Stories From Goan Houses

Heta Pandit currently lives in the village of Saligao, Goa. She has had a wide range of career stints in advertising, journalism and working with Dr. Jane Goodall in the field of chimpanzee research in Tanzania.

After pioneering multiple heritage awareness and action movements in Bombay, she has been living in Goa 26 years now, where she co-founded Goa Heritage Action Group in the year 2000 with architects Raya Shankhwalker and Poonam Verma Mascarenhas. GHAG is dedicated to the advocacy of preservation, conservation and restoration of Goa’s natural, built and cultural heritage. 

She says, "It’s been 25 years since the launch of my book ‘Houses of Goa’, a landmark book for architecture. I’ve written 10 books since, and  explored Goa through the lens of domestic and monumental architecture, oral history and traditional art, and this time around, I’m documenting Goa through a very important aspect, 'Stories from Goan houses'."

These are stories of families who have helped shape the state, played important roles, chosen to turn Goan houses around, local legends, stories and myths from growing up in Goa.