As I was ‘doom-scrolling’ one evening I happened to come across a post somewhere, that mentioned ‘Atlantis of Goa’. That got me curious. As someone who likes to visit offbeat places and write about them, this headline got the better of me (Instagram and its hooks!). There I was checking how far the Sinking Village of Goa was from our stay at Galgibag Beach.
But at that point, I wasn’t aware of the importance of this village and the reason behind its disappearing act for 10-11 months under the depths of the water from Salaulim dam.
Flanked by the hills of the Western Ghats and the Salaulim river flowing through it, Kurdi/Curdi was once a flourishing agricultural village of the south-eastern Goa.
History of Kurdi
Located hinterland in the Sanguem taluka of South Goa, Kurdi was subjected to a cultural shift with the arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century. A Hindu cultural hot spot, pursued by various dynasties because of its proximity to Karnataka border, Kurdi was liberated in 1961 when an instrument of surrender was signed by the Governor-general of Portuguese India, Manuel António Vassalo e Silva. Goa became a part of India.
The situation took a different course for this thriving village, post 1961, when Dayanand Bandodkar, the first Chief Minister of Goa visited the Kurdi to announce the prospect of a dam construction that would provide water to all of the talukas of South Goa.
An ambitious project named Salaulim Water Supply Project that was supposed to meet the demands of the water supply in Sanguem, Quepem, Salcete and Mormugao Talukas of South Goa, left destruction, dismay and disappointment in its wake. A village that existed till 1986, now becomes visible once a year as it surfaces during April and May when the water recedes.
A total of 600 families across 20 wards consisting of 3000 villagers were displaced from their fertile land and rehabilitated to Vaddem and Valkinim which were 15 kms away.
The first of the exodus started in 1982 when families had to stay in makeshift houses until they could build homes of their own while the last of the families vacated in 1986 when the entire village flooded due to untimely torrential rains coupled with water discharge from the dam. What remained was an empty village with no future.
The Salaulim Dam
Known for its duckbill spillway, the foundation stone of Salaulim Dam was laid by VV Giri in 1973 who was the President of India. The construction that started only by 1975 took a good deal of years to complete (early 2000s) although the impoundment was built in the early 1980s. Salaulim Dam is Goa’s largest man-made reservoir that bears resemblance of a sinkhole and finds a poetic reference to it engulfing the land of the Curdikars.
Remains of The Village
On a hillock lies The Sacred Heart of Jesus Chapel in ruins. ‘Sovoskai Tumche Sovem,’ meaning, ‘Peace be with you’ in Nagari script adorn the façade. Broken steps leading to the chapel, foundation remains of a school building, cemetery located at the back of the Chapel beyond recognition with nothing except a cross – that is all there is left of the Chapel compound.
Shree Someshwar Temple – an ancient Hindu temple dating back to the 10th of 11 century under the Kadamba period dedicated to Lord Shiva, a 16-tonne megalithic image of a Hindu deity dated 5th century B.C was found in the village and more recently the discovery of the remains of a Ganesha temple just 500 meters away from Shree Someshwar Temple highlight the historical chapters of Kurdi.
Of the 600 families that resided there, only a brick here and a wall there is what remains of the once thriving village of Kurdi in Sanguem.
Compensation To the Villagers
The villagers were to be handsomely compensated. The rehabilitation package of 1984 consisted of 400 sqm of residential plot and 10,000 sqm of agricultural land with a loan of INR 13,000 along with wood and cement at subsidized rates. 478 people opted for plots, 72 chose monetary compensation of 4 lakhs and 71 are still awaiting the package – 40 years since it was promised.
The Irony That Haunts the Inhabitants of Kurdi
When it was time to count the sacrifices and the remuneration it warranted, the adage – ‘for the greater good’ remained forsaken.
The shocking turn of events was the dam which was built to provide water to the talukas of South Goa never reached the villages of Valkinim and Vaddem where the original villagers of Kurdi were displaced.
Gurcharan Kurdikar, a lad of just 15 at that time who had to leave his home in 1986 had revealed in his interview with BBC that “The tap system did not come through to all villages of south Goa as promised”. “So, we do not get our drinking water from the dam. Our local administration (panchayat) drilled borewells, but they went bust a few years ago,” he said. Currently their water needs are met with large pumps fixed into two large wells in the village but come summer and the wells run dry. With the need for drinking water and water for irrigation and only one hour worth of water they get every day, government tankers are not sufficient.
How the Curdikars Keep Their Memory of ‘Home’ Alive
As the water recedes in the month of May, the original inhabitants visit their lost homeland – Kurdi.
Utsav Festival that is held on the 3rd Sunday of May at Kurdi’s Someshwar Temple (the dome of which is visible throughout the year) witness footfall of the actual inhabitants to come to pay their respect to their land. The following Sunday (fourth Sunday of May), the annual Chapel feast is celebrated. This year the Feast was welcomed on the 26th of May. Not just the temple and the Chapel, the dargah too welcomes its devotees who visit to pay their respects.
The Documentary – ‘Remembering Kurdi’
Saumyananda Sahi, a filmmaker, was inspired by the annual reappearance of the village and with the help of Gurcharan Kurdikar created a documentary – ‘Remembering Kurdi’ that expresses the loss suffered by villager and the pain they endured as everything they held close to heart lay inundated.
The Popularity That Followed Post The Documentary
The documentary brought Kurdi on the tourist map. From being incognito it became the face of mystery.
Kurdi now welcomes summer visitors but not without its fair share of woes and vices.
While the documentary was successful in conveying the distress of the villagers it also brought popularity to Kurdi. Unfortunately, the popularity also led to insensitive visitors bringing plastic, glass and other litter and some even damaging the frail laterite walls of the building remains by climbing over them to snap frames for social media feeds.
Gurcharan Kurdikar, whose intention was to highlight the plight of the displaced but never wanted to popularize Kurdi as a seasonal tourist attraction. With increasing tourists visiting Kurdi every year, so is the consistent litter pile which Kurdikar along with others clean before the Utsav festivities begin.
Creating Awareness About Kurdi
A local tour company of South, founded by Varun Hegde named Soul Travelling that specializes in offbeat experiences, undertake a 2-hour heritage walk to bring to light the history of the village, the sacrifices of the villagers and the need for the Salaulim dam. The walk is also attended by the displaced villagers who share their stories with visitors and show the remains of their homes and wells. They share stories of prosperity of theirs village and the hardships they faced since moving on.
What did I Witness?
After traversing a green canopy, the barrenness of the village can be an eye-sore to any ignorant pair of eyes. But that polarized feeling is far from what the original locals of this godforsaken land – the Curdikars feel. Acres of wasteland, islands of bushes, stumps of trees in the middle of the waterbody that still covers a major part of the village, cracked earth in few sections, remnants of walls of fallen houses and broken dreams of the Curdikars who were forced to leave their home to make way for a dam, is what one can see during a visit in April/ May months.
Except for few other exotic birds like the Kingfisher (I recognized only this one) and ripples of the lake surrounding the land, the sound of emptiness fills the air. I had never seen such a vastness of ‘nothing’ – fragments of an abandoned village.
And the irony of not receiving the same water for which the villagers sacrificed their life and livelihood hangs in the air
Best Time to Visit
Without a doubt and any other option per se, the only two months that Kurdi resurfaces are April and May.
How to Reach
By Car/ Bike:
From Madgaon it is an hour’s drive. Use Google Maps and drive along NH66. You will come across a forest area; you have to continue driving.
By Train
Goa is connected to all major cities of India by the railways network. Get off at Madgoan Station and from their hail a cab, rent a car or bike.
By Flight
Dabolim Airport is in the South and MOPA in the North of Goa. If you are staying in South Goa, it will be easier to visit Kurdi.
How Long Does it Take to Reach Kurdi?
Around an hour’s drive from Madgaon.
A travesty at best that led to the villagers giving up on their homes and rebuilding their life beside strangers on a new land. Every year as the water ebbs, a graveyard of memories resurfaces to remind the Curdikars what they gave away ‘for the greater good’.
Climate change also plays a part; sometimes due to extreme heat in May, visiting Kurdi becomes unpleasant or sometimes the water doesn’t recede due to unseasonal rains – perhaps its for the best.
The fate of Kurdi will always remain an important chapter in the history of Goa but the misery of the displaced villagers needs to be addressed so they can bury the past and move on towards a better future.
If you are visiting Goa for the first time then this Goa Travel Guide will help you craft an itinerary apt for a long as well as a short visit to the smallest state of India.
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