There is something about Velha Goa or Old Goa that makes it sacrosanct to India’s Sunshine State. It has the mummified remains of Gõycho Saib or St. Francis Xavier at the Bom Jesus Basilica. Then there is the Se Cathedral which is on the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Old Goa’s trove of museums and architectural delights set it apart from Goa’s beach culture and infamous nightlife; it is an acquired taste which appeals to the pilgrim and the intellectual, not the clubhopper or the beachbum.
The dichotomy of Goa’s Old Town is that while it appeals to the nuanced world traveller, Velha Goa still doesn’t have a luxury hotel, even though the lodgings are fairly decent. Bridging the gap is the Kidena House, a 15,832 sq.ft., 6-bedroom, two-storeyed villa built on a sprawling 9-acre farmland plot in the neighbouring Batim village, nestled in the valleys of Old Goa. “I have observed that a certain demographic of elite and sophisticated tourists travel to Old Goa, driven by a love for history and architecture. Yet, there is nowhere for them to stay,” says Chef Ujjwal Tripathi, who converted his old family home into a luxury rental, to suit the market need.
In 2012, the farmhouse was originally built on pastoral land as a holiday home for the multigenerational Tripathi’s family by Panaji-based architect Ameet Sukhantkar. “The RCC structure has an orderly grid and an orthogonal geometry with strong horizontal definition,” the architect says. The land parcel includes a manmade pond or manas and a bund was reinforced allowing a jogging track all around. A repaired sluice-gate allowed for fishing activity to recommence. Much of Kidena House’s charm lies in this manmade reservoir as the river fish that are served on the menu such as mud crabs, shrimp, striped-grey mullet and South Asian carp are netted from this setup, as are many vegetables such as herbs, salad leaves, brinjals, ladyfingers, and so on. The south-end of the plot was selected to place the house, leaving a large open space towards the north principally for organic gardening and other agrarian activities.
Home technology has upgraded by leaps and bounds in the last decade. Ujjwal’s decision to lease it out as a holiday home compelled him to get the interiors refurbished to suit a hospitality venture earlier this year by architect Prutha Prabhudesai from InOut Design Studio Goa in Fatorda.
Kidena House: A Walkthrough
The gated villa’s plan offers its occupants utmost privacy, yet dichotomously displays a generous spread of space that immediately connects one to a Batim’s carefree village life with functional spaces organised in a series of linear courtyards. This not only allowed natural light and ventilation freely into the internal spaces but the interplay allowed for greater flexibility in organising the function zones to revolve around hosting and entertaining, or spending splash
Kidena House: Luxury Stay Amenities
One of Kidena House’s best-selling factors is that it boasts of a sprawling 2900 sq.m. lawn which makes it one of the biggest villa properties in Goa to host an outdoor event, ideal for a big, fat wedding; a pool party, a banquet, or even a farmer’s market. The villa also has an entertainment room, books and boardgames, a private bar, a jogging track, and bicycles to circumference the lake for a picnic. “I would like to envision the events calendar at the property very similar to a private members club in the near future, where we have regular art showings, expert-led talks, yoga and wellness retreats, and so on…”
The Charms of Old Goa
When you have checked into a chauffeur-driven luxury resort, everything in Goa seems a stone’s throw away. “A majority of Goan concierge’s promote the nightlife, bars and beaches, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, you have to remember that here at Kidena House, Old Goa is the defining backdrop,” Tripathi says. So, while you are here, you may want to take a look at the khazans (an intricate system of dykes and sluice gates native to Goa) at Ribandar; Velha Goa’s old cathedrals and museums; discover vendors that make the best Goan chorizo; or stay in and go fishing it at the estate’s Batim lake instead.
Gauti meets Gastronomy
The food menu at the lakeside retreat may come across as a surprise, considering that most Goan watering holes are aping Michelin-star menus and world gastronomies. Kidena House’s listing steers clear of food fads and is all about Gauti curries driven by local ingredients. Not to forget that most of its supplies are procured from the lake or vegetable patches nearby.
To the local Goan, Chef Ujjwal Tripathi is a familiar figure. He is also the proprietor of Nanbai, an artisanal bakery in Margao and Panaji; and Sweet Nation, a traditional Indian sweetmeat shop. Both of these cafés have become integral on Goa’s food map, and have stood the test of the time in a beach city where restaurants barely last a few seasons.
“Culinary fads only take you so far,” the chef observes, “I’ve noticed that after the first few meal requests, your patrons will default to food that feels sumptuous and homely. So while he has peppered the menu with a Beetroot, Cashewnut and Feta Spanakopita as a hors d’ouevre; a Grilled Sea Perch with Pineapple Sauce; or a Prawn Quinoa Risotto to keep his food offering’s cosmopolitan; what we really savoured was the Gauti Egg Benedict, the Varlela Vaingan ( stuffed brinjals), authentic Goan Fish Curries and the Crispy Okra. At a first glance, the menu seems small, earthy and practical but here is a bonus tip—we would recommend you ask Tripathi for the menus of Nanbai and Sweet Nation as well, and then take a call, as the central kitchen to all of these food venues are adjacent to the villa.
Local Goan Artists
The art curation at Kidena House mindfully features oil canvases by local artists depicting pastoral scenes and quintessential Goan scenes. Some of these include:
“Goan Window”: Mixed media on canvas by David Fernandes
“To Seek & To Believe”: Acrylic on paper by Nandini Raikar
“Adeche Udkan Bay Bharna”: Mixed media on canvas by Damodar Madgaonkar
“Untitled”:Mixed media on Japanese paper by Akeru Barros Pereira
“Yali”: Tea stains on handmade paper by Bipasha Sen Gupta
Kidena House: Luxury Stay Amenities
One of Kidena House’s best-selling factors is that it boasts of a sprawling 2900 sq.m. lawn which makes it one of the biggest villa properties in Goa to host an outdoor event, ideal for a big, fat wedding; a pool party, a banquet, or even a farmer’s market. The villa also has an entertainment room, books and boardgames, a private bar, a jogging track, and bicycles to circumference the lake for a picnic. “I would like to envision the events calendar at the property very similar to a private members club in the near future, where we have regular art showings, expert-led talks, yoga and wellness retreats, and so on…”
The Charms of Old Goa
When you have checked into a chauffeur-driven luxury resort, everything in Goa seems a stone’s throw away. “A majority of Goan concierge’s promote the nightlife, bars and beaches, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, you have to remember that here at Kidena House, Old Goa is the defining backdrop,” Tripathi says. So, while you are here, you may want to take a look at the khazans (an intricate system of dykes and sluice gates native to Goa) at Ribandar; Velha Goa’s old cathedrals and museums; discover vendors that make the best Goan chorizo; or stay in and go fishing it at the estate’s Batim lake instead.
