Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA:
Next to the National Highway 66 (NH66) in distant Polem hides behind wild growth a magnificent piece of megalith: a 4x5ft simple structure, two vertical stones and on top of them lies the third one.
There are conflicting views put forward on these structures, some believe that these simple structures called Dhovornis, which were built during ancient times to assist locals to keep their head load and take rest during their journey while the other school of thought is that they were constructed in memory of the departed souls by their families.
Whatever the thought is, these Dhovornis some of which are in total ruins are part of Goan heritage and need to be preserved for the future generations as they remain forgotten but imprinted in Goan history, feels Natividad D’ Sa from Canacona.
These Dhovornis are found scattered at many places most of them beside the traditional footpaths and isolated from human settlements giving credence to the fact that they may have been constructed serving dual purposes, in memory of departed souls and also to serve humanity.
Presence of many such structures in Canacona which basically from time immemorial was practicing rice cultivation gives credence to this thought also.
While the one at Polem is perfect condition till today but the Damocles sword is hanging on it as the proposed road widening for four lanning will bury this piece of history forever near the southern border of Goa.
These unfortunate structures seems are of no significance today and anyone hardly notices them, but the Polem Dhovorni is in perfect condition as if conveying the message to commuters to halt and rest their head load on them, but alas these structures mostly of three vertical pillars of laterite stones with another placed on top of it draws no eyeballs today.
The true Goem, Goemkar and Goemkarponn gets trampled every minute as many of such structures are being demolished each day either to widen the roads, or build bungalows or just to remove them as no one values the past nor the history laments Natividad D’ Sa a decorated social worker and activist from the most southern taluka of Goa.
The other which is not fortunate enough to survive is at Chaudi, the one beside Canacona Konkan Railway Station has the top laterite stone collapsed and lies while on the other side of the road at Nagarcem there existed another till it was damaged and cleared while cutting a road side tree ten years ago.
D’ Sa while stressing the need to preserve these Dhovornis informed that he is ecstatic to find a few still intact, he says he is sad to see others ruined by natural forces or simply vandalized by miscreants.
“The classic example of such vandalism is seen at Gunyagali junction while going towards Betul Plateau (where defense expo was held in 2014) the Dhovrni which must have been there for ages and was in perfect condition till recent years was deliberately damaged by miscreants a few years ago.
As cement or binding material wasn’t utilized while constructing these structures it was easy for a group of miscreants to just dislodge the horizontal stone bar and push it down, while the three vertical pillars are intact, the horizontal after being pushed down has broken into two pieces informed D’ Sa.
Another example of nature ruining the Dhovorni is at Balli little ahead of Balli Government Hospital beside the national highway, this Dhovorni is engulfed on all sides by wild foliage and can be hardly percieved. “As there were no roads or transport in most of the villages in Goa in the past, people had to carry their things on head and they used to take rest for a while by keeping their bag or bags on this elevated manmade structures”.
And because of these simple structures no help was required while keeping and taking the bags from the head added D’ Sa. Historian Prof Prajal Sakhardande while throwing light on these structures says that this structures were built in memory of departed souls in ancient times. His study asserts that the structures are not Dhovornis or Davarnes but stone memorials in honour of the dead. “Goa is replete with such stone memorials in Shigao village of Dharbandoda here there are four stone vertical memorials, Karyamoll in Quepem, Colvale and in Chawdi- Canacona and several places they are still found” Sakardhande informed. “It is later with a horizontal cap stone were used by people as load rest but these are stone memorials in honour of the dead” Sakardhande inferred.
Even if these are memorials, D’ Sa who was even awarded as the best social worker in the state a few years back says that it pains him to see such structures of historical significance to be left to the mercy of nature and miscreants and requests authorities to rescue them from being wiped out from the pages of history of Goa.
