GOA- THE CITY WITH A SOUL

 

GOA has always been a place that is looked forward to. But like we all know, there were umpty restrictions because of Covid-19. And all of us, became still in our lives for a year and a half. Everyone stopped travelling and no one used phrases like “GOA IS ON” anymore. Today I would like to write about my experiences in Goa, pre Covid.

QUERIM BEACH,GOA

A place everyone wants to go to at any time of the year-GOA. For joy, for excitement, for a break, some even for food and beverages. But honestly, I felt something else on going there for the first time. It felt like detangling from reality.

I travelled to Goa for the first time in 2012 with my mom and a couple of her friends. It is safe to say, that I was too young at that time to grasp all the state’s marvellousness. But we went by road and I was travelling for 12 hours at a stretch for the first time so it was a bit intriguing. That is almost all the memory I have as the outcome of the trip. And that is exactly why, that cannot be counted as my first trip there.

But in 2015, a friend and I went there in the most impulse way. We were just 15, but were going to stay at a family friend’s place, so the parental worry was out of question. We decided a day before, and there we were in a flight to Goa the next day. We reached in the afternoon and were greeted by faces we were acquainted with. We ate “Usal with Katro pao” and made sure our stomachs were happy too!


USAL WITH KATRO PAO

Immediately after that, since we were in South Goa, we took a trip to the infamous “DONA PAULA.” We were unaware of its strong connection to the Portuguese rulers that were in Goa. But there we met with a genuine boy of about 9 years of age sharing information about the same. When we inquired him about the significance of the name of the place, he told us that Dona Paula was the daughter of the then Portuguese Viceroy’s daughter who fell in love with a local fisherman. Since, such a match was unacceptable at the time, she hurled herself off that cliff. And this place, is named after her. We didn’t know how genuine the story was, but we could see the convincing eyes of the little boy and decided against confirming the liability of the story. This was one instance I came across which showed me sheer innocence in the citizens of Goa.


DONA PAULA BEACH

After travelling for 2 days and exploring all the small lanes and streets surrounding South Goa and Madgaon, we went to Baga beach (North Goa) on the 3rd day. At first, we walked on the beach for some moments and felt rejuvenated. Then both of us, did all the watersport rides they had to offer and were content. High tide had just started to arise, so we had to move along to the next beach- Calangute, that too, in North Goa. Calangute beach greeted us with open arms. As the sun had almost set, we decided to dine on one of the chic shacks. We ate a scrumptious dinner, that included delicacies of all kind. Name the dish, and we had tried it there. Afterwards, we rented a two-wheeler and my friend gave it a try!

For the next morning, we were awoken with a rush. We rushed ourselves to breakfast and didn’t know what was in the store for us next. After a while of confusion and of course, travelling, we reached a place that was pleasing to the eyes. We were surprised by our family friend when he said, “You’re in for some serious fun here.” And the next thing we knew, we were on a bird watching tour. We saw a variety of birds including, the bright Black Hooded Orioles, the green Gold Mantled Leaf Birds, the purple-headed Plum Parakeets, the angry looking Jungle Babblers, the savage Blue Tailed Bee Eaters and many more. There were two stops made at the refreshing Paithona Stream and Pilerne Lake and we spotted the cute Pied Kingfishers, colourful Indian Rollers, fierce Marsh Harriers there.



All of this information was given to us by yet another tour guide of sorts. She was a woman in her 80s, but her eyes had a gleam in them that gave proof of her gaiety towards life. Though we were the most content after the tour, we weren’t really ready to go home from the enriching experience. But it also felt wrong in a way, to go off somewhere else. We wanted this entire bird-watching experience to dissolve into us. We decided that, that was that for the day. We went home and relaxed with a cup of coffee in the evening and a Karaoke Night.

It was the last day of the trip, but we weren’t going home till we saw the infamous “Chapora Fort’ that was showcased in the film “Dil Chahta Hai.” We arrived there, just in time for sunset, and we were happier because it was uncongested then. We took in some fresh air and let out a breath of gratitude, for these times in Goa and, for life, in general.


FORT SCENE FROM "DIL CHAHTA HAI"

In conclusion, I gathered, that Goa isn’t just about partying, frolicking and buffoonery, it is also about solace, comfort and most importantly, soul.

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