Britona sits along the Mandovi River, close to Panjim in the once Portuguese state of Goa in India. Britona is a quaint Goan village. In the mornings, the river is still and the air is clear. It is quiet and peaceful. Kingfishers keep a close eye on the river from treetops and mangroves. R. Mandovi bends and branches out into smaller tributaries. As a result you’ll see layers of mangroves along the edges of the bending tributaries. And more birds. Eagles, Herons and Egrets. Flocks of Asian Openbills reside deeper in the mangroves.

I shot this photo at Britona. Limited edition archival prints are available. If you’d like one, please leave a comment. I’ll then get back to you.

FIN

On a winter afternoon, Rahul Alvares, Anne Ketteringham and I did a boat trip in sunny Goa through the backwaters of the River Mandovi. Amidst the narrow canals and mangroves that are rich in bird life, the motor gave way.

The lightweight paddles helped us maneuver the boat through the canals and down the main stream. And the sausages nourished us through the long journey back. We escaped by the skin of our teeth!

Please use the arrows above to navigate through this set of seven photos.

Now that’s not what actually happened. In fact, the motor didn’t work too well right from the onset. And its health deteriorated further along our journey. Whilst it lacked the power to force us through, it never gave way completely. Our motorman managed to steer us back to Casa Britona – a fantastic boutique hotel along the banks of the Mandovi.

A view of the mangroves along R. Mandovi seen from the upper deck of Casa Britona. Shot with a Canon 50D camera and a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 lens.

Rahul drove us back to Assagao from Britona.

“I’ll be right back”, Rahul hopped out of the driver’s seat. He was back in a minute. “Here – keep this sac at the back next to you.”

“What’s in it?”

“Snakes!”

Rahul has hands-on experience in handling snakes. He is famous.

Anne Ketteringham got a picture of me whilst I was loading film into my Yashica Mat using her Pentax camera and Sigma lens.

FIN

Yashica Mat, f/5.6, 1/125, Fuji Neopan 100 ISO – 120mm film.

I shot this portrait during my visit to Goa in the November of 2009. At about 6 ‘o clock in the evening, he was on his way home after a hard day in the seas, fishing. He reminds me of a gentleman I’d shot in Maharashtra, half a decade ago. I see many similarities in indigenous people from the west coast of India.

Canon AE-1P, f/1.8, 1/60, Kodak T400CN – 35mm film.