Mhamai Kamat house in Panaji preserves Hindu domestic architecture
The 250-year-old residence remains a lived-in home that maintains traditional spiritual practices and community feasts.
The Mhamai Kamat house in Panaji stands as a nearly 250-year-old mansion that heritage watchers describe as the last authentic example of Hindu domestic architecture in the state capital, according to The Times of India.
Built around a central courtyard known as a rajangan, the home features seven corridors and contains ancestral portraits and traditional wooden chests called petti.
The Kamat family, who were once landowners and grew into one of the three largest broking houses on India's west coast, still resides in the house. Shripad Amonkar, who describes himself as a grandson of the house, said that while nearly 100 people lived there around Goa's Liberation, between 10 and 12 people live under the roof today.
The spiritual centre of the home is the deva kudd, a prayer room where a bhatji worships a saligram twice a day. On Anant Chaturdashi, the family uses a rare right-handed conch studded with gold and gems to celebrate.
During this annual feast, the house serves as a community kitchen where food is cooked on four mud chulhas to feed close to 1,500 people. The family provides public notice in a Marathi daily for the mahaprasad, which attracts people who have taken vows.
Amonkar stated that the property should not be viewed as real estate, adding that there is divinity in every corner of the house.