Post-liberation Goa's urban landscape has changed gradually. On the evening of November 16, 2023, at the 3rd edition of the Goa Heritage Action Group Walk Fest, Vaman Bhate of the popular Varsha Book Store will share his thoughts on how the urban landscape has changed since 1963.
Bhate will be joined by architect Pritha Sardessai and historian Prajal Sakhardande, who will share anecdotes and snippets from Panjim's history.
Businessman and President of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Shrinivas V Dempo will also share his own memories of the city in the company of Past President of GCCI Ralph de Sousa who will also share his thoughts on changes in the city.
The festival to be held from November 17 to December 2 will be flagged off with an inaugural walk on November 16 at 6 pm at Azad Maidan, Panjim.
This comprehensive festival will feature 30 guided walks across various locations in Anjuna, Assagao, Bicholim, Bondvall Lake, Curca, Marcel, Mandodari Lake, Mapusa, Netravali, Old Goa, Panjim, Saligao, Salvador do Mundo, St Estevam and Vasco da Gama.
Goa has a rich and diverse heritage that deserves to be celebrated and preserved. Through the festival, GHAG aims to create awareness around Goa’s art, history, cultural, natural and built heritage.
The walks will be led by 26 distinguished individuals renowned for their love of Goan heritage and dedication to preserving it.
The walk curators, collectively called passoikars fashioned after the Konkani word passoi meaning leisurely walk, will include architects, botanists, engineers, educators and historians.
The walk curators, collectively called passoikars fashioned after the Konkani word passoi meaning leisurely walk, will include architects, botanists, engineers, educators and historians.
Darpana Athale, Mandar Bhagat, Miguel Braganza, Rochelle D'silva, Tallulah D'silva, Arti Das, Vaishnavi Desai, Daniel D'souza, Fiona Fernandes, Leandra Fernandes, Leaxan Freitas, Charan GP, Maryanne Lobo, Rhea Lopez, Vinay Prabhu Mhambre, Heta Pandit, Tejas V Pandit, Priyanka Phadte, Pooja Rani, Vishal Rawlley, Pritha Sardessai, Orijit Sen, Amreen Shaikh, Lester Silveira, Jack Ajit Sukhija, and Fernando Velho will take heritage enthusiasts on an enriching journey through Goa.
In addition to the guided walks, the highlight of the festival is the India Walk Slam on November 19 that’s being held for the first time. This is a GHAG initiative to bring together like-minded people from all over India to curate walks in their own villages, towns and cities in solidarity with the GHAG celebration of India Heritage Week.
GHAG invites organisations who share a similar passion for heritage to adopt a walk and partner with it. For more information and to view the complete schedule of walks, visit www.ghagwalkfest.com or contact +91 9743151868. One can also follow Instagram for updates @ghagwalkfest. For more inquiries call 9743151868.
GHAG, an NGO with a 23-year legacy dedicated to the advocacy of preservation, conservation and restoration of Goa’s natural, built and cultural heritage.