At the same time last year, the buzz on the beach was dispirited. Foreign tourists had only just started arriving, and shack owners were searching for a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.
For reasons best known to the authorities concerned, shack owners were biting their nails waiting to know when the nod to erect shacks would come, and that wait ended close to Christmas.
Things are different now. A lot more different. Shack demarcations ended by September, and had it not been for the unseasonal rains, beaches would have been dotted with the temporary structures well before the first foreign tourist of the season stepped foot on them.
For a change, and a good one, the Department of Tourism appears to have taken a cue from the past and rid itself of some cobwebs, thus letting the waters flow ceaselessly.
Shack demarcations ended by September, and had it not been for the unseasonal rains, beaches would have been dotted with the temporary structures well before the first foreign tourist of the season stepped foot on them.
Positivity flows where there are no hindrances, and the season started with this positivity leaving many surprised, especially those in the shack business.
Most shacks were up by October and would have been up even earlier except that the heavy rains changed water levels, forcing a delay.
Unlike last year, the authorities put in place a system where licensing was flawless and the dance from pillar to post was done away with, giving no reason for the stakeholders to complain.
We have entered the peak of the season and there are smiles all around. Shacks, that initially saw few clients, are now brimming with guests – not just foreigners but Indians, too – the music is flowing and palates are left with sweet tastes.
The shacks adorning the coastline are of different styles and sizes, the cuisine of each in tune with the design. Though foreigners are normally seen during the day, the beaches are full by sundown.
The shacks adorning the coastline are of different styles and sizes, the cuisine of each in tune with the design. Though foreigners are normally seen during the day, the beaches are full by sundown.
Shacks that would normally shut by sunset, now flicker through the night offering domestic tourists a mind-blowing experience of dining by the sea, in many cases with the water kissing their toes.
December is the time of the year when Goans, settled or working in different parts of the globe, return to spend time with family, and that kickback is evident during an evening stroll on the beach.
This is the time of the year when people gather for family functions, weddings and even feasts. That fallout reverberates on the beach every evening.
Shacks that would normally shut by sunset, now flicker through the night offering domestic tourists a mind-blowing experience of dining by the sea, in many cases with the water kissing their toes.
The crowd on the beaches of South Goa is different from the north, though Candolim, Calangute and Baga beaches still carry the Goan baggage of the past.
Just as beaches are welcoming, social media, too, is seeing the fallout with innumerable posts and pictures – mostly by foreigners – of good times on the beaches of Goa.
A peek at these tells stories of the good times of the past, and the times now being enjoyed by repeat foreign guests, who have been coming for years and have stories of the past to tell, that give an idea of our drift forward.
As the New Year approaches, the crowds are going to grow and the beaches will be jam-packed. Will there be no place? Ha, ha, ha! Goa has beaches with a vast expanse of space that fits in all.
As it stands, 2024 is turning out to be a good season – one that started on the right balance with the hand of the authorities playing steady. It is said, the hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world. The Department of Tourism, deserves a bow.