After a few bumps, Arambol in North Goa is limping back to life and with Valentine’s Day falling on the cusp of the weekend, good holistic days appear to be ready to bounce back.
By virtue of being in a distant corner of the State, where the glare seldom reaches, roses have been confused for shrubs and a lot of things that should not have been have breathed life in this village.
Locals are getting a taste of the tourism pie with many wanting to chew more than what they can bite. And, that’s where it begins to hurt.
Arambol, compared to some other beaches, doesn’t have the best hotels but has decent homestays, comfortable hotels and huts neatly lined along the beach that provide some charm of Goa's past.
“The people are nice and if I am to say it straight, they are naïve or still laid back or out of touch with the current reality and that is why they succumb to sops from outsiders who are here to exploit most of them,” says Dhruv from Russia, who himself is engaged in some activity along the coast.
“Everyone wants to make money on a holiday. A little bit of extra cash helps in improving the quality of the holiday and that is why I collaborate with a local,” he explains.
If people from North India can come and do business in Arambol, foreigners wonder why they cannot and that is why many locals are comfortable working with them.
“I work with a couple of foreigners. One is a Russian and the other a German. Both have been with me for years and we haven’t had any problems because we respect our terms of contract,” says a local seeking anonymity.
He adds, “I prefer working with them because they increase my intake. Foreigners trust their own better. It is easier for them to convince their own countrymen than me and hence it does not cost me to share my profits with them.”
Despite the rush at the parking lot, which is not licensed, Arambol has restaurants in areas where such places should not exist and, yet, here nature seems to stand with the locals and visitors.
Arambol is a place that has turned into a holistic spot carved by foreigners and a few Indians wanting to sell mud baths, yoga, meditation and trance through psychedelic music.
A metre and more away from the beach is a board that reads: Love Temple. It has clean wooden cottages with washrooms that are spread out, leaving room for privacy to all residents.
It is in this Love Temple that guests are taken through all things the mind needs to be away from the grind for greed with talks in the evening, drum classes, yoga sessions and musical sessions.
“The feeling here is different. The evenings are a great time to bond with people of different mindsets,” relates Ivonne.
For those seeking a new style of life in Arambol, a little further away is the Goa Surf School where many from outside Goa come to learn windsurfing or kite boarding. “Most of our clients are from India and they simply love their time in the water,” says instructor Raymond.
Arambol is one place that is still to adjust to the crossroads of tourism but the locals are slowly getting there and visitors understand that over here, it is better – one step at a time.