Curtorim is a town in the

Salcette Salcete ( Konkani: ''Saxtti''/''Xaxtti''; pt, Salcette) is a sub-division of the district of South Goa, in the state of Goa, situated by the west coast of India. The Sal river and its backwaters dominate the landscape of Salcete. Hi ...

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

South Goa district South Goa district is one of two districts that comprises the state of Goa, India, within the region known as the Konkan. It is bounded by North Goa district to the north, the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state to the east and south, whil ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, India.It comes under

Margao Margao or Madgaon is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on banks of the Sal river and is the administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district and South Goa district. It is Goa's second largest city by population ...

metropolitan

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. Curtorim, a verdant agrarian village, known as the "granary of Salcete", is said to have got its name from either ' or ' since the agricultural village had ' (rooms) built on the river bank (') to store kharif and rabi crops.

Geography

Curtorim is located at . It has an average elevation of .

History

A copper-plate inscription was issued by King Viramarmadeva of the Kadamba dynasty in 1049 CE concerning a grant of a piece of land called "Tudukapura" in "Kudtarika agrahara" of "Chhat sathi desha". This inscription suggests that "Kudatari" or modern Curtorim was known as "Kudatarika" then. "Chhat sathi" refers to modern

Salcete Salcete ( Konkani: ''Saxtti''/''Xaxtti''; pt, Salcette) is a sub-division of the district of South Goa, in the state of Goa, situated by the west coast of India. The Sal river and its backwaters dominate the landscape of Salcete. His ...

, known as in the local

Konkani language Konkani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily in the Konkan region, along the western coast of India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution, and the official language of ...

. It had an '

Agrahara An ''Agraharam'' or ''Agrahara'' was a grant of land and royal income from it, typically by a king or a noble family in India, for religious purposes, particularly to Brahmins to maintain temples in that land or a pilgrimage site and to susta ...

', which means an education centre or a university in the modern sense, and was started most probably by the said monarch Viramarmadeva or by Sasthadeva II or Guhalladeva II of Goa Kadamba dynasty.

Religion

Curtorim has a predominantly

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

population. The Church of St. Alex is the main feature of the village. It is one of the oldest churches in Goa. It was built in 1597 midst a scenic natural backdrop of a lake Angoddi Tollem across the woods on the site of an ancient

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple dedicated to the deity

Ravalnath Ravalnath ( knn, रवळनाथ, ), also widely known as Roulu, (रवळू, ) is a popular Hindu deity in Goa and the Sindhudurg district of coastal Maharashtra, in western India. Shrines of Ravalnath are also found in border areas of Be ...

(a form of Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

). The remains of the ancient temple of Ravalnath are still visible today. The church of St Alex was first a chapel; in 1808 it was converted to a parish church. This location once housed the "Kudtari/Kundodari" Mahamaya temple deities, now currently located at Ghudo Avadem. Although the feast of the patron Saint Alex is celebrated with great fervour on 17 July, it is the feast of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

on 18 December that is extremely popular amongst the villagers as the "Feast of O" or "kelleam fest" (feast of bananas). Minorities include Hindus. The Shanta Durga Chamundeshwari Temple is one among the few temples in the village and is located in the same vicinity as the Church of St. Alex.

Politics

The first MLA of

Curtorim (Goa Assembly constituency) Curtorim Assembly constituency is one of the 40 Goa Legislative Assembly constituencies of the state of Goa in southern India. Curtorim is also one of the 20 constituencies falling under the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency. Members of the ...

was Mr Enio Pimenta who also was a prominent freedom fighter. , the MLA is Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco. Curtorim is also part of

South Goa (Lok Sabha constituency) South Goa Lok Sabha constituency (Mormugao prior to 2008) is one of two Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Goa in western India along with North Goa. Assembly segments Presently, South Goa Lok Sabha constituency comprises 20 Vidhan S ...

. Distinguished people from this village include Gen.

Sunith Francis Rodrigues General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM (19 September 1933 – 4 March 2022) was an Indian army officer who was Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1990 to 1993 and Governor of Punjab from 2004 to 2010. Early life and educat ...

, who was the ex-chief of the Indian Army Staff and Governor of Punjab from 2004 to 2010 and former South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha.

References

{{reflist Cities and towns in South Goa district Comunidades of Goa