Except for the occasional torchlight of individuals walking on the sands, life is still on Galgibaga Beach in South Goa. A few foreigners live in the temporary huts on sand dunes, along with some guests from across the State’s border.
Galgibaga Beach is a turtle nesting site and that explains the silence and lack of shacks. “We have a few foreigners who are back and some tourists from Karnataka. Despite the weather, the season is okay,” admits Maria, as she awaits customers at her beachside restaurant.
“Guests”, according to Maria, “normally go to Patnem for an after-dinner drive, to meet friends. Apart from enjoying the silence of the beach, there is not much to do here.”
If Galgibaga has started receiving guests, Talpona just a few kilometres away, is still reeling under the aftereffects of the pandemic.
“After the lockdown, things changed and the season is yet to see its original colour. We hardly have guests coming. We are in December and there are no takers for our rooms,” says Tulsidas Komrapant, as he puffs a cigarette outside his guest house.
“There are around 40 rooms in the five guest houses on our beach and most are empty. It is not like before. We are yet to see the days before COVID,” shrugs off Tulsidas, ruminating on the situation.
The ride from Talpona to Patnem along the coast is around eight kilometres, and all along foreigners can be seen moving in two-wheelers as the village begins to sleep.
As one reaches Patnem, the spirit of Christmas comes alive with foreigners, most from the UK, preparing for the season’s festivities by listening to retro music and feasting on seafood, colouring the coastline in the State’s indomitable style.
“Our old guests have started coming, and most of our homestays are doing well. The restaurants are picking up business, but it is too early to predict how the season will unfold,” says Gerald, who owns a restaurant with the sea as its front.
Mary, 42 years old, is full of smiles because “being back” is something she was awaiting. “It feels great to be back. I am stocking up the kitchen before I leave for a singing session in one of the places,” she says as she scampers to her room.
A few metres away, in a nicely-lit restaurant, a group of around 12 people sit on a mat listening to a man strum his guitar as a lady croons. The music is soothing and her voice transfixing. When they stop, there is applause.
Seafood, mellow and rich ice creams, coffee and gentle music help make an inspiring evening at Patnem, where life stories from around the world are shared as meals are enjoyed.
“I am staying in an apartment with my family. I intend to stay in Goa for a month or two, and then move to other parts of India before exploring other Asian countries,” admits Gariha from Israel as he hitches a lift.
“Israel is going through bad times, but I hope there will be peace soon as this cannot continue forever,” adds Gariha, who claims to be a counsellor to those on the forefront of the war.
The beaches along the Canacona coast are alive with foreign and Indian tourists, the latter well-decked for an evening out and zipping around in high-end cars. As the night grows older, the music grows mellower and for many “such moments are hard to forget”.