World Traveler

That is Goa. I have felt during my visits to Goa that not only do all the beaches have characteristics of their own, you can not probably have a single favourite.

Having said that, I will still admit that I developed some special liking for Vagator beach.It is one of the less frequented beaches in the northern part of North Goa.[see the map] We took a bike from Baga and the winding road to Vagator went through small villages.

I let my husband, a careful and skilled driver, to handle the challenging roads and got blissfully lost in the sight of tiny cottages with green garden sometimes spalshed by shocking fushia or burning orange.

Vagator, at first sight, looked unreal or sureal, more a careful assortment of color by a skilled painter on a canvass than a real place on the earth. It had pure white sand dotted with black rocks, offset by swaying lush green palms and coconuts.And one can not but wonder how the sea was so aquamarine and transparent.

I dont know if, like aromatherapy involves therapeutic use of fragrance, there is any conscious use of colour for healing. This place has just got the perfect blend of colours to soothe all your nerves and slowly and unconsciously you will feel lost in a quiet reunion with yourself.That is why I always refer to Vagator as pure tranquility wrapped in blue and green.

Goa is quite prominent on the world tourism map, but mainly for sea, sun, sand and snazzy resorts.Take some time out and do visit the beautiful piece of 16th century baroque architecture on the Mandvi river[take a look], 9 km east of Panaji in the town of Old Goa.

Old Goa was the capital of the Portugese in India before they left it for Panaji.Basilica do Bom Jesus["Good Jesus" or Infant Jesus"] is a World Heritage Monument[see the list].And it is very easy to get there too.

You can not stand in front of the beautiful structure without feeling the awe inspiring magnificence of this ancient building and the peaceful aura of the place. Believe me, you dont have to be a believer on a spiritual quest for relaxing in the serenity of this church.

It contains the body of St. Francis Xavier; a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) founded by Ignatius Loyola.The story goes that though  St. Francis Xavier died while on a sea voyage to China,the saint’s body was fresh whe he was transferred to Goa as per his last wish.[Read the story]

We went there on a sunny Indian afternoon. Plan your trip to the Basilica between 9am to 6:30 pm so that you dont miss the beautiful interiors.[Mass timings]

In addition to the architectural splendour, gilded altars, gorgeous frescos and detailed inlay work we took many pictures of, what is still afresh in my memory is a young mother with a new born child in her lap just sitting silently in front of the glass coffin of St. Francis placed in an intricately designed silver casket. The saint is believed to have healing powers.Never will I forget the calm,melancholic face of the young woman on her knees sitting there, oblivious of her surrouding, tears rolloing down her cheeks,probably praying for the life and well - being of her child.

Whenever I trun the pages of  our albums, my heart goes out to her, she flashes in my ”inward eye” like a picture of eternal motherhood and I hope that her prayers were answered and her faith redeemed.

I can still taste it, - the delicious aroma of spices in those mouthwatering dishes!We were just wandering in the beaches, as usual aimlessly. It was late afternoon when we began from our hotel in Baga Beach.We put up in Ronil Beach Resort, a very decent place with clean rooms and nice friendly staff.

We had already dried up and changed after our more than three hours of spalsh in the sea. I was feeling very energetic after the invigorating head and foot massage on the beach.

Initially I refused to give my only “precious” head to the mercy of the masseurs, who were young villagers mostly, and watched with great apprehension when he slapped,twisted and turned my husband’s neck with some warm oil in his palm.I was just hoping he didnot get a sprain in his neck! But  then when he finished with his head right in place and looking elated, he was also very encouraging that I offered the young man my neck as well.

How can you refuse to trust the man you love, so I took the plunge… and did never regret it. If you want to play it safe, you can try the ayurvedic masssage packages offered in hotels too, where people look more professional in their aprons, armed with spatula and gloves.

Late afternoon, I thought I still needed to get the most of the sea and decided to soak my feet while we walked aimlessly.But the sea  showered its ardent admiror with love by soaking me once again with one mighty embrace of its wave! But the love affair with the bold, blue and beautiful left me hungry, yes for more of it of course, but for food too. I needed to eat to appease my own stomach.

Thank God we walked in to this beach shack, a rather small eatery under temporary canopy and umbrellas.We are the kind who always preferred to try local food wherever we went instead of confining ourselves to the rarefied realms of air conditioned hotels forever.

And while in Goa never forget to try the delicious food in the beach shacks! They are customised to your need and taste and the local people go out of their way to be freindly and helpful.And believe me you will not get a Delhi belly, if you dont overdo it. As James Michener once said,”If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”

We ordered Chicken Xacuti because I never heard this suffix after chicken and Prawn Vindaloo, for the same reason.The young man who owned, ran and cooked in the beach shack offered that these are authentic Goan dishes, which he cooks just like his mother and grandmother did.And it was so amazing!And when we sat down enjoying our dinner with chilled beer, he became a solo guitarist too after attending his other customers!

Beaches are our eternal favourites!But the holes they dig in our pockets are not so pleasing afterall.If you want all the goodness of sunbath in solitude and swim in the sea and yet cant bear to see hundreds of dollars disappear in a few days, go to Goa!It is a tropical paradise in the Western part of India and is very well connected via direct flights as well as roads.

Though most well known for its beaches, Goa has distinctive feel - and disproving Rudyard Kipling, East and West do meet here. Everytime I went to Goa, and I have been there many times, I discovered a new side of this cultural symbiosis .

If want to feel the pulse of Goa, if you are the kind who does not enjoy package tours and make it a habit to take the unbeaten tracks and discover the unseen beauties, go beyond the beaches  to the small villages by the sea. All you need is to hire a bike at a very reasonable rate and then fly in those winding roads!They are not down in any maps, true places never are.

Set your foot on the sands of Goa and then just let go. It is initially so difficult to convince yourself that you dont have a schedule to follow, a target to meet and an assignment to deliver. You dont have to tick out the places you have listed in your diary within an allotted time [Thank God bosses cannot give their "well meaning " pep talks, dont disclose your contact information ever and if you have to do, dont be available there].You just dont have to be your normal [worrying] self, trying to multitask.

So kick your shoes, lie on the sand, seep cold beer , forget about dos and donts and drink life to the lees! You need not have any fixed plans and just dont be intent on arriving anywhere. Travelling, unlike tourism, is not about sightseeing and lets not be “tourists”.

And if a die hard unromantic, who finds most lovey dovey sweety pie books and films extremely boring and melodramatic, can feel completely relaxed in some place, it is Goa!The place has some thing in its air [other than oxygen, carbon dioxide etc, which I am yet to discover.I really want to crack the code of Goa, what makes it so unique]

Each beach in Goa has a character of its own.The small villages are so sleepy and yet so colourful, so lively with fast music and yet so serene, so soaked in old European style and yet  so ethinc Indian!Anybody has poetic aspirations? I dont and yet, in spite of myself, I actually asked my husband why we cant leave everything and set up a home in Goa! I even offered to run a beach shack [leaving my teaching and research]while he went fishing[which he would finally find more enriching than his software job]!!It is quite embarassing now, and surprising that I said so. But that is Goa!

Somebody said, half the fun of travel is the esthetic of lostness and I completely agree when it comes to Goa - Come lets get lost in the obscure hilly roads of Goa.Those roads donot judge you, you dont have to wear the  right dress and say the right thing, you dont have to care about anything but the road which has no end to itself! If you dont know where you are going any road will lead you there!