Located on the banks of the Mandovi River, every part of old Panjim (now, Panaji) reeks of its Portuguese heritage and design philosophy. While one is awestruck at its stunning white churches, the rows of public and private buildings that line the waterfront of the river (now, a road were been built on reclaimed land) reveals an equally interesting insight of the Portuguese architecture and design influences.

From Art Deco buildings like Panjim’s State Bank of India office to Portuguese structures that were once accessible through its many waterways, we were amazed as our eyes wandered through this slice of Goa’s capital. Yellow and white, red and white, blue and white — every building has a distinct colour and facade. As we were to find out soon enough from architect Tallulah D’Silva, also co-author of the book Walking In and Around Panjim, a colour code was put in place to distinguish churches from residential and public offices. “While all churches were painted white, residences were permitted to use colour. All buildings had to repaint their facades once a year, post monsoon. The lime washes were originally used with natural pigments like laterite stone powder, yellow oxides and indigo,” she says.

D’Silva shares that the colours were natural, and that the lime was prepared by burning and hydration of sea shells, thereby giving it a bright hue. The buildings were constructed using laterite stones and mud as an infill. On the ground floors, pillars were mostly made of cast iron and those with access to boats through waterways used granite stones to create archtrives (beams). The second floor used a combination of wood and iron. “Another important characteristic of old Panjim’s buildings is that they all had colonades, where one could use to walk past during the monsoon, when it rained heavily ,” says D’Silva.