Vargao’s sacred well, reservoir of 300-year-old history, faces erasure

Keri: A sacred well at Vargao, a repository of a 300-year-old legacy, is sinking into oblivion. Located just 500m from the Candola-Old Goa Road, the well is situated at Madapai and is thought to be the abode of a hallowed force.

Sukadu Bhosle, an 80-year-old retired teacher from Madapai, said, “This well is believed to be associated with the unseen, holy spirit Nara.” He added, “Every year, a rice pancake is offered to it after sacrificing a cock. We don’t know who built the well. However, we have considered it holy based on ancestral traditions.”

Tivre-Vargao sarpanch Jayesh Naik who visited the well told TOI, “We have included this well in our People Biodiversity Register and are proposing it to be tagged a heritage site as it displays glimpses of architecture and cultural codes of the bygone days.”

Shramesh Bhosle, a member of the Betqui-Candola zilla panchayat, said, “By taking locals into confidence and using zilla panchayat funds, I have decided to take steps for the well’s conservation and protection.”

Khushali Gaude from Madapai said, “The sanctity of this well has been guarded through generations. Annually, we assemble for a ceremony to offer a sweet dish (godshe) at the well. We strictly pay heed to taboos.”

Agro-horticulture is the chief means of sustenance for Madapai, where Kuddo, Sakhalyo, and Nara are believed to be the guardian spirits. Locals do not dare visit the well unless religious practices are warranted there.

Candola resident Madhu Gaonkar, 70, said, “The well has a beautiful entrance. It was built by using lime plaster and jaggery with locally available laterite stones.”

The well is squarish, deep, and has a perennial source of water. Centuries of natural decay and neglect have all but sealed the well’s fate. As the well is covered with natural vegetation, it has remained unnoticed, said Eknath Parab, a local panch.