Privacy trumps power in Goa

Tourists arrive in Goa to blend into the dark, get high without a worry and let his/her hair down in the din of psychedelic music

Goa depends on two industries for its survival – mining and tourism. With mining having hit rock bottom owing to the Supreme Court’s intervention on the issue, India’s smallest state is now entirely dependent on tourism. And, a form of tourism that stands in sharp contrast to ‘development.’

Goa is known for unspoiled hills, pristine beaches and lush forests that have withstood the onslaught of time as tourists throng the zone for exactly the same reasons. Most of North Goa, that includes Arambol, Morjim, Keri and Tiracol, is covered with large expanses of land and uninhabited zones that include beaches and forests.

Only recently Arambol got its first four-star resort and state-of-the-art Nanu Resort, a string of other hotels in and about the zone. The otherwise pristine area now bustles with affluent tourists who fly into Goa in sharp contrast to the Yoga aficionado and health-conscious traveler who’d rent bungalows and stay-ins for months on end to ‘find themselves.’

Fine living is a scourge

Development is a scourge when it comes to Goa as any form of fine living threatens to engulf the all-natural mien of greenery, podi and feni – not necessarily in that order. The entire idea being, why would someone come from their plush homes in metropolitan cities and towns all the way to Goa to stay in a developed ‘starred’ hotel instead of partaking in the ‘free, wild ways of Goa.’

There are, however, a few drawbacks to the tourism of Goa which depends entirely on retaining the inaccessible nature of zones, the lack of connectivity and the aura of mystery in travel across the state.

For visitors to Goa, it’s usually a rickety bus ride from say Mapusa to South Goa or North as the destination may be. For the not-so-initiated, there’re taxis transporting you to any place within Goa for more than the price, of course. Nobody commutes with a meter and the charges for being transported from Point A to Point B are entirely subjective to the satisfaction of the driver aka pilot. If you know the pilot, good, if you don’t, even better. Chances are he’d overcharge you either which way unless you have options at hand and flaunt them too.

Taxis – A case in point

The entry of prepaid taxis to Goa and the metered trips have been met with overwhelming resistance from local taxi drivers and for obvious reasons. They simply cannot and will not have any competition their way. The local authorities too choose to look in the other direction should there be any complaints. For those wanting to register a protest, it would be online where you’d find yourself hustling for space with millions of other protestors. It makes little difference at the grassroots. Goa thrives despite the mess and probably even, because of the mess.

If there’s anything ‘fixed’ about prices in Goa, it’s their unpredictability. If you get a dream deal on one visit, don’t expect it to stay for long. The next time you arrive, despite assurances online and on phone, you could expect the host to turn around and surprise you with a loftier rate. And, that is Goa for you. Protesting takes travelers nowhere as the locals are a highly closed and tight-knit lot. If one charges you high, there’s little chance of getting anyone to come around with a lower price.

So, development, of say tourism, would be met with sharp resistance by locals. They’re complacent with their situation and thrive in it. Any attempt to regularise things, even streamline affairs, is almost always met with uproar by locals. If there is a call for a taxi strike in any part of Goa, anyone plying a taxi even beyond their lot is expected to comply, even by force if need be.

Beaches outside ambit of law

Beachline affairs that include shack tourism and restaurants along the sea are always outside the ambit of law. Development includes complying with processes and procedures by law. That would include no littering on the beach, ensuring no sale of drugs, no sale of alcohol to minors, accountability by law and so on and forth. All of that is simply a downer for the tourist who arrives to Goa to blend into the dark, get high without a worry and let his/her hair down in the din of psychedelic music and the incessant flow of alcohol. Development is an antithesis to this sort of tourism which is unregulated and unfettered. 

For tourism to thrive in Goa and pander to Russians, Israelis, Nigerians and the daily flow of Indians from across state borders and back, it would be impossible should the state stick to rules and regulations. Thousands of Russians live in Morjim which caters entirely to them. An Indian visiting Morjim would simply find it impossible to find his way through the zone as all signages, directions even restaurant menus are written in Russian. Development means keeping paperwork like visas, police clearances and all, in order. If they start doing that, tourism will be the first to be hit.

So, development of tourism in Goa is restricted to casinos, controlled by the law and kept beyond the reach of locals who are not even permitted to enter or work in casinos, state-run tourism cruises which are frequented only by Indian tourists. So, after consuming copious amounts of alcohol provided within the cover charge, first-time visitors can be seen emerging from casinos anchored a little distance off land in Panjim in their finery, drunk and satiated. The regulars, however, are almost always away from Panjim to the North or South and without any state controls.

Private players rule the roost

The State takes little responsibility of tourists in Goa as private players rule the roost. Why, each zone’s players don’t even engage with another zone’s. Non-interference is an unwritten rule as the ‘tourist’ is the Goan stakeholder’s most precious possession. Try visiting a wine shop in Goa and they’d tell you to buy your sin and consume it right outside the shop, in public view as ‘in Goa it’s allowed’. Every wine shop has a zone on the outside where buyers consume their liquor without a bother. It’s cheaper to have it in the open rather than go to a bar. Anyway, the alcohol in Goa is cheaper than neighbouring Maharashtra or Karnataka as the tax component’s miniscule in comparison.

The development of beaches, Goa’s mainstay, is restricted to closures at the time of monsoons as the rains get wild and the sea moves into interlining shacks. The authorities cut off power supply during the rains to ensure there are no short-circuits and fires owing to tidal situations that almost always go out of hand. But the shack-owners still give it out on rent for cheap and to those who don’t need the power. After all, there’s lot more to Goa than power, for the tourist keen on privacy and solitude.

Development is an antithesis for tourism especially the Goan sort. Yes, in areas in and around capital Panjim, there is some semblance of development but that again is for the business tourist or the affluent tourist visiting Goa for work, a conference or a meeting. Otherwise in interiors of Goa, especially North Goa, Central Goa and South, it’s the local’s interpretation of development – one that panders to the needs of the quintessential Goan tourist who’d want nothing more than privacy, not even power!