some of the devotees took away the idols from the temples and installed in the make-shift temples in then secluded places in around Ponda. The idol of Vijaydurga was installed at Querim (now known as Keri) which is 35 kms away from Sancoale.  The new Vijaydurga temple was constructed in 1560.

Since then, the temple has gone through some renovations as well as new additions. For example. The mandap was added in 1797. The new Deep Stambh (Lamp Tower) was constructed in 1986

The deep stambh (Lamp Tower), a small subsidiary temple, and a tulsi vrindvan in front of the temple. This new Deep Stambh was constructed in 1986.

As one enters the temple complex through the main gate, the first thing that would definitely impress everyone is the silence that pervades here. The saying – ‘sometimes the sound of silence is the most deafening sound of all’ – is aptly applicable to Vijaydurga temple complex. The main reason is that on the one side of the temple has a lake and other three sides are covered with dense forest and hills with almost no human habitat in the vicinity of the temple. The whole temple complex including the temple structures have been kept spick and span.  Being a Durga temple, there would be a large number of devotees visiting the temple during the festivals like Navratri and Mahashivratri.  But I am sure that temple would remain neat and span after the events are over.

Left side view of Vijaydurga temple.

Right side view of the temple. On the left is one of the subsidiary temples constructed with a steep sloping roof with a blend of modern architecture.

Another side view of the temple.

Another point which I noted while taking the round of the temple complex is the blend of classical architecture with the modern architecture. While the main temple with its mandap has the traditional architecture, that of the façade of the mandap leading to the inner sanctum seems to have been influenced by the Portuguese architecture.  There are a couple of subsidiary temples outside the main temple, the construction of which reflects the modern architecture. There are Sabhagraha (Hall for marriage and other social functions for the devotees) and the guest house building (also for those devotees intending to stay overnight) with the modern architecture.

Since the temple is located in a secluded place where one will not find any hotels, restaurants, shops or even dwellings in vicinity of 3-4 kms, I was told that the temple provides simple breakfast, lunch and dinner for which they do not charge, But the devotees can drop their contributions in the box if they wish to contribute. We had tea in their canteen at around 4.00 p.m. before we departed from the temple.

Sabhagrah (left) and overnight staying  rooms (right) for devotees.

Well crafted mahogany wood sofa (minus the foam mattress), probably used for bride and bride groom in the marriage held in the temple.

The building on the left houses guest rooms for the devotees and on the right is  another subsidiary temple with modern architecture.

Since I had already seen the lake adjoining the temple complex while entering the main gate, after finishing the temple round, we went outside the gate to see the lake. To the right side of the gate starts the 50 odd steps going down towards the shore of the lake. Just before that there is an open ground with a small stage probably used for performances during the festivals like Navratri. It is a great setting to watch the performance by the side of the lake. We sat here on a clean bench enjoying the surroundings of the lake which has on its opposite shore the coconut and arecanut orchards and then the hills full of greenery.

There were hundreds of doves fishing in the lakes on the temple side shore   for their food when we had seen them from the temple complex Now. they had gone to the other side of the shore. Probably, sound of our talking may have disturbed the doves and decided to be away from the ‘sound pollution’ created by us. I am sure, if we had come in the morning, we would have the opportunity to watch some more types of birds visiting the lake. The whole setting around the lake is perfect for meditation as it has an aroma of spirituality. 

The main gate of the temple seen from inside the temple complex with a pair of yali stone sculptures.

The lake forms the background to the Vijaydurga temple complex.

The lake.

At the end of the visit, I had an unique experience in which I saw  godliness in the entire temple complex and its vicinity due to the serene settings of the temple.

Ganpatipule - A Revisit - December 2019.

I had visited Ganpatipule for the first time along with our family group in November 1988. Despite Diwali holidays, very few tourists were seen on the beach. And those who visited were mostly pilgrims to Ganpati temple at the shore, most of whom would also visit the beach. The place had a typical village atmosphere with most of the dwellings around the temple. The only good place for the tourists to stay was Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation's (MTDC) small tourist bungalow. There were no good restaurants for lunch/dinner except few homes who would serve homely food to be ordered well in advance. Most importantly, there was no Konkan Railway. So, we had to depend on risky road travel on two-lane Mumbai-Goa highway.

It is now more than 30 years since I first visited Ganpatipule and much has been changed since then in terms of infrastructure. There is now a coastal road connecting Ratnagiri to Ganpatipule which goes further north near Jaigad Fort. Also, now Ganpatipule has become one of the most visited places among the Konkan coast by the tourists. So, I felt that it was time to make a revisit to Ganpatipule with family. The best time to suit the younger ones in the family was the Christmas holiday when schools/colleges have holidays. Considering the holiday season, we booked train tickets and MTDC Resort well in advance.

Day-1

On December 28th, we boarded Tejas Express at Thane at 06.25 hours and reached Ratnagiri at 11.30 hours (late by 30 minutes). We could not get any SUV outside the railway station to drop us to Ganpatipule.  So we took two autorickshaws from the stand just outside the railway station @ 600/- per auto (fixed rate) for a distance of about 30 kms via coastal road (Also called Aarey-Waarey road). Due to a massive traffic jam at a narrow stretch of  about 1 km through Shirgaon village, it took us 1 hour 45 minutes (instead of normal 1 hour) to reach MTDC Resort. But for this one km of narrow stretch, the road was in fairly good condition. The check-in at MTDC was quick. 

 MTDC Resort - AC Deluxe Rooms.

MTDC Resort - Tarang Restaurant.

After freshening up in our rooms, we had lunch in MTDC's Tarang Restaurant. The food was tasty although a bit costlier than those in a few restaurants in its vicinity. But we had no complaints as unlike outside, apart from Konkani food (including varieties of fish thalis), there were more options of selecting menus available here to cater to all tastes. The waiters were friendly. Later on, I came to know that MTDC has given this restaurant to a private hotelier to run. During our stay, I found that despite a large sitting capacity of about 100 persons, the restaurant was fully occupied  during the peak lunch/dinner time.

 Fish Thalis in Tarang Restaurant.

In the evening, we strolled in Ganpatipule beach and witnessed a grand sunset. Eearlier, we had decided that we would venture into the sea the next morning after breakfast. So it was more like getting familiar with the surrounding. The beach was crowded in front of the Ganesh temple. This was obvious as many pilgrims after visiting the temple, would come to beach in front of the temple for spending some time. Also, it is the place for various water sports activities like speed boats, motor boat rides, banana boats, sofa boat rides etc. The camel/horse rides also starts from this point. 

But the beach in front of MTDC Resort was almost empty except a few tourists, mostly from MTDC Resort. From the Resort, one can get down through stairs made of laterite stones at three places, each of one having the facility of shower bath after returning from sea bath.

 View of Ganpatipule beach from our room at MTDC Resort.

Holiday crowd in the vicinity of Ganesh temple. There is virtually no crowd in the foreground which is just opposite MTDC Resort.

Day-2.

December being a winter month, the twilight is seen only after around 6.30 hours in the morning. After having a cup of tea at the road side stall, myself and my son went for a morning walk on the beach. There was no one on this part (Opposite MTDC Resort) of the beach except a couple of morning walkers. The sky was covered with cloud on the eastern side. So chances of viewing sunrise was remote at this point of time. We walked towards north on the Malgund beach direction. After walking for about 2 kms, we were on our return walk when we saw the sun slowly coming out of the cloud. The reflection of the diffused sun rays on the beach gave a different colour to the sand.

Almost empty Ganpatipule beach. At the far end is a narrow stretch which is the start of Malgund beach, about 3 kms from Ganpatipule.

Me during morning walk on Ganpatipule beach.

Sun is coming out of the cloud cover over Ganpatipule beach.

We had breakfast around 09:00 hours in Tarang Restaurant of South Indian snacks like dosa, idli, wada, upma etc. The quality was good though not comparable with that of many South Indian hotels in Matunga area of Mumbai.

Next, we proceeded to beach for sea bath followed by indulging some water sports activities like Speed Boat rides and Sofa rides. We spent about 3 hours on the beach. It was high tide time but the waves were gentle. Fortunately, the sun was soft on our skin. 

After taking our regular bath in the room, we had lunch at Tarang Restaurant with fish thali and vegetarian Punjabi dishes.

Sea bath off Ganpatipule beach.

Enjoying the high tide sea waves - Ganpatipule beach.

The Sofa ride.

After the afternoon siesta, we strolled in the main road of Ganpatipule to see the town. Surely, Ganpatipule has developed from a sleepy village which I had seen about 30 year ago to a bustling town with a lot of floating population of tourists and pilgrims. There are many hotels and guest houses apart from restaurants. But in the absence of feed back, it is difficult to take a decision as to which one would be good. There is a steady flow of vehicles to and fro Ganpatipule requiring the traffic police to manage the traffic. We came back to our room to view the sunset from the balcony/verandah.

View of a setting sun from the balcony/verandah of our room at MTDC.

For the first time since we arrived at Ganpatipule, we decided to try dinner at one of the restaurants on the main road. Looking at the appearance of the restaurant as well as the display of items of food available, we zeroed on Hotel Yashodhan for the dinner. Alas, the restaurant turned out to be very poor in terms of taste of the food of vegetarian thalis. And none of the food items prominently displayed in big letters on the frontage of the hotel were available. The excuse given by the hotel was that its main cook was on leave. It was a most disappointing dinner of our stay in Ganpatipule.     

Day-3.

In the early morning after bath, we visited Ganpati temple which is located just opposite the gate of MTDC Resort. Even in the early morning, there was a queue for darshan. It took about 15 minutes to get darshan of Lord Ganesh. From the temple complex, there is an excellent view of the beach.

Ganpati temple, Ganpatipule.

View of the beach from the Ganpati temple complex.

After breakfast, we had planned for a half day trip to visit Jaigad Fort which is about 22 kms north of Ganpatipule via the Coastal road. On the way, we would cover Konkan Museum, Jai Vinayak temple, Karhateshwar temple, Jaigad Fort and Jaigad Light House and back. For this, on the recommendation from MTDC receiption staff, we had engage a driver, Sunil Rajwadkar who had his own SUV (Ertiga) @2000/-. 

We commence our day's trip at around 10.00 hours. Our first stop was at Prachin Konkan History Museum. It is an open air museum with many displays of historical and cultural history of the Konkan region. It has many medicinal plants. A guide is provided for a group of about 10-12 persons to explain the displays. It is a well maintained museum though the children may get bored. The highlight of the visit to the museum is a Watch Tower which is reachable by climbing a wooden plank and a room displaying various type of conchs and sea shells which are not to be missed. Photography is not allowed in conchs and sea shell room.

At the end of the one-hour tour, one can have Konkani snacks in a couple of stalls on payment.  

Adjunct to it, there is a Magic Garden which we skipped. I am sure kids would enjoy the garden.

Entrance to the Prachin Konkan History Museum.

Fishermen's village on way to Jai Vinayak temple. At the far end , the mouth of Arabian  Sea can be seen.

The next halt was Jai Vinayak temple. This temple was constructed by Jindal Group whose Jindal Power plant is located nearby. The temple seems to have been constructed on Indo-Tibetan style of architecture. The temple is surrounded by beautifully laid gardens. There is ample parking space available outside the temple complex.

Jai Vinayak temple near Jindal Power Plant township.

After visiting Karhateshwar temple which is located near sea shore, we visited our main destination of the day - Jaigad Fort. Contrary to my understanding, this Fort was constructed by Kings of Bijapur sometime during 16th century. Later, it was captured by Shivaji Maharaj's commander Angrey. In early 19th century, the Jaigad Fort was captured by the Britishers without any resistance. Much of the Fort is now in ruin. Only the outer wall with rampart is in better condition. The  Fort is strategically located with the Arabian Sea, the backwater of the sea and River Savitri by its three sides.

 Climb to the rampart of Jaigad Fort. 

Jaigad Fort - Inside view from the rampart.

Jaigad Fort - Ganesh temple on the left.

View from rampart of Jaigad Fort. On the left is Jindal Power Plant.

We could not go inside the Light House as it is opened only from 4.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. We returned to Ganpatipule by 2.30 p.m. and decided to take lunch at Tarang restaurant rather than in our way back at Malgund.

We were impressed with our owner-driver, Sunil Rajwadkar with his driving and friendly disposition. So we engaged him for our next day's Ratnagiri Railway Station drop. Since the train was scheduled to depart at 17:20 hours, we took the opportunity to do some site-seeing in Ratnagiri. So we engaged him for a full day at Ratnagiri with his SUV @2500/-.

After some rest in the room, we visited once again to beach for the last time before we embark our return journey home the next day. We had a nice view of setting sun over the beach.  After the sunset, myself,  my son and my grandson took a long walk over the beach towards Malgund beach. But we could not continue beyond a point where a backwater stream bifurcated the boundary between Ganpatipule beach and Malgund beach. We returned to our rooms as it was getting dark.

Setting sun over Ganpatipule beach.

The backwater stream flowing in the middle is dividing line between Ganpatipule beach (foreground) and Malgund beach (background).

As per the recommendation by our owner-driver, Sunil Rajwadkar, we decided to take dinner at Hotel Sameer located on the main road. He had said that the hotel was known for fish thali and also vegetarian thali. The only problem was that if it was fully occupied, the waiting time for each family could be as long as 45 minutes. Since it is a family run hotel with cooks and waiters from the family, it  follows strict timings for lunch and dinner - 12 noon to 3.00 p.m. for lunch and 8.00 p.m.to 10.00 p.m. for dinner. So we decided to go for dinner in Hotel Sameer at the dinner opening time to avoid the rush.

When we reached the hotel, a family group was already waiting for the hotel gate to open. Nonetheless, the gate was opened sharp at 08.00 p.m. with three families including us in the hotel. Since fish items are prepared afresh on every order, it took about 20 minutes to serve fish thalis. No doubt, the food was not only excellent, it was cheaper than that of MTDC's Tarang restaurant. By the time we finished our dinner, the hotel was full with a couple of family groups waiting outside for their turns. By the way, the Solkadi (kokum juice mixed with coconut milk) served here was the best we tasted in Ganpatipule. All in all, it is a must visit hotel for fish lovers while in Ganpatipule.

Day-4.

After breakfast at Tarang Restaurant, we checked out from MTDC Resort at around 09:30 hours. Our driver with his SUV was already arrived. 

We took the usual coastal road to Ratnagiri. On the way, we took break at around Warey beach for a view of the Arabian sea. It was also a nice place for photography. Next we stopped to get down to Aarey beach. There was a low tide giving us the opportunity to see a large expanse of the beach. Due to its close proximity to a backwater stream, the soft waves from it leave the imprint on the sands which looks like  small waves on the sand.

Warey beach seen from coastal road to Ratnagiri.

Part of Aarey beach.

We reached Ratnagiri around 11.00 hours. Our first stop was Veer Savarkar Memorial which is located in the compound of Patit Pawan temple. There is no entry fee. On the first floor is some of the rare pictures relating to freedom struggles and the hand impressions of the prominent freedom fighters including that of Veer Savarkar.

Next halt was the an old Konkani type house which was the birth place of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. There is a small museum depicting the old pictures of Lokmanya Tilak with his family and other prominent leaders of his time and old newspaper clippings. Photography inside the house is prohibited.

The birth place of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Ratnagiri.

The next destination in Ratnagiri was to be Ratnagad Fort. Since it was already past 12 noon, we decided to take a break for lunch before proceeding to the Fort. Once again, we depended on our driver's recommendation for lunch who suggested Prashant Lunch Home in Ratnagiri. His recommendation once again turned out to be good. Both fish thali and vegetarian thali were excellent. We also tried Crab Lollypops which though nicely fried, tasted bland in the absence of Schezwan Sauce. 

Ratnagad Fort (also called Ratnagiri Fort) is located within the walkable distance from the main town close to Ratnagiri jetty. However, it took us about 10 minutes by car to reach the gate of the Fort. From the entrance, one can climb through the short stairs on the rampart of the Fort from where one gets the excellent views of the backwater of Arabian Sea and Ratnagiri Jetty. It looks like that with in a large expanse of the fort, a shorter citadel was constructed for the defensive mechanism in case the enemy breaks the outer walls. Inside the Fort a temple dedicated to Goddess Bhagwati was been renovated in 1950. 

View from Ratnadurg Fort, Ratnagiri.

View of the outer fort walls from inner citadel of Ratnadurg Fort. A Light House can be seen at the far end.

One of the main attractions in Ratnagiri is Thiba Palace which was our next destination. This palace has a connection with Burma now Myanmar. This palace was built around 1910 for the last king of Burma, Thibaw Min who was exiled to India by Britishers. They finally found a place in Ratnagiri where the palace was constructed for him and his family members. The information available in the palace indicates that King Thibaw personally supervised the construction of the palace and stayed here until his death in 1916.

The local laterite stones have been used for the construction of walls of the palace. The doors, windows, staircases and roofs have been made up of teak wood. Italian marbles have been used for flooring. All the roofs have been covered with Mangalore type tiles. 

Though outwardly, the palace looks architecture grandeur, the maintenance inside the palace is not up to the mark. There is a gallery on King Thibaw and his other personal effects. From the first floor, one can have the view of Arabian Sea. The palace is surrounded by a vast space which is now covered with dried grass. Probably, once upon a time, the palace was surrounded by beautiful gardens. Some renovation works are still going on. It is hoped that once the renovation work is completed, the authorities would give attention to the development of gardens. One room has been occupied by the Directorate of Archeology probably to oversee the renovation work. 

Thiba Palace, Ratnagiri - the front view.

By the time we finished tour of Thiba palace, it was around 2.30 p.m. We still had atleast 2 hours to kill before boarding Tejas Express in Ratnagiri at the scheduled departure time of 17:20 hours. So our driver took us to Mandvi beach with black sands. Thereafter we visited newly opened Veer Mata Jijabai Udyan. The two-story tower inside the garden gives a panoramic view of Ratnagiri city on one side and the backwater of Arabian Sea on the other side. We reached Ratnagiri railway station around 5.00 p.m. only to know that our train was delayed by about one hour. Finally, we boarded the train around 7.00 p.m. It could not make up the lost time during its run and it reached Thane on 12:10 hours  on the New Year 2020.