Tag: Museum of Goa

Events in Goa

Discover Goa’s ‘Not-So-Charismatic’ Wildlife at MOG Sundays with Prof. Manoj R. Borkar

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Panaji, June 2025 – The Museum of Goa (MOG) invites nature lovers, curious minds, and wildlife enthusiasts to explore a rarely seen side of Goa’s biodiversity through a compelling session titled “Whip Spiders, Whip Scorpions & Tarantulas: The ‘Not-So-Charismatic’ Wildlife of Goa.” This special edition of MOG Sundays will take place on Sunday, June 22, 2025, at 11:30 AM, at MOG’s campus in Pilerne Industrial Estate, Bardez.

Led by acclaimed biologist Prof. Manoj R. Borkar, this talk promises to shift the lens from Goa’s popular coastal and forest fauna to the secretive world of arachnids and arthropods that play a crucial yet uncelebrated role in our ecosystems.

About the Speaker

Prof. Manoj R. Borkar is the Head of the Department of Zoology at Carmel College for Women, South Goa, and the founder of the Biodiversity Research Cell. A respected academic and passionate field biologist, Prof. Borkar has spent decades studying Goa’s flora and fauna, advocating for scientific literacy and ecological balance. His ability to translate complex biological phenomena into relatable narratives makes his sessions both informative and inspiring.

Why This Talk Matters

When we think of Goa’s wildlife, the spotlight often falls on its majestic birds, leopards, or marine life. But what about the organisms lurking under leaves, in dark corners, or beneath stones—creatures that many of us fear or ignore?

This session will demystify:

  • Whip spiders – shy, non-venomous arachnids with unique locomotion and sensory limbs
  • Whip scorpions – fascinating creatures with powerful pincers and a whip-like tail
  • Tarantulas – misunderstood giants of the spider world, critical to pest control

Prof. Borkar will discuss their ecological roles, adaptations, and the myths that surround them, offering a fresh perspective on creatures often deemed scary or insignificant.

Event Details

  • Date: Sunday, June 22, 2025
  • Time: 11:30 AM onwards
  • Venue: Museum of Goa, Pilerne Industrial Estate, Bardez
  • Entry: Free (Limited seating)
  • RSVP: WhatsApp your name to 7722089666 to register

Who Should Attend?

  • Wildlife and nature enthusiasts
  • Students of biology, environmental science, and ecology
  • Families and children with a curiosity for the natural world
  • Anyone willing to challenge their fears and see nature differently


This MOG Sundays talk offers a rare opportunity to appreciate the hidden heroes of Goa’s ecosystem. By spotlighting the ‘not-so-charismatic’ creatures, the session encourages a more inclusive and respectful understanding of wildlife. Come with an open mind—you may walk away with a newfound fascination for the creatures that crawl, creep, and quietly sustain the balance of nature.

Books & Literature

Goan Youth Need to Take Charge; Defend Their Homeland: Activist Shohail Furtado

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Panaji, June 2025: Goan youth need to be vigilant and serve as a bulwark against the abuse of land resources in the state and keep track of dubious projects being pushed through village panchayats as well, according to Shohail Furtado, a young social activist, who was speaking recently at the Museum of Goa as part of the latter’s MOG Sundays series.

Varca-based Furtado’s talk session, ‘Uttai Re Goemkarano’, was a call to action urging Goan youth to challenge the unchecked spread of megaprojects in Goa that threaten the state’s villages and environment. “If you start following the paper trail, you unfold a series of internal settings. It’s a castle of cards, and it can come tumbling down. But who is going to do it? The youth need to engage in their gram sabhas and panchayats,” said Shohail Furtado. “Corruption is present even in the grassroots of an administration,” he added.

Using data, visuals and direct action like beach clean-ups, surveys, and petitions, Furtado also spoke about his experiences with youth and locals resisting on-ground injustices, citing the course of his well-known campaign highlighting the pollution of the Varca creek, in south Goa. 

Questioning permissions from grassroots bodies like village panchayats for large-scale multi-dwelling projects in the guise of “development,” Furtado said: “We’re told we need more tourism, more housing, more growth. But who is it really for, and who pays the price?”

Shohail said that the youth in Goa may have been incorrectly conditioned into thinking their voice lacks power and that they should instead focus on careers and personal development. “Why do political parties have youth wings? They know that the minute the youth mobilise is the day they cannot do anything, because the power lies in the hands of the youth,” he emphasised.

Furtado said it was time for the youth to take the lead to preserve Goa’s identity and ecological balance, but noted a lack of awareness among his contemporaries. “I noticed a gap—our youth were aware, but not deeply enough. They weren’t fully engaged with what is being destroyed in our state,” Furtado said. “My parents’ generation is still holding fort and fighting. But they’re not doing it for themselves; they’re doing it for us. Because we are the ones who will inherit a ruined Goa, not them.”

The session, and the interactive discussion that followed Furtado’s talk, explored the possibility of networking among like-minded non-governmental organisations working in tune with each other for the betterment of the state, and included a call for young people to become more proactive in their local governing bodies.

Events in Goa

Australian First Nations Art and Digital Storytelling Exhibition ‘Walking Through A Songline’ Strikes a Chord in Goa

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~ ‘Walking Through A Songline’ at The Museum of Goa, resonates with India’s own indigenous oral traditions.

Panaji, March 2025: Ancient Australian First Nations’ knowledge meets cutting-edge technology at ‘Walking Through A Songline,’ an immersive and digital art exhibition that brings the storytelling of Australia’s First Nations’ people to Goa.

Hosted at the Museum of Goa (MOG) in Pilerne, the ongoing exhibition, which was inaugurated by Christian Jack, Australian Deputy Consul General in Mumbai recently, reimagined the Seven Sisters Songline, one of Australia’s oldest indigenous narratives, through digital artistry, drawing unexpected connections to India’s own oral and artistic traditions.

Songlines, also called dreaming tracks, are a way of holding and passing on knowledge in non-text-based societies. These are millennia-old pathways of knowledge in the form of story, performance and art, that span the entire Australian continent, forming its foundational stories. The Songlines map the routes and activities of ancestral ‘creator beings’ that explain creation and transmit cultural values, including protocols of behaviour and living sustainably on the continent.

Presented by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the National Museum of Australia and produced by the Melbourne-based Mosster Studio, the exhibition uses digital craft to take a relook at Australia’s epic Seven Sisters Songline, an ancient tale of pursuit, survival of the continent’s First Nations’ people and cosmic connections. Interpreting the work of more than 100 artists, the exhibition transported visitors into the heart of Australian First Nations’ storytelling, drawing unexpected parallels with Goa’s own prehistoric art, like the Usgalimal petroglyphs in Quepem.

“Indigenous art is often sidelined as ‘primitive’ when in reality, it is as contemporary as any other form of artistic expression,” said Museum of Goa founder director Dr Subodh Kerkar. “This exhibition extends the spirit of Reconciliation Place in Canberra and Australia’s efforts to celebrate its First Nations’ people.” Reconciliation Place in the Australian capital of Canberra is a public space dedicated to acknowledging the continent’s indigenous history, culture and the ongoing journey of reconciliation in Australia.

Australian Deputy Consul General, Christian Jack, highlighted the exhibition’s broader significance. “We are thrilled with the response ‘Walking Through A Songline’ is receiving in Goa. Songlines, like India’s oral traditions, are ancestral maps of knowledge, passed down through generations. The multi-sensory art exhibition showcased the power of digital storytelling in preserving one of the world’s oldest cultures and it has been an honour to share this experience with the people of Goa.”

The exhibition at the MOG in Pilerne represents the last leg of the exhibition’s India tour and will be open for public viewing till April 4.

Beyond the digital installation, the exhibition features workshops, storytelling sessions and interactive activities, ensuring engagement beyond the screen. The India tour of ‘Walking Through A Songline’ has been organised in tandem with the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR), Deakin University, Tata BlueScope Steel and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).

Events in Goa

‘Walking Through A Songline’ Digital Art Exhibition at Museum of Goa to Spotlight First Nations Artworks and Epic Stories from Australia

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‘Walking Through A Songline’ Digital Art Exhibition at Museum of Goa to Spotlight First Nations Artworks and Epic Stories from Australia

~ The international touring digital art experience will make a stop at Museum of Goa (MOG), Pilerne, this month.

Panaji, March 2025: Bringing the ancient First Nations Australian tradition, Songlines, linked to aboriginal culture on the continent, to Goan shores, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the National Museum of Australia will showcase the international touring immersive art experience Walking Through A Songline (WTAS) at the Museum of Goa (MOG), Pilerne.

Produced by Mosster Studio (Melbourne-based artist duo) the exhibition will be making a stop at MOG for the final leg of its Indian tour. The exhibition will be open for public viewing from 14 March to 4 April 2025, at the Pilerne-based contemporary art museum. The India tour of WTAS is supported by the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR), Deakin University, Tata BlueScope Steel, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).

The exhibition aims to explore the stories and knowledge of First Nations Australian communities documented through art, songs, motifs and patterns, preserved and showcased through modern technological interventions such as projection mapping. These artworks and traditions show significant similarities to ancient documentational artworks by indigenous communities in India and Goa, like the Usgalimal petroglyphs.

“WTAS explores the nexus between ancient Australian First Nations knowledge and cutting-edge technology, interpreting the work of more than 100 artists. Such stories form the foundational history of the Australian continent as told by artists, custodians and traditional owners. Songlines explain creation and transmit cultural values, including protocols of behaviour and how to live sustainably on this planet, as Australia’s First Nations peoples have for millennia.” said Paul Murphy, Australian Consul-General in Mumbai.

“The exhibition, Walking Through a Songline, which depicts the ancient story of the Seven Sisters from Indigenous Australian culture through state-of-the-art digital technology, aligns with Museum of Goa’s role as a contemporary space dedicated to highlighting artworks and practices rooted in the cultures of individuals and communities from all walks of life,” said Dr Subodh Kerkar, founder of the Museum of Goa, Pilerne.

Songlines, also called dreaming tracks, are a way of holding and passing on knowledge in non-text-based societies. These are millennia-old pathways of knowledge in the form of story, performance and art, that span the entire Australian continent, forming its foundational stories. They map the routes and activities of ancestral ‘creator beings’ that explain creation and transmit cultural values, including protocols of behaviour and living sustainably on the continent.

This immersive digital experience visualises the Seven Sisters Songline. This Songline begins in Australia’s Western Desert and as the Seven Sisters travel through the desert and across the sky, they map the land for millennia to come. In many cultures, including Greek and Indian astrology and Australia’s First Nation people refer to the Pleiades star cluster as seven women.

For the duration of the showcase, visitors across age groups can engage in several activities to further explore the exhibition, including workshops, and a dedicated daily interaction corner will offer hands-on activities, storytelling sessions, and personalised interactions with MOG’s educators. Details of these will be publicised on the Museum’s social media account (Instagram: @museumofgoa).

Media Requests and Registration

For further inquiries, please contact Nazneen Luth on- Nazneen.Luth@dfat.gov.au