Custom Curtains in Mapusa, Goa

Mapusa's windows fall into two groups. Flats along the roads to Duler, Karaswada and Ansabhat have ordinary-height openings with another building close by, so a sheer for daytime privacy and a blackout for the night, run on two tracks, serve them well. The old family houses around the church and on Altinho have tall shuttered windows, where a rod is set above the frame and the drop is long. Salt is no worry this far inland, but dust from the roads around the market is, most of all on Fridays. Closely woven fabrics in mid or darker shades hide it, and a washable sheer nearest the glass takes the worst.

• Flats on the Duler and Karaswada roads: sheer and blackout on twin tracks, hung from the ceiling where the air conditioner sits above the window.
• Shuttered houses by the church: a rod mounted higher than the window frame, leaving the shutters room to open, with cotton or linen in a long drop.
• West-facing rooms in housing colonies: a thermal or blackout lining, drawn through the afternoon, to keep the heat off the glass.