This Article First Appeared In Scroll On October 26, 2022
Even if you aren’t feeling particularly spiritual, the Convent of Santa Monica and Chapel of the Weeping Cross in Old Goa is a good place for contemplation. On overcast afternoons, its white-walled facade contrasts sharply with the dark, craggy ruins of the St Augustine’s Tower across the road. Once inside the erstwhile convent, there’s more to reflect on, albeit through vision rather than prayer.
One of the first things that catches your eye is a very large, very silver pelican. This is no rare Konkan species but an exhibit of the Museum of Christian Art, housed at the four-century-old convent, that affords a glimpse of an enduring aspect of Goa’s cultural heritage. Established in 1994, and located at the convent since 1999, the museum was shut for renovation for the past five years. Its reopening in May 2022 has once again enabled engagement with a rich tradition of Indian practices while posing questions about the curation of religious art and its relationship to art historical categories of the local, national and global…