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The Basilica of Bom Jesus is a Roman Catholic basilica located in Goa, India, and is part of the Churches and convents of Goa UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica is located in Old Goa, former capital of Portuguese India, and holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier.

‘Bom Jesus’ (literally, ‘Good (or Holy) Jesus’) is the name used for the Ecce Homo in the countries of Portuguese colonization. The Jesuit church is India’s first minor basilica, and is considered to be one of the best examples of baroque architecture and Portuguese Colonial architecture in India. It is one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.
Construction work on the church began in 1594. The church was consecrated in May 1605 by the archbishop, Dom Fr. Aleixo de Menezes. This world heritage monument has emerged as a landmark in the history of Christianity. It contains the body of St. Francis Xavier, a very close friend of St. Ignatius Loyola with whom he founded the Society of Jesus(the Jesuits). Francis Xavier died on Sancian Island, Chuandao (川島鎮), Taishan while en route to continental China on (December 3, 1552).

The body of Francis Xavier was first taken to Portuguese Malacca and two years later shipped back to Goa. It is said that the saint’s body was as fresh as the day it was buried. The remains of the saint still attract a huge number of tourists (Christian and non-Christian alike) from all over the world, especially during the public viewing of his body every ten years (last held in 2014). The saint is said to have miraculous powers of healing.

This is one of the oldest churches in Goa and in India. The floor is of marble inlaid with precious stones. Apart from the elaborate gilded altars, the interior of the church is simple. The main altar holds a large statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and one of Francis Xavier’s companions whose words drew him to a reformed life. “What does it profit a man,” Ignatius had asked Francis, “if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”
The gaze of the gilded statue of Ignatius of Loyola is fixed upwards in awe at the name of Jesus (IHS) on the gilded emblem of the Jesuits, encircled in radiant rays. Over the emblem, is the Holy Trinity -Father, Son and Spirit – the ultimate muse and focus of the pious Christian. The altar table which is used in Holy mass is gilded and adorned with the figures of Christ and his apostles at the Last Supper, along with the words “Hi Mhoji Kudd”, which in Konkani means “This is my Body”, from the Institution Narrative.

The church also holds paintings of scenes taken from the life of St. Francis Xavier. The mausoleum, on the top of which is placed the silver casket with the body of St. Francis Xavier (1696), was the gift of the last of the Medicis, Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

The mausoleum was designed by the 17th-century Florentine sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini. It took ten years to complete. The casket containing his body is made of silver. The holy relics of the saint are displayed every ten years during the anniversary of the saint’s death. His liturgical feast is 3 December.

On the upper level, overlooking the tomb, is the Bom Jesus Basilica Art Gallery, containing the works of the Goan surrealist painter, Dom Martin.

Author and fellow Jesuit Anthony De Mello was also from Goa and mentions the basilica in his writings.The body is shown every ten years

The Basilica of Bom Jesus is more than 408 years old and is open to the public every day. The body of St. Francis Xavier is in a well-decorated casket, which can be seen in the photographs below. Solemn exhibitions of the ‘body’ are held every ten years. Some photos taken inside the church are attached for better understanding of the art work of that time. These art works are called “murals”.

Alorna Fort also known as Halarn fort is one of the oldest forts in Goa. It is situated 30 kilometers from the town of Mapusa. It was constructed by the Bhonsles of Sawantwadi in the 17th century, to defend against the Maratha attacks. From there, one can get a good view of the surrounding river and land.

The fort is currently under renovation by the Archeological Survey of India and is not open to public.

Chapora Fort, located in Bardez, Goa, rises high above the Chapora River. The site was the location of a fort built by Muslim ruler Adil Shah called Shahpura, whose name the Portuguese altered to Chapora. The fort changed hands several times after Portuguese acquired Bardez. Trying to end the Portuguese rule in Goa, Prince Akbar joined his father’s enemies, the Marathas in 1683 and made this place his base camp. It became the northern outpost of the Old Conquests. After the Portuguese recovered from an encounter with the Marathas, they strengthened their northern defences and provided shelter to the people there.
The present fort was built in 1717, replacing the older fortifications. Across the Chapora river, the Hinduruler of Pernem, the Maharaja of Sawantwadi who was an old enemy of the Portuguese held the fort for two years after it fell to the Marathas in 1739 in its first test. When Goa’s border moved northwards with the acquisition of Pernem as part of the New Conquests, the fort lost its military significance towards the end of the century. It is a pleasant place to wander that offers fantastic views north across the Chapora river to Pernem, south over Vagator and also far out to the Arabian Sea in the West.

The fort sits on a prominent position which commands views in all directions. It also has steep slopes on all sides. The fort follows the outline of the higher slopes. This forms an irregular outer wall that uses the natural form to add defensive height to the fortifications. This offers an advantage over dry ditches being dug. At the top of the steep approach track, the main gate is small and unpretentious, but narrow and deep. Depending on defence requirements, the positions of bastions are irregularly spaced with enormous embrasures for cannon. Each bastion has a cylindrical turret offering a special character to the fort.

Inside the fort, the church, once dedicated to St. Anthony, has disappeared and inside only a few signs exist of the barracks and housing that once filled this vast area. The wide expanse of open space is only a tumble of stones, where a few herds of goats graze and cashew bushes grow. A natural valley to the beach protected by rocky promontories provides an excellent natural access to the sea.

Fort Aguada is a well-preserved seventeenth-century Portuguese fort, along with a lighthouse, standing in Goa, India, on Sinquerim Beach, overlooking the Arabian Sea.
The fort was constructed in 1612 to guard against the Dutch and the Marathas. It was a reference point for the vessels coming from Europe at that time. This old Portuguese fort stands on the beach south of Candolim, at the shore of the Mandovi River. It was initially tasked with defense of shipping and the nearby Bardez sub-district.

A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by. This is how the fort got its name: Aguada, meaning Water. Crews of passing ships would often visit to replenish their freshwater stores. On the fort stands a four-story Portuguese lighthouse, erected in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia. Built in 1612, it was once the grandstand of 79 cannons. It has the capacity of storing 2,376,000 gallons of water, one of the biggest freshwater storages of the time in whole of Asia. This fort is divided in two segments: the upper part acted as fort and watering station, while the lower part served as a safe berth for Portuguese ships. Whereas the upper part has a moat, underground water storage chamber, gunpowder room, lighthouse, and bastions, it also has a secret escape passage to use during time of war and emergency. The lighthouse at the initial stage is used to emit light once in 7 minutes. In 1834 it was changed to emit light creating eclipse every 30 seconds, however, it was abandoned in 1976.

Fort Aguada was the most prized and crucial fort of Portuguese. The fort is so large that it envelops the entire peninsula at the southwestern tip of Bardez. Built on the mouth of river Mandovi, it was strategically located and was the chief defence of Portuguese against the Dutch and Marathas.

During the Salazar Administration, Fort Aguada was repurposed for use as a prison primarily, some claim, for Salazar’s political opponents.

Majorda is a village in Salcete, Goa. It is located in South Goa district, north-west of Margão. The village is famous for its beaches. There are many beach resorts in Majorda.
As of 2011 Indian census, Majorda had a population of 2,813. Males constitute 46% of the population and females 54%. Majorda has a literacy rate of 93.23%, higher than state average of 88.70%. Male literacy rate is 93.78%, and female literacy rate is 92.77%. In Majorda, 10.20% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Majorda has a railway station. The parish church of the village is Mãe de Deus (Mother Of God) Church.

Shri Mangesh temple is located at Mangeshi Village in Priol, Ponda taluk, Goa. It is at a distance of 1 km from Mardol close to Nagueshi, 21 km from Panaji the capital of Goa,and 26 km from Margao.
This temple is one of the largest and most frequently visited temples in Goa. In 2011, the temple along with others in the area instituted a dress code on visitors of the temple.
This temple had its origins in Kushasthali Cortalim, a village in murmugao which fell to the invading Portuguese in 1543. In the year 1560, when the Portuguese started Christian conversions in mormugao taluka, the Saraswats of Kaundinya Gotra and Vatsa Gotra moved the Mangesh Linga from the original site at the Kushasthali or Cortalim on the banks of river Aghanashini (Zuari)(Sancoale) to its present location at Mangeshi in Priol village of Atrunja Taluka, which was then ruled by the Hindu kings of Sonde of Antruz Mahal (Ponda), to be more secure.

Since the time of the shifting, the temple has been rebuilt and renovated twice during the reign of the Marathas and again in the year 1890. The final renovation occurred in the year 1973 when a golden kalasha (holy vessel) was fitted atop the tallest dome of the temple.

The original site was a very simple structure, and the current structure was only built under Maratha rule, some 150 years after it had been moved. The Peshwas donated the village of Mangeshi to the temple in 1739 on the suggestion of their Sardar, Shri Ramchandra Malhar Sukhtankar, who was a staunch follower of Shri Mangesh. Just a few years after it was built, this area too fell into Portuguese hands in 1763,[4] but by now, the Portuguese had lost their initial religious zeal and had become quite tolerant of other religions, and so, this structure remained untouched.
The Mangesh Linga is said to have been consecrated on the mountain of Mangireesh (Mongir) on the banks of river Bhagirathi by Brahma, from where the Saraswat Brahmins brought it to Trihotrapuri in Bihar. They carried the linga to Gomantaka and settled at mormugao, on the bank of zuari river present day called Sancoale.and established their most sacred temple there.
The 450-year-old Shri Mangesh temple dedicated to Shiva stands out with its simple and yet exquisitely elegant structure. The temple architecture consists of several domes, pilasters and balustrades. There is a prominent Nandi Bull and a beautiful seven-story deepstambha (lamp tower), which stands inside the temple complex. The temple also has a magnificent water tank, which is believed to be the oldest part of the temple.

The Sabha Griha is a spacious hall which accommodates over 500. The decor includes the chandeliers of the nineteenth century. The central part of the Sabha Griha leads to the Garbha Griha where the image of Mangesh is consecrated.
Mangueshi Temple has been embroiled in many controversies in recent years.

In June 2018 two young women, one a medical student from the U.S. and the other a computer student from Mumbai, came forward in separate incidents with personal accounts of molestation by the same priest inside the temple.Both women lodged FIRs in Ponda, Goa.The priest in question, Dhananjay Bhave, was booked on July 20, 2018 under the Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code. As of July 2018, the priest is absconding[20] and the cases are ongoing.

In November 2017, a physically-challenged young girl was denied entry into Mangueshi Temple by the management, based on her usage of a wheelchair and claims by the management that “a wheelchair is a vehicle and vehicles aren’t allowed inside the temple”. A police report was lodged by the girl’s family under the Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016.

The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church is located in Panjim, Goa, India. The Church conducts mass every day in English, Konkani, and Portuguese.

The colonial Portuguese Baroque style church was first built in 1541 as a chapel on a hill side overlooking the city of Panjim. It was eventually replaced by a larger church in the 1600s as part of Portuguese Goa’s religious expansion. This church houses the ancient bell that was removed from the Augustinian ruins of the Church of Our Lady of Grace (Nossa Senhora da Graça) in the once famed city of Old Goa. This bell is considered to be the second largest of its kind in Goa, surpassed only by the Golden Bell which resides in the Sé Cathedral in Old Goa.
A chapel was first built in Panaji in 1541, to serve the religious needs of Portuguese sailors at their first port of call in colonial Portuguese India. At that time the settlement was a small fishing village. It became a Parish in 1600, and in 1609 the small chapel was replaced by the present day large church to minister to the residents and sailors. In the 18th century the stairways, in a symmetrical zigzag form, were added to the church. The second largest church bell in Goa was installed in a bell tower in 1871. It was formerly at the Augustinian Monastery on Holy Hill, and was retrieved after the monastery was damaged.
The church is located in Panjim and sits atop a hill facing the square below. The city’s municipal garden (Garcia da orta) lies to its southeast and can be seen from atop the hill. The site was once the location of a colonial port landing where ships sailing from Lisbonmade first call, and where sailors disembarked before they proceeding further inland to Ela (now Old Goa) – the capital of Goa until the 19th century. A laterite stone walkway with ziz-zag stairs ascend the church while lines of thin and tall palm trees form part of the scene.

Birla Mandir refers to different Hindutemples or Mandirs built by the Birla family, in different cities. All these temples are magnificently built, some of them in white marble or in sandstone. The temples are generally located in a prominent location, carefully designed to accommodate a large number of visitors. The worship and discourses are well organized. The first one was built in 1939 in Delhi collectively by Ghanshyamdas Birla and his brothers, as well his father. Later temples have been built by, and are managed by different branches of the family.
The Birla temples in Delhi and Bhopal were intended to fill a void. Delhi, even though it was the capital of India, did not have any notable temples. During the Mughal period, temples with shikharas were prohibited until the late Mughal period. The Delhi temple, located at a prominent spot[1] was designed to be lofty and spacious, suitable for congregational worship or discourses. Although built using modern technology, it confirmed with the Nagar style. The Delhi, Banaras and the Bhopal temple use a modern style.

The later temples are built of marble or sandstone and are constructed in the classical (Chandela or Chaulukya) style of 10-12th century. The Saraswati temple, in the BITS Pilani campus is one of the very few Sarasvati temples built in modern times (see Sharda Temple, Maihar). It is said to be a replica of the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple temple of Khajuraho; however it is built of white marble and adorned with not only images of gods, but also philosophers and scientists. The Gwalior Sun temple is a replica of the famous Sun Temple of Konark, as it would have appeared before the collapse of the main tower. Anne Hardgrove states:

A national chain of the “Birla temples,” temples of grandiose scale and design, have become major landmarks and part of the cityscapes of Indian urban life in the late twentieth century. The Birla temples exist in conjunction with other large industrial and philanthropic ventures of the wealthy Birla family, including major institutions of technology, medicine, and education. Birla temples have redefined religion to conform to modern ideals of philanthropy and humanitarianism, combining the worship of a deity with a public institution that contributes to civil society. The architectural forms of the two newest Birla temples (Jaipur and Kolkata) incorporate innovative, dual-purpose structures into the temple design that alter temple practices to reflect the concerns of modern public culture in a religious site.

Elefantastic, situated at the capital city of Rajasthan, Jaipur, is a place that will change your perception of an elephant sanctuary forever. The elephants here are treated nicely, and it also boasts of its great hospitality, extreme geography, kaleidoscopic culture, deep-rooted spirituality, photogenic chaos and love for animals.

This place was created by Rahul Choudhary, who once was a mahout (elephant rider) himself. His dream was to set up a rehabilitation centre for the elephants and support their respective mahouts and owners who generally hail from a low-income group. Elefantastic provides a safe house for the elephants and also educates about daily life and the events of elephants.

Jaipur Zoo is in the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan state in India. The zoo was opened in 1877 and is located near to the Albert Hall Museum and Ram Nivas Garden. It is divided into two parts: one for mammals and other for birds and reptiles. Nearly 50 species of different birds and animals from all over the world can be seen here. In year 1999, the ghariyal breeding farm is established which is fourth largest breeding farm in India. A museum was also constructed inside the zoo which exhibits the wildlife of Rajasthan. The Jaipur Zoo has been constituted under the Wild Life (Protection) Act. The main objective of the zoo is to complement the national effort in conservation of wild life. In 2018 it was announced that the zoo will be converted into a bird park with large aviaries. Large carnivores have already left the Jaipur zoo.
The zoo is part of conservation breeding programs of the Central Zoo Authority and Government of Rajasthan for the ghariyal, cheetal and crocodile.