“Most of the people who’ve moved to Goa are passionate about life and what they do with life…”
– LYNDON ALVES, tourism expert, Goa
SANGEETA WADDHWANI EXPLORES WHY GOA HAS BECOME THE NEW PARADISE FOR AMBITION TO MEET SUSEGAD!
Freedom.
Two syllables.
But in a post-Pandemic world, it’s a palliative.
The new addiction. Freedom suggests that what can be imagined, can be real. It explains why we see such a mass exodus from Mumbai and Delhi to this spectacularly blessed, unambitious state. Because that’s what Goa is – a ‘state’ of mind.
When cities are on pause mode, Goa beautifies that ‘pause.’ Sans apology.
I put GOA to the test. While soul-shattering fear blanketed my beloved city, and yet another emergency lockdown was declared – which I like to define as ‘an urban ecosystem in rigor mortis’ – I grew metallic wings.
Tickets to hippie heaven were going for pocket change, as this was a wickedly hot season, and I found a pristine gated apartment complex in which to rent my own 1BHK space. I was going to explore my Pandemic-escape zone on the fly. No real plan. Sure I had friends around – a good number of Mumbaikars are now in Goa with semi-permanent agendas. But I wasn’t relying on them to be around. I was sure that Assagao – my posh neighbourhood recommended by a multiple award winning film-maker buddy who has moved to Goa from Mumbai – would offer me plenty to do, and I wasn’t disappointed. He tempted me by saying, “I tried being creative in Mumbai… but somehow I was constantly feeling a sort of angst there. In Goa, you are guilt free at all times – even when lotus eating or just staring at the sunrise. You just feel so much at peace… and being idle is a virtue!”
ASSAGAO: A ‘FASHIONABLE’ ADDRESS
Entering Assagao, my chosen residential area, I saw Gulabo, the pretwear label boutique by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, a lovely ceramic studio, the Mustard Café, Gunpowder restaurant flanking a super-eclectic The Peepul Tree boutique. So much to see when temperatures cooled down, post 4.30pm. To the right of my ‘home’ was Rangeela The Concept Store which again, had international ‘settlers’ creating prêtwear that swore its allegiance to Mother Earth. In fact, all the produce in The Peepul Tree also said the same – the buzzwords were ‘100 percent sustainable’, ‘organic’, ‘natural fibres’, and so on. I happily endorsed a fusion look in this genre of sustainable chic, and eventually bought the look by Gado Gado (a Dutch-designer’s turquoise peasant top) and Tia (a British designer’s crushed cotton tube skirt).
These designers were hopefully practicing the ‘fair trade’ that their labels talked of, and like me, wanted the earth to live, breathe, thrive side-by-side with bespoke fashion. EVERY posh boutique was about being sustainable. In fact, the flotsam international visitors were so partial to anything eco-conscious, I even discovered a rustic café at Mojigao Eco Village, set on top of a hill… and the side of the hill had straw roofed villas for rent. I read on the table menu that this space has six luxury cottages and is the ideal place to connect with local artists, natural therapists and well being instructors.
While the heat and humidity made lunching out a slightly daunting idea, (for some reason, no bar or restaurant in Goa believes in air-conditioning!) But the ambience in these open air dining spaces and the low density of people, made it Covid-19 safe.
Even the loos had eco-conscious reminders – one poster said, ‘Save Assagaon, from a village of flowers to a concrete jungle, medicinal springs to chlorinated pools, bird calls to traffic sounds, heritage village homes to unsustainable cement villas….” The poem ended with a plea: Do not support builders who add to the desecration of Assagao’s natural beauty.”
It’s tragic but on Carmichael Road in Mumbai, the same battle has been going on to hold on to a wild forest plot reserved for a public park, which the BMC has not cultivated for two decades and may in fact sell to a builder.
As the evening set in, I stepped out to take a walk. Right next to my gated residence was No Nasties – as the name suggests, another boutique claiming to be 100 percent sustainable – upcycled and recycled fabrics, natural dyes. After trying on a good number of smart casual tops, tube skirts, tunics, jumpsuits, I headed for Gunpowder, where I ordered a Kingfisher curry and rice. Since the restaurant is nestled on a hillock covered by trees, the staff lit up a 100 percent non-chemical mosquito repellent, burning coconut mixed with mir. It felt so much more bearable even though it smoked up the spaces, when compared to the harsh chemicals we spray in Mumbai’s residential areas, floor by floor, poisoning our bodies while we attack nature’s little vampires.
GOA IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’
As mentioned, what fascinated me about Goa this time, is how it has become a beacon of hope for locked down ‘humanoids’ – definition: men-women merged with their work and android phones!
And I don’t just mean Pandemic lockdown. Our old normal was not much better. Remember how locked in traffic we would be? How we wouldn’t dream of experiencing any highs, breathing city ‘traffucked’ air if we dared roll down the windows?
While it took me a while to appreciate the experience of riding pillion with a biker to access the more remote, less crowded beaches, I realised I was better off laughing at the slapping wind as we conquered time and space on that humble tech horse! Because it was air minus carbon monoxide. I was soaring under the open skies; thrilled right down to my cellular consciousness. It was like having a secret love affair with the way the world was meant to be… miles and miles of tree-scapes, earthy fragrances, not a concrete structure in sight. I reveled in a sense of light flight as we moved at a speed that seemed slow for open roads, but fast for me; a girl who has hardly ever moved without the metallic body of a temperature controlled car around her.
This is not the typical ‘holiday’ high I came looking for. I thought I would be mobile in air conditioned Goa Miles cabs, meant to operate like our Olas and Ubers. But on landing the Goa Miles cabbie made it abundantly clear that his was a heroic job, because the Goan taxi mafia bashed up their cars and drivers, with unfailing regularity. These taxi mafias wanted to monopolize tourist mobility at prices that suited them. A taxi strike soon followed, making it actually dangerous to be in a hired taxi. Hence my trusted Raju and his motorbike – a machine that had the legendary Rana Pratap’s warrior horse Chetak’s spirit, taking on as it did steep hills and swerving curbs without a gasp!
DOWNTOWN GOA: CASINOS, CAFES AND COLOUR
I did finally set out to meet my dear friend, the singer-yoga exponent Shweta Shetty, downtown in Panjim, along with her friend Lyndon Alves. The private taxi almost cost me the same as a one-way flight ticket… but it was a delight to see the flurry of neon lights emanating from downtown Casinos, evocative of Macao and Vegas, with mobile digital art screens flashing sexy table hostesses in plunging necklines and manicured tips… so ‘Mona Darling!:)
Panjim also surprised me with its ‘glam-urban’ vibe, and a flyover that looked much like Mumbai’s Sea Link, only floodlit with rich, shifting colours. Downtown Goa really felt like a celebration, a younger and happier version of Maximum City.
A little away from the waterfront, Panjim was a history book waiting to be read. My friends mentioned that entire lanes here had old Portuguese villas and quaint little chapels – unlike our fading Kala Ghoda, this heritage district is painted in high-pitched kitschy pinks, oranges, whites, lime greens – well maintained, vivacious, life-affirming hues.
So Lyndon, Shweta and I met at Antonios, a cosy tapas bar, with no air-conditioning of course! But it was a cheery space, and one met quite a few Mumbai advertising honchos and film-makers floating about here, happily inebriated and expatriated!
“In the new world order, everyone who has a choice is looking for less crowded, nature-based, easy living destinations. Fortunately most of the people who’ve moved to Goa are ones passionate about life and what they do in and with their life, [the earlier settlers] having started with the hippie culture. This has left Goa with some amazing artists, artisans, food connoisseurs from around the country and the globe, giving Goa outstanding lifestyle options,” he shared. Goa veteran Lyndon Alves, is a stalwart from the tourism industry who moved here from Bombay in 1992. When we chatted about the urban Indian Pandemic ‘hippie’, he laughed and conceded, “Yes, the Pandemic has brought in a new trend of domestic travellers, who’ve discovered a charm we’ve dreamt of all our lives. Working from anywhere, with today’s tech, you are at liberty to chill, to mix business and pleasure!”
Lyndon often invites his friends to view Goa from his unique lens, as he has witnessed the many new facets to life here since the 90s, a time when Goa was an international magnet, and enjoyed bulk tourism from Scandinavia. I was told Lyndon was recently coordinating hundreds of dancers for a feature film shoot, and quizzed him about this: “So yes, since we do event and festival support, we also provide the same for movie films, an area where Goa seems to have become a huge destination of late!”
The social chronicler in me perked up hearing this. So is Goa, under its sylvan beaches, swaying palms and intoxicating sunsets, soon going to be the Neo-Bandra? Slowly, a new picture unraveled itself… almost every major designer, creative entrepreneur and even movie star was ‘self-exiled’ in this deceptive paradise. Pooja Bedi has bought a house here, and has become a serial wellness entrepreneur, with her Happy Soul boutique at Anjuna. The Khan family of Mumbai have a home here. Educationist Karan Gupta has practically moved here. Award-winning film-maker Veneet Raj Bagga of Onions, a creative content boutique, has moved here from Mumbai. In fact I was told by Ms Bedi, that there is a WhatsApp chat group called Goa Stories, where this tribe of ‘neo-urban hippies’ “keep exchanging notes on a host of things like how to find plumbers, carpenters… to…where to hang out in the evening!” Pooja stuns me with her entrepreneurial streak – she seems busier than ever!
BIG CITY DREAMS IN THE NEW GOA?
Sure there is still the physicality and freshness of a resort state here, but Goa is fast-adapting to where the bucks are coming from. “There are shacks filled with people from Punjab demanding Bollywood music and chicken tikkas!” laughed my friend Shweta, last December, just after she had returned to Mumbai from Goa. This was a cultural travesty for the proud people of paradise, but somehow, they were coping.
I touch upon the eco-consciousness that is stamped onto most forms of consumerism seen here… and Lyndon shares, “Goa hasn’t lost its original free-spirited and alternative lifestyle options, it’s just the topography that has changed. One still has the discerning long stay traveller, who is here for everything from sun tanning to learning art and dance forms to dedicated yoga and wellness experiences. Goa does have the distinction in the country, of having the most experiences to offer, from the biggest music parties to the offbeat organic wellness holiday, a lot has to do with the passion and following of the people who run and offer these experiences.”
GOA AS PARTY CAPITAL OF INDIA
And of course, Covid-19 notwithstanding, Goa is still where you will find some degree of partying. When Lyndon says there are such ‘scenes’ at Anjuna, it becomes clear that Goans are not so ‘infected’ with paranoia. “Partying, socialising, or whatever one calls it, has been in the veins of the state since the Portuguese ruled. The arrival of the hippies put an international stamp on Goa as a fun/leisure destination and today, Goa stands out as the party capital of the country. One can’t go wrong when you bask in the best commercial and street talent from around the globe showcased on beachfront fresh air venues! There are little gatherings that happen throughout the year, even in the monsoons; not all are big huge events but all have a charm of their own in little known venues or even houses tucked away on a hilltop or in a mini forest.”
If you ever read Lisa Ray’s book Close to the Bone, you can vicariously experience the pool party at the late designer Wendell Rodrick’s home where skinny dipping became de rigueur! His illustrious guests all floated in the body nature gave them, perhaps a bit smoked up, delighting in the surreal intimacy.
IF LOCALS WERE TO GET VOCAL…
I asked Lyndon why I saw a little sadness and sometimes even resentment in the eyes of waiters, shopkeepers, even staff at the airport. He felt it was perhaps because they were unhappy with the sense of entitlement that rich North Indians conducted themselves with. “Goan’s are discontented with the influx of traffic and sadly said but true, it’s the attitude of the north Indian that has brought in some discontent in areas that have been over-built and over populated by people who showcase a ‘I don’t care’ attitude. This ‘you know who I am’ attitude that’s so predominant in north India, doesn’t work here; everyone knows the authorities right up to the local minister and we don’t misuse that, for sure people from other parts of India displaying this attitude won’t go down well, either.”
When I leave Goa, I leave with enduring images of young Pandemic escapees sitting with their laptops at the Dunes shack, at the gorgeous Mondrem beach, maskless, at liberty to look up and savour the most arresting sunsets. Semi-naked bodies waft in and out of these shacks, and nobody bothers to stare. Susegad, live and let live – Goa’s still got it, even if a beer costs nearly 300 rupees, a meal on average Rs 1000, and a cab ride to the airport can set you back by Rs 4000 if there is a cab strike! When in Goa, come with a prosperous mindset, and then get into your happy hippie vibe. Goa was my psychological vaccine against Mumbai’s tragedies and lockdown blues. Perhaps if we had a better tree-to-human ratio, this virus would not be so powerful in our midst. We have so much to learn from Goa that way… but it seems too late to welcome nature back here… Alibag is the closest we will ever get to an islet of tranquility and beauty.
They say God smiles in Green, laughs in Blue, sleeps in White. God smiles in Goa.
#goa #assagao #lockdown #escape #sangeetawadhwani
P.S: Goa is presently locked down, but as my resident buddy says, “you can’t lock down nature, so life is still beautiful ❤”
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