Eyes are the windows to the soul and there is truly nothing more pleasing than a beautiful sight steeped in tradition and antiquity. Traditional Goan houses boast of a majestic façade, spacious balcão, grandeur halls and ornamental oyster shell windows. Oyster shell windows are intricate translucent windows arranged in a myriad of patterns with a fanned peacock arch top that is reminiscent of a bygone golden Goa.

One of the first things that capture one’s attention when we view traditional Portuguese-styled houses is the decorative windows placed strategically in the middle of a pastel-hued wall. They provide balance and symmetry to the majestic century-old houses that already boasts of aesthetic railings, carefully crafted pillars and delicate eaves boards. With its vibrant colours and intricate arch designs; windows became a statement of art to the already quaint and picturesque houses.

Back when the Portuguese conquered Goa, a lot of the European concepts, including architecture and construction were replicated in the colonies. However, glass was an expensive commodity and thus the smart Goan craftsmen fashioned windows out of indigenous items that were readily available in the coastal haven. Houses that sport these windows were made of seasoned wood and mother of pearl shells. The flat part of the shell was polished and cut into lozenges by the local carpenter and was embedded between wooden slats that sport various colours. The arch of these windows also contained intricate patterns such as pointed trefoil arch and a segmented arch. These overlaid pieces of oyster shells take four to five years to transform their muddy hues to the iridescent and translucent ones desired for these windows. Besides their aesthetic value, the main purpose was to allow soft light to stream in while keeping the room well-lit yet cool. With time, these windows attained peep holes for occupants to view into the street. The upper arch designs were also replaced with iridescent glass or stained glass.

Mother of pearl shells were abundant at one point especially by the river estuaries. However, today, due to massive over-harvesting both for consumption and commercial purposes, the windowpane oyster, a bivalve marine mollusk in the family of Placunidae bears the mark of an endangered species and is protected by the Wildlife Protection Act. The traditional fishermen knew the value of returning the mother pearl shell back to the bay for regeneration. Today, the Chicalim Bay remains one of the only available places for the mother of pearl shells to breed and is also a protected zone to curb the massive overharvesting done in the past. Hence, procuring large quantities of oyster shells is a threat to the environment and could be one of the reasons for the decline of these ornamental windows.

Maintaining these windows is one of the biggest challenges on the minds of the occupants. During the monsoons, besides dealing with the moss that grows on the wood, another trial that the residents face is that the wood expands due to the moisture, “Closing these windows is a tedious task during the monsoons and some of the shells can easily fall out if not well fitted into the groves,” claims Sydney Baracho, who hails from Curtorim. Insects, termites and even birds seem to enjoy feasting and pecking on these shells. “Our biggest challenge has been the birds that peck on the shells, especially the newly replaced ones.” states Alisha Souza from Nachinola. She highlighted how procuring these shells to fix the broken ones is quite challenging and is also an expensive affair. Saving up the good pieces of older windows that have been replaced has proved useful.

Ranjeev Fernandes of the Fernandes Heritage House in Chandor is eager to restore most of the windows to their former glory but the hunt to find good oyster shells as well as craftsmen skilled in the art remains elusive. “The market may be filled with carpenters no doubt, but there a sheer lack of Goan carpenters armed with the knowledge of these windows,” he says. He also emphasised on the absence of mature and seasoned wood that was used in the past for these windows which allowed them to last for decades on end. “Foreigners who visit heritage homes are quite eager to learn about these ornamental windows and appreciate Goan heritage”

Today, there exist very few places in Goa that deal in these shells among other older items necessary for such houses. They mostly gather these shells from windows of older dilapidated houses or from people who have replaced their oyster shell windows with glass. “These shells are very hard to come by today. My forefathers were prudent enough to keep aside a sack full of spare shells that we still use to replace the few broken ones,” states Noah Gracias, who has a house that is 200 years old in the quaint little village of Velsao. 81-year old Cecilia Cardoso, lives in a house in Guirdolim that was built in 1943. “Though most of the things around the house have been renovated, I have maintained and kept an oyster shell window. It reminds me of the pristine Goa of my youth.”

Over time these intricate window designs were replaced by glass panes as maintaining these oyster shell windows is quite difficult. “These rooms still remain dark and cool, but most of the shells have lost their translucent colour are almost turning brown. However, they do cut out the bright light that floods the house in other rooms that have the more contemporary styled glass panes,” opines Cedric Silveira from Porvorim, who recently replaced a few windows with glass panes. To address the question of safety, many of these fragile wooden frames were armoured with intricate metal grills that while maintaining the aesthetics, also abounded the house with safety.

Alron Viegas whose house in Chinchinim has been renovated to keep up with the modern times, now has windows with glass panes in the grand hall where once

stood majestic oyster shell windows that were replaced in his grandfather’s time.

A few modern houses today imitate the windows with their semi-circle arches atop rectangular windows. However, the wooden frames and oyster shell are replicated by glass panes and metal frames. Today, a few Portuguese-styled houses sport glaring gaps in these once majestic windows while some have discoloured shells. Yet, they are reminiscent of the grander times experienced by the occupants of these houses. With the growing cost of these hard-to-procure shells and the difficulty in maintaining them, these windows may soon be a thing of the past.

At a time when shells were plentiful, artisans were skilled; these aesthetic windows thrived. Centuries later, the struggle to maintain these houses and the question of safety is juxtaposed with celebrating these ornate and quintessential elements of the Goan house. However, despite all odds, the few houses that do exist all over Goa are doing their best to keep the legacy of the past alive and retain the essence and ethos of the Goan Heritage.

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