Fishing Boat at Baga, Bardez, Goa

Back in the days of my childhood in the 1960’s, Baga, a beach town in state of Goa, India, was one of my favourite places that I visited with my grandma on her annual 8-day sojourn, staying in a rented place near the sea. It lies 2 km north of Calangute, popular with tourists and locals alike with a coastline of pristine golden-brown sands and the meandering and scenic Baga Creek, summed up in the excerpt below from my book ‘GOA - Memories of my Homeland’ (Poems & Stories).

Grandma's annual dip
In the Arabian Seas
For her aging knees
She thought was good indeed;
She took me along on a trip
To a idyllic place called Baga
On the eight o'clock "Carreira".

Dotted along Goa’s scenic beaches, boats fitted with an outrigger was a common sight, but nowadays motorboats are used. Fisher folk live along the coastline and cast their nets on a regular basis. Many families combine their efforts in going out to sea and a whole community helps in pulling in the nets. A familiar sight at times is strolling tourists lending a helping hand. All this and much much more in my new illustrated line-art book with descriptions, namely ‘A Line in Time’.

BAGA BEACH - Line-Art/Water Colours Drawing by Tony Fernandes. Size 12” x 9”.

THE FIRST RAINS - From Line Art to Water Colours

GOA AFTER THE FIRST RAINS.

This scene is from the days of my growing up in the late 1950’s/early 1960’s in Goa. View of Bastora hills seen from Guirim, Cumbiem Morod, Bardez, Goa, India. On the left is my cycle leaning on the coconut tree. On the roadside nearby is a cross where we sang litanies and prayed for rain. Sitting on the bridge parapet are my buddies having an idle chat. One of them has a cycle. On the right is the Portuguese Primary school “Escola Primaria”, flanked by houses of my friends. In the foreground donning a red shirt and grey shorts is me with my selection of boats while my buddy has just arrived  with his. In the distance from left to right  is the main road from Mapusa to Betim ferry crossing, at the time when the bridge over the River Mandovi was not even on the drawing board. The boys from different wards met at the junction before proceeding to school at Monte de Guirim. The small rivulet from the hills of Parra runs through Guirim and joins the Mapusa river tributary that lies little beyond the main road.

Water Colours from Line Drawing. Size 12" x 9"  by Tony Fernandes.