Goa’s Favorite Mapusa Market Heritage Walk

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Mapusa is one of the four major cities of Goa. It is the trading hub of North Goa since the olden days. People of Goa still rave about the Mapusa Market. Even the name Mapusa comes from the marketplace that is its identity.

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Mapusa Market GoaMapusa is to North Goa is what Madgaon is to South Goa – a city surrounded by villages. Panjim came much later in the timeline of Goa and in the lives of Goans.

Mapusa comes from the word – Maap or to measure. What can be a more apt name for a place best known for the trade? In a lighter vein, people call it Maha Piche, meaning the town of Big Mad people.

Mapusa Market, Goa

Every Friday, people head to the Mapusa Market for their shopping. Although, these days, the market is more or less the same on all days. People still associate it with Friday, the day the traditional market used to be held in the town. So, every day of the week, a different village would have a market.

Herbs being sold at the Mapusa MarketHistorically speaking, the Mapusa market as we see it today, came up only in 1960, a year before the Goan liberation in 1961. It was the first planned and designed marketplace in Goa, kind of like a shopping mall of its era. With open spaces between lanes of shops, it was designed to allow the unloading and loading of merchandise. Some historians also say it was meant to allow the police to patrol the market. Shops have a pillared corridor running in front of them.

Local Goan Bread
Bread Bakers of Mapusa market

The plan included different lanes for different trades say Jewelers in one lane, clothes merchants in another, etc. The last lane was meant for fish, the product that you can pick up at the end before you head back home.

Shakuntala sculpture

A Shakuntala sculpture stands as a fountain in the market square. We know Shakuntala lived in Kanvarshram in Uttarakhand and has no known connection to Goa. Ask around, and you may find an answer.

Spices at Mapusa Market in Goa
Spices being sold at the market

You can still buy a lot of fresh products that come from distant villages in this market. With time, of course, the traders sell whatever the buyers want, including Chinese products.

Do not miss the baker’s platform in the market. This is where the bakers come with their freshly baked Pois, Kankanas, and other loaves of bread to sell. You can watch the buyers choosing their bread and bakers swiftly wrapping it in the newspaper.

Potters of GoaPotters of Goa are a star attraction of the market.

The backside of the market belongs to Bananas and baskets. Cane basket weavers are typically women who come with things like baskets, small pouches, and hand fans. A set of 2 baskets, a purse, and a fan is used in the weddings for gifting to the bride. Our guide said this craft has survived because of the ritual use of these baskets.

Before 1960, the old market used to be in the lanes next to the current market. The area is now called Angod – which comes from the Kannada word Angadi or Shop/Market. If you look at the addresses on the boards, you will notice this word.

Shantadurga Dhargalim

The gram Devi of Mapusa is Shantadurga. She now lives in Dhargalim, some 14 KMs away, across the Chapora River. During the Goan Inquisition, she was moved from the village. However, she continues to be treated as the presiding deity of Mapusa.

Shantadurga Dargalim Mapusa
Shantadurga Temple

People of the town would still go to her before starting anything new or any important thing in their lives. Even festivals like Holi first start in the temple in Dhargalim and then are celebrated in the town.

In one of the houses opposite the old bus stand, you can see a small Shantadurga temple, where she was temporarily kept during her move. When I visited the temple was closed, but it can be visited it seems.

4 deities in four directions, called Rashtroli, sit at the limits of Mapusa town. In the south, it is the famous Bodgeshwar Temple. People used to pray to them before starting their journeys outside the town.

Hanuman Mandir – Mapusa Market, Goa

Hanuman Temple in MapusaAs you approach the market or bus stand, there is a bright saffron color temple that you can not miss. This is the famous Hanuman temple of the town. The presiding deity here is Dakshinamukhi Maruti as it faces the southern direction.

The temple used to be a shop about 200 years ago. The owner was a Hanuman devotee, who brought a sandalwood image of Hanuman and kept it in the shop. Since the shop faced south, so did the deity. When he prayed, people started joining him. The following increased and the shop made way for the temple.

Mapusa and the Freedom Movement

Plaque commemorating the Martyrs of Bardez
Plaque commemorating the Martyrs of Bardez

Sudhatai Joshi, one of the freedom fighters of Goa came to Mapusa to address a gathering. She was arrested here, fined, and imprisoned for a few years for saying ‘Jai Hind’. Read more about it on this FB Page.

Mukund Pundalik Kamat Dhakankar was deported to Angola when he and his colleagues tried to loot the bank and the police station in the town. A road in the town is named after him. He was related to Goa’s CM Manohar Parrikar.

A plaque next to the Maruti temple commemorates the names of the martyrs of Bardez, of which the town is a part.

Chacha Nehru Park – Mapusa Market

A small children’s park opposite the Maruti temple is best known for an elephant slide in a grey shade. Apparently, the locals had to fight to keep this elephant intact.

Vintage Cars in the Lanes of Mapusa
Vintage Cars in the lanes

Library – Walk ahead from the Maruti temple till you see another bright yellow Laxmi Narayan temple.

You will pass by an old library, that has moved a little ahead. I noticed a lot of tailors and fashion studios. A pharmacy in green seems to be very famous in Mapusa. Home-based doctors were famous and some of them still seem to be in practice.

Close it is a small island surrounded by white walls with an Ambedkar statue standing in the middle. This used to be the old bus stand. Well, buses came much later, but Tongas or bullock carts used to take people from town to the Siolim or Dharghil. After that, if you need to go further, you walk.

Close to this is Attai Library, named after Father Attai, who was not a priest but a philanthropist.

Swiss Chapel

Swiss Chapel
Swiss Chapel

A small bright white chapel stands in the middle of the old town. No one really knows why it is called the Swiss Chapel. The best guess is that there is some hint of Swiss architecture.

A little ahead there is the defunct Alankar Theater, with the poster of Bahubali, the last film that was screened here, still intact. Outside it is small shack-like shops, that open around 7 PM and that is when this place is buzzing with life. This is Goa’s or the town’s very own night street food market. Bappa stall gets its fame from the fact that CM Parrikar used to visit this stall regularly and even have some party meetings here. The place is known for its shakes.

Colorful lanes of Mapusa CityWalk around and you will some lovely colorful houses and some crumbling ones in laterite. A colorful wall with a small hole in it serves a need when everything else is closed.

Where to Eat

Babaji Café – Right Next to Maruti temple. Limsi – a lemonade made with mint flavor is very famous here. It is a go-to place for young people in the town.

Vrindavan – Once upon a time, this was the first restaurant to get an Idli maker, and that made it famous. Apparently, people used to come here to see what an Idli maker looks like. Fame once gained tends to stay with you.

Le Jardine – Once upon a time a big restaurant in the town.

Travel Tips

Mapusa is well connected with Panjim and Margao through public transport.

There are enough eateries around the city to eat, some of them are listed above.

You can also explore villages like Moira, Aldona, Assagao, and Anjuna around.

There are hotels like GTDC-operated Mapusa Residency to stay at.

Mapusa market is most visited on Friday and is sometimes called Friday Market. Though these days, it is as vibrant as other days too.

11 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Inditales,
    Thanks for sharing an amazing article on Mapusa Market. Mapusa Market is really an amazing place and I should have visited it when I first went to Goa but thanks for this article, So next time when I revisit Goa I’ll make sure to take a walk and explore this amazing Mapusa Market.

  2. Hi Anuradha Gopal,
    Interesting article on the Mapusa Market. However it is a mistake : “Historically speaking, the Mapusa market as we see it today, came up only in 1960, a year before the Goan liberation in 1961”. Mapusa Market as it is, was built in the 1950´s during the tenure of Dr. Antonio Pinto do Rosario who was the President of the Bardez Municipality. There was a plaque on the entrance informing the date of inauguration. Of course the Mapusa Market expanded consequently.

  3. Great read! I have been reading your posts for a while now – keep up the good work. Give me a shout if you ever need some help with photography, happy to sort a shoot out to help your website shots. Photographer

  4. Hello Inditales, thank you for this post. I have been to goa but not yet explored fully. I had heard about people saying to visit this market and explore. Thanks to this blog..wonderful pictures, the market is a worth to visit. Next time when I revisit goa I’ll surely explore this amazing market.

  5. I have been to goa and I didn’t knew that there were so many beautiful places to go and Yes even I have tasted the food of babji cafe it was super delicious.After reading this I didn’t knew mapusa market and next time whenever I will visit goa. I will definitely visit this place and even I want to see the swiss chappel like I literally didn’t knew these places existed. I would have definitely visited.After reading this article I got to know many places I have to visit .

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