Nowhere has the takeover of a State been so aggressive, brutal and destructive as it’s been in Goa. What began, many decades back, furtively is now being done with an in-your-face impertinence.
The swagger of Goa’s present-age invaders was there for all to see when the House of Abhinandan Lodha, a Mumbai-based real estate developer, put out an advertisement proclaiming, 'Delhi, Rulers of India, Now Conquer Goa'.
The State government acted swiftly, asking the advertisers to pull it down, but it offered a glimpse of the invader’s mindset. It was clear the goal of investment hawks, swooping down on Goa with moneybags, is to 'conquer' it.
In some ways, they have succeeded in their conquest. Walk down Goa’s streets, supermarkets, malls, beaches, vegetable shops, parks, or for that matter, its every nook and corner; they are all teeming with people from outside the State.
Almost every trade, business and occupation has been taken over by the State’s outlanders. They rule and dictate practically every aspect of its daily life.
Almost every trade, business and occupation has been taken over by the State’s outlanders. They rule and dictate practically every aspect of its daily life.
This systematic re-engineering of the coastal State’s DNA is wiping out all traces of Goa, which is being superimposed with something kitsch, which emerges from influences of varied traditions, cultures, and relentless pursuit of commercial goals.
It’s not easy to find Goanness in Goa anymore. The staple fish-(or prawn)-curry-and-rice at shacks has given way to a synthetic fish thali, elaborate in its offerings and plating. This culinary evolution has gone a step further with Idli Sambar and Vada Pao.
So much so that it has prompted a local politician to heap the blame on this menu-change in shacks for Goa’s declining international tourist numbers.
The last few years have seen a surge in the coastal State’s domestic tourists even as its foreign tourist growth rate has remained tepid.
One of biggest losses of Goanness is its idyllic nature. It played out when the whole State shut down for a few hours of mid-noon siesta – blanketing it in a surreal quietness, through which even a faint squawk of the distant seagull could be heard.
The last few years have seen a surge in the coastal State’s domestic tourists even as its foreign tourist growth rate has remained tepid.
Now, the maddening buzz of activities continues through the day and, sometimes, the night too. It’s smothering the Goanness of the place.
Another of its distinct character trait slipping away is susegad – derived from the Portuguese word sossegado, meaning 'a life of contentment and quiet'. It is being swept away in the tide of commercial passion of people from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and other India States.
Today’s Yuppies view slowing down to relish life’s fine moments as ‘laziness’. In their life’s fast lane, there’s no time to look back at the destruction caused by them along the path. Their ivory towers are so high over the mess around them that it is hardly visible to them.
This non-Goan juggernaut has waged a relentless war against everything Goan to create snatches of Mumbai, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, and even Nepal, in the coastal State.
Today’s Yuppies view slowing down to relish life’s fine moments as ‘laziness’. In their life’s fast lane, there’s no time to look back at the destruction caused by them along the path.
Driving on some roads can transport you to Delhi. On others, it may feel like Mumbai. The ubiquitous roadside coconut vendors are now accompanied by bhelpuri, pani puri, vada pao and chaat stalls.
It’s creating a bitter strife between the locals and the migrant population, erupting into violent face-offs, sometimes even resulting in casualties. The State is fighting back hard to protect its identity and sway over its territory, but is only imploding from within.
Each day a bit of Goa slips away and is imprinted with a new design, a new emotion and a new way of existence, with its furious takeover underway. And, as the dust of change settles on it, the charming and serene old Goa would be buried six feet under.
