Tag: Museum of Goa

Events in Goa

MOG Sunday: Goa Writers Redefine Desire Beyond Beaches

Tanisha Cardozo

Panaji: Moving beyond the familiar imagery that often defines Goa in the public imagination, a recent MOG Sunday session at the Museum of Goa brought together writers to explore how desire shapes contemporary life in the state. The discussion centred on Appetite: New Writing from Goa, an anthology of essays, short stories and poems that attempts to present a more layered and intimate portrait of Goa.

Edited by Shivranjana Rathore and Tino de Sa and published by Penguin Random House India, the anthology brings together voices connected to Goa, each interpreting the idea of “appetite” in deeply personal and varied ways. While the theme might initially evoke food, the conversation quickly expanded into broader territories of longing — for love, land, belonging, power and identity.

Opening the discussion, the editors reflected on how appetite is not merely about hunger, but about the deeper emotional and social currents that shape people’s lives. Rathore explained that the theme emerged organically within the group, yet strongly reflects the current moment in Goa. She spoke about a widespread “hunger for Goa” that exists both within and outside the state, influencing how it is experienced, imagined and sometimes contested.

Importantly, the editors clarified that the anthology does not attempt to define Goan identity in a fixed way. Instead, by focusing on intimate narratives and lived experiences, it resists the tendency to package Goa into a singular, consumable image. This approach shifts attention away from the familiar tropes of beaches, food and tourism, offering readers a more nuanced and human perspective.

Rathore also highlighted how the collection captures different layers of time, with contributors moving between past, present and imagined futures. This sense of temporality allows the anthology to reflect Goa’s ongoing transformations — from migration and changing livelihoods to evolving aspirations — without prescribing a singular narrative.

The discussion also touched on the broader role of literature in today’s fast-paced and often overwhelming media landscape. Describing the present as a “hyper-propaganda era,” Rathore suggested that writing offers a way to slow down and engage more thoughtfully with reality. By documenting lived experiences, literature creates space for reflection rather than reaction.

Co-editor Tino de Sa added another dimension to the conversation by describing appetite as cyclical and ever-evolving. Using metaphors from his own work, he suggested that desires enter and exit people’s lives, only to return in new forms, shaped by time and circumstance.

For readers in Goa, the anthology hopes to offer a sense of recognition, reflecting everyday realities such as community expectations, work in the tourism economy and shifting ideas of belonging. For those outside the state, it challenges simplified perceptions and invites a deeper engagement with Goa as a lived, complex space.

As the conversation at the Museum of Goa demonstrated, there is far more to the state than its postcard image. Through stories rooted in personal experience and collective memory, Appetite: New Writing from Goa opens up a richer, more layered understanding of a place that continues to evolve beyond its stereotypes.

Events in Goa

Museum of Goa to Host Landmark Exhibition on Tibetan Exile and Cultural Survival

Tanisha Cardozo

The Museum of Goa (MOG) is set to open a landmark exhibition titled Refuge, Resilience, and Rights: The Tibetan Story, bringing to Goa a deeply moving exploration of exile, identity and cultural survival. The eight-day exhibition will run from March 1 to March 8, 2026, at the museum’s Pilerne campus.

Co-curated with the Tibet Museum, the exhibition forms part of The Infinite Ripple – 90 Years of Compassion, a larger commemorative programme reflecting on compassion, memory and shared humanity.

Through historical objects, archival photographs, personal testimonies and community narratives, the exhibition traces the journey of Tibetans from their displacement in the mid-20th century to the lived realities of Tibetan communities in India and across the world today. It examines how culture can be preserved without territory — sustained through lived practice, education, institutions and collective memory.

Sharada Kerkar, Director of the Museum of Goa, said the exhibition was chosen to foreground exile as a deeply human experience. She noted that Tibet’s story raises universal questions about identity, belonging and the preservation of culture across generations, especially when communities are separated from their homeland.

The exhibition is supported by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness The Dalai Lama and the Vimson Shivanand Salgaocar Group. It also anchors a wider programme of public engagement, including talks, film screenings and cultural events aimed at fostering deeper understanding.

The opening on March 1 will feature a talk by Professor Varun Sahni titled Compassion in a Complex and Often Cruel World, followed by the launch of the book Voice for the Voiceless and a guided walkthrough of the exhibition. Daily walkthroughs will continue from March 3 to 7, offering visitors detailed insights into the narratives and materials on display.

The exhibition will conclude on March 8 with talks by Karma Thupten and photographer Kishore Thukral, along with a traditional Blackhat Dance performance by monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery — a powerful cultural expression rooted in Tibetan spiritual heritage.

By hosting Refuge, Resilience, and Rights: The Tibetan Story, the Museum of Goa reinforces its commitment to presenting global histories through a human lens — creating space for dialogue, empathy and reflection within the cultural landscape of Goa.

Events in Goa

MOG Sunday Talk: Flex Banners, ‘Airbnb Aesthetic’ and Goa’s Disappearing Traditional Street Lettering

Tanisha Cardozo

Panaji’s streetscape is undergoing a visible transformation as digital flex signages inspired by what many describe as an ‘Airbnb aesthetic’ steadily replace traditional hand-painted boards across the city and other Goan towns. The shift has resulted in streets that increasingly resemble those in mainstream urban India, with local character giving way to a standardised visual language. Alongside this aesthetic change, traditional sign painters are quietly disappearing, and with them, a long-standing craft tradition.

This evolving urban landscape formed the backdrop of a recent MOG Sunday session on Indian Street Lettering held at the Museum of Goa. Award-winning typeface designer and lettering artist Pooja Saxena used the occasion to draw attention to Goa’s street lettering as a living visual archive of its architectural and cultural history.

Saxena warned that the proliferation of digital flex signs, typically LED banner displays stretched over metal frames, is creating an ‘Airbnb aesthetic’ in which cities begin to look indistinguishable from one another. As she explained, when walking through such spaces, it becomes difficult to identify a city by its visual cues. The loss, she stressed, is not merely aesthetic but economic as well. When hand-painted signs disappear, so do the livelihoods attached to them. For Saxena, these signs should not survive only as museum exhibits; their true meaning lies in remaining functional, expressive elements within everyday public spaces.

Discussing her book project India Street Lettering: A Journey Through Typographic Craft & Culture, Saxena observed that lettering styles often reflect the historical period in which neighbourhoods developed. In Panaji, she pointed out, Art Deco and Art Nouveau influences in signage align closely with the city’s architectural heritage. Goa’s visual identity, she noted, is shaped by distinctive elements such as azulejos, woodwork and three-dimensional lettering. In conversation with Goa-based visual artist Avani Tanya, she explained how context shapes the way design elements are interpreted, while the coastal climate affects materials, making frequent repainting both necessary and a visible sign of ongoing care.

According to Saxena, street lettering extends beyond functionality; it operates as a gestural expression shaped by the human hand. Reflecting on increasing reliance on digital tools, she admitted concerns about losing touch with manual craft and handwriting. Her book focuses on letterforms created through analogue techniques, including hand painting and specialised processes, underscoring the intentionality and skill embedded in these forms.

Saxena expressed hope that her work would inspire people to look more closely at their local marketplaces and public spaces. By encouraging greater attention to everyday lettering, she believes citizens may begin to appreciate its cultural significance and advocate for its preservation. As Goa navigates the balance between modernisation and heritage, the conversation around street lettering raises broader questions about how cities can retain their identity while adapting to changing times.

Events in Goa

Museum of Goa Hosts Turtle Walker Screening; Discussion Highlights Coastal Threats to Sea Turtles

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Written by Intern Rency Gomes || Team Allycaral 

Panaji, February 2026: The philosophy of conservation must actively involve local communities and cannot be limited to animal protection alone, said filmmaker Taira Malaney during a post-screening discussion of her documentary Turtle Walker, held as part of a recent MOG Sunday event at the Museum of Goa (MOG), Pilerne. The screening was attended by members of the Jnana Foundation, followed by an audience interaction with Malaney and creative producer Saif Khan.


Set against India’s fragile coastline—where nesting beaches overlap with tourism, fishing livelihoods, and dense human activity—the documentary highlights how sea turtle conservation is deeply intertwined with social and ecological realities. Drawing from the film, Malaney underscored the role of local communities in supporting the work of marine biologist Satish Bhaskar, the film’s protagonist, whose extensive surveys of turtle nesting beaches began in the late 1970s.

“Real conservation needs to involve communities. It cannot be purely about protecting the animal,” Malaney said, noting that community members assisted Bhaskar in identifying nesting sites, navigating difficult terrain, and collecting field data across India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Turtle Walker documents Bhaskar’s decades-long surveys that led to the identification of previously undocumented nesting beaches and helped lay the foundation for long-term sea turtle conservation efforts in India.

During the discussion, Malaney addressed the growing threats faced by turtles along increasingly urbanised coastlines. She highlighted artificial lighting as a major concern, explaining that hatchlings rely on moonlight to find the sea, while streetlights and beachfront illumination often disorient them, leading to high mortality rates.

“Noise, crowds, and daytime human activity can discourage adult turtles from nesting, causing them to return to the sea without laying eggs,” she said, adding that hatchlings on developed beaches also face threats from stray dogs and poaching.

Fishing-related risks were also discussed, with Malaney noting that turtles are often accidentally trapped in fishing nets during offshore mating. While turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) exist to allow turtles to escape, she pointed out that their implementation in India remains inconsistent.

Referring to existing conservation efforts in Goa, Malaney cited Forest Department-managed hatcheries at beaches such as Morjim, Agonda, and Galgibag, where nests are relocated to protected zones to minimise losses from human disturbance and predation.

Creative producer Saif Khan said the film was developed alongside an impact campaign aimed at extending conservation engagement beyond screenings. “Storytelling can have an impact at multiple levels, but it needs to be combined with on-ground work,” he said. The campaign supports marine mammal stranding networks in Goa and Karnataka, conservation education programmes, and initiatives addressing threats such as abandoned fishing nets.

Further screenings and outreach activities are planned as part of the film’s ongoing impact campaign, alongside its public screenings and festival run.

Events in Goa

National Petalists Day Celebrated in Goa, Marking 10 Years of Inclusive Livelihoods for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

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Written by Intern Rency Gomes | Team Allycaral 

Goa | Craftizen Foundation celebrated National Petalists Day in Goa at the Museum of Goa, marking 10 years of the Petalists Livelihood Programme — a pioneering initiative that enables adults with intellectual disabilities to engage in meaningful, creative livelihoods.


The event brought together Petalists, partner organisations, caregivers, educators, and government representatives to celebrate a decade of collaboration, creativity, and inclusion. National Petalists Day is envisioned as a two-month celebration that began on December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and continues with events across Bengaluru, Pune, Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Goa, highlighting the abilities, talents, and contributions of adults with intellectual disabilities.

Launched in 2016, the Petalists Livelihood Programme focuses on creating structured and dignified livelihood opportunities through craft-based work. Across vocational centres, Petalists create handcrafted products using recycled temple flowers and other craft forms, combining therapeutic engagement with skill development and income pathways. Over the past decade, the programme has grown into one of India’s largest collaborative livelihood models in the disability sector, supporting more than 3,000 adults with intellectual disabilities across 100+ partner organisations in 11 states.

In Goa, the programme has created sustained livelihood opportunities through strong partnerships with local organisations, trainers, and caregivers. These collaborations have enabled adults with intellectual disabilities to participate meaningfully in creative work while building confidence, skills, and social inclusion.

The Goa celebration was graced by Varsha Naik, Director, Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of Goa, as Chief Guest, along with Taha Haaziq, Secretary, Goa State Commission for Persons with Disabilities. Their presence highlighted the importance of institutional support in strengthening inclusive livelihood ecosystems.

Other dignitaries and special guests included Prakash Kamat, senior journalist and social worker; Avelino de Sa, Founder and President, Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG); Mayura Balasubramanian, Founder and CEO, Craftizen Foundation; Vineet Saraiwala, Founder, Atypical Advantage; and Kumaraswamy, Director – Livelihoods, Craftizen Foundation. Leaders from partner organisations, parents, caregivers, trainers, and Petalists were also present.

A key highlight of the event was the active participation of Petalists, caregivers, and partner organisations, who shared their journeys and experiences with the programme. Creative group activities, artisan engagement, and a celebratory cake-cutting marked the milestone, reinforcing the inclusive and participatory spirit of National Petalists Day.

Aligned with International Flower Day on January 19, National Petalists Day is envisioned as a month-long national movement rather than a single-day event. The 2026 campaign began with an online launch on December 3 and continues with celebrations across Hyderabad, Goa, Lucknow, Pune, and Bengaluru.

Speaking at the event, Mayura Balasubramanian expressed gratitude to partner organisations whose continued commitment has enabled the programme to scale and sustain its impact over the past decade.

The Goa celebration concluded with closing remarks by Kumaraswamy and Sagarika Prabhu Gaonkar, Zonal Manager – Goa, Craftizen Foundation, who thanked the Petalists, partners, caregivers, and guests, reaffirming Craftizen’s belief that inclusive livelihoods thrive through collaboration, shared ownership, and community engagement.