Goa – Fall in love naturally

Romance has been associated with Goa for long. Bollywood for one has chosen Goa as a preffered destination in India for romantic movies with regularity. The atmosphere in Goa itself instills a feeling of romance in even the not-so-romantic people.

The beach in Goa is one of the favourite destinations of to-be lovers and people who want a serene environ to sit and chat. The Goan coastline is normally dotted with couples of all ages and sizes at different levels of their relationship finding the locale to be in perfect harmony to their association.

The Goan ambience has therefore tempted many in India and over the world to choose Goa as a honeymoon destination. Honeymoons in Goa happen throughout the year and the monsoon season is quite a special time in Goa to celebrate a honeymoon as the surroundings are rich green and the villages are bustling with a freshness hard to describe.

Deeper in the goan hinterland there are also wonderful places for a quiet getaway. However the beach still remains a firm favourite as the prime spot to romance by the sea.

Here’s wishing every visitor to Goa a memorable honeymoon and a romantic time together.

Xittuk Goencar

Gram Sabha’s- The buzzword of the Goan fightback

Since the time the opposition to the regional plan took firm ground, a new forum seems to have awakened Goans much to their delight. Although Gram Sabhas were in existence in Goa since the panchayati Raj was, their utility was restricted to solving petty village quarrels such as encroachments and small injustices at the ward levels.

Moreover Gram sabhas , although have a specific time and frequency of meeting, were often scheduled at the whims and fancies of the Sarpanch of that particular village of Goa, with little or no protest from the villagers. Some Panchayats in Goa had a gram sabha only in name and the sabha actually did not even meet up leave alone discussed any issue. It was largely a manipulative exercise in many villages of Goa, as the discussions were inconsequential and were only a platform to seek embarrassment of rivals and had little or no bearing on the actions arising out of its convening.

To my disbelief I had painfully discovered another political gimmick the gram sabha was mired in. Gram sabhas were often a cruel joke played by the councilors , as their cronies filled the gram sabha meetings in full numbers to stifle all murmurs of protests and to silence the questions with foul verbatim. When I attended a couple of them in my village I observed familiar faces consistently supporting the cause of the cornered councilor without any valid reason. It was as if some of these people were paid to ensure that their masters, the councillors were bailed out from the predicament of their wicked actions being highlighted in the open.

However now the Gram sabhas in Goa are with a new armour. The frequency of the gram sabha, its date , time etc is being sought vociferously. The charm of the sarpanch and his boys is declining. The clout of the Panchayat Minister is waning and the new citizen is on the rise. Questioning, demanding, seeking to know. Suddenly the right of the citizen in the gram sabha is stinging the establishment like a slap following them in every scheduled meeting. The threat of the Gram sabha and the questionnaire awaiting the panchas, has begun to give them the necessary sleepess nights.

Unable to bear this onslaught the Panchayat bodies are burning midnight oil to find out how to scuttle the movement of the Goan who wants a fight through the gram sabha. Some of them including the minister of panchayats have gone on record saying that the citizens rights under the gram sabha are limited. They have however failed to specify the clauses under which such rights are denied to the citizen.

So finally the Goan villager has woken up to the reality of fighting a battle to save his village from the evil designs of a handful of villagers with vested interests and whose general intention is to make a quick buck when the going is good. At our expense and at the expense of the future of our children.

May they be condemned for shattering our confidence in them. May the gram sabhas live longer than they think. And may the fight translate into concrete actions. We owe it to ourselves.

Long live the Goan!


Xittuk Goencar

Goa’s “Romi”nce with Konkani

The challenges for Goa and Goans are continuosly emerging. One of them is the poser of the official language of Goa. For some time now, the debate in Goa for the official language within its own domain has caught sincere attention. It seems to be raising its head for another undesirable battle. This time the battle seems to be coming from within the realm of the Goan Konkani umbrella and fanning a flame on the outside to the patrons of languages of neighbouring states, who are waiting for the slightest opportunity to lay siege.

Insensitivity and to a certain extent malafide intention , on the part of the government of goa in the times of implementing the official language bill, seems to be the root cause of the entire impasse. Honestly the precision of meticulously referring to the use of only the Devnagri script in the official language act could have been well avoided. But it wasn’t.

Konkani for long has been Goa’s love and Goa and goans fought for the sake of Konkani . However fighting the cause were champions of two different scripts under the fullness of the one banner “Konkani”. In pursuit of the major goal of achieving their mission of catapulting Konkani to the level of the official language, the intricacy of the script it seems was left to conscience. The discussion on the use of the script it seems was not openly discussed. However conscience as one discovers now, wasn’t common enough and so we have two factions within the Konkani protagonists in Goa who find their own brand of Konkani as the preferred choice.

It cannot be denied that Romi Konkani is being widely spoken in Goa mainly within the Catholic community. Goan theatre if there is any, is only propagated through the Romi Konkani. And while there is little publication of the script, the Vavreadeancho Ixtt, Gulab magazine, Goencho Avaz etc are still in good circulation. So benefits for the enrichment of the language are therefore justified. However the opposition to the struggle to get equal recognition for Romi Konkani by its activists is only projecting the deep fissures in the Konkani lovers body.

One wishes that those who vouch for Devnagri see similar sentiments in the hearts of the Romi Konkani lovers and simply work together to bring about this little change in the official language act so that both scripts co-exist and grow. How does one Konkani script encroach on the other and where does the opposition find its place in this matter is a big question.

However if this debate within the Konkani language gets tougher, it could awaken the supporters of the Maharashtrian language Marathi, which is certainly not the language that even a quarter of the population uses in speech in Goa. and certainly is not welcome to be on par with the official language of Goa

So in effect there needs to be a consensus among the lovers of Konkani and if the Romi Konkani supporters are unable to get due recognition, the Romi Konkani lovers should encourage the promotion of the language through voluntary means , by popular contributions and provide the necessary impetus to the language to enable it to reach to a level when the government simply cannot ignore it any further. However a conflict within the Goan Konkani fold should be avoided by all means.

Also instead of imposing a medium of instruction of Konkani in primary schools the government and the protagonists of Konkani in Goa should show more character, practicality and foresight to understand that English takes precedence for medium of instruction over all other regional languages as it is the universal language and we need to be absolutely proficient in English if Goans want to make a mark academically both in India and in the world. Already the effects of a regional language medium are being felt when some of our Goan candidates fail to pass the interview for proper accent in some of the call centre companies.

However Konkani as a subject should be made compulsory at all levels of School education. This is the only way to ensure that Konkani as a language can find its place in amchem bhangarachem Goem.

Viva Konkani! Viva Goencar!


XIttuk Goencar

Goa - the media’s latest spoon

Over the times I have observed that Goa is never short of an issue. From the time of Liberation Goa has amply satisfied the media to grow to an extent that in a populace of over 15 lakh we have four English dailies with the latest one of them with a national presence, one Konkani Devnagari newspaper, a marathi publication, and a few weeklies. Add to that the growing local television channels ( without any standard though) and the news bulletins of aspiring TV journalists on cable TV and one wonders whether Goa has too much on its plate.

However one must say there is no dearth of news nowadays in Goa. National television in days gone by used to ignore Goa and its news was considered inconsequential, often not worth reporting at the national level. And so while we pulled our ears and widened our eyes in front of some tired looking Doordarshan news readers of yesteryears, we never heard Goan news popping out of their mouth barring the occasional shower of a goan holiday.

However now there seems to be news aplenty. Goa seems to be in the thick of things that drives television channels here almost on a weekly basis. While our politicians are always engaged in a rampaging circus to catch attention of the sleepiest joe’s, their children and their closest foes and their advocates seem to have joined the bandwagon.So mysterious foreigner murders, hefty drug trades, sleazy sex stories etc in Goa, have caught the imagination of people all over the world . The media has added the much wanted spice to what was earlier the mere Goan gossip wheel. Add to that Draconian regional megaprojects, under hand SEZ deals, stormy gram sabhas and essentially the vigilant Goan has been feeding the news reels with requisite masala to prove that the news quotient from Goa is indeed positioning itself in terms of value.

One only hopes that this media interest is indeed in the interest of Goa. One must however acknowledge that during the opposition to the regional plan 2011, the coverage given by a couple of news channels did help to exert that extra pressure on our” Babus” to roll back their nefarious plan.

Here’s hoping that the media is indeed proactive with the cause of Goa and Goans.

Xittuk Goencar

The Goan Beach – As safe as you want it to be

The Beach in Goa is the best place to relax after a hard days work because after working throughout the day the Goan Beach is the best place to unwind. You can afford to soak yourself on the soft sand with a smile or relax in the waters on the Beach. The sea water in Goa is also known to have medicinal properties and people in Goa visit the beach since childhood times to avail the benefit of the Goan sea water.

There is a valid theory floated that the beach water has healed many of their different ailments. However one has to take proper care while swimming on Goan beaches as the beach can be a death trap as many have found out and never could relate the experience as death took them away.

Drowning on Goan beaches has been a frequent happening for the last so many years as tourists from various parts of India and the world have found painfully. And the problem is that such tragedies give Goa a bad name for no fault of the authorities.

There have therefore been many questions raised about the safety on Goan beaches.People from all over the world visit Goa throughout the year. However we have maximum casualties from Indian tourists visiting the beaches and not necessarily the foreign visitors.

The problem with the Indian tourists is that they refuse to pay heed to suggestions from the locals or the life guards to take proper care while heading for the beach. They seem to normally take the warnings for granted. Sometimes tourists especially from India, encounter the beach for the first time in their life and are too excited and that excitement makes them venture out happily in the deep sea only to find the strong water currents sweeping them. However by then it is too late. The jaws of death take over.

Life - guards are at reach on Goan beaches but every stretch of the beach may not have a ready life guard available as the Goa beach expanse is too long. So one has to take care of oneself to the best possible extent and follow the instructions put up at every beach and every tourist guideline in Goa. Fun on the Goan beach is fine. However care is utmostly necessary to avoid any tragedy.

Also sometimes tourists drink too much of alcohol in Goa and then venture out into the sea which is a suicidal thing to do as alcohol and the sea is a lethal combination of a foolish death. So one has to take extreme precaution that a pleasant holiday in Goa does not become a very bitter experience for self and the family and Goa remains as the most preferred destination for tourism in the world.

After all one comes to Goa to enjoy the beautiful sunny Goan beach, its crystal sand, the clean beach surroundings etc to unwind and not to wind up one’s life. Tourists should help themselves in paying heed to cautions and warnings about venturing on the Goan beach and the precautions one needs to take after venturing into the sea.

Hoping that henceforth every visitor to this part of the world follows the instructions and enjoys their stay in beautiful Goa without any tragedy. Wish everyone a Happy holiday in Goa.

Love You Goa!

TheBigGoan!

Pseudo fights, plain hallucination or colonial hangover?

I read with dismay , disgust and amusement the views expressed by a senior freedom fighter in a leading daily dated November 10, 2008. It amazes me how the sound of even the “P” of Portugal violently awakens some Goans from their otherwise succegaad slumber. The title of the article is completely misleading and an euphoria of hate is sought to be created out of nothing.

In the last 47 years after liberation,Goa has been facing a host of problems from the mushrooming of slums to the rise of concrete jungles. From regional plans to garbage problems. From political impropriety of musical chairs to foreign sponsored Goa property fairs. Russians buying land wholesale in Goa to foreign drug cartels flourishing in our backyards . Casinos slicing our rivers and hills torn apart for bungalows with a view. Lay people are made to fight their own battles against SEZ’s and government is sitting pretty after issuing licences. Yet one hears very little or no protests from some of our freedom fighters of yesteryears who do not comment leave alone question these issues. Such issues seem to be of no concern for them .While Goa is being continuosly hurtling towards a state where the Goan will be outnumbered soon, some of our freedom fighters are least concerned to voice their mere resentment. Their only concern till date seems to be about Goa’s freedom and despite liberation given to us by India, they still seem to have not got over their enthusiasm and their zeal for demanding freedom for free Goa.

It seems that some of our senior citizens are still fighting the Portuguese who left long ago. That fight, it seems, was and is, their only motivation for the benefit of Goa. The very mention of Portugal seems to send electric energy in some of them and all these other issues are seemingly miniscule to them compared to the threat they claim is posed by Portugal in this world in 2008. The other urgent issues of today can wait their attention. But the burning issue of Portugal is their torch. And they are worried that the flame is dying.They seem to think that they invented nationalism and love to associate “nationalism” with being “ anti-portuguese”. It is as if they have a patented right to speak about nationalism and how it should be practiced in today’s Goa.

The above writer scoffs at art and culture, dance and music, food and drinks and leisure is looked upon by him with contempt. Little does he know that the same art and culture is the hotbed of tourism for Goa? That the dance and music is something that draws the world’s tourist to Goa? That our blend of west and east in Goa is something that the tourist comes here for? That this advantage of Goa has beaten Kerala who despite having the better beaches and stunning backwaters has perennially failed to woo the tourists merely by geographical beauty? That the ambience of leisure in Goa is our strength in promoting tourism?

Why is this obsession against Portugal still so rampant in some senior citizens? Is this some kind of a colonial hangover that our senior citizens have failed to shrug off? Is this some kind of a toy they are playing for far too long? And are they feeling disgruntled that the rest of modern Goa is not playing to their gallery? Or is it a guilt of failure to achieve freedom on their own and not through the benevolence of the Indian army haunting them for unknown fulfillment?

It is disgraceful the way in which the writer seeks to accuse some Goans who he says take pride in linking themselves with Portugal. Is it a sin to link with Portugal? Is it forbidden by the constitution of India? Going by the writers views, no Indians today should probably link with England.. India was brutally ruled by the British for centuries. The Jallianwalla bagh massacre, among numerous barbaric times with the British are bitter moments against foreign rule for every Indian. India should be continuously at war with England given those bitter memories. Yet India and Indians moved ahead. The past wasn’t forgotten. Instead it is being given lesser importance in favour of a brighter future. Today India and Indians have a fabulous relationship with England. The English language has taken India to the world. Indians have been recognized as a outsourcing hub for BPO etc mainly due to our knowledge of English, an area where China is a distant second. We owe it to the British. Indians are members of parliament in England and Indian businessmen have flourished in England. India and England have grown together and memories of the colonial rule are relegated to only history books. Even the occasional bollywood anti-British movie fails to stir up any semblance of a hate campaign. The celebration of Independence day sees no contempt or anger spewed on England. Interestingly the queen of England still flaunts with the priceless Kohinoor snatched from India centuries ago. The Portuguese meanwhile had the courtesy to return the Goan gold taken by them back to Goans.

Back in Goa some of our freedom fighters sing a different tune. They wish to be at war with Portugal forever. Some of them will use any opportunity to spew venom. Portugal stings them like a bee. They are still fighting a battle.They still find Portugal a threat and they seem to dream about a usurpal of Goa as a reality. Is this hallucination at its best?

The writer mentions the bond between Goa and Portugal which he claims should be actually limited to strictly India and Portugal. This bond seems to give the writer sleepless nights and he seems to see that this relationship is on a weak foundation. The writer in his over enthusiasm to point out fallacies in the India-Portugal friendship , is willfully blind to understand the reason of the Goa-Portugal relationship . Portugal identifies with Goa. In India its culture is best showcased here. There can be a common sharing of views. The reciprocation is better. There is understanding of their language as well. And although Goa is a part of India it is common sense to associate with that part of India which a country can relate better with. It is convenience. Plain common sense.

And how does association with Goa change the scenario for India or Portugal? Portugal does have their embassy in New Delhi. Not in Goa. The consulate is just a facilitation office.How does such Goa-Portugal friendship pinch the writer? Is Goa an independent country? No. Does Goa issue visas for Portuguese citizens to visit the country? No. India does. So why should the writer feel threatened?

However since the writer is so bewildered at the Goa-Portugal friendship and finds it tough to digest it, he should also know that although we live in one India, Goa has separate laws governing our society. Some of these laws such as the common civil code are unique to Goa and Goa is the envy of India due to this law. Does that law make Goa a separate part of India? No. It is a fact of history which was inseparable even after liberation. And we have learnt to live with it.

The writer mentions about Portugal as a poor country and also wishes to feel threatened by Portugal . Can a country like India feel threatened by a poor country like Portugal? The writer tells the answer first and then poses the question. One wonders if the writer is posing a backward quiz.

In a desperate attempt to infuse life into his article, the writer mentions an incident which allegedly happened in the Portuguese consulate many years ago. Given his dislike for Portugal it is no wonder that he chose to observe every little move that happened. And much to his fortune as he claims there was no respect shown to the Indian national Anthem. Was the writer present at the function? If so why did the writer remain silent when the national anthem was disrespected? Why did he not register a vociferous protest and bring such disrespect to the notice of the Goans, the Portuguese and the country? Or was it a pseudo love for the national anthem only to be voiced backdoors and to be spoken of long after the incident is over, to score some brownie points? Whoever witnesses the abuse of the National anthem and remains silent should be ashamed and if unwilling of courage to counter the disrespect instantly, must learn to keep the silence forever for his own sake.

However it is ironical that there are people in our country who love to stand straight for the national anthem but who trample upon the constitution with regular impunity. They know that they need to be standing in rapt attention during the anthem playing but for the rest of their time they puncture and bleed the constitution and what the country holds dear. Our politicians are a fine example. What hypocrisy!

It is time that Goans wake up from pseudo fighters who rake up meaningless issues. They seem to be obsessed with spread of hatred . The latest target is the “semana de Cultura Portuguesa”. Such cultural exchanges should be encouraged all the more as they help us in numerous ways. Firstly we desperately need the knowledge of the Portuguese language.We have almost all our old property documents and other literature in civil records etc in the Portuguese language. Most of us do not know how to read them . Just like illiterates we need the help of translators who are declining like a rare species. How beneficial it would be if we all know the language? Our laws are lifted in many parts from the Portuguese law. How nice would it be if our lawyers, judges and common men know the language to understand these laws better?

Secondly, with such a platform, cuisine gets an exchange medium and Goa being a tourist place such exchange would only enrich our stature. Thirdly there is a mutual exchange on miscellaneous subjects such as dance forms, music etc etc which can only enrich our historical ambience and add to our knowledge.

Instead of influencing the public against Portugal, we should see what new challenges and dilemmas are posed on Goa. The world is changing. Nothing is constant. The Jews and the Germans were once sworn enemies. Now they share intelligence. The new enemies for the Jews are now the Arabs. All their intelligence is aimed to plan the fight against the Arabs. Not the Germans anymore. The US bombed Japan when it failed to mend its ways. Today Japan is not a threat to the US. Its an ally. North Korea is the new threat in that region.The USSR was enemy No 1 for the US. Today Russia is barely looked upon as a threat. The cold war is over. Instead the US has new enemies. New challenges. Islamic terrorism against US is the new threat. Vietnam is not an enemy of the US anymore. Venezuela is. They are focusing on the new threats. Not wasting their time and energies on old mannequins of history.

Our freedom fighters need to instill a fundamental change of mindset. They need to identify the new challenges facing Goa in modern times and voice their opposition to the decay of Goa. The new threats facing Goa are from many quarters. Foremostly from the Russians. This threat is for real. They got the money, the mafia, the drug cartel, the girls and now prime Goan property. A perfect recipe for Goa’s disaster. Half of Morjim belongs to them.And many other beachfronts in Goa too. Russian flags, Russian communist leaders’ statues, Russian language signs etc will greet you in morjim as all such merchandise is adorning the village. The locals are being outnumbered and outwitted. The money is too much for anybody to speak leave alone protest. If any Portuguese had to own half the property as these Russians own, there would have been a new satyagraha. New freedom fighters would emerge and the old ones would instigate them . But nobody has the courage or the mere will to question this proliferation of the Russians on Goan society. Instead some of our freedom fighters love to thrash out non- issues of their favourite whipping boy Portugal .

The Kashmiris are flooding the beach belts and their credentials are not even asked for leave alone checked. The Israelis, the Nigerians etc are forming alarming cartels which rule Goa in a geographical divide and any encroachment into each others domain is gang war. Are our freedom fighters even aware about this? Do they care? Instead of carrying the enormous burden of an alleged 45,000 Goans with Portuguese passports, our freedom fighters should be worried about the sword of democles hanging over our heads with thousands of Russian passport holders enjoying the sun sea and sand of Goa illegally and spreading poison among our youth at their whim and fancy.

Our senior leaders should have the wisdom to understand that Goans are seeking to work in Europe and improve their financial conditions by virtue of the opportunity of the Portuguese passport. Goa has the beauty, the charm and the nostalgia.The love for Goa can never die in the Goan. But it is in quest of a better living that Goans are using the opportunity . Such financial balance is not available in Goa. Instead of complaining about the goans who still have Indian passports our Freedom fighters should instead petition the government to allow special status for Goans and grant us dual Nationality by virtue of our historical unique transition.

The government of India has understood the dynamics of Goa being merged in India after liberation and there exist separate income tax laws for Goans since we have descended from a different law history.The common civil code is another example. The same is being continued. Surely the government would consider such a proposal because it would be in the interest of India as valuable foreign exchange would continuously flow. Also only true Goans would benefit the status. Not everybody who is residing in Goa. However the writer is more interested in toying with far-fetched hypothetical situations of a clash between India and Europe and has passed his own wishful judgement that Goans will be disloyal in case his dream comes true. What a waste of thought!

The writer is still living 50 years backwards in the pre-liberation era. Globalisation and liberalization is a reality that the writer mocks at. Internet, ecommerce, net banking, video conferencing etc must be a crackling joke to him. The writer instead prefers to stay in his shell and shout slogans and write anti-portuguese verbatim. Some like him are still expecting Portugal to usurp Goa once again. In fact it seems to be their wishful dream. And in pursuit of this hallucination they want all Goans to ride their bandwagon. However to the writer’s misfortune Goans know to think for themselves and cannot be fooled by such hate campaigns, hallucinations and false propaganda as such campaigns will take us nowhere.

Reminds me of the movie full of hallucinations called “Maine Gandhi ko nahin mara”.

Having said all of the above I would also like to take this opportunity to thank and salute every true freedom fighter who fought against the erstwhile Portuguese rule and never gave up untill India finally annexed Goa. However it is time to move on. Time to see freedom in a different light.

Will the real Goan freedom fighter please stand up? Will he show relevance to his fight for freedom in modern Goa? Or will he push himself for the pleasure and strange joy in re-living an old battle already won by India long ago?

Long live Goa . Long live India. Long live Portugal!

The BigGoan

Goa Tour - An insight into Goa, Goan beauty, Goan beaches, Goan food, Goa hotels and Goa tourism

Goa a cute little emerald of India is ideally located in about the middle of India's palm-dotted Western Coast. Goa is blessed with a very pleasant climate - hot days, warm nights and virtually no rain if you happen to visit Goa between October and March. Although the very rare occasional shower may surprise you.

However Goa in the rains has its own charm and the magic of the rainy season itself could make you fall in love with Goa for a different reason altogether.

Goa is the tiniest state in the Indian sub continent and was a Portuguese colony until 1961 when it was liberated from Portuguese rule by the Indian army. Referred to as "the Rome of the Orient" in days gone by, Goa's recorded history dates back to the 3rd century B.C.

A former Portuguese colony , Goa and goans are proud of their heritage and Hinduism and Christianity mingle beautifully in this land where temples and Churches reside in perfect harmony.Goa is delightfully picturesque and a complete tropical paradise, with serene golden beaches, gleaming white-washed and blue or yellow coloured houses and sweet amiable, folk . Goa is therefore a naturally preferred holiday destination of the International as well as the Indian tourist.

Goa has a warm blend of Indo-European architecture and cultural influences are a rare combination of east and west fusing wonderfully. The rich and beautiful heritage of Goa manifests in the brilliant expressions of Goan traditional folk arts, its dance, music, drama, literature, colorful pageants, cultural fests, wedding celebrations, feasts and festivals, majestic temples, imposing churches and heritage mosques.

Food is something you are going to love here. And curry fans will be in heaven with the deliciously-spiced tandoori and mouth watering seafood delicacies.

Goa is endowed with a verdant beach strip running a hundred miles of gorgeous, white beaches. If you decide to escape the beach you could go inland from the coast, and you encounter palm trees so dense you think you are in a jungle.

In the southern part of goa you will discover beaches to tan you up, warm waters for swimming and tempting water-side restaurants serving the most mouth-watering food.

In the North of Goa, Candolim and Calangute can capture your desire to stay put. Lively night life and a wide choice of shopping outlets, cafes and pubs.. The food in Goa is delicious and cheap but hygienic too.

Being a coastal state not surprisingly, Goa is famous for its exotic variety of seafood. Also International, vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine find their own place. Eat huge tiger prawns, tandoori kingfish , lobsters or succulent crab - all at a fraction of what you would pay anywhere in the world .Crabs, prawns, river fish, and chicken are used a lot and are tastier than lamb or pork, which both tend to be rather tough.For dessert, Bebinca takes the cake, besides a host of other local delicacies.

Colonial times can get a good glimpse if you move around Goa especially if you take a trip to Old Goa where you will see churches and cathedrals built hundreds of years ago by the Portuguese including the first chapel dedicated to St.Catherine which was built immediately after Vasco-da-Gama the Portuguese sailor who found Goa for the Portuguese.

For good bargains there are plenty of places but the colourful Anjuna market cannot be missed. Bedspreads and dresses can be found for as little as 4$.

Plenty of hotels, apartments and rooms can be found in Goa .There are a variety of hotels in Goa ranging from basic one room apartments to five-star luxury. But wherever you go, you won't feel hemmed in by high-rise hotel blocks and you can decide a place at a price you choose to pay depending upon the luxury you desire ranging from £50 to £800.

Also it's best not to leave your holiday too late. From the end of March, the rains come and the sea gets rougher. But you'll get a true taste of Goa whenever you go.

Like they say… Its Better in Goa

Love you Goa

TheBigGoan

Noisy choosers of silence

Strange are the ways of politics and politicians in Goa. Their colours and their style is unique. It is a tribe that can be compared to no other. From best of friends they can turn to the best of enemies and return back to old friendship even before you wake up next day.

Our politicians in Goa already have the dubious distinction of being the finest hoppers in the country. In our schools of Goa, teachers are reluctant to quiz children about the names of our current leaders such as chief minister etc. because they dont know for how long he is going to be in the 'gaddi".

While the ruling government belonging to any party considers corruption as its birthright, the opposition party is no different. It is a meaningless and toothless opposition. Only for name sake. They oppose anything and everything that they find is helpful to corner a government. It may not be in the interest of the common man. But they will oppose policies, decisions, incidents etc just to create a noise so that their party name is alive. In Goa they are least concerned about the real issue. Neither is Goa of any value to them. Their only concern is how to gain mileage from any issue. And they also know how to maintain a stoic silence when it comes to burning issue. So make a noise when a molehill shows up and when a mountain shows up they dig a hole on some Goan beach and hibernate inside.

In recent times we have seen various issues from sez's to mega projects to rape cases and murders in Goa. But the opposition party is so cunningly choosy in making a comment. They choose the people who are against them to condemn and are face-taped when it comes to burning issues.The silence of some of their leaders over some real hot issues is a big joke. Some years back the foes who are now friends were being persecuted for little reason. But now with plenty of reason available our opposition party instead of criticising particular individuals ( which was normally the habit) has instead resorted to seeking the governments head. What hypocrisy!

And then they say that we the public are responsible for the state of affairs in Goa as we are the ones who elect them to office. But please tell me Mr Goa politician.... when we have a choice between one "chor", another "kirmidor' and a third "fator" we have to choose one , dont we. Goa needs able people and sooner lay common men with clean conscience should take up the cause of Goa by standing up to an election and riddling Goa of the mess that we are in.

Love You Goa!

Hutments and shanties – An eyesore of Goa and a threat of an impending slum

It seems that the authorities have recently pulled down some illegal hutments in and around margao in Goa. This is probably a scratch on the mountain.
It is always a mystery to me as to how the government allows the proliferation of these hutments in the first place. Why the municipal authorites and the panchayats do not crack down on these illegal hutments for years until they pose a social problem?

Corruption it may seem to be the least worry here. But at the root of the problem is indeed corruption. Migrant labour first come to Goa and see vacant land all around. The owners of these properties may be abroad or these properties may be communidade land. It all starts with one hut or a couple of huts. Then some more join in. Soon they get electricity and a borewell is dug for them to drink water. Talathis come to their house to give them ration cards and hospitals offer them medical facilities. All they need now is a sale deed to transfer their shanty in their name. But they don’t need that. Everyone knows that the residents of these hutments cannot afford to pay bribes to stay there. So how do they manage to stay there despite being there illegally.

The answer to this it seems is the greed of the vote bank. The politician allows it to ensure that a new vote bank is created. And does not disturb it .

This greed causes a social unrest and invites people of all hues and colours illegally in a place which does not belong to them. In times later when the local residents complain strongly, the issue becoming unbearable by then, the hutment dwellers approach the politician citing their long duration of stay and the greedy MLA gives in to them and applies pressure to stop the demolitions.

In short due to the greed of one person, or due to the greed of 40 thieves in Goa we all have to suffer. If this proliferation of hutments is not curtailed immediately Goa is bound to see the mushrooming of slums all over and soon becoming another dharavi (Asia ‘s biggest slum in Mumbai).

We cannot afford this to happen. Our culture in Goa is to keep goa clean and tidy for so many years. People from other parts of India want to make Goa their home once they see clean Goa. But they fail to undertstand that when they live in Goa they need to imbibe local cultural values. They think they are in their home state and have no value of garbage disposal etc like their home state culture. they therefore create a social unrest and this needs to be addressed immediately

Slums from the lower class or insensitiveness of migrants from India . Both can spell goa’s doom and needs to be checked. Will the sleazy politician keep Goa above petty politics at least now?

RTI - A Powerful tool

Since the time the government Of India has introduced the RTI act ( Right to Information) it has become a nightmare for the bureaucrat, the clerk or the secretary working in a government or a semi-government department.

So powerful is the tool that its very use puts these people on the defensive and pushes them to do their duties which they might have otherwise denied to do.

To use RTI is very simple. You are entitled to any document in government departments ( subject to certain classified documents in defence establishments etc) which you feel may be subject of corruption or undue favour or otherwise. Using this document you can question the department concerned about its double standards and take the concerned person to task.

To seek the document one needs to make an application under RTI paying the requisite fees and presenting the request to the PRO ( public relations officer ) of that department. Failure to respond to your application within 30 days can invite severe penalties and strictures and more importantly will highlight the issue even more.

Goans have been sparsely using RTI but in many cases due to unawareness it is not being used. I urge goans to kindly use the RTI judiciously to ensure that we put a complete end to corruption and its ugly head

Love You Goa!

Mega-Projects.. A Mountain out of a Molehill or otherwise – II

A mega project has not been defined as yet. Why? The reasons are best known to the government. But the reluctance to define it seems to be a cause of big worry to the builder lobby. This lobby is losing by the day. In crores. And the government is not blind. They would like to solve the problem of definition. But I sense that the delay is because these politicians are at their wits end as to how to define and whom to accommodate in mega and whom to leave out. Which parameters to apply and which ones to leave out.


More than one building currently is being viewed as a mega project by the residents of an area. And so residents of Carmona, orlim, Nuvem, Dovandem, pilerne and most prominently Benaulim among others are up in arms against projects which have been planned with hundreds of apartments threatening an injection of thousands of people in an area currently occupied by probably a few hundreds.

So what do these thousands do to the few hundreds? Firstly they bring about an imbalance in one’s own homeland. You are suddenly a minority in your own land and very soon the risk of your say having no meaning is looming large. The risk of the local bodies such as the panchayats and the municipalities being usurped in power by the new residents is probable. And so your identity and your culture disappearing is a harsh reality. Moreover these flats and bungalows planned by the builders are so exorbitant that the local population of Goa would easily find it unaffordable and so the migration of people from all over India and the world is certain.
It is bound to destroy the locality and its identity. It is going to resemble an Andheri , Goregaon or Borivli. Pitifully!

Enrichment wise it will be the opposite. Goa has a more cleaner outlook and rubbish and garbage is normally not strewn openly in all areas. We are born with that culture. You compare that with any other.. I repeat any other state of India and it is a complete contrast. Such contrast is bound to spill over to goan surroundings with such large settlements of migrants.But the protest is not because of this.

However what is most important is that before issuing a licence the licensing authorities turn a blind eye to so many irregularities in the plans and pass the plans in exchange for bribes throwing caution and rules to the winds.Hence the protest.

The government in the meanwhile has failed to address the issue of new settlements vis a vis new infrastructure for the new settlements. It has no regard to the deprivation and the degradation of the surrounding environment. When you bring in extra people there is a burden on the resources such as water, electricity, garbage disposal systems, social balance etc. Without paying heed to any of these considerations there is a rampant grant of licences for construction which was going unabated. Hence the protest!

The government is following old guidelines and old methods but is cunningly allowing new constructions. How? Who is going to ask the government? All the time the people were taken for a ride because the people are not organized. Every person has his or her own work to do and nobody can really spare time to take note of these issues. The government was taking advantage of this fact. Untill a time when people have risen. And the fight has begun. The threat of a revolt for any mega project is lurking in the minds of the builder lobby. The government has to act fast and bring about proper sane means to solve this issue. Mere words will no longer do. The people have shown their might. Thank you Goa and thank you Goans. Succegaaad……? Now what’s that?

Love You Goa!

Mega-Projects.. A Mountain out of a Molehill or otherwise

This is new to Goa. Agitations are not our cup of tea. We are succegaad kinda people.We love our siestas, our feni and our xacutis. So what are these megaprojects doing on our plate?

It all actually started with the uncharacteristic revolt against the regional plan 2011. A draconian plan made by our politicians of all hues and colours, only with the design of making cartloads of money only at the expense of Goa and Goans. And it would have gone all the way through. But they misunderstood the silence of Goans as a slumber. In fact they took us all for granted. In our hearts we were always burning to have our say. They mistook us for being a toothless unorganised force.

And so formed the Goa Bachao Abhiyan. An organisation which pledged to take up the plight of Goa and help to scrap the regional plan. Meetings were held and people attended in large numbers. This sent alarm bells ringing for the politicians and they were scurring for cover. Against all odds they had to dump and scrap the regional plan and that was the first victory of an united Goa against the might of the corrupt politician.

Next has been the opposition to the SEZ's and the mega projects. In both the cases the government is at its wits end as to how to solve the vexed issues. SEZ's in principle have been scrapped and apparently the licences revoked. But there seems to be more here than meets the eyeSEZ owners have acquired land by fraud and the SEZ virodhi Manch is fighting tooth and nail to ensure that they do not gain a back door entry.

The mega projects are something which hits the common man the hardest. And all advocators of mega projects are crying foul. What does a mega project do to the village or the area? Does it enrich the area or does it destroy it? How are the residents affected? Whose duty is it to ensure that the environment does not get affected with these projects? While giving licences for such projects what are the guidelines framed to sustain the development? Are these guidelines in tune with Goa today or have they become redundant and need drastic changes? Why do people dread a mega project which will bring in hundreds of strangers in a land which is currently occupied by a few hundreds? All the answers in the next post.

Love you Goa!

Garbage woes - Unending

Goa has earned the distinction of being the hottest tourist spot of the country. We are thankfully also endowed with a culture and a social security which cannot be compared to the rest of India. So the tourists from the west tend to identify with Goa better then they do in other parts of India.

Goa has also got the best of roads and its villages are still green. The concrete jungles are still a threat but Goa and Goans are fighting their way through this. Hopefully we will win.

However it seems that Goa has a perennial problem of garbage disposal. There seems to be little or no effort from the government to improve upon its garbage collection and disposal system and till date old methods of disposal are being followed. Interestingly you will find that some ministers, officials and bureaucrats go on foreign trips every year in search of solutions for garbage disposal and management. But it seems that they only have the objective of a great holiday in mind and return as clueless as when they had left Goa. Probably they never even had the honesty of even visiting the topic abroad.

Surely a toothless and corrupt system is slowly but surely eroding Goa's resources and its capacity to deal with situations. Our politicians it seems are only interested in fillling their own coffers and bother the least about the welfare of Goa.

Some years back a company called " Hyquip" was given the task of garbage management and lakhs of rupees have been spent on them but till date they have done nothing and the money is still not returned. There seems to be no concrete will on the part of the government to deal with the garbage problem. There is however a will to enter into contracts with anybody and everybody when it involves money.

Who will take account of our leaders who do as they wish and spend public money without giving the public the benefit? These aare the very attitudes which give rise to organisations and protests. One of the prime reasons that mega projects are being opposed is because of the garbage problems. Without resolving the existing garbage woes the government is thrusting more residents on an already overburdened state.

So dont be surprised about mega projects being opposed. Such callousness on the part of the government needs to be opposed tooth and nail untill the government takes notice and acts.

Today technology has reached such levels that we can get the benefit of methods and systems to control, dispose and utilise garbage for a profit. But our leaders need to wake up from their slumber and show the will.

It seems that without their will we will have to enjoy the garbage! The fight in the meanwhile is on.

Love you Goa

Bandhs - An Useless expression of protest

Its another day. The 20th of October.Another incident. Another Bandh.. Another abuse of civil liberties. Another useless expression!

Have Bandhs served any purpose ever? Has anybody ever benefitted from a bandh? What is this thing called bandh really? Is it a democratic protest? Or is it a feudal injection into a democratic state? Is it sanity or insanity? Is it a silent protest or is it a surrender of innocents to the might of a handful ? How are bandhs allowed by an elected government? Or are they a governments' clandestine helplessness? Is the government machinery so weak to allow such abuse ? What does the common man have to do with a bandh? How will it serve the purpose for which it was called for?

The questions are many. The answers few or none. To my mind a bandh is the most useless yet violent and forceful protest by a handful of individuals who want to project an image of their might. How can a protest be made in a way that the common man suffers?

The people who proclaim these bandhs have never been arrested and charged. The question is why? How are they different from thieves and robbers and murderers? Which section of the constitution dont they trample upon? Which person can claim that they never suffered from a bandh? Yet a bandh and the people who call for a bandh go unpunished. Every time.

This is a blatant violation of the constitution right under the governments nose and the government does nothing about it.

The latest reason for a bandh in Goa on the 20th of October 2008, is due to the desecration of religious places. While the desecration needs to be condemned strongly, the citizens instead of asking for bandhs should form vigilant committees to keep a strong vigil all over Goa at odd hours at religious places. This would finally fructify in catching those culprits who are still at bay. Some time back the desecration was done to catholic crosses and now it is being done to Hindu temples. Certainly there seems to be an agenda of instilling hatred between communities by some very organized elements who are doing this quite methodically and need to be apprehended and served the punishment due.

However calling for a bandh is playing straight into the hands of these rogues whose only aim is to destabilize the country. How do they get affected with a bandh? Bandhs only destabilize the state and its resources putting the common man to hardship.

Those who get affected are the common people who miss out on their daily work, sick people who fail to get medical attention, people whose functions and occasions get disrupted, students whose schedules get disturbed, people whose appointments are cancelled, persons who had to leave abroad but fail due to the bandh… the list of the aggrieved is endless.

All these affected people will only voice their curses against the bandh callers. That is their reward.It is high time the common man adds the “bandh” into his list of protests just as the protests against the mega projects, garbage woes , regional plan, corruption etc.

Goa does not need a bandh to stage a protest. What it needs is a good vigilant system of lay common men
Love you Goa!

Hi! Welcome to Goacom's Blog!

A big hello and thanks for clicking on my twitter page URL in my profile which brought you here. Wondering what this blog is all about?. A-ha! Ok! I am going to very much touch on the basics about this place and you can take it from there!

I have hooked myself on to twitter quite late in the day honestly but I guess better late than never. Its kind of perturbed me that you can't put much in your twitter profile and I just woke up the other day saying to myself but Hey! I can surely come up with a landing page at my blog that can help my visitors know better about this blog on Goa!

You are now on my blog http://goacom.blogspot.com .This blog started out as a hobby to keep folks informed about whats happening in my beloved Goa and the label Goa news was thus born. Later I realised that there is much to Goa than just news and so pages about Goa beaches, Goan churches, Goa megaprojects ( a burning issue), Vigilant Goa and Goa Politics squeezed in.

Soon enough I realised I had lot of info myself on the Portuguese passport which so many Goans are faithfully pursuing and so was born the label on "Portuguese passport for Goans" where you get lot of info on how to go about your process and why to dump your agent.

For the avid tourist visiting Goa there are lot of pages on information about Goa. So Goa tourism, Goa tourist, Help for Goans, apartments on rent in Goa for tourists, Goa festivals, Malaria prevention in Goa, etc were spontaneously born.

For the Goan, there is plenty of information on Goan cuisine,weddings in Goa, Goa politics, Goans abroad, Great Goans, Goa weather, Goa tragedies, Goa football, Goa tiatr, Goa lawlessness, Goa nostalgia and Goa Christianity.

This blog has therefore slowly transformed itself into a page aimed at helping the public at large whether you are from Goa or outside, there is something here for everyone!

Delight yourself and do leave comments so that I can get some constructive feedback.

Thanks once again for visiting my blog!

Goa the place where I belong

I have been in Goa all my life. It is the place I was born. Naturally it should give me a feeling of great belonging to this place. But No! Its much more than that. I simply thank God for allowing my life tobegin and flow in Goa. It is that kind of a place. Unbeatable, compared to the rest of India. Goa seems to be having a distinct charm, a melody, a melancholy which only the Goan can understand.

Its beauty and its people are incomparable. How? Why? . The answer is mystique and I doubt many have dwelt on the goanness of Goans. But its true. Goans are a different lot. A different breed.Goans originally hail from many parts of India which include places as close as Maharashtra and Karnataka to West Bengal. Centuries ago these people made Goa their home and now they identify themselves as Goan and are proud of their legacy.

In Goa communal riots are unheard of barring a few imported elements who nowadays create a bit of unrest. More in the next post....

I have been in Goa all my life. It is the place I was born. Naturally it should give me a feeling of great belonging to this place. But No! Its much more than that. I simply thank God for allowing my life tobegin and flow in Goa. It is that kind of a place. Unbeatable, compared to the rest of India. Goa seems to be having a distinct charm, a melody, a melancholy which only the Goan can understand.

Its beauty and its people are incomparable. How? Why? . The answer is mystique and I doubt many have dwelt on the goanness of Goans. But its true. Goans are a different lot. A different breed.Goans originally hail from many parts of India which include places as close as Maharashtra and Karnataka to West Bengal. Centuries ago these people made Goa their home and now they identify themselves as Goan and are proud of their legacy.

In Goa communal riots are unheard of barring a few imported elements who nowadays create a bit of unrest. More in the next post....

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Goa a pristine land

Goa is fast becoming the most preferred destination in India for tourists from all over the world owing to its natural beauty, pristine beaches, riot-free environs etc