The Face Of Truth:Spin Off from the First Part:

##History of Goa has always been a matter of interest. Be it the description of its creation in  Parshuram Samitha or the Operation Vijay which forced Portugese out of the state-several events  still hold a lot of mystery in themselves..

OAK AVENUE AND HREDO MANSION:

In 1350 AD, Goa was ruled by the Bahmani Sultanate. However, in 1370, the Vijayanagar empire, a resurgent Hindu empire situated at modern day Hampi, reconquered the area. The Vijayanagar rulers held on to Goa for nearly a century, during which time its harbours were important port of arrival for Arabian horses on their way to Hampi to strengthen the Vijaynagar cavalry. In 1469 Goa was reconquered by the Bahmani Sultans of Gulbarga. When this Sultanate broke up in 1492, Goa became a part of Adil Shah's Bijapur Sultanate, which established Goa Velha as its second capital. When Portuguese invaded the state and had established complete control over the proceedings many iconic buildings were annexed and the papers were forcibly taken away from the owners or caretakers of those buildings. OAK AVENUE AND HREDO MANSION were two of them.These were once under the direct control of Adil Shah’s brother in law but after he was killed in a war they were converted into the offices of Portugal officers. The two buildings were a portrayal of the masterclass of the Harishnadani-the chief architect in Adil Shah’s court. Wonderful design and captivating locations-All this made these two a piece apart..!

In Goa, Albuquerque started the first Portuguese mint in the East, after complaints from merchants and Timoja about the scarcity of currency. He used it as an opportunity to announce the territorial conquest by the design of the new coins. The new coin, based on the existing local coins, bore a cross on one side and the design of an armillary sphere (or esfera), King Manuel's badge, on the reverse. Gold, silver and bronze coins were issued: gold cruzados or manueis, esperas and alf-esperas, and leais. More mints were built in Malacca in 1511.

Oak Avenue:

Hredo Mansion:

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER…As did not the rule of Portuguese on Goa . It finally ended in 1961.Many people who had suffered at the hands of Portuguese wanted a better life and money was required for all this purpose.Goa had a huge scope in terms of tourism and the then Indian Government decided to transform the state into a thriving place of joy,wonder and luxuries which none other place in India could offer. The renovation included creation of many new Hotels and some of the old iconic buildings were given the tag of Heritage ones. Again the above two were the leading ones in the list.

Creation gives rise to Opportunites and with them employment is bound to come.

This is what happened in Goa.A huge workforce was required for finishing the task as soon as possible-though there would always be a scope of betterment but a basic had to be established first. It was in this process that the two familes Khans and Kumar’s joined the hotels. While the Khans joined the housekeeping the Kumars joined security staff. As time passed by situation improved and dedicated efforts of Indian Government as well as the public of Goa brought success. Huge revenue was generated through tourism. Khans and Kumar’s had become permanent in there respective positions.

Schools were set up by the government in early 70’s and scholarships and aids were given to meritorious students to promote the culture of education in the state which previously had been limited to the rich only.

Unnecessary though of merely working without studying entered the minds of these two families and the ways through which they had come out of the well of misery perhaps forced them to build a notion against educating there children. Though with persistent denials and continously not following the orders- Bala and Ashfaque had convinced there parents of the fact that no force could stop them from gaining knowledge….The families too stopped making any further advances…

Money could have been a problem but given the intellect of the two prodigies it was never an obstacle as they easily earned the freeship to study in a  Government school on the basis of the score in a test conducted by the same.

Bala and Ashfaque met in the school for the first time and the relatable story of there struggle was a driving force in establishing a cordial and warm relationship between the two…which continued ever after….

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TO BE CONTINUED...