A Homage– Potradeo

Patradevi

hey mere vatan ke logon zara aankh mein bharlo pani, jo shaheed huye hai unki zara yaad karo qurbani.

The border terrain between Maharashtra and Goa, silent unacknowledged stands the homage to the brave souls of Goa who fought for liberation from the Portuguese.

The lovely brick and mosaic memorial nestles between greenery in the outskirts of the town of Patradevi or Potradeo.

As we ascend the steps, on the first level is the acknowledgement to the Rane’s of Satteri who lead the rebellion. Then is the name of the brave sons and daughters of the soil.  The steps end in a lovely platform with the flag pole and at the third level is the memorial proper, on the left is the symbolic mural of the satyagrahi’s as the Satyagraha movement was embraced on 18^th June 1947. On the right is the mural that symbolizes the life energy of Goa, the water, the trees, the fish and her people. The memorial also honors the Goans who served long prison terms in Angola and Portugal.

What maintains the sanctity of the place is its cleanliness devoid of chip wrappers, beer-bottles or beverage cans. The nearest vendor is a pineapple vendor who sits under the shade of the tree and vend fresh-cut pine-apples he even has a small basket where he collects the refuse.

I wish we could maintain other memorials so clean and pristine. The landscape garden it all makes it so beautiful.