Sawantwadi

ZUZU

Hi India Mikers,

I wondered if anyone had experience with the crafts village of Sawantwadi? It is located in far southern Maharashtra - actually far enough south that we are thinking of it as a day trip during our time in North Goa in a few weeks.

I read about it in LP (I believe, though it may have been Rough Guide) and then found a bit more on the internet but all tourism sites, no direct info from folks that have actually visited.

Anybody have any info? we're interested in Ganjifa cards and crafts and this sounded like it might make for a pleasurable day trip from the beach.

Cheers!

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Zuzu

anindya911

Sawantwadi is about an hour and halfs joueney from Goa. Near the towns main square there are few shops selling ganjifa cards and other handicraft items.
Suggest to visit Malvan and the sea fort of Sindhudurg on the same trip.
It could be welcoem change from Goa scene

Cheers

Anindya

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ZUZU

Anindya,

Thank you ganjifa cards were what first drew us to think about Sawantwadi - so it's good to hear that they may still be around. I was checking out the trains, so perhaps train one way and car the other to see the beach at Malvan and explore the fort.

Many thanks,
ZUZU

FreeSoul

Sawantwadi is just 1 and 1/2 hour drive from Goa as Anindya has said as far as the handicrafts are concerned you get all those in the Sawantwadi market which is the main sqaure.
According to me apart from visiting Malvan u can also visit Amboli ghats if u want a break from the beaches and escape into the mountains which is an hour drive from the Sawantwadi market.
The other places to visit at Malvan is the Tarkali beach where there are plenty of tourist activity going on such as Scuba diving etc.

ZUZU

Well I wanted to report back since we carried out this little caper and visited Sawantwadi on our recent trip to India Dec/Jan. In a trip of highlights, this was a unique experience.

Our first decision was how to get there. We'd just spend NYE in Goa and were still in Anjuna. We were feeling a little lazy and since we had also made a relationship with a very nice and friendly Goa driver, Sham, we asked him if he could take us. Interestingly he was a little evasive, lots of head wiggle, but reluctance. He told us it would be too expensive - I think the issue was crossing the border from Goa into Maharashtra.

So, we decided what a perfect opportunity to take a our first low pressure train ride, sans backage & just for a day trip. Since we didn't have tickets, I was thankful to purchase tickets using Cleartrip at one of the local guesthouse internet stations. We had train rides ticketed for later parts of our itinerary, so we thought this would be an ideal 'test run.'

Sham took us to the train station in Thivim and promised to pick us up that afternoon around 5p when the train would return to Thivim from Sawantwadi. So far so good, we figured out which platform to wait at and the map with the car position was pretty self-explanatory (at least at this station Our train came within minutes of schedule and we quickly found our seats - for this trip we booked 2AC.

The train wasn't too full and we enjoyed the ride. The window can be a little touch and go for scenary though and I can see why Steven Ber likes Sleeper! a few windows were pretty milky - but it was nice to have lots of spaces - always trade-offs. The train officials were great and made sure we knew when our stop was coming up (I'd expected announcements - but found that doesn't happen). Each time we rode the train though (well, every one of the now 5 times), the train staff were wonderful about warning us that our station was approaching and making sure we got off in time - so no worries in that department.

Sawantwadi was a pretty, small sleepy station. We found an autorickshaw quickly. We didn't know too much about the going rate in Sawantwadi or the distance to the palace, but we weren't going to quibble about 40IR! The ride was about 15 minutes or so to the palace, and quite hilly, there were a few times I wasn't sure our little rickshaw would handle the uphill

As we approached the palace and center of town, we saw the lake. The city is based around a large lake. There is a sidewalk path and overhead lights all around - it was a very peaceful spot. We were excited though to continue to the palace.
There were maybe 6 other tourists there - Indian families. The caretaker of the palace had us wait a few moments and we realized they were tracking down an english-speaking guide for us. The entrance fee was nominal 30IR each I believe. Our first stop was Darbar Hall, it had an air of faded elegance. Actually the entire palace and grounds had a real poignant atmosphere. The grounds were very well kept, but clearly it had been a long time since Darbar Hall had been the scene of an event. The king's throne was present, shielded in plastic. There were stuffed cats in glass cases and old portraits. It was like a scene from Norma Desmond's house in Sunset Boulevard - there was an overwhelming sense of the past about the place and something a little desolate.

We heard a bit of murmuring amongst the guides as we stepped outside again to enter another part of the palace. The Queen, who though elderly is very much alive, was on the grounds and had asked to meet us. She was wonderfully gracious and we chatted a bit about ganjifa cards and the ganjifa factory and apprentice card painters. She also asked us about our impressions of India and our trip. She very graciously agreed to take a picture with us.

The tour continued to another series of rooms that housed a museum. Here there were many pictures showing the celebrations,royal coronations, a visit from PM Nehru, etc. that had occurred in the past. We saw pictures of the Queen as a young woman, her husband and family. We recognized photos taken right in Darbar Hall that we had just toured, with the Sawantwadi royal family and British dignitaries enjoying a feast. It was all fascinating and i've attached some thumbnails below.

Our next stop was the ganjifa "factory" - this was actually a large room with a half dozen work tables. Apprentices and ganjifa artists were busy at work hand painting the cards with Indian icons. They were beautiful - each card in the 200 odd set painted by hand.

Our last stop was the gift shop and I really hoped that I would be able to purchase a set of cards - I felt this would be a my most cherished souvenir from India. The gift shop contained many charming painted boxes and painted children's toys. There were framed single ganjifa cards and a set that was used as display and from which you could purchase a single card. When I indicated that I actually wanted to purchase an entire set, the shop attendant replied that he thought they had two complete sets in stock. The round cards are stored in beautiful painted wooden boxes. I really wasn't sure how to price such an item. The fellow indicated that each set was $2,500 IR. I bought both sets and didn't try to bargain - they are wonderful.

From the palace we proceeded across the road on foot towards the lake. It was a hot day and lots of girls in bright sarees walked with umbrellas to shade themselves from the heat. We passed a gaggle of school children in their uniforms. This was Jan 2 and they all shyly wished us 'Happy New Year.' No one requested a pen. We received lots of stares, but friendly, interested stares and return smiles when we smiled. In the market there was literally 'no pressure' - my husband bought a few simple dotis and was very pleased with his purchase. We stopped for tea and a snack at a little 2nd floor cafe overlooking the lake. There was a lovely breeze and the waiters were very friendly and curious about our trip. We shared a beer - I was shy to order a beer for myself (I didn't want to offend) and shared my husband's - but I think it would have been okay. We had a terrific chili paneer dish that was a spectacular foil for the cold beer.

It was soon time to flag down an autorickshaw for the trip back to the train station. It was refreshing that the return fare was even a bit less than the first way. It was nice not to haggle with the driver and instead enjoy the scenery and the breeze.

Unfortunately our train was over 3 hours late - that's a long time to wait at the Sawantwadi train station we were luckily able to phone Sham in Goa that we would be late, unfortunately we couldn't really tell him when we ~would~ arrive and he seemed determined to wait for us. Since we didn't have a cell phone and calling back on pay phones was a bit of a challenge - but we did our best to keep Sham apprised.

We eventually arrived in Thivim after 8p and saw Sham's smiling face - I think he was relieved we were back - it was a long day for all of us! I coddled my ganjifa sets and kept them in my unchecked, carryon backpack for the remainder of the trip. I recall failing security scans at the Taj President, Mangalore Airport, and Mumbai international airport - ganjifa evidently don't x-ray well - but every security examiner thought they were beautiful too!

Cheers and try to visit Sawantwadi!
Sky & Patty

capt_mahajan

Nice writeup.

Have driven through Sawantwadi a few times. Never stopped

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pontesnm

Trips like these are some of the most memorable and pleasant.

anindya911

Beautiful write-up!

avinashzalake

Sawantwadi has it's own beauty
other than beaches like goa & kokan
other than mountains like Amboli

shahronakm

Excellent trip report. Thanks.

Ronak.

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FreeSoul

That was a nice report of the trip. Thankyou and hope you will come back to India to enjoy it again.

the mountain goat

awesome write up .. i ride past sawantwadi everytime i hit goa .. its a nice peaceful town ..

delhiwala

Today only ! I was watching a program on Fox History Channel on Ganjifa cards......

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saajan_20

Everybody driving down from mumbai never bother s to stop at sawantwadi because goa is so near and the road apparently becomes small here and no overtaking here makes it all the more a reason to rush through it