Saturday, May 31, 2008
'Foreigners can't settle in Goa'
29 May 2008, 0245 hrs IST,Preetu Nair,TNN
PANAJI: After spending eight years in Goa, a British couple in their 60s — Mash Barry Sidney and Jenice Mash — decided to make the idyllic coastal state their permanent home after retirement. But it wasn't to be, as they were told that the Indian law forbids retired foreigners from staying permanently in the country. "When we applied for extension of stay in India, officials at the foreigners' registration office (FRO), Panaji, told us we won't get visa extension as we had sought it for spending our retired life in Goa," Sidney said, adding, "We were told that it was in line with the instructions of the external affairs ministry." Sidney said the FRO got back to him saying, "As per the external affairs ministry's instructions, foreigners have to spend their retired life in their country and therefore your request isn't agreed to." He said the FRO also requested them to immediately leave the country. This isn't an isolated case. FRO sources told TOI that every year nearly 3,000 foreigners — including about 800 to 900 from UK alone — staying in Goa, seek extension on their visas.
In most cases, foreign nationals seek extension saying they want to spend their retired life in Goa. "Goa home department rejects the requests citing MEA rules. Our job is to convey this to the applicant," a senior FRO official said. Special secretary (home) Diwan Chand said, "We are acting as per the MEA's visa manual." However, legal experts find government's explanation unconvincing. "I fail to understand under what provision of Indian or international law can they disallow a foreigner from living on in the country," a lawyer said.
more
PANAJI: After spending eight years in Goa, a British couple in their 60s — Mash Barry Sidney and Jenice Mash — decided to make the idyllic coastal state their permanent home after retirement. But it wasn't to be, as they were told that the Indian law forbids retired foreigners from staying permanently in the country. "When we applied for extension of stay in India, officials at the foreigners' registration office (FRO), Panaji, told us we won't get visa extension as we had sought it for spending our retired life in Goa," Sidney said, adding, "We were told that it was in line with the instructions of the external affairs ministry." Sidney said the FRO got back to him saying, "As per the external affairs ministry's instructions, foreigners have to spend their retired life in their country and therefore your request isn't agreed to." He said the FRO also requested them to immediately leave the country. This isn't an isolated case. FRO sources told TOI that every year nearly 3,000 foreigners — including about 800 to 900 from UK alone — staying in Goa, seek extension on their visas.
In most cases, foreign nationals seek extension saying they want to spend their retired life in Goa. "Goa home department rejects the requests citing MEA rules. Our job is to convey this to the applicant," a senior FRO official said. Special secretary (home) Diwan Chand said, "We are acting as per the MEA's visa manual." However, legal experts find government's explanation unconvincing. "I fail to understand under what provision of Indian or international law can they disallow a foreigner from living on in the country," a lawyer said.
more
GOAN RIPPLE IN DHOBI TALAO
I
r. TIMES CITY
CIlia Maria Costa
rils a club whose
'Illbership per
v is less than the
'I of a vada pav
. I t's mid morning and Goa's Illl-(htingale Lorna's magnet\(' voice fills the air as she ('roons Tuzo Mog, a famous ( :oan classic. .~ I" II ttle corner hidden behind a It. sheet pinned up to cast off the Its James Rodrigues adjusting olume knob on his CD player wnlching the world go by. His , C [.' Rodrigues and Sons, in the Ilt'SS of selling Konkani CDs and fill' over 70 years, is stacked with II' and tiatrs by Goa's artists like 'd Rose, C Alvares, Junior Rod, Illta Vaz and, of course, Lorna.odrigues couldn't have found a I' perfect location than below 30( loan clubs in Jer Mahal Estate. kllows his posters strategically 't'd advertising 'Pisso Dotor', a kani comedy, will find enough '1'S. , l':nsily one of Mumbai's better WIs, Jer Maha1 Estate at Dhobi TaIs a stone's throw from Metro the~ and St Xavier's College. Anyone lId mistake this for one more old Iwl especially when a huge board rams Great Punjab Hotel on the t floor.
Even when you step ough any of its five narrow entices there are no telltale signs. But lk up the wooden staircase and
peep into any of the rooms and you know that you are in the middle of Goanness. The flavour of the tiny state fills your senses.
The air is socegado and Konkani rules the airwaves.The club system in Jer Mahal does not involve gyms and swimming pools. A club here is one or more rooms, which are more like huge halls where Goan Catholics put up. Each village from Goa has its own club. Some, villages have more than one club, depending on how many waddos or zones it has.Most members are male and take refuge in their respective village clubs when new to the city.Cruz D'Costa came to Mumbai when he was 19. Resident at the Majorda club for close to three decades, for him this is "a home away from home-a second home". He speaks passionately about his love for Goa and how he holds the "the record" for going home the maximum number of times in a year, "at least eight
Getting admission into the club is simple-you need to be Goan, Catholic and have an identification. Once you are a member, you can stay there as long as you want - A club resident
times". Taking the steps two at a time and greeting everyone he meets, Cruz speaks a typical South Goa, Salcette Konkani. He says that getting admission into the club is simple-you need to be Goan, Catholic and have an identification.Once you are a member, you can stay there as long as you want.Every club has similar interiors:wooden or steel boxes called pattis that line the walls, shoe stands, iron boxes and TV sets. One character-
istic feature is the painting or statue of the village patron saint.
The saint occupies pride of place at the altar and his or her feast is celebrated annually. Each club also has its own kitchen and a block of bathrooms as well as toilets that mayor may not be attached.There are 200 Goan clubs in Mumbai spread over Dhobi Talao, Chira Bazaar, Crawford Market, Dockyard, Mazgaon and Dadar. Dhobi Talao houses the maximum number.
These
clubs or Kuds were set up in the 1920s when Goans started coming to the city in search of a livelihood. They mostly took jobs in hotels or as seamen and were charged a nominal lodging rate. Today, although the clubs may boast 10,000 members, the number of full-time residents has dropped sharply. This, despite the fact, that the rent per day is less than a vada pav.·Most clubs charge members Rs 40 a month.In Dinshaw Mahal, you fmd magician Praxis Remedios from the Guirim club.
A resident for over two decadeI', Praxis says, "Not many Goans know about the club. Though accommodation is inexpensive, takers are few as there is no privacy.
Everyone just puts their bedding on the floor for the night." Praxis's father came to the city in the early century as opportunities in Goa were few.
He says, "Today, hardly any Goan wants to be in Mumbai for long. They see it as a gateway, to gain experience and move to the Gulf, US, UK or the ship. Unlike earlier, one can do most of the paperwork for immigration or to sail in Goa itself." Cruz adds that people prefer to check into a hotel with their families even though the clubs offer a family room for Rs 50 a day.Gilbret Pinto from the Bastora club laments that even up to five years ago his club had 25 full-time members, while today there are only three guest members. Jobs abroad and on the ship pay so much more, he says, that people prefer those to a life in Mumbai.
Andrade Costa from the Nuvemcares club says this is second home to him, and today the building is better maintained than 10 years ago after its interiors were repaired.Joel Fernandes lights up when you mention football. "It's just an excuse for the whole club to sit together in their jerseys and root for their favourite team," he says. "By the way, it's Brazil," he whispers with a smile.With dwindling numbers, old customs like the evening rosary are dying.
But veterans like Cruz and Praxis say that the clubs are still a great place to catch up on the gossip over an evening drink. Even though these residents have lived in Mumbai for decades their culture, speech and mannerisms have not changed. As you talk to Praxis, Gilbert, Joel or Cruz, one thing is clear-you can take a Goan out of Goa but you can't take Goa out of a Goan.
r. TIMES CITY
CIlia Maria Costa
rils a club whose
'Illbership per
v is less than the
'I of a vada pav
. I t's mid morning and Goa's Illl-(htingale Lorna's magnet\(' voice fills the air as she ('roons Tuzo Mog, a famous ( :oan classic. .~ I" II ttle corner hidden behind a It. sheet pinned up to cast off the Its James Rodrigues adjusting olume knob on his CD player wnlching the world go by. His , C [.' Rodrigues and Sons, in the Ilt'SS of selling Konkani CDs and fill' over 70 years, is stacked with II' and tiatrs by Goa's artists like 'd Rose, C Alvares, Junior Rod, Illta Vaz and, of course, Lorna.odrigues couldn't have found a I' perfect location than below 30( loan clubs in Jer Mahal Estate. kllows his posters strategically 't'd advertising 'Pisso Dotor', a kani comedy, will find enough '1'S. , l':nsily one of Mumbai's better WIs, Jer Maha1 Estate at Dhobi TaIs a stone's throw from Metro the~ and St Xavier's College. Anyone lId mistake this for one more old Iwl especially when a huge board rams Great Punjab Hotel on the t floor.
Even when you step ough any of its five narrow entices there are no telltale signs. But lk up the wooden staircase and
peep into any of the rooms and you know that you are in the middle of Goanness. The flavour of the tiny state fills your senses.
The air is socegado and Konkani rules the airwaves.The club system in Jer Mahal does not involve gyms and swimming pools. A club here is one or more rooms, which are more like huge halls where Goan Catholics put up. Each village from Goa has its own club. Some, villages have more than one club, depending on how many waddos or zones it has.Most members are male and take refuge in their respective village clubs when new to the city.Cruz D'Costa came to Mumbai when he was 19. Resident at the Majorda club for close to three decades, for him this is "a home away from home-a second home". He speaks passionately about his love for Goa and how he holds the "the record" for going home the maximum number of times in a year, "at least eight
Getting admission into the club is simple-you need to be Goan, Catholic and have an identification. Once you are a member, you can stay there as long as you want - A club resident
times". Taking the steps two at a time and greeting everyone he meets, Cruz speaks a typical South Goa, Salcette Konkani. He says that getting admission into the club is simple-you need to be Goan, Catholic and have an identification.Once you are a member, you can stay there as long as you want.Every club has similar interiors:wooden or steel boxes called pattis that line the walls, shoe stands, iron boxes and TV sets. One character-
istic feature is the painting or statue of the village patron saint.
The saint occupies pride of place at the altar and his or her feast is celebrated annually. Each club also has its own kitchen and a block of bathrooms as well as toilets that mayor may not be attached.There are 200 Goan clubs in Mumbai spread over Dhobi Talao, Chira Bazaar, Crawford Market, Dockyard, Mazgaon and Dadar. Dhobi Talao houses the maximum number.
These
clubs or Kuds were set up in the 1920s when Goans started coming to the city in search of a livelihood. They mostly took jobs in hotels or as seamen and were charged a nominal lodging rate. Today, although the clubs may boast 10,000 members, the number of full-time residents has dropped sharply. This, despite the fact, that the rent per day is less than a vada pav.·Most clubs charge members Rs 40 a month.In Dinshaw Mahal, you fmd magician Praxis Remedios from the Guirim club.
A resident for over two decadeI', Praxis says, "Not many Goans know about the club. Though accommodation is inexpensive, takers are few as there is no privacy.
Everyone just puts their bedding on the floor for the night." Praxis's father came to the city in the early century as opportunities in Goa were few.
He says, "Today, hardly any Goan wants to be in Mumbai for long. They see it as a gateway, to gain experience and move to the Gulf, US, UK or the ship. Unlike earlier, one can do most of the paperwork for immigration or to sail in Goa itself." Cruz adds that people prefer to check into a hotel with their families even though the clubs offer a family room for Rs 50 a day.Gilbret Pinto from the Bastora club laments that even up to five years ago his club had 25 full-time members, while today there are only three guest members. Jobs abroad and on the ship pay so much more, he says, that people prefer those to a life in Mumbai.
Andrade Costa from the Nuvemcares club says this is second home to him, and today the building is better maintained than 10 years ago after its interiors were repaired.Joel Fernandes lights up when you mention football. "It's just an excuse for the whole club to sit together in their jerseys and root for their favourite team," he says. "By the way, it's Brazil," he whispers with a smile.With dwindling numbers, old customs like the evening rosary are dying.
But veterans like Cruz and Praxis say that the clubs are still a great place to catch up on the gossip over an evening drink. Even though these residents have lived in Mumbai for decades their culture, speech and mannerisms have not changed. As you talk to Praxis, Gilbert, Joel or Cruz, one thing is clear-you can take a Goan out of Goa but you can't take Goa out of a Goan.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Indian Hippies
All hippies must obey the Indian Hippies.
Indian Hippies were the first Hippies to ever exist. They invented Hippies, acid trips, flipping out, and ninjutsu. They are superior to all Hippies and acid-tripping turds, and cannot and will not be insulted or opposed. They are the supreme rulers of Rainbow Land, the imaginary world that Hippies go to during acid trips. All hippies must obey the Indian Hippies. Only people who had funny-sounding German or Russian languages were excepted from this law.
Contents
1 How it all started
2 Indian Hippie Caste
3 Random Facts about Indian Hippies
4 Indian Woodstock
5 It had to stop. Now.
6 Dawn of the Hippies
7 The Aftermath of Indian Goastock
more
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Goa: One can also work here
It is a well known fact that Goa is all about fun Feni and Fish. However behind this fun filled life style there are people and companies working in Goa. The only difference between say Mumbai and Goa is in Goa we also have fun.
Travelling from A to B in Mumbai not only takes time but it also kills. In Goa if you have your own wheels travelling is a lesser evil. I believe I added about three hours a day to my life simply by moiving to Goa. How, simple daily I commuted by Car for approx 3.5 hrs. each way. Today I spend about half an hour. Not only is it quicker it is also less stressful as the car is usually in the top gear and gear shift are fewer and far between.
Riding a bike in Mumbai means you need a bath on arrival as black soot covers any part exposed. Clothes get dirty quickly and your hair gets matty. Goa, it is much better. Ofcourse with the number os cars increasing by the hour, travel times are getting stretched and the air quality reducing. However it is still far better than any other city.
AT one time the roads were narrow and the telecommunication pretty sad. Today, Goa's roads are by and large very good. The telecomunication is state of the art and comparable to any bigger state if not better. Electricity was not present in some remote villages and even if it was there it was with very low voltage. Today Goa is properly electrified and barring a few hiccups in pretty good shape electricity wise.
Schools, there is a huge demand for good schools. The recent ICSE exams saw goan students turnout 100% results and rank second country wide. Students and eager ones at that are available, setting up and running good schools/ colleges in Goa is definitely an opportunity.
Medical facilities too have seen an improvement, with the establishment of a couple of state of the art tertiary facilities. Of course the is another area which begs entreprenriual attention.
At one time teh Indian Airlines manager was more sought after than teh Chief Minister. He was teh one who could get you a seat to travel outside Goa. Today with more than 25 flights, a dozen trains and a host of buses, you cannot find enough ways to leave or come back to Goa.
The local people are up in arms as they see the Goa they know being sold sq mt by sq mt to rank outsiders. Goans are trying to prevent becoming a minority in their own state. Being a free country one cannot stop in migration, especially when the Goan has been at the forefront of migration be it to other parts of India or the world at large.
One way that can shif the balance is if Goans who live outside Goa come back to thier homes. This would ensure that the propoerties which otherwise would have been sold to some outsider will be now occupied by a son of the soil.
Most goans do not want to come back is because they still feel Goa was what it was "back of Beyond" when they left. Pig toilets, candles and overcrowded buses. Goa has changed and Goa beckons Goans to return. In Goa you cna work and also have fun.
Being a part of the team that choose the "Manager of the Year" on behalf of teh Goa Management Association, it was heartening to know that Boeing buys parts manufactured exclusively in Goa, the biggest fibre glass tanks made outside Europe are manufactured in Goa, my company make tanks for trains that run in Ireland, Germany and France. Not bad for a place synomous with "SAND".
As for the goan labour. We have existed in manufacturing for 13 years and the goans working with us are as hardworking as any you may find. But with an added advantage , they are honest and also clever.
So come pack your bags move your manufacturing back to your home town, so you do not have to retire to Goa years down the line, you will already lead a retired life while in your productive years. The opportunity is there can you see it my Goan friend? Others are lapping it up.
Blaise Costabir
MDGMI Zarhak Moulders Pvt ltd
Travelling from A to B in Mumbai not only takes time but it also kills. In Goa if you have your own wheels travelling is a lesser evil. I believe I added about three hours a day to my life simply by moiving to Goa. How, simple daily I commuted by Car for approx 3.5 hrs. each way. Today I spend about half an hour. Not only is it quicker it is also less stressful as the car is usually in the top gear and gear shift are fewer and far between.
Riding a bike in Mumbai means you need a bath on arrival as black soot covers any part exposed. Clothes get dirty quickly and your hair gets matty. Goa, it is much better. Ofcourse with the number os cars increasing by the hour, travel times are getting stretched and the air quality reducing. However it is still far better than any other city.
AT one time the roads were narrow and the telecommunication pretty sad. Today, Goa's roads are by and large very good. The telecomunication is state of the art and comparable to any bigger state if not better. Electricity was not present in some remote villages and even if it was there it was with very low voltage. Today Goa is properly electrified and barring a few hiccups in pretty good shape electricity wise.
Schools, there is a huge demand for good schools. The recent ICSE exams saw goan students turnout 100% results and rank second country wide. Students and eager ones at that are available, setting up and running good schools/ colleges in Goa is definitely an opportunity.
Medical facilities too have seen an improvement, with the establishment of a couple of state of the art tertiary facilities. Of course the is another area which begs entreprenriual attention.
At one time teh Indian Airlines manager was more sought after than teh Chief Minister. He was teh one who could get you a seat to travel outside Goa. Today with more than 25 flights, a dozen trains and a host of buses, you cannot find enough ways to leave or come back to Goa.
The local people are up in arms as they see the Goa they know being sold sq mt by sq mt to rank outsiders. Goans are trying to prevent becoming a minority in their own state. Being a free country one cannot stop in migration, especially when the Goan has been at the forefront of migration be it to other parts of India or the world at large.
One way that can shif the balance is if Goans who live outside Goa come back to thier homes. This would ensure that the propoerties which otherwise would have been sold to some outsider will be now occupied by a son of the soil.
Most goans do not want to come back is because they still feel Goa was what it was "back of Beyond" when they left. Pig toilets, candles and overcrowded buses. Goa has changed and Goa beckons Goans to return. In Goa you cna work and also have fun.
Being a part of the team that choose the "Manager of the Year" on behalf of teh Goa Management Association, it was heartening to know that Boeing buys parts manufactured exclusively in Goa, the biggest fibre glass tanks made outside Europe are manufactured in Goa, my company make tanks for trains that run in Ireland, Germany and France. Not bad for a place synomous with "SAND".
As for the goan labour. We have existed in manufacturing for 13 years and the goans working with us are as hardworking as any you may find. But with an added advantage , they are honest and also clever.
So come pack your bags move your manufacturing back to your home town, so you do not have to retire to Goa years down the line, you will already lead a retired life while in your productive years. The opportunity is there can you see it my Goan friend? Others are lapping it up.
Blaise Costabir
MDGMI Zarhak Moulders Pvt ltd
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Goa videos
On my last day in Goa I take off to explore the surrounding area of Vagator and my rewarded is a spectacular view from the highest point along the coast of Goa as Al I say good by to this Magical Land.
videos
videos
The Beaches of Goa
The Indian State of Goa provides over 50 miles of beautiful beaches on the Arabian Sea...
Of the 75 miles of coast line in the Indian State of Goa, over 50 miles of it is beach. Warm, inviting, near-tropical beach. And while the rest of Goa - its culture, food, inland scenery, and cities - are all well worth visiting, Goa's beaches are what makes the state one of India's major tourist attractions.
Goa's coast faces the Arabian Sea and runs in almost a straight, uninterrupted line - broken only by the outlets of the state's seven rivers.
There are acceptable beaches in the area of Goa's capital, Panaji. But while the beaches around Panaji are clean and acceptable, there is no need for a visitor to Goa to settle for beaches that are simple "acceptable".
Palolem is Goa's southernmost beach, about 35 miles south of the capital city, Panaji. The beach is white sand on a blue bay hemmed in by two headlands. Locals will offer to take you out in small boats at watch the dolphins.
If you're looking for a more lonely beach, Agonda Beach is just north of Palolem. It is edged by palms and casuarinas, a large hill sits to the south. You'll find no shops or facilities here. Mabor Beach is nearby - one of South Goa's mots clean and beautiful beaches. Ignore the warning notices on the beach; the local hotel would like you to stay away, but all beaches in India are public property by law and there is no such thing as a "private" beach. It should be noted that beaches in Goa are usually named for the closest village. It is the existence of some village, therefore, and not geography itself which explains why the name of some beach changes as you follow it up the uninterrupted coast.
Moving north from Palolem and Mabor beaches tourists will find that Colva Beach is another broad, beautiful stretch of sand. A brook bubbles across it and the beach is sheltered by palm trees. It is a popular beach, with shops, restaurants, and something of a carnival atmosphere. It is a place where vacationing Indians come to lay in the sun and sand while their children dog-paddle around in the waves.
Among the safest beaches for swimming is Bogmolo Beach, just south of Panaji. It was among the first of Goa's beaches to be discovered by tourists. Fishermen also work the beach. Palms are plentiful.
Inside the Goan capital, Miramar beach (or Gaspar Dias), is only about 2 miles from the center of the city. The beach is popular with the public, but it is not really considered safe for swimmers. Dona Paula Beach near Panaji is a land of water scooters and speedboats.
Not far north of Panaji is Calangute Beach. This was the first of the hippie resorts back in the 60's and 70's. The hippies left, though, when mainstream tourism over ran Calangute. It is small, crowded resorts area today and does a thriving business in the holiday season. Despite the crowds and popularity of the beach, it is long enough to allow some privacy.
Further north, if not quite the capital of the hippie world, Anjuna Beach was at least a leading travel destination for the Woodstock generation. It was once the most celebrated of Goa's beaches. Not far from Anjuna is Vagator Beach, where steep slopes of run down into a picturesque bay protected by small rocky peninsulas on each end.
A centuries-old Portugese fort overlooks the mouth of the Tiracol River in northern Goa. The beaches in this area (the Pernem district) are the state's least developed. The crowds don't come here and there are no big hotels. Visitors camp, or rent one of the small shanties along the beach.
The beaches throughout Goa have an abundance of seas shells. The local Indians string the small brown and black littorin shells into curtains. Yellow-tinted conch shell (hemifuses pugilinus) is common. And a variety of other shells are numerous.
Goa has a steady climate with little change throughout the year. December and January are slightly cool and you may require a light jacket. April and May are the warmest months. There are periods of heavy rain from June to October, with Goa getting 150 inches or more of rain during those months. The temperature during the summers ranges from 75°F/24°C to 92°F/33°C and during the winters it ranges from 70°F/21°C to 90°F/32°C.
A word of caution: swimming is hazardous throughout Goa. The coast has some strong undercurrents. Speak to the lifeguards before you go out into the waters.
Goa's beaches are difficult surpass.
more
Of the 75 miles of coast line in the Indian State of Goa, over 50 miles of it is beach. Warm, inviting, near-tropical beach. And while the rest of Goa - its culture, food, inland scenery, and cities - are all well worth visiting, Goa's beaches are what makes the state one of India's major tourist attractions.
Goa's coast faces the Arabian Sea and runs in almost a straight, uninterrupted line - broken only by the outlets of the state's seven rivers.
There are acceptable beaches in the area of Goa's capital, Panaji. But while the beaches around Panaji are clean and acceptable, there is no need for a visitor to Goa to settle for beaches that are simple "acceptable".
Palolem is Goa's southernmost beach, about 35 miles south of the capital city, Panaji. The beach is white sand on a blue bay hemmed in by two headlands. Locals will offer to take you out in small boats at watch the dolphins.
If you're looking for a more lonely beach, Agonda Beach is just north of Palolem. It is edged by palms and casuarinas, a large hill sits to the south. You'll find no shops or facilities here. Mabor Beach is nearby - one of South Goa's mots clean and beautiful beaches. Ignore the warning notices on the beach; the local hotel would like you to stay away, but all beaches in India are public property by law and there is no such thing as a "private" beach. It should be noted that beaches in Goa are usually named for the closest village. It is the existence of some village, therefore, and not geography itself which explains why the name of some beach changes as you follow it up the uninterrupted coast.
Moving north from Palolem and Mabor beaches tourists will find that Colva Beach is another broad, beautiful stretch of sand. A brook bubbles across it and the beach is sheltered by palm trees. It is a popular beach, with shops, restaurants, and something of a carnival atmosphere. It is a place where vacationing Indians come to lay in the sun and sand while their children dog-paddle around in the waves.
Among the safest beaches for swimming is Bogmolo Beach, just south of Panaji. It was among the first of Goa's beaches to be discovered by tourists. Fishermen also work the beach. Palms are plentiful.
Inside the Goan capital, Miramar beach (or Gaspar Dias), is only about 2 miles from the center of the city. The beach is popular with the public, but it is not really considered safe for swimmers. Dona Paula Beach near Panaji is a land of water scooters and speedboats.
Not far north of Panaji is Calangute Beach. This was the first of the hippie resorts back in the 60's and 70's. The hippies left, though, when mainstream tourism over ran Calangute. It is small, crowded resorts area today and does a thriving business in the holiday season. Despite the crowds and popularity of the beach, it is long enough to allow some privacy.
Further north, if not quite the capital of the hippie world, Anjuna Beach was at least a leading travel destination for the Woodstock generation. It was once the most celebrated of Goa's beaches. Not far from Anjuna is Vagator Beach, where steep slopes of run down into a picturesque bay protected by small rocky peninsulas on each end.
A centuries-old Portugese fort overlooks the mouth of the Tiracol River in northern Goa. The beaches in this area (the Pernem district) are the state's least developed. The crowds don't come here and there are no big hotels. Visitors camp, or rent one of the small shanties along the beach.
The beaches throughout Goa have an abundance of seas shells. The local Indians string the small brown and black littorin shells into curtains. Yellow-tinted conch shell (hemifuses pugilinus) is common. And a variety of other shells are numerous.
Goa has a steady climate with little change throughout the year. December and January are slightly cool and you may require a light jacket. April and May are the warmest months. There are periods of heavy rain from June to October, with Goa getting 150 inches or more of rain during those months. The temperature during the summers ranges from 75°F/24°C to 92°F/33°C and during the winters it ranges from 70°F/21°C to 90°F/32°C.
A word of caution: swimming is hazardous throughout Goa. The coast has some strong undercurrents. Speak to the lifeguards before you go out into the waters.
Goa's beaches are difficult surpass.
more
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
a freak, freaking out in GOA
DID you wonder how the hippies of the '70s managed to live seemingly luxurious lives in Goa without doing a day's work? Want to know how they spent months on a tiny stretch of Anjuna beach? Or what really attracted them to Goa?
If so, this is the book. It is a must-read for the student of sociology, the Goan from the coastal belt, and about anyone curious to understand the changes this society underwent in the last three decades.
Cleo Odzer is herself a former hippie, reincarnated as a respectable academic in the US. She tells the full story, with brutal and uncensored honesty. Even at the risk of portraying herself as a narcissistic, self-centered and a law-breaking guest of Goa.
This book's significance is that it is the first to decode the lives and times of the hippies of Goa, which was one of the hippie-capitals worldwide (besides Ibiza in Spain and Kathmandu).
Odzer grew up in the lap of Jewish affluence in New York, as a disaffected youth in the post-Vietnam War generation. She opted to restlessly comb Europe and the Middle East before taking the overland bus from Europe to Goa. Four years -- of drugs, depravity and a meaningless existence -- was, however, more than she could take of it.
Returning to the US, she valiantly worked her way to a doctorate in Anthropology. She now works with a drug rehabilitation group called Daytop.
Her story zooms in on that community of aliens which relocated to a tiny stretch of Goa. Though based in Anjuna, the Goa Freaks, as they called themselves, kept links across the globe. There were some in San Francisco. Many temporarily shifted to Bali (Indonesia). Bangkok was a oft-visited destination. They congregated around a few down-market hotels in Mumbai too.
But in the monsoon, the Goa Freaks fled the torrential rains and undertook 'scams' -- couriering drugs to distant locations. On this money, they lavishly lived it up in the ensuing season. Returns were high. Drugs bought for $2000 in Asia could retail for $21,843 in Canada. Just to carry somebody else's drugs to Canada, they were paid $8000 to $10,000.
On their drug earnings, they lived life to the hilt. En route, they stayed in the Sheratons, the Holiday Inns and the Hiltons, and met contacts at the Taj.
Cleo Odzer, returning to Anjuna from Canada one time, meets a friend coming in from Thailand. Take her word for it: "We exchanged knowing smiles. Now I knew how the Goa Freaks made the money to splurge on so much coke (cocaine). Now I knew, because I'd been initiated. I was really one of them."
Odzer narrates how she opened her "dope den," called the Anjuna Drugoona Saloona, after boldly tacking handwritten adverts throughout the beach! Her description of the outdoor and indoor parties clearly suggest these are fueled by persons linked to the drug trade which is far more organized than most of us could dream of.
Odzer suggests the Goa police failed to be vigilant in curbing the drug trade. Despite reading her letters and raiding her home, they simply let her off. In comparison, even Thailand was very strict on drugs, and Bali was firm even against nudism.
This is not a story of Goa. It is a story of the hippies' escapades, which has Anjuna as the backdrop only incidentally. Nonetheless, it is fascinating reading.
In brief references, we get a hint of the dramatic interface between West and East. Once, a "French junkie" fell into a well and died, resulting in a "major disaster" for the villagers dependent on its water.
Goans are shown as a people willing to put up with the "crazy foreigners" for what they get out of them. By 1979, nothing they do surprises the locals anymore, says Odzer.
Goans were also little more than a source of cheap labour. "A Westerner doing housework! What an unheard-of thing in that land of cheap labor," writes Odzer. "Living in Goa could be stupendously inexpensive. Food and rent cost little and I paid the Goan maid $22 a month for coming in seven days a week and doing everything. Drugs were the main rupee eaters... the low cost of Goan labor allowed me to hire an army of painters for pennies an hour," commented Odzer.
Based on first-hand experience, Cleo Odzer is able to smartly analyze the mechanics of drug smuggling. Maybe Customs officers could consider adopting this book as a text.
For instance, on the Bangkok-Mumbai run, drug-couriers realize that the Customs officials are obsessed with locating electronic goods, not drugs. Duplicate passports were used to hide traces of traveling in drug-prone Far East Asia.
The Goa Freaks took out drugs to destinations in the West. To avoid detection, they visited posh hairdressers and transited through drug-free destinations -- like Portugal, Switzerland, Bermuda, Canada, and even the former Soviet Union!
Drugs were smuggled in a variety of places: leather suitcases specially stitched in Mumbai. Condom-packed narcotics were stuffed in the intestines and vagina. "Smack" was brought in from Laos hidden in a toothpaste tube. To retain it in their intestines, "a bottle of diarrhea medicine" had to be consumed. To get it out called for "a box of Ex-Lax," a laxative!
Dr. Odzer makes it clear from the start: "This is a nonfiction story, but some names and characters and exact dates have been changed to protect identities." Still, many are clearly identifiable. One only has to refer to Goa Today's past issues to know who are the drug pushers being referred to. Some still make their appearances. Others, like "Biriyani" had purchased properties here not too long ago. Sadly, a few who featured in the book died in "mysterious ways."
Many Goan characters and institutions also figure in this book -- Joe Banana, landlord Lino, Paradise Pharmacy, Hanuman Ice Cream, the Birmingham Boys gang, and Inspector Navelcar. There's also "the private Catholic hospital in Mapusa" where the freaks go to recuperate. Not all that is revealed may be flattering information.
Strange names and unusual characters also people this book: Neal, Alehandro, an American named Narayan and another named Sadhu George, Norwegian Monica, Mental, Serge, Barbara, Junky Robert and Tish, David and Ashley, Canadian Jacques, Hollywood Peter, Marco and wife Gigi, Guiliano, Amsterdam Dean, Trumpet Steve, Paul, Jerry Schmaltz and Eight-Finger Eddie. Some still live in Goa. One of the hippies even named their son Anjuna. But he grew up into a "conservative young man with short hair who refused to be called Anjuna, and who just enlisted in the US police academy." One of the pharmacies she names allegedly even bought narcotic drugs from Odzer!
To maintain her drug habit she has to undergo amazing levels of depravity: join a gang stealing traveler's cheques in Mumbai and agree to sexual abuse by a police official in a Delhi jail.
Finally, Odzer takes a hard decision. Drugs slowly decimated the Anjuna freak community, and she is shocked to find the number of friends dead or in jail. Death stares at her too in the face and drugs make her lose touch with reality. She either has to lose India or her life.
This story is best narrated in her own words: "Oh, I hated the notion. This place was my dream. I would never find one I loved as much, or that I could belong to as wholeheartedly. Goa was home."
Odzer's story can move you to tears. Even if you're an irate Goan who believes the hippies ruined the place and brought in drugs. It can also make you feel terribly angry. Scenes where she has to leave behind her dog are touching. But, then, to learn that she fed her pet prawns-in-wine-sauce, or bought saris merely to hang from the ceiling, is nothing short of scandalous.
Despite her impeccable academic credentials, Dr. Cleo Odzer liberally sprinkles her book with the Bs, Ds, and quite a few F-words too. But this recreates a feeling of re-living the hippie years of Goa.
Goa Freaks has a fascinating style. A young Odzer herself poses seductively on the cover, tells you of her own sexual escapades, and uses a style that keeps the narrative gripping throughout. But do we find it interesting because, in Goa, we have long been puzzled and unable to understand the hippie reality?
Some may find the portrayal too superficial. It makes the flower-power generation seem simply obsessed with sex and drugs. But perhaps the hippies of the late '70s were a different cup of tea from those who preceded them. Incidentally, despite their distaste for the Western "capitalist" lifestyle, the late-70s hippies "loved gadgets, and at the start of each season they fussed over the latest inventions brought from the West."
Odzer, incidentally, was kind enough to send across complimentary copies of her costly book to public libraries in Goa -- including the Central Library's Rare Books Section and the Xavier Centre at Porvorim. Maybe she can further repay her host society by passing on some drug-rehab skills from Daytop.
more
If so, this is the book. It is a must-read for the student of sociology, the Goan from the coastal belt, and about anyone curious to understand the changes this society underwent in the last three decades.
Cleo Odzer is herself a former hippie, reincarnated as a respectable academic in the US. She tells the full story, with brutal and uncensored honesty. Even at the risk of portraying herself as a narcissistic, self-centered and a law-breaking guest of Goa.
This book's significance is that it is the first to decode the lives and times of the hippies of Goa, which was one of the hippie-capitals worldwide (besides Ibiza in Spain and Kathmandu).
Odzer grew up in the lap of Jewish affluence in New York, as a disaffected youth in the post-Vietnam War generation. She opted to restlessly comb Europe and the Middle East before taking the overland bus from Europe to Goa. Four years -- of drugs, depravity and a meaningless existence -- was, however, more than she could take of it.
Returning to the US, she valiantly worked her way to a doctorate in Anthropology. She now works with a drug rehabilitation group called Daytop.
Her story zooms in on that community of aliens which relocated to a tiny stretch of Goa. Though based in Anjuna, the Goa Freaks, as they called themselves, kept links across the globe. There were some in San Francisco. Many temporarily shifted to Bali (Indonesia). Bangkok was a oft-visited destination. They congregated around a few down-market hotels in Mumbai too.
But in the monsoon, the Goa Freaks fled the torrential rains and undertook 'scams' -- couriering drugs to distant locations. On this money, they lavishly lived it up in the ensuing season. Returns were high. Drugs bought for $2000 in Asia could retail for $21,843 in Canada. Just to carry somebody else's drugs to Canada, they were paid $8000 to $10,000.
On their drug earnings, they lived life to the hilt. En route, they stayed in the Sheratons, the Holiday Inns and the Hiltons, and met contacts at the Taj.
Cleo Odzer, returning to Anjuna from Canada one time, meets a friend coming in from Thailand. Take her word for it: "We exchanged knowing smiles. Now I knew how the Goa Freaks made the money to splurge on so much coke (cocaine). Now I knew, because I'd been initiated. I was really one of them."
Odzer narrates how she opened her "dope den," called the Anjuna Drugoona Saloona, after boldly tacking handwritten adverts throughout the beach! Her description of the outdoor and indoor parties clearly suggest these are fueled by persons linked to the drug trade which is far more organized than most of us could dream of.
Odzer suggests the Goa police failed to be vigilant in curbing the drug trade. Despite reading her letters and raiding her home, they simply let her off. In comparison, even Thailand was very strict on drugs, and Bali was firm even against nudism.
This is not a story of Goa. It is a story of the hippies' escapades, which has Anjuna as the backdrop only incidentally. Nonetheless, it is fascinating reading.
In brief references, we get a hint of the dramatic interface between West and East. Once, a "French junkie" fell into a well and died, resulting in a "major disaster" for the villagers dependent on its water.
Goans are shown as a people willing to put up with the "crazy foreigners" for what they get out of them. By 1979, nothing they do surprises the locals anymore, says Odzer.
Goans were also little more than a source of cheap labour. "A Westerner doing housework! What an unheard-of thing in that land of cheap labor," writes Odzer. "Living in Goa could be stupendously inexpensive. Food and rent cost little and I paid the Goan maid $22 a month for coming in seven days a week and doing everything. Drugs were the main rupee eaters... the low cost of Goan labor allowed me to hire an army of painters for pennies an hour," commented Odzer.
Based on first-hand experience, Cleo Odzer is able to smartly analyze the mechanics of drug smuggling. Maybe Customs officers could consider adopting this book as a text.
For instance, on the Bangkok-Mumbai run, drug-couriers realize that the Customs officials are obsessed with locating electronic goods, not drugs. Duplicate passports were used to hide traces of traveling in drug-prone Far East Asia.
The Goa Freaks took out drugs to destinations in the West. To avoid detection, they visited posh hairdressers and transited through drug-free destinations -- like Portugal, Switzerland, Bermuda, Canada, and even the former Soviet Union!
Drugs were smuggled in a variety of places: leather suitcases specially stitched in Mumbai. Condom-packed narcotics were stuffed in the intestines and vagina. "Smack" was brought in from Laos hidden in a toothpaste tube. To retain it in their intestines, "a bottle of diarrhea medicine" had to be consumed. To get it out called for "a box of Ex-Lax," a laxative!
Dr. Odzer makes it clear from the start: "This is a nonfiction story, but some names and characters and exact dates have been changed to protect identities." Still, many are clearly identifiable. One only has to refer to Goa Today's past issues to know who are the drug pushers being referred to. Some still make their appearances. Others, like "Biriyani" had purchased properties here not too long ago. Sadly, a few who featured in the book died in "mysterious ways."
Many Goan characters and institutions also figure in this book -- Joe Banana, landlord Lino, Paradise Pharmacy, Hanuman Ice Cream, the Birmingham Boys gang, and Inspector Navelcar. There's also "the private Catholic hospital in Mapusa" where the freaks go to recuperate. Not all that is revealed may be flattering information.
Strange names and unusual characters also people this book: Neal, Alehandro, an American named Narayan and another named Sadhu George, Norwegian Monica, Mental, Serge, Barbara, Junky Robert and Tish, David and Ashley, Canadian Jacques, Hollywood Peter, Marco and wife Gigi, Guiliano, Amsterdam Dean, Trumpet Steve, Paul, Jerry Schmaltz and Eight-Finger Eddie. Some still live in Goa. One of the hippies even named their son Anjuna. But he grew up into a "conservative young man with short hair who refused to be called Anjuna, and who just enlisted in the US police academy." One of the pharmacies she names allegedly even bought narcotic drugs from Odzer!
To maintain her drug habit she has to undergo amazing levels of depravity: join a gang stealing traveler's cheques in Mumbai and agree to sexual abuse by a police official in a Delhi jail.
Finally, Odzer takes a hard decision. Drugs slowly decimated the Anjuna freak community, and she is shocked to find the number of friends dead or in jail. Death stares at her too in the face and drugs make her lose touch with reality. She either has to lose India or her life.
This story is best narrated in her own words: "Oh, I hated the notion. This place was my dream. I would never find one I loved as much, or that I could belong to as wholeheartedly. Goa was home."
Odzer's story can move you to tears. Even if you're an irate Goan who believes the hippies ruined the place and brought in drugs. It can also make you feel terribly angry. Scenes where she has to leave behind her dog are touching. But, then, to learn that she fed her pet prawns-in-wine-sauce, or bought saris merely to hang from the ceiling, is nothing short of scandalous.
Despite her impeccable academic credentials, Dr. Cleo Odzer liberally sprinkles her book with the Bs, Ds, and quite a few F-words too. But this recreates a feeling of re-living the hippie years of Goa.
Goa Freaks has a fascinating style. A young Odzer herself poses seductively on the cover, tells you of her own sexual escapades, and uses a style that keeps the narrative gripping throughout. But do we find it interesting because, in Goa, we have long been puzzled and unable to understand the hippie reality?
Some may find the portrayal too superficial. It makes the flower-power generation seem simply obsessed with sex and drugs. But perhaps the hippies of the late '70s were a different cup of tea from those who preceded them. Incidentally, despite their distaste for the Western "capitalist" lifestyle, the late-70s hippies "loved gadgets, and at the start of each season they fussed over the latest inventions brought from the West."
Odzer, incidentally, was kind enough to send across complimentary copies of her costly book to public libraries in Goa -- including the Central Library's Rare Books Section and the Xavier Centre at Porvorim. Maybe she can further repay her host society by passing on some drug-rehab skills from Daytop.
more
An overnight train trip north to Goa brought to our really relaxing destination -- this is vacation, with regularly beautiful sunsets, clean beaches. Woodstock staff typically stay at Benaulim, a small beach town in south Goa. We rested for two weeks, recovering from colds acquired on the train -- in Barb's case, bronchitis ensued, so we got to visit the local Dr. Elvis (Mascarenhas, a good Portuguese family name) a couple of times, and then rest and relax. Chris and Cole met some school friends at times, and we all caught up on reading.We spent New Year's Eve down the beach with the Woodstock crowd, and fire-twirlers. We dodged the various fireworks on our walk back, though Coleman collided with an errant rocket....no scar, though, to tell his grandkids!
posted by J.O.Thomas at 17:11
posted by J.O.Thomas at 17:11
beautiful Beaches of Goa, India
The Indian State of Goa provides over 50 miles of beautiful beaches on the Arabian Sea...
More of this Feature
• Goa Beaches Intro• Beaches South of Panaji• The "Hippie" Beaches• Shells and Swimming
Related Resources
• Colva Beach• Dona Paula Beach• Calangute Beach
Elsewhere on the Web
• Goa Home Page
Not far north of Panaji is Calangute Beach. This was the first of the hippie resorts back in the 60's and 70's. The hippies left, though, when mainstream tourism over ran Calangute. It is small, crowded resorts area today and does a thriving business in the holiday season. Despite the crowds and popularity of the beach, it is long enough to allow some privacy.
Picture courtesy of Philippe TarbouriechClick on the picture for a larger view.Further north, if not quite the capital of the hippie world, Anjuna Beach was at least a leading travel destination for the Woodstock generation. It was once the most celebrated of Goa's beaches. Not far from Anjuna is Vagator Beach, where steep slopes of run down into a picturesque bay protected by small rocky peninsulas on each end.
A centuries-old Portugese fort overlooks the mouth of the Tiracol River in northern Goa. The beaches in this area (the Pernem district) are the state's least developed. The crowds don't come here and there are no big hotels. Visitors camp, or rent one of the small shanties along the beach.
Next page > Shells and Swimming > Page 1 > 2 > 3 > 4
more
More of this Feature
• Goa Beaches Intro• Beaches South of Panaji• The "Hippie" Beaches• Shells and Swimming
Related Resources
• Colva Beach• Dona Paula Beach• Calangute Beach
Elsewhere on the Web
• Goa Home Page
Not far north of Panaji is Calangute Beach. This was the first of the hippie resorts back in the 60's and 70's. The hippies left, though, when mainstream tourism over ran Calangute. It is small, crowded resorts area today and does a thriving business in the holiday season. Despite the crowds and popularity of the beach, it is long enough to allow some privacy.
Picture courtesy of Philippe TarbouriechClick on the picture for a larger view.Further north, if not quite the capital of the hippie world, Anjuna Beach was at least a leading travel destination for the Woodstock generation. It was once the most celebrated of Goa's beaches. Not far from Anjuna is Vagator Beach, where steep slopes of run down into a picturesque bay protected by small rocky peninsulas on each end.
A centuries-old Portugese fort overlooks the mouth of the Tiracol River in northern Goa. The beaches in this area (the Pernem district) are the state's least developed. The crowds don't come here and there are no big hotels. Visitors camp, or rent one of the small shanties along the beach.
Next page > Shells and Swimming > Page 1 > 2 > 3 > 4
more
Remo Fernandes
Remo Fernandes is a popular pop/rock/ fusion artist and playback singer from the state of Goa, India. His musical work is a fusion of many different cultures and styles he's been exposed to as a child in Goa and in his later travels around the world.
Such influences include Goan and Portuguese music, Sega music from Mauritius and Seychelles, African music, Latin music from Cuba and Nicaragua, the music of earstwhile European communist states, those of the dancehalls from Jamaica and Soca from Trinidad.
Writing and singing songs in English made his success more unique in the context of the Bollywood dominated, Hindi language based, Disco music scene that was popular in the 80s and 90s. His music, reflecting life and socio-political happenings in India which every could identify with, became popular largely with the growing, English educated, middle class.
A popular stage performer in India, he has also taken part in many music festivals around the world. He now writes and sings his songs in five different languages, English, Hindi, French, Portuguese, and Konkani.
Remos website
FREE download Remo songs
Goa Trance
Goa Trance music gets its name from Goa, India - an area of land on the western southern tip of India. The music is a mix of western electronica dance music combined with eastern musical elements.
The article below has been written and is provided with permission by Alan Frostick (KERNEL Goa).
What is Goa Trance?
The article below has been written and is provided with permission by Alan Frostick (KERNEL Goa).
What is Goa Trance?
hippy culture
The Hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world, The word hippie derives from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. These people inherited the countercultural values of the Beat generation, created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs such as cannabis and LSD to explore alternative states of consciousness.
In 1967, the Human Be-In in San Francisco popularized hippie culture, leading to the legendary Summer of Love on the West Coast of the United States, and the 1969 Woodstock Festival on the East Coast. In Mexico, the jipitecas formed La Onda Chicana and gathered at "Avándaro", while in New Zealand, nomadic housetruckers practiced alternative lifestyles and promoted sustainable energy at Nambassa. In the United Kingdom, mobile "peace convoys" of New age travellers made summer pilgrimages to free music festivals at Stonehenge.
Hippie fashions and values had a major effect on culture, influencing popular music, television, film, literature, and the arts. Since the 1960s, many aspects of hippie culture have been assimilated by the mainstream. The religious and cultural diversity espoused by the hippies has gained widespread acceptance, and Eastern philosophy and spiritual concepts have reached a wide audience. The hippie legacy can be observed in contemporary culture in a myriad of forms—from health food, to music festivals, to contemporary sexual mores, and even to the cyberspace revolution.
Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Early hippies (1960–1966)
2.2 Summer of Love (1967)
2.3 Revolution (1968–1969)
2.4 Aftershocks (1970–present)
3 Ethos and characteristics
3.1 Politics
3.2 Drugs
3.3 Travel
4 Legacy
5 Notes
6 References
7 Further reading and resources
//
Monday, May 12, 2008
Beware the dangers of Goa
From The Times
March 12, 2008
A murder in the Indian resort underlines the threat to hosts and tourists alike
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-
March 12, 2008
A murder in the Indian resort underlines the threat to hosts and tourists alike
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-
The belated admission by police in Goa that Scarlett Keeling, the 15-year-old British girl found dead on a beach last month, may have been murdered is as shocking in revealing local corruption as it is damaging to one of India's most popular tourist destinations. The police asserted initially that the girl had drowned after taking drugs. After a second autopsy, the arrest for rape of a suspect was challenged by her mother. The police are now attempting to delay matters further by ordering extra medical examinations to prove the girl's age. They are also seeking to deflect criticism of their work by blaming the mother for negligence, amid accusations of a cover-up, media reports of corruption and the mysterious disappearance of a man who claimed to have witnessed what happened.
The sordid affair has shone an unwelcome spotlight on the hinterland of this small state that has grown rich on a $465 million tourist industry, accounting for 15 per cent of its economy. The availability of drugs, the lack of proper regulation and the influx of predominantly young Western tourists - 60 per cent of them British - have attracted the unscrupulous and the opportunists hoping to profit from the tourists' naivety. Criminal elements appear to have formed a cosy relationship with the police. A blind eye has been turned too often to what has been happening near the golden beaches. Goa has got rich on a louche image. It now looks a lot less carefree than the tourist posters proclaim.
The problem for Goa is the same as the difficulty faced by other tourist destinations “discovered” by the young and the adventurous and trading on their fashionable, hippy associations. Ibiza, Bali, The Gambia and parts of Thailand are all places where the prevailing hedonism attracts a large number of free-spending tourists but runs counter to the more conservative views and mores of the host country. Entrepreneurs who have invested in the bars, clubs, pools and hotels that bring in the tourists are keen to encourage a lively reputation in the West. That same reputation, however, can cause resentment, disdain and confusion to the very people working in these resorts. A clash of assumptions can have dangerous consequences.
Such clashes have been increasing in Goa as the tourist numbers rise. The Indian media have reported 27 deaths of foreigners already this year, though police said many were from natural causes. The state government now needs to take an urgent look at regulation, the safety of women tourists, the rise in crime, availability of drugs and the impact, beyond the financial bonanza, of tourism on Goa's values and way of life.
There are other aspects of this tragedy that are disturbing, however, and have little to do with India. The question many must ask is why a 15-year-old, who had never been abroad before, was left in the company of strangers by a mother who then travelled with other school-age daughters to another state. It is not only tourist authorities who must exercise responsibility. But those going on holiday must also understand the dangers of what can happen when the law, especially on drugs, is not enforced. Countries such as India, and local authorities such as Goa, cannot afford to build their tourist image on a dubious reputation for laxity and permissiveness. It puts tourists at risk - and also the entire industry.
more
The sordid affair has shone an unwelcome spotlight on the hinterland of this small state that has grown rich on a $465 million tourist industry, accounting for 15 per cent of its economy. The availability of drugs, the lack of proper regulation and the influx of predominantly young Western tourists - 60 per cent of them British - have attracted the unscrupulous and the opportunists hoping to profit from the tourists' naivety. Criminal elements appear to have formed a cosy relationship with the police. A blind eye has been turned too often to what has been happening near the golden beaches. Goa has got rich on a louche image. It now looks a lot less carefree than the tourist posters proclaim.
The problem for Goa is the same as the difficulty faced by other tourist destinations “discovered” by the young and the adventurous and trading on their fashionable, hippy associations. Ibiza, Bali, The Gambia and parts of Thailand are all places where the prevailing hedonism attracts a large number of free-spending tourists but runs counter to the more conservative views and mores of the host country. Entrepreneurs who have invested in the bars, clubs, pools and hotels that bring in the tourists are keen to encourage a lively reputation in the West. That same reputation, however, can cause resentment, disdain and confusion to the very people working in these resorts. A clash of assumptions can have dangerous consequences.
Such clashes have been increasing in Goa as the tourist numbers rise. The Indian media have reported 27 deaths of foreigners already this year, though police said many were from natural causes. The state government now needs to take an urgent look at regulation, the safety of women tourists, the rise in crime, availability of drugs and the impact, beyond the financial bonanza, of tourism on Goa's values and way of life.
There are other aspects of this tragedy that are disturbing, however, and have little to do with India. The question many must ask is why a 15-year-old, who had never been abroad before, was left in the company of strangers by a mother who then travelled with other school-age daughters to another state. It is not only tourist authorities who must exercise responsibility. But those going on holiday must also understand the dangers of what can happen when the law, especially on drugs, is not enforced. Countries such as India, and local authorities such as Goa, cannot afford to build their tourist image on a dubious reputation for laxity and permissiveness. It puts tourists at risk - and also the entire industry.
more
Panaji: Goa is getting into the news for the wrong reasons, and a lot of residents are hot under the collar over the manner in which their state is being projected following the rape and murder of British teen Scarlett Keeling.
The 15-year-old's death on February 18 - after she was drugged and raped – has triggered an explosion of news coverage, and intense focus continues over the case nearly a month later.
Oscar Rebello, a prominent medico who has taken to social campaigns in recent years, angrily told IANS: "There's mass hysteria being generated by the press. Goa is being given the image of a place of seedy drug joints. It projects as if every Goan is waiting to have sex with any White female."Some like rock star Remo Fernandes have pointed out that the problem wasn't new. He quoted from the lyrics of a song pointing to the narcotics problem.
Police in Goa, which is visited by 2.4 million tourists each year, including some 300,000 from overseas, have been accused of trying to underplay the death and pass off the murder as a beachside drowning, and delaying news about the death.
After the intense publicity in the British press, followed by as much on Indian television and the mainstream media, police charged an employee of a beach shack with murder after having sex with the 15-year-old and another local for "drugging the girl with a cocktail of narcotics".
Goa police top brass, when asked, have pointedly denied that their belated action was due to intense media pressure, which could have an unsettling effect in the state's largest foreign-tourist market, Britain.
Following this sensational case, Goa has been repeatedly accused of poor policing and bad governance.
Goan author Maria Aurora Couto, whose husband has been a prominent official here and elsewhere, has charged those with promoting tourism here of sending out a "perverted image...one based on the colonial gaze" that attracts the wrong kind of tourists and attention.
For more news, analysis click here>> For more Science and Medicine news click here >>
A British woman tourist, who said she was a police officer back home, accused police of blatant corruption and bribe collection on the beachside.
But North Goa-based lawyer Filipe Cordeiro said: "The influence of tourism on Goan youth, the problem of drugs, is nothing new. In my class of 1975, we had quite a few of us who had problems with drugs. It's an on-going battle."
He noted that the nature of the drugs may have changed - from 'hash' and 'mandrax' to 'ecstasy' - but the problem was the same.
"Tourists will always behave irresponsibly, let's not forget the hippies of the 1970's and how 'responsible' they were! We have a more recent and pervasive phenomenon of young Indians coming to Goa, binge-drinking and then fighting losing battles with the sea, or worse with other vehicles on the road. How do we in Goa address this issue?" asked Cordeiro.
"If young Scarlett were to behave similarly, drink heavily, snort drugs, roam around alone late into the night, in any city in the UK, I'm not too sure she would be any safer than in Anjuna. What can we do to help our children recognise the dangers of the 'party' culture?"--
Full coverage: Scarlett murder casehttp://sify.com/news/fullcover.php?event_id=14623491
--------
Sun, Sand & Drugs
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/LEADER_ARTICLE_Sun_Sand__Drugs/articleshow/2888578.cms
22 Mar 2008
There's a kind of hush all over Goa these days. It all began a month ago, to be precise. First, a British teenage girl's body washes up in Anjuna, its most (in)famous beach and hippie hangout. Then, not surprisingly, the local police goof up, saying that she drowned in shallow water. A media outcry and public outrage from the mother later, the police order a second autopsy, and conclude that the girl was raped and left to die. Two men are arrested for allegedly plying the girl with drugs, sexually assaulting her, and leaving her to die.
So is Goa paradise lost - once again? Four decades after catapulting to the world's tourism map for its excellent climate, palm-fringed beaches, cheap alcohol, whitewashed churches, brown-tiled, low-slung homes, clean villages and easy availability of drugs, the place was - and remains - India Lite, as someone called it. Or, if you like, a place to escape the real India.
The hush is more pronounced in Anjuna these days. Famous for its grubby beach shacks, crescent-shaped beaches hemmed in by lush hills, crowded flea markets, drug-fuelled parties and seedy Ayurveda spas, the place is getting all the attention for all the wrong reasons. Discovered by hippie travellers in the 1960s, Anjuna is where Graham Greene, during an early visit, found it possible "to forget the poverty of Bombay, 400 miles away, the mutilated beggars, the lepers..." It is where, some four decades later, William Dalrymple spotted on the dunes by the shore what "appeared to be a topless six-a-side female football team - an odd sight anywhere in the world, but an astonishing one in India".
In the years between, hippies, punks, Rastafarians, devotees of new-age gurus all hung out in Anjuna, swapping drugs, music and sexual partners. Bob Dylan, John Lennon and The Who, according to legend, dropped in during the mid-1970s. The beach even birthed the Goa trance, a home-grown electronic dance music, before house and techno music invaded the scene in the early 1990s, and even spawned a 'world-famous' eponymous deejay. Tourists bent rules bribing a typically feckless police to take over parts of beaches, putting up
'Indians not allowed' signs to keep away the natives from the parties and raves and nude sunbathing. The place was seen by many as a secluded, whites-only haven for hippies, who according to a researcher, could "freely indulge in drugs, nude sunbathing and all-night full-moon parties".
In a strange way, Anjuna exemplifies what is right and wrong with foreign tourism in Goa today. Foreigners - hippie, white trash and otherwise - have lifted living standards in the area. Business at the weekend flea market hawking anything from tribal jewellery to Hindu charms to imported thongs and lager remains brisk. As at the shacks selling 'six-pack menus' - Chinese, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Organic, Thai - and everything else. Live bands with names like Kundalini Airport and Bindoo Babas draw in the audiences. Friendly locals rent out cheap rooms to foreigners.
The bad news is 17 of the 74 foreigners who have died in Goa in the past two years were in Anjuna, and 11 of them are suspected to have died of drug abuse. (Their viscera reports are still awaited because the samples have to be flown to overworked federal forensic laboratories in Hyderabad and Mumbai.)
Anjuna's only hospital, a 20-bed private operation, treats an increasing number of drug overdose cases. So does a neighbourhood alcohol and drugs rehab and detox centre. Young men drop out of school, hustling tourists and earning easy money. Goa eminences hate the place - designer Wendell Rodricks told me that it was a "dark spot" on the state. "I don't go there", he told me. "It is a place that is hung over from the 1960s, but sadly with more potent drugs than hashish".
In the end, Anjuna appears to have become a victim - as many parts of Goa - of its warped success. 'White trash', as locals scorn backpacking tourists, have lifted living standards of natives, but material progress has come at some cost. The government-licensed shacks are an eyesore and wouldn't be allowed anywhere in the developed world, as would be the easy availability of drugs.
But, obviously the girl's murder and the rising notoriety of beaches like Anjuna, is not going to slow down foreign tourism to Goa, thanks to its cheap and cheerful charms. And even if the foreigners went away, Goa would not have much to fear - Indian tourists regularly out-number their foreign counterparts by seven times every year and outspend them too. The place is no less safer from many other places frequented by hippies and freaks anywhere else in the world - Bali and Kathmandu, for example. Women are safe - in the past two years, there have been three cases of rape of foreign tourists, before the murder of the British teenager.
No wonder Goa has been consistently getting over two million tourists annually for the past five years. To talk about making the place more pricey and expensive to mop up more tourist dollars, as many have been saying, is plain silly: a mix of growing domestic tourism and budget, backpacker, and high-end foreign tourism possibly suits Goa and its people the best. Clean up the beaches of the detritus, drugs, ugly shacks and cheap thrills, and the place will get its groove back. The ageing remnants of the flower children - "fossiled relic of Haight-Ashbury", as Dalrymple describes them - may complain feebly, but who cares?---
(The writer is India editor of an international news website.)
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Posted by the radman at 9:09 PM
The 15-year-old's death on February 18 - after she was drugged and raped – has triggered an explosion of news coverage, and intense focus continues over the case nearly a month later.
Oscar Rebello, a prominent medico who has taken to social campaigns in recent years, angrily told IANS: "There's mass hysteria being generated by the press. Goa is being given the image of a place of seedy drug joints. It projects as if every Goan is waiting to have sex with any White female."Some like rock star Remo Fernandes have pointed out that the problem wasn't new. He quoted from the lyrics of a song pointing to the narcotics problem.
Police in Goa, which is visited by 2.4 million tourists each year, including some 300,000 from overseas, have been accused of trying to underplay the death and pass off the murder as a beachside drowning, and delaying news about the death.
After the intense publicity in the British press, followed by as much on Indian television and the mainstream media, police charged an employee of a beach shack with murder after having sex with the 15-year-old and another local for "drugging the girl with a cocktail of narcotics".
Goa police top brass, when asked, have pointedly denied that their belated action was due to intense media pressure, which could have an unsettling effect in the state's largest foreign-tourist market, Britain.
Following this sensational case, Goa has been repeatedly accused of poor policing and bad governance.
Goan author Maria Aurora Couto, whose husband has been a prominent official here and elsewhere, has charged those with promoting tourism here of sending out a "perverted image...one based on the colonial gaze" that attracts the wrong kind of tourists and attention.
For more news, analysis click here>> For more Science and Medicine news click here >>
A British woman tourist, who said she was a police officer back home, accused police of blatant corruption and bribe collection on the beachside.
But North Goa-based lawyer Filipe Cordeiro said: "The influence of tourism on Goan youth, the problem of drugs, is nothing new. In my class of 1975, we had quite a few of us who had problems with drugs. It's an on-going battle."
He noted that the nature of the drugs may have changed - from 'hash' and 'mandrax' to 'ecstasy' - but the problem was the same.
"Tourists will always behave irresponsibly, let's not forget the hippies of the 1970's and how 'responsible' they were! We have a more recent and pervasive phenomenon of young Indians coming to Goa, binge-drinking and then fighting losing battles with the sea, or worse with other vehicles on the road. How do we in Goa address this issue?" asked Cordeiro.
"If young Scarlett were to behave similarly, drink heavily, snort drugs, roam around alone late into the night, in any city in the UK, I'm not too sure she would be any safer than in Anjuna. What can we do to help our children recognise the dangers of the 'party' culture?"--
Full coverage: Scarlett murder casehttp://sify.com/news/fullcover.php?event_id=14623491
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Sun, Sand & Drugs
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/LEADER_ARTICLE_Sun_Sand__Drugs/articleshow/2888578.cms
22 Mar 2008
There's a kind of hush all over Goa these days. It all began a month ago, to be precise. First, a British teenage girl's body washes up in Anjuna, its most (in)famous beach and hippie hangout. Then, not surprisingly, the local police goof up, saying that she drowned in shallow water. A media outcry and public outrage from the mother later, the police order a second autopsy, and conclude that the girl was raped and left to die. Two men are arrested for allegedly plying the girl with drugs, sexually assaulting her, and leaving her to die.
So is Goa paradise lost - once again? Four decades after catapulting to the world's tourism map for its excellent climate, palm-fringed beaches, cheap alcohol, whitewashed churches, brown-tiled, low-slung homes, clean villages and easy availability of drugs, the place was - and remains - India Lite, as someone called it. Or, if you like, a place to escape the real India.
The hush is more pronounced in Anjuna these days. Famous for its grubby beach shacks, crescent-shaped beaches hemmed in by lush hills, crowded flea markets, drug-fuelled parties and seedy Ayurveda spas, the place is getting all the attention for all the wrong reasons. Discovered by hippie travellers in the 1960s, Anjuna is where Graham Greene, during an early visit, found it possible "to forget the poverty of Bombay, 400 miles away, the mutilated beggars, the lepers..." It is where, some four decades later, William Dalrymple spotted on the dunes by the shore what "appeared to be a topless six-a-side female football team - an odd sight anywhere in the world, but an astonishing one in India".
In the years between, hippies, punks, Rastafarians, devotees of new-age gurus all hung out in Anjuna, swapping drugs, music and sexual partners. Bob Dylan, John Lennon and The Who, according to legend, dropped in during the mid-1970s. The beach even birthed the Goa trance, a home-grown electronic dance music, before house and techno music invaded the scene in the early 1990s, and even spawned a 'world-famous' eponymous deejay. Tourists bent rules bribing a typically feckless police to take over parts of beaches, putting up
'Indians not allowed' signs to keep away the natives from the parties and raves and nude sunbathing. The place was seen by many as a secluded, whites-only haven for hippies, who according to a researcher, could "freely indulge in drugs, nude sunbathing and all-night full-moon parties".
In a strange way, Anjuna exemplifies what is right and wrong with foreign tourism in Goa today. Foreigners - hippie, white trash and otherwise - have lifted living standards in the area. Business at the weekend flea market hawking anything from tribal jewellery to Hindu charms to imported thongs and lager remains brisk. As at the shacks selling 'six-pack menus' - Chinese, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Organic, Thai - and everything else. Live bands with names like Kundalini Airport and Bindoo Babas draw in the audiences. Friendly locals rent out cheap rooms to foreigners.
The bad news is 17 of the 74 foreigners who have died in Goa in the past two years were in Anjuna, and 11 of them are suspected to have died of drug abuse. (Their viscera reports are still awaited because the samples have to be flown to overworked federal forensic laboratories in Hyderabad and Mumbai.)
Anjuna's only hospital, a 20-bed private operation, treats an increasing number of drug overdose cases. So does a neighbourhood alcohol and drugs rehab and detox centre. Young men drop out of school, hustling tourists and earning easy money. Goa eminences hate the place - designer Wendell Rodricks told me that it was a "dark spot" on the state. "I don't go there", he told me. "It is a place that is hung over from the 1960s, but sadly with more potent drugs than hashish".
In the end, Anjuna appears to have become a victim - as many parts of Goa - of its warped success. 'White trash', as locals scorn backpacking tourists, have lifted living standards of natives, but material progress has come at some cost. The government-licensed shacks are an eyesore and wouldn't be allowed anywhere in the developed world, as would be the easy availability of drugs.
But, obviously the girl's murder and the rising notoriety of beaches like Anjuna, is not going to slow down foreign tourism to Goa, thanks to its cheap and cheerful charms. And even if the foreigners went away, Goa would not have much to fear - Indian tourists regularly out-number their foreign counterparts by seven times every year and outspend them too. The place is no less safer from many other places frequented by hippies and freaks anywhere else in the world - Bali and Kathmandu, for example. Women are safe - in the past two years, there have been three cases of rape of foreign tourists, before the murder of the British teenager.
No wonder Goa has been consistently getting over two million tourists annually for the past five years. To talk about making the place more pricey and expensive to mop up more tourist dollars, as many have been saying, is plain silly: a mix of growing domestic tourism and budget, backpacker, and high-end foreign tourism possibly suits Goa and its people the best. Clean up the beaches of the detritus, drugs, ugly shacks and cheap thrills, and the place will get its groove back. The ageing remnants of the flower children - "fossiled relic of Haight-Ashbury", as Dalrymple describes them - may complain feebly, but who cares?---
(The writer is India editor of an international news website.)
.
Posted by the radman at 9:09 PM
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