A teeny tiny state in the
west coast of India called Goa, known to many as the pearl of the
orient, tourist paradise and by several such fancy names given to it
by travel writers is undoubtedly worthy of praise and craze. The
name of Goa definitely appears in the internet browsing history of
any globetrotter. One can hardly spot a travel website or website of
a tour operator company with no mention of Goa in it. On such sites,
Goa is showcased through pictures of overly crowded beaches with
special highlights on foreigners, of numerous nightclubs, of sunburn
crowd and so on. Amidst this touristy Goa there is an unexplored,
untouched, culturally rich side of it which has been blessed abundantly by nature has remained away from the limelight till date. It
is the place where one can experience the perfect blend of Portuguese
and Goan culture. The left over influences of Portuguese after 450
long years of colonization is seen in several aspects of Goan life
such as architecture, language, cuisine etc.
Away from the hustle
bustle of touristy beaches, there are serene and peaceful ones which
sadly, do not appear in the travel sites listing out top 10 places to
visit in Goa. A few steps away from such untouched, serene beaches
are located tiny villages where one can see much more than just
scenic beauty. In a typical coastal Goan village one can get glimpses
of Portuguese housing architecture which typically have stretched
veranda. The long stretched, patterned coconut gardens, a render (a
professional coconut plucker) murmuring a melodious konkani song
while taking strolls in coconut gardens, fisher women dressed in nine
yard sarees, a string of flowers in hair and a basket filled with
fish on their head calling out to the villagers shouting nuste jaay
ge (who wants fish) while housewives arguing with them for an extra
fish, a poder (bread seller) on his cycle and to add to this this
perfect scene a soothing background music of waves hitting the
seashore!! As the merry evening approaches, the scene gets even more
beautiful with local Goan lads showing off their true love for
football which is said to be in every Goan's blood.
Festival times are the
times when true Goan spirit oozes out and everyone is immersed in the
merry festival atmosphere crossing the realms of religion, caste and
creed. It is not at all surprising to see Christians participating in
the Narkasur procession which is held a day prior to diwali and hindu
youths in 'saaybin' (a procession of mother mary). Best times are the
times of Carnival and Shigmo which are typically christian and hindu
festivals respectively. Carnival is the unique, colorful festival
with huge parades with bands, floats, dances and music throughout the
city at night. Shigmo on the other hand is
a Hindu festival with similar merry ambience when groups of youths
from each caste perform local folk dances some of which include goff,
romta mel etc and songs in the front yard of each house. What adds to
the charm of shigmo is fantastic widespread dinner parties hosted by
several households.
A glimpse of Goan culture
would not be complete without the the mention of tribals of the
region who have very proactively brought up their unique culture to
the masses. The tribals of Goa known as Kunbis, unlike other tribes
of the country have been very active in the political, social,
economic and cultural aspect of life. ''Dhalo'' and ''dekhni'' are
the traditional dance forms of the state which are performed by
women. ''Mando'' is the folk music of Goa which is popular amongst
the christian communities. There is even a Mando festival that takes
place every year inviting music lovers from several places. The
tuneful sound of Ghumat ( a traditional musical instrument) can be
heard from every street during the times of shigmo and chavath (
ganesh chaturthi).
Goa has been blessed with
two extremes of worlds, with west coast being a coastal region with
beautiful regions and eastern region of the state which forms major
part of western ghats with thick forests with flora and fauna is recognized as one of the major biodiversity hotspots of the world.
The stunning waterfalls of Dhudhsagar and Haravale never fail to
mesmerize its visitors.
Every place has an
unexplored beautiful side which remains suppressed due to the
conventional way of looking at things and places. Goa is
conventionally portrayed as sea, sun and sands and n the process has
lost its unconventional charm. To erupt the culturally wealthy side
of our tiny state one needs to look beyond the three S's.
