St. Jerome Fort in Nani Daman

Monday, July 9, 2012

Standing atop one of the bastions I could see the horizon at one end, the fishing boats parked in the Damanganga that divides Moti and Nani Daman on another end and the silent fishing village of Nani Daman in yet another direction.

Entrance to St. Jerome Fort in Nani Daman. Above the Door is a statue of St. Jerome with many inscriptions and carvings on the walls of the fort.

No wonder that the St Jerome Fort was built here to keep a watch on the vessels that ventured in via the sea and also to keep a check on the enemies of the state.

Fishing Boats parked on the banks of Nani Dman

St Jerome Fort has two entrances. The main entrance is near the sea; it is placed opposite the fort of Moti Daman on the other side of the Damanganga creek. To read more on River Damanganga http://merwynsrucksack.blogspot.in/2012/05/bridge-over-river-damanganga.html The other entrance is a small one which connects the sleepy village of Nani Daman to the fort.

View from the main entrance of St. Jerome Fort. The fishing boats parked on the banks of both Nani Daman and Moti Daman. with River Damanganga flowing through it in the Arabian Sea

At the main entrance is a huge statue of St Jerome, a renowned Catholic priest. A few inscriptions in Portuguese are placed below the Portuguese emblems on either side of the statue.  Atop it is placed the Cross. As I cannot read Portuguese, I cannot enlighten you on what those words meant. If you can read the language, I’d appreciate it if you could translate it for me. There are two huge human figures carved in the walls near the entrance. Carved around 400 years ago, they are still in good condition.

Within the premises of St. Jerome Fort. It encloses the Church of Our Lady of the Sea, a school, a graveyard and an open ground.

The huge main door has developed cracks in it, but it continues to adorn the entrance of the fort.

Though the fort is around 400 years old, the walls of the fort are intact. There is no sign of any breakage around the fort.  But the fort is covered by graffiti, which ruins its splendour and reflects badly on the narrow mindsets of the people who have visited this place and left destruction and ruin where once there was only beauty.

Portuguese cemetary in the premises of the Fort.

The entire fort can be covered by walking across the thick walls of the fort. It takes around an hour’s time to see the entire fort. The fort offers a breathtaking view of the Arabian Sea, the Fort of Moti Daman http://merwynsrucksack.blogspot.com/2012/06/fort-of-moti-daman.html ,and the colorful fishing boats parked in the waters of Damanganga.

The fort comprises the Church of Our Lady of the Sea http://merwynsrucksack.blogspot.in/2012/06/church-of-our-lady-of-sea.html, which has now been converted into a school. A cemetery and an open ground also stand on the premises.

One of the many Crosses erected on the walls of the Fort

The walls of the fort have holes to support guns that were used to protect the fort. I could not locate any cannons on this fort. I found this strange, particularly as the fort is near the sea. There was always a possibility of the enemy attacking the fort. So did the Portuguese guard the fort with the guns they had and the infantry or was there more to it, which has been lost to us somewhere in the last 400 years?

A structure on the walls of the Fort spoiled by graffiti

Standing atop the fort, I felt as I was the Commander of this Fort, keeping a watch on the walls to check that we were not in danger of being attacked by our enemies.

There are a couple of broken down structures atop the walls of the fort along with the open spaces near them. I wondered what they were. 

This narrow staricase leads to nowhere, one upon a time it lead to somehere but now nothing exists there



Another well carved entrance within the fort premises takes us to the walls of the fort. These entrances were neatly carved as arches in the thick walls of the fort with emblems above them.

Church of Our Lady of the Sea in its premises

There are these two big rooms in here to which gates have been newly constructed. I guessed that these rooms were being misused. There were beer cans and broken beer bottles lying around on the walls of the fort, making it clear that people come here to drink.

The other entrance to the fort from land with a few gigantic rooms in its premises

Guys, this is a historical monument and not a place in which to drink and to do graffiti. Do you do the same at home? I don’t think so. Then why here? This is an ancient monument, a heritage structure, which needs to be protected by us, not destroyed.

One of hte large rooms in the fort premises now guarded with a gate as it was misused by the people. Inside I noticed waste paper, beer bottles and graffiti on the walls. Its good that this is kept closed.

So please do not drink or do graffiti on the walls of this fort or other forts anywhere.

Ruins in Our Lady of Fatima Daman

Thursday, June 28, 2012

In the premises of the Moti Daman Fort lie the ruins of an Old Portuguese Church in the campus of the school of Our Lady of Fatima.

The ruins of the roofless church are so tall that they can be seen from the road in Moti Daman Fort. I had been trying to figure out a way of reaching these ruins.

A few locals advised me to enter via the school gate and I did the same. The school gate is usually closed while the school is on.

I asked the school peons about gaining access to the fort as I saw that the entrance to the ruins was locked. A steel door was in place. He told me that the door was open. No dates were mentioned on the walls so it was hard to figure out when the church had been built.

Ruins in Our Lady of Fatima School

The entrance to the Church had no doors. The metal door must have been put up years later.

The pillars were beautifully carved out of the stone wall and the design above the door was also very beautiful. The art work was amazing. A cross set in a circle was embedded within the walls.

As I opened the door, I heard a loud crank and the moment I entered, the door banged shut with a loud sound. Am I locked inside, was the first thought that came to my mind. But the door easily yielded when I tried to open it. Maybe the force of the wind against the metal door was what caused the loud sound.

Imagine yourself amid the ruins. What if the door were to suddenly close? Wouldn’t you be startled out of your wits? Believe me; the thought of getting caught in there gave me a rather creepy feeling.

A view in the ruins

The ruins have many arch shaped windows but none of them have window panes. It looks like the doors and the windows have been removed and kept away safely.

This place reminded me of the churches in Vasai Fort in Vasai near Mumbai.

I wish I could go back in time to view the beauty of this place around 450 years ago.

Can anyone design a time machine for me? I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life. :)

Monument of Liberation

Friday, June 22, 2012

In the Moti Daman Fort lies the Monument Liberation.

This monument is painted white in colour and has two miniature cannons erected next to it. This monument is maintained by the Daman Municipal Council.

Monument of Liberation

The monument has a marble stone erected in it which states that “Daman was liberated by 1st BN The Maratha Light Infantry on 13th Dec 1961 after a heroic fight. Thus ended the 450 years of Portuguese Regime.”

Fort of Moti Daman

Thursday, June 14, 2012

After crossing the pedestrian bridge over Daman Ganga, I landed up in Moti Daman. Again the entrance is via a small cutout in the walls. Mind it. This is not an entrance to the Fort, but was made recently by some people who cut into the walls of the fort.

As I was entering, school children were exiting the fort via this entrance cum exit. I guess these children were staying at Nani Daman, as the bridge connects the two with each other.

Fortification of Moti Daman from the bridge over River Damanganga

The fort of Moti Daman is bigger than the one at Nani Daman as it is home to various government offices, homes and schools. The walls of both forts appeared to be constructed in a similar manner. I guess both were built around 400 years ago.

Again this is a huge fort and it is best to climb up the walls of the fort to get a good view of the sea, Nani Daman and the structure inside the Fort.

Hole in the wall, used by school children as entry to the Fort

Some parts of the fort have been spoilt by graffiti. Even so, it is good to see that most of the walls are as good as new even though they are 400 years old.

There is a lot of greenery inside this fort. Steps have been taken by the government of Daman to beautify the fort premises.

There are a number of cannons on this fort. The mouth of each of these cannons has an engraving of a crest and a year. I have been too many forts and seen a number of cannons, but never have I seen a cannon with the crest and year of manufacture inscribed on it.

Fortification with huge trees on it

A few ruins of broken down houses still exist on the fort walls. I wondered what they must have been like in their heydays.

There are two lighthouses on the Fort. The old and the new. Civilians are not granted entry to the New Lighthouse, but the Old Lighthouse can be easily viewed. No one is allowed to walk on the walls near the lighthouse for security reasons. A locked gate stops us from entering its premises.

Cannon with royal emblem and year of manufacture, i guess

The Old Lighthouse was, I guess, built during the Portuguese reign. Painted white, it has a spiral staircase in it. The lighthouse is around one storey tall. The lighthouse has an inscription on it stating when and by whom it was built. But the information is rather unclear. The lighthouse offers a very good view of the sea. Of course, the New Lighthouse would have afforded a better view, but we civilians are not allowed there. L

Around the fort premises are many roofless structures standing with wild grass growing around. Due to forest fires this grass has been burned down but the ruins of these walls still stand. How I wish I had a time machine to go back in history to view the splendor of this fort back then!

Light House, New and Old

The house of Portuguese Poet Bocage is very close to the Main Entrance of the Fort via the sea. A marble tombstone has been erected above the door of the small structure denoting that Bocage used to reside here. His house is very small. The government should have worked on renovating his house so that people could see it from the inside. But instead it lies there locked. The window panes of his house are broken. Neglected.

The wall next to the main entrance to the fort has “Rua Martin Afonso” inscribed on it. And on the wooden door, painted beige with rusted metal on it, I saw “ESTA PORTAF OIFEITA AOS 8 DE AGO TODI.” It was Portuguese, but it seemed like Greek and Latin to me. Totally incomprehensible.

House of Bocage

Fortunately, there is some boasting I can do. Rua is Portuguese for road. No doubt the road was named after some important Portuguese official.

The Fort of Moti Daman houses the Court of Civil Registrar, The Secretariat, GHSS Moti Daman, Excise Forest, Collectorate, Government House, the local hospital, the houses of the locals, schools and other ruins. It also houses the Cathedral of Bom Jesus, the Chapel of Our Lady of Rosary and the Dominican Monastary in the Fort premises and the Church of Our Lady of Remedies and the Church of Our Lady of Agustias on the outskirts of the fort.

Underground tunnel near the entrance of the fort

Some parts of the fort are under renovation. Looks like the Daman Municipal Council has taken the initiative to take care of its rich heritage. I noticed that there are two underground tunnels on the fort. As I had no torch with me, I thought that it would be more sensible not to visit them. Someday I will be back to view the tunnels. It would be interesting to see where they lead. A hidden cave with a treasure trove lying undisturbed for centuries or a hidden entrance to some place. Or maybe a dead-end.

The other entrance to the fort near the Post Office leads to Moti Daman outside the fort. There is an inscription in Portuguese placed on the Entrance. Above it is a statue with an emblem alongside. Higher above this is a Cross, indicating that this is a Portuguese Fort.

It took me around 5 hours to see the Moti Daman Fort in its entirety. The place is certainly worth a visit and is worth exploring, particularly if you like walking.