History

The dargah of Konadi is loacted in remote Korgao-Pernem. A pre-Portuguese era monument, the dargah is reckoned to be one of the oldest in Goa, and has its shrine dedicated to ‘awliya’ (saint) Khwaja Ismail Chisti. His ‘incorrupt remains’ still lie here.The dargah was originally built in the 16th century. Situated along the banks of the Tiracolriver, the dargah lies on the Goa-Maharashtra border. Contrary to the architectural grandeur of dargahs of Bijapur and Ajmer, this quaint and idyllic shrine occupies a humble space in its utter simplicity.

Over half a millennium ago, the sultan Yusuf Adil Shah is said to have had appointed Khwaja Ismail Chisti as the caretaker of land areas in Konadi. After his demise, the dargah overlooking the waterbody was erected in his honour. The saint’s descendants, who still go by the nomenclature Khwaja, inform that the saint has his roots in Bijapur, Karnataka, and traced his ancestral origin to another saint, KhwajaAminoddin Chisti.

An arc-style entrance with minarets on either side welcomes visitors into the premises where sunshine filters in through the foliage of fruit trees. A compound wall of concrete circles the dargah and a beautifully arranged row of coconut trees leads visitors into the prayer hall. The monument has a house-like appearance without any dome. “The ones built during the Adil Shah era in Goa do not have the typical dome mainly associated with mosques.
They were built along the lines of temples in ancient Goa and had a house-like appearance. The walls of the dargah are handcrafted out of smooth mud, like most old Goan homes, and the grilled walls allow visitors to gather a glimpse of the holy shrine maintained in the foyer area. Not only is this one of the oldest shrines in Goa, but is considered the holiest owing to the miraculous powers of the wish fulfilment.

However, much of the dargah’s old world charm has been lost to modern-day additions of a tin roof and tiled floor in front of the monument.

The dargah’s pious ambience stays unaltered and is amplified by the Tiracol river that stretches beneath it, thus offering a therapeutic sense of calm to visitors. The monument used to touch the riverbank in the bygone era.

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