So where is Goa? what about Goa?

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Goa is the tiniest state located on India’s western coast with a rich history and is a former Portuguese colony replete with natural beauty , beautiful landscapes and stunning beaches which form its basic attraction for the worldwide tourist to flock to this place . Goa is set on an area spanning over 3,700 square kilometers and hosts a population of approximately 15 lakhs( 1.5 million). In its most culturally diverse form, Goa has a very rare and unique blend of ethnic Indian culture mixing with vibrantly western influenced Portuguese culture with both Hindu and catholic populations in the state living harmoniously for centuries . Its beautiful temples and gothic architectures churches have an estimated 3 million visitors each year

What is the capital of Goa
The capital of Goa is at Panaji which is also known as Panjim, Ponnje in Konkani or Paingim in Portuguese. It is one of the most beautiful cities in India which showcases the colonial history of Goa. It has plenty of the typical yellow and blue colored Goan houses which gives you a feeling of being in a street in Portugal or Spain.

Goa’s Tourism History
Goa has been a tourist hub in India. Since the hippies first discovered Goa in the sixties, it ahs only become famous all over the world in good time and has been attracting a steady flow of visitors. In fact following the hippies were visitors from the United kingdom who to this day are the backbone of tourism in Goa. Expat Goans aided the flow and thereafter charter tourists simply took over the reins of exploring Goa to the fullest.

Many of such foreign visitors have also settled Goa as their permanent home while many others visit the state faithfully and take medical treatment etc. the business class have also found this place the most ideal one for seminars and conferences in Goa.

On the Indian map, Goa may seem similar to rest of India. But a closer look will reveal that Goa si visibly and practically different from the rest of India. Its civic sense , easy going nature and peaceful society isolates it from the rest of India as being the most peaceful yet fun loving place in this part of the world.

The traditional Goan village
The entire state of Goa has a lot of countryside view to offer.In fact the saying Goes that Goa’s heart is in its villages. One can distinctly observe that unlike the rest of India and Indian cities, Goans don’t like to live in the cities and would rather prefer the laid back village life. Goans don not mind traveling to the city space from their village environments, daily to work.

It is therefore not surprising that the villages of Goa hold out the Goan charm and character than any other place of Goa. However for the first time visitors, living in relaxed Goa can be pretty tough and slow especially if one was working in Goa for a living. However only the true Goan seems to understand the charm of living in Goa and enjoys his favorite turf without any complaint and is pretty charmed about the Goan village.

The villages of Goa are picture perfect abodes where you can smell the breath of fresh earth and the virgin smell of flowers and fauna. There is a sense of neatness and cleanliness which is almost practiced without saying.

Goa has many different facets to its beauty. While the Goan coastline is always in demand for its alluring beauty, it vastly varies from the "hinterland". Some of the villages in Goa have a rich history and many stories attached to its . You might just want to take a sneak peek into some of the villages which are mentioned below.

The villages in Goa which are worth visiting are Moira, Divar island, Nachinola, Neura, Corlim, Bastora, Reis Magos, Goa Velha and Britona in the north while in the south it could be Assolna, Cansaulim, Velsao, Nuvem, Savoi verem, Usgao, Curtorim, Raia, Carmona, Shiroda, Mollem etc.This is an almost unending list. In these villages it may be difficult to locate accommodation as these places may be visited by tourists but they would not be staying here overnight and would rather prefer the coastal belt villages or the smaller towns and cities.

The People of Goa
The Goan population is a blend of ethnic Hindus and Roman Catholics, who have been living in harmony for centuries. While there are over 60 % Hindus in Goa, Catholics account for over 30 % of the population.

There is also a relatively small Muslim population and some other migrant population in Goa of people who have made this place their home for the last couple of decades. Despite the mix of two very distinct communities in Goa , it has never witnessed serious communal clashes in the past and Goa is therefore regarded as one of the most peaceful and riot free states in India.

The Goan Catholics who often acknowledge their Hindu roots, also carry a distinct caste-system within their social fabric of the catholic world. The Portuguese are known to have converted Hindus into Catholics during the period after the inquisition of Goa in 1510 and the Catholics of modern Goa are originally Hindus with Hindu ancestors which have been traced by many. It is believed that in many cases, the Hindus left one male member behind to convert and thus continue to own and manage the common properties while the rest of the brethren and family chose to retain their Hindu roots and preferred to emigrate to neighboring areas along with the idols representing their Hindu deities.

Over the four and half centuries of Portuguese rule, a large numbers of Catholics have migrated to the major commercial cities of India in Bombay , Pune and also to former Indian city of Karachi which is now in the country of Pakistan. Goans also migrated overseas to former Portugal colonies in East Africa and in countries such as Angola and Mozambique and even to Portugal itself and towards the end of the 20th century many Goans sought greener pastures to Canada and Australia.

Due to the large scale emigration of Goans to other countries many of the old Goan ancestral properties lie either abandoned or mired in legal wrangles and stalemates owing to the sense of disagreement within the widely dispersed inheritors of the property who are unable to come to a common table to mutually solve the issue.

However in recent years, expatriate Goans have been returning to their home state out of nostalgia and a sense of belonging and purchasing holiday homes along the Goan coastline which is further ploughed back into the Goa accommodation sector though the medium of “rent back” apartments which are hired by short term tourists coming to Goa for a holiday.

The best time of the year to visit Goa is mid-November to mid-February when the weather is comfortable, dry and pleasant.

5 comments:

preeti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
preeti said...

Its nice post. Goa is really a very beautiful place to spend holidays and honeymoon. Goan beaches and beach resorts in goa attract the visitors from all over the world.

sapna said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jack Witson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
David John said...

There are so many comments here that are really interesting and useful to me thanks for sharing a link especially for sharing this blog.
singapore limousine

Post a Comment