Ashish's Photos

Tractor inside the compound of the Se Cathedral in old Goa

ashish — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:55:58 +0000

The compound of the Se Cathedral in old Goa is pretty huge, and there was some maintenance work ongoing when we were visiting. The Cathedral is located in old Goa and is an incredible piece of heritage, especially when you combine it with the Bom Jesus Basilica that is right across the narrow road. Both these monuments were built by the Portuguese when they were in control of Goa; this control came after they defeated a Muslim army in the early 16th century; to celebrate this defeat, the construction of the Se Cathedral took place (and the timeline from start to consecration was many decades).
As a part of maintenance, there is normally a need to carry in or out large quantities of construction material, and typically a tractor pulling a large metal open container behind it is the preferred medium to carry out such material. The tractor can get right to the point where the material is getting offloaded and it has the power to pull a heavy container behind it, and is probably the cheapest such machinery required (using large trucks for the same will typically prove more expensive and the tractor has a much better ability to get into situations where there is no road or there is a very rough track).

Lonely Planet Goa & Mumbai

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Tourists heading towards the Bom Jesus Basilica from the Se Cathedral in old Goa

ashish — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 03:45:53 +0000

The previous photos have been about the Se Cathedral and the Bom Jesus Basilica in old Goa, both of these being historical monuments that have been around for centuries. These are representative of the time when the Portuguese were in control of Goa, having taken control after defeating a Muslim army in the early part of the 16th century. This photo shows tourists heading on the road between the 2 monuments, which are separated by a narrow road (with running traffic, but very easy to move between these two monuments).
Both these monuments receive a number of tourists, and are in fairly good condition. The shape and structure of these 2 buildings are very different, but when you go into them, what is common is the beauty inside, the devout, and the excellent condition of the buildings, both from inside and from outside.

Lonely Planet Goa & Mumbai

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Tourists crossing the road towards the Bom Jesus Basilica from the Se Cathedral in Goa

ashish — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 07:46:46 +0000

The older part of Goa retains some incredible Christian monuments, with construction of many of these having been done during the time when the Portuguese had control of Goa. 2 of the most incredible and most visited monuments from that time are the Bom Jesus Basilica, and the Se Cathedral, both of which are right next to each other, separated by a narrow road (with flowing traffic though, so crossing between them means you need to be careful of your steps).
In this photo, you get an idea of the actual distance between these 2 buildings, which are very close to each other, and the flow of tourists between them is an ongoing flow.

Lonely Planet Goa & Mumbai

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Tourists coming from the interiors of the Se Cathedral in old Goa

ashish — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:30:28 +0000

The Se Cathedral in Goa is a place that draws a number of visitors. More visitors come to see the Bom Jesus Basilica, and since that is directly opposite the road, visitors also come to see the Se Cathedral. The Cathedral is a very old building, its construction having been completed in the first half of the 17th century, but if you look at it now, you can see the place has had a lot of maintenance. It certainly does not look centuries old. In this photo, you can see tourists coming out after a visit inside the building (and there is a lot of gap between the building and the front of the complex, a fair walk, which can be a bit tough if you are going there in the heat and not used to walking).

Lonely Planet Goa & Mumbai

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The huge chandelier in the ceiling of the Se Cathedral in the old part of Goa

ashish — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:45:36 +0000

The Se Cathedral in old Goa is incredible, with the building looking in pretty good shape (even though it is many centuries old). Once inside the Cathedral, things look pretty good, and even though it was dark, I was trying to get some good photos of the place. Near the middle section of the cathedral, over the row of benches, there was this massive metal chandelier hanging from the roof and looking heavy and magnificent. Since I was without a tripod, taking a photo of the chandelier was not easy, but I was determined to atleast try and catch some part of the chandelier.

Lonely Planet Goa & Mumbai

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The Se Cathedral in Goa framed by trees and their branches

ashish — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:37:26 +0000

The Se Cathedral in old Goa is a testament to some of the incredible architecture of the 16th and 17th century, with this cathedral being constructed to celebrate a triumph of the Portuguese over their muslim enemies. The building has an incredible architecture, and I like taking photos where the building is framed through trees and greenery. In this photo, I was attempting to frame the entire architecture of the building using the trees and tree branches that were present in the garden of the cathedral.

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Remains of old vehicles near the parking for the Bom Jesus Basilica in old Goa

ashish — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:05:34 +0000

Some old vehicles next to the parking lot for visitors at the Bom Jesus Basilica in old Goa. These vehicles look totally derelict, looks like they have been there forever and nobody is interested in them. Was a bit strange, because if these have been so abandoned, they would be atleast worth something in terms of scrap. Mind, because of all the rubbish being generated from the greenery, they did not seem totally out of place.

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Plastic table and chairs in the compound of the Se Cathedral in old Goa

ashish — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 19:04:35 +0000

The Se Cathedral in old Goa is a magnificent structure, which was constructed and started service in the earlier half of the 17th century, and even though it is centuries old, the place is incredible (a testament to the maintenance done in that building to keep it in such a state). In the garden of the building, there was a small cafe (which did not fit the overall profile of the building) and there were these chairs and table in the cafe. Even though there was a need for a cafe over there, it certainly did not fit the profile of the place and should have a much more suitable building.

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Parking for tourists who have come to visit the Se Cathedral and the Bom Jesus Basilica

ashish — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:10:24 +0000

The Se Cathedral and the Bom Jesus Basilica are some of the most famous Christian monuments in Goa, and very famous all over India. They are located in an area which while not being very crowded still does not have wide roads or easy parking on the roads. Thankfully, there is this location where some form of parking (for which nobody seemed to be charging anything for the parking) was available and we parked over there while we went to visit both these monuments.
The area in the photo was the cleanest out of the entire parking area, with other places having a lot of trash in the form of tree leaves and other residue from the greenery of the area.

Lonely Planet Goa & Mumbai

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Old tree with a gnarled trunk in the compound of the Se Cathedral in old Goa

ashish — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 18:08:25 +0000

It is great to see trees such as like these. In cities, we do not see trees that look old, you end up seeing these trees outside cities. In this case, this tree looked old, with the tree trunk having a number of gnarled root and trunk like smaller structures that cover the trunk.
The tree looked great, since trees such as these look majestic, holding up its own and also covering a decent amount of space and providing shadow with its foliage.

Lonely Planet Goa & Mumbai

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