Vivid coloured houses in the Latin quarters
For long, Goa to outsiders was a land of golden beaches, old churches and a typical cuisine, with definitive Portuguese influences. It is not that all these have disappeared, but today, Goa is no longer that hippie paradise that fostered a freewheeling culture.
Goa, over the years, looks more like a swanky new tourist spot, in which you can tailor make your requirements for slow relaxation combined with delectable food and drinks. There is water sport, casino, heritage walks, art camps and fashion. No one bothers you and lets you be. If you visit this lovely state, make it no longer than a week to spend in it, unless you are working on a creative project. Or else, you will never want to leave it.
Many young people came here once to find themselves and some never went back. That kind of life has its own undercurrents when you are out at night. You feel and sniff it in the air or even gaze at it twinkling among the fairy lights; a mirage almost among the villages.
Otherwise modern Goa is a refuge for rich Indians, who have refurbished the old villas or have built new ones in their likeness in a home-away-from home arrangement. They have come not just from Mumbai but from as far as Delhi and Kolkata as well. The old Goa haciendas peep from behind the green foliage like those white-washed village churches and together they offer the tourist an experience like no other. The roads are well concretised now and a couple of bridges (the Atal Setu for one) are to be thrown open soon. Travel has become smoother though cars and scooters still drive at breakneck speed.
In this post pandemic era, people are still cautious to venture out and April is not a season for outdoors. Strangely this early April, a week in Goa was as pleasant as it was doable, blessed as it was with light showers towards the evening. The best time to visit Goa is from September to March but during the monsoon (June-July), it is positioned as a romantic soaked-in-green getaway, offering a number of discounts.
What is constant in Goa are the food, the drinks and the Susegad, derived from the Portuguese word, sossegado, which means a relaxed, unhurried lifestyle, but a life you live to the fullest nevertheless.
There are enough home stays, small and large hotels, cute apartments and old houses that have been converted into resorts that are let out throughout the year. Development has
Lady of Miracles Church in Assago
brought in its own issues and there is always a need for it being well balanced; however, the overall scene has moved away from the beaches into a more recreational inland. There is something for everyone to look forward to here.
Colourful villas and local culture
The booming casinos bearing names such as Big Daddy and Casino Pride (floating) have a price tag and dress code to enter. Then there are heritage walks to know the local culture better. These have brought into sharp focus the lesser known nuggets of the state. The old heritage buildings, the history of its people are but some examples. Reading a bit about Goa and its people prior to visiting it opens up various avenues of interest.
Divide your days wisely. One day you may just want to saunter around the Latin quarters in Panjim, a silent witness of an era gone by. The old quaint colourful houses, with quainter nameplates, some of these dating back to the seventeenth century, offer a certain kind of inexplicable thrill. In between you can grab a buttered and warm croissant or quiche with freshly-brewed coffee. You may also want to pick up a soft white linen shirt or that wraparound skirt at the local flea market; but the local weave of the kunbi sari in solid colours and broad checks, is not easy to find these days. The kunbis were the original tribal community
Cathedral of Bom Jesus
of the region (weavers and farmers) and were Hindus till they converted to Christianity. The Konakni speaking Goud Saraswat Brahmins make up a sizeable portion of the population. This community is said to have migrated from Kashmir. It is the same story of five Brahmin families who came from the North of India and settled down in various parts of India, Bengal inclusive.
The co-existence of the cross and the tulsi
The Christian homes are marked by crosses and the tulsi plant adorns the Hindu homes.
The temples also have Christian and Buddhist architectural influences because when truce was declared (between whom?) that not the entire population of Hindus could be converted, by force or by will, they were allowed their places of worship. The new structures were said to incorporate certain elements of Portuguese architecture so vital was the cultural influence. The temples, therefore, are known for their vivid colours and are not necessarily white.
The temples have a deepsthambha in front of them, which is a clear Buddhist influence, when it reigned over Hinduism till the latter came back. The reigning deities in Goa are Lord Shiva (the Mangeshi Temple is dedicated to him) .
The Shantadurga Temple. Shantadurga
is the reigning deity of Goa
Shantadurga who holds a snake and is a synthesis between Durga and Lakshmi, and Mahalasa devi, the female avatar of Vishnu. She has four hands, carrying the trishul, a sword, a severed head and a drinking bowl. She stands on a man or demon lying down. Sometimes there is a tiger or a lion thereby invoking images of Durga Mata or even Ma Kali!
The Islamic influences in Goa are limited. The early Portuguese called the local Muslim Mours, perhaps from the word Moors, tracing back the old enmity that existed between the Moorish invasion of the Iberian peninsula. Now Muslims constitute about eight per cent of the population.
The churches of Goa would need a separate article as each is unique in its own way. The Cathedral of Bom Jesu in which the mortal remains of St Francis Xavier rests gives a peek into the Christian history through a light and sound presentation within its precincts. There are many other churches including the beautiful Our Lady of Miracles in Assagao that peeps through the lovely thick screen of greenery at Sunset Point, from where you can see the sun dip over the sea at Vagator.
The Basilica of Bom Jesus is a world heritage site and is the oldest church in the State, being almost five centuries old. Its baroque style main alter holds the statue of Ignatius of Loyola, who with Saint Francis Xavier founded the Jesuit order to spread
The deepstambha in the temple
premises is lit up in the evenings
The water tank where one bathes and washes
their feet before entering the Shnatadurga temple
Christianity, education and charity in addition to other missionary activities.
Transitioned cuisine
Earlier one came to Goa for the xacuti, cafreal, and shrimp balchao but now you are spoilt for choices of global cuisine or as it is referred to as “transitioned” cuisine. From sushi, to the tea leaf salad to the glazed honey pork – you name it. All these dishes come in salad forms, with small bites and plenty of vegetables and fruits. The fusion fare include the dark Golbari mutton of North Kolkata fashioned into Calcutta kati rolls; lacy-at-the-edges appam and potato stew; Syrian beef melt-in-the-mouth fry, the list is endless as an array of eateries open and close with regularity. Al fresco dining is in keeping with the weather and the bounty of fish is both from the sea and rivers Zuari, Mandovi, Terekhol, Chapora etc. The main types are red snapper, sea perch, mackerel (smaller ones known as bangda) presented, grilled, fried and curried.
The traditional dishes are not extinct and remain perennial favourites. The usual process of cafreal preparation – chicken legs shallow fried – involves green chillies, fresh coriander leaves, onion, garlic, ginger in addition to cinnamon, pepper, chilli powder, mace, clove, lime juice/vinegar. The xacuti or shagoti (chacuti in Portuguese) in Konkani is prepared with chicken, lamb or beef.
Seafood makes for a large part of Goan cuisine
Originally, the local fishermen prepared a thick sauce that contained spices such as black pepper (meerya), chilli, turmeric, onion, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves and added this to the freshly caught fish. This was finally supplemented with lightly toasted coconut and white poppy seeds. Now this gravy extends to chicken and other meats.
A little creek in Baga
The balchao is almost like a preserve, a pickle-like blend of ingredients which are crucial to many of Portuguese Goa’s meat dishes. It incorporates Goa’s other passion, feni, a potent alcoholic brew made from either cashew nuts or palm fruit. The feni vinegar reduces the high effectiveness of hot dried red chillies, in the same manner the sour tamarind, another important ingredient in Goan cooking, to create that balance in flavour.
A new age villa
The Goud Saraswat cuisine is very unique. Coconut and spices are the main ingredients used in preparing both vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries. There are several efforts on to revive some long lost dishes. Redolent with flavours of homemade spices, it incorporates flavourful curries (ghassi) made with local fish available, seafood such as prawns, clams and mussels and all varieties of fried fish, especially bombil (Bombay Duck). The vegetarian cuisine includes a variety of coconut based curries and saar (soups) made of lentils or tomato and seasoned with black mustard, cumin and asafoetida in ghee. There are large cashew plantations in Goa and the nuts called as bibbe in local language are used to make a special side dish called bibya upkari.
And for desserts it is mostly the dodol – a soft toffee made from the palm and the bebinca; the many layered coconut pudding made with flour, butter, eggs, coconut and jaggery.
The Mario Miranda Gallery at Candolim,
Goa is dedicated to the art of famous
cartoonist from Goa Mario Miranda
And to wash down all these delicacies are feni, kokum juice, beer, port and full-bodied French red wines.
Famous sons of Goa who have left an imprint
Singers and musicians Goa has plenty. The western music influences are far and wide but it is in the three artistic sons of Goa who have left their strong legacies behind. It was fun discovering this.
Mario Miranda, the self taught cartoonist who became famous for his quirky representation of Goan characters is today found in various merchandise in a couple of galleries. The black and white wall plates with his sketches of scenes of a kunbi wedding or the Salegaon Church make wonderful gifts. Before him, Charles Correa, the MIT trained architect and urban planner made the state famous. He used spaces and materials that were unique, based on local requirements. Correa rejected the post modernism architecture of steel and chrome and perhaps glass (sadly on the increase again) and left his imprints elsewhere as well. For example The Salt Lake, Kolkata, City Centre One.
Goa has produced great women models. The well-known fashion designer the late Wendell Rodricks gave a new twist to India fashion by marrying local influences with the broader Indian canvas and even beyond its shores – an international outlook. He gave a new lease of life to the local kunbi weave, known for its thickness, solid colours and checks. He revived the looms and designed lighter saris beautiful in pastel shades.
Moda Goa Museum by the late fashion designer
and activist Wendell Rodricks was planned as
India`s first costume museum housed in
a 450-year-old traditional Goan villa
But it is the Moda Goa Museum and Research Centre, yet to open formally, which has people interested in design very excited. Located in Colvale, the Museum is an aesthetically designed Goan piece of architecture, with its typical design of bright mustard yellow and windows with bold lines.
Booming casinos such as Big Daddy (floating)
have a price tag and dress code to enter.
So what is the real Goan experience you may ask? From the backpack tourism with only fish curry and rice and meals at the beach shacks, Goa alongside offers casinos and the rich nightlife, carnivals and live bands add the joie de vivre. Goa offers plenty of green, blue seas, white beaches and colourful houses and people.
There is water sport for the adventurous: para sailing, kayaking, scuba diving.
A shop facade
Goa is a whole new experience of offering the old and the new, with a lingering south European feel of romanticism. The haciendas are homesteads set on rural and agricultural land in all Spanish-speaking countries of colonial background and it is so evident here. Portugal was no less a coloniser as it was a maritime nation. So the houses with wide balconies, columns and gabled tiled roofs provide a refuge from the warm weather.
Goa receives a large number of tourists
during the annual Carnival held in February/March
Donna Paula beach is a well-known tourist spot near Panjim, closer to the northern part of Goa. It has fort ruins on a rocky terrain adding a mysterious touch. Wherever you go, good food to suit all pockets follows you and a great outdoor life for family and children. Goa beaches ensure you tan as you gaze where the sun meets the sea and the sea meets the shore, and nothing else matters. It is pure bliss!
Goa is not just a place. It is state of mind.
Manjira Majumdar
Manjira Majumdar is an independent journalist & researcher. She combines writing with teaching journalism and is the author of three children’s books.