oyster shells

Peek into Goa’s oyster-shell windows

Windows have several significant roles to play. Primarily, they help in filtering air and sunlight provide a passageway for them, however they remain an artistically explored part of Goan Architecture. In some Goan houses the window screens are fashioned out of nacre they remain characteristic of the traditional upper - classes. It is unclear where or when exactly these type of windows originated. However, thenacre of the mother-of-pearl shell was preferred over glass as it allowed for a subdued filtered light to come into rooms of a house while affording privacy. This gave windows in Goan homes a warm, translucent look from the outside while cutting off the light's glare on the inside. While superior quality timber was often reserved for the production of altars and fine pieces of furniture in Goan houses, the timber used for windows was inferior in comparison.

The nacre of the mother-of-pearl, which is otherwise a waste material, was then cut into lozenge shapes and slid into wooden battens to give windows added value and beauty. The Goan craftsman today makes miniaturized replicas of these windows that can be sold as souvenir picture frames and can be placed on walls to add a touch of interest. Mother-of-pearl shell windows are often made for measurements in building sites but, they can also be custom-made to specification by artisans. It requires the ingenuity and skill of the old Goan craftsman to elevate the science of house construction to the level of art. In spite of the ethnic beauty that they can add into urban architecture, unfortunately there isn't much demand today for these windows; the craftsmen who make the mare rarely found and mostly, out of business.

A common feature in Indo-Portuguese homes is wooden windows fitted with oyster shells, or nacre. The shells are sourced from riverside beaches. The flatter ones were cleaned, polished, shaped, and slipped between the windows’ grooved wooden battens; this kept the rooms cool while allowing a warm, filtered light to pass through and shielding the home from prying eyes.

There are still a few houses in Goa that sport these windows. Take a walk through the old Latin quarter in Panjim, Fontainhas, whose narrow streets are dotted with colored homes that preserve their Indo-Portuguese architecture. Begin at the Fundação Oriente on Filipe Neri Xavier Road.

The white bungalow has yellow skirting and long oyster-shell windows on both floors. Head out, walk north on Rua 31 de Janeiro past the graffiti-stained walls of Old Quarter Hostel, admiring the grill windows and the bougainvillea-framed balconies.

Stop at the renovated Panjim Inn, with its dull brown color and plant-laden sidewalk; its downstairs windows, though shut, are packed with oyster shells. The next clearing will bring you to a quaint yellow house shrouded by plants on Rua de Natal, the Afonso Guest House, whose windows feature ornate grills. The curving road ends at a circular junction. There, on one side, is a derelict maroon house, whose windows will show you what havoc age and neglect can wreak on these delicate shells.

A detailed history about the oyster-shell windows is on display at the Houses of Goa museum at Torda

Window-pane Oysters on the verge of extinction in Goa

 Harvesting window-pane oysters has been a traditional livelihood for the fishing community in Zuari river estuary in Goa.  Besides a livelihood source, window-pane oysters were the basis of a thriving cottage industry. Today due to indiscriminate marine infrastructure, water pollution, overfishing and changing natural habitat, this precious marine resource has almost become extinct in most of its traditional habitat areas, except in a single bay at Chicalim, where indiscriminate exploitation is threatening its very brooding stock.

Besides being a livelihood source for innumerable families of the fishing community, window-pane oysters were the basis of a thriving cottage industry in Goa.  For more than 400 years during Portuguese in Goa, window-pane oyster shells were exported to Brazil.  The oyster shells were extensively used in Goa as window-panes at a time when glass was not yet popularly used. Later houses of aristocratic families and well-off families typically used the shiny translucent oyster shells to decorate window panes despite the availability of glass.  Shells of these bivalves were also used to make handicrafts like lampshades, jewellery, while the occasional pearls found within the oysters were used in traditional medicine.

But all that is turning into history now.  Says Dr. Baban Ingole, senior marine scientist at Panaji-based National Institute of Oceanography ”  Mushrooming of shipyards, water pollution and unrestricted fishing has changed the natural habitat of this bivalve.  Despite being declared as a Schedule IV species under the amended Protection of WilldLife Act, 1972, and despite a ban on its commercial exploitation by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, unrestricted harvesting  continues at Chicalim, its only habitat area,  which threatens the very brooding stock of this precious marine resource.  Its limited occurance  and  restricted distribution demands strict regulations on its harvesting”

Window-panes oysters take about 4-5 yrs to mature fully when their muddy brown shells turn translucent white. The flat part of the shell is cut to fit into wooden window pane frames  traditionally  used  in Goan homes. “Warmer waters due to global warming  and increasing acidification of the oceans due to increased carbon emissions may have contributed to changing natural habitat and their proliferation.  Increasing water pollution and extensive marine infrastructure like shipyards and ports have certainly affected their growth profile” says Dr. Ingole.

However there is a silver lining to the story – the Chicalim Villagers Action Committee (CVAC) are demanding governmental action to  save the ‘manvi’ as the oysters are locally called.  Says Rui Araujo, Secretary, CVAC, ” We are not demanding a complete ban on harvesting the oysters, but strict harvesting regulations and the declaration of Chicalim Bay as a non-industrial area”

The strategy is likely to save the brooding stock at Chicalim bay and also ensure sustainable harvesting, thus saving both the livelihood of numerous families as well as this   marine resource from extinction.

http://tonferns.blogspot.in/2012/05/

windows-of-another-era-goa-india.html

http://thequiltsofindia.wordpress.com/

2011/11/16/goan-windows/

http://wovensouls.org/2011/03 /27/goan-portugese-houses-art-in-architecture/

http://www.archgoa.org/oyster/oyster.h

tm

https://www.google.co.in/search?q=Sh

ell+Windows+in+Goa&biw=1920&bih=

947&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa

=X&ei=mOb4UpnMFca3r geRr4HoAg&ved=0CFAQsAQ

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/2041916946/?rb=1

House in Fontainhas, Panjim, Goa. Using no glass in the window, one can find very fine and straight ster shells are used instead. They are inserted into wooden frames, allowing the light to come in as if it is passing through paper

Church of St Anne, Talaulim, South Goa. The use of shell of oyster 'placuna placenta' which filters a soft and muted light was motivated by the need to illuminate and at the same time preserve the interiors of the Churches where social events could take place during the day

The house in Saligao, Goa. Oyster shells are undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic elements of construction in Goa. Their usage within architecture, has been synchronous to the arrival of the Portuguese in India

Heritage House, Shioli, North Goa. The nacre of the mother-of-pearl shell is fixed into wooden battens and used to cover windows.Some windows are also made with different opening mechanisms

Heritage House, Shioli, North Goa The indulgence of the translucent, but functional nacre of the mother-of-pearl can be seen in this shell window

Rebello Mansion in Anjuna, Goa. Artisticallyinstalled sea shells in the window, create a little muted light onto the porches of the otherwise boldly painted house

House in Saligao, North Goa. The nacre of the mother-of-pearl shell is also used in making the wooden walls and balusters at the entrance of this house,which also announces the high status of the owner amongst society

Arpora, North Goa. One of the assertions of the local Goan identity is the implementation of shells in the window

Old Heritage Inn, Loutulim, Goa. The overlapping nacre of the mother-of-pearl shells creates an organic and eye pleasing pattern across the wooden window

Heritage house converted into Commercial building at Saligao, North Goa. These intricately made windows can find themselves a place only in Heritage Goan houses. However, this is an example of how old architecture can be used as a modern building

House in Shioli, North Goa. An example of the traditional upper- class Goan housewhich has a beautifully made porchedentrance created by using shell and stained glass windows on both sides

Weathered ruins inBraganza House, Chandor, South Goa. It is almost 300 years old. Glass came to Goa as late as 1890 and remained an expensive building material well into the 20th century. Today some of the houses in Goa are decrepit and so are the windows