Joseph Lewis D’Silva
Ancestral Goa was once peaceful and clean. Those were the days of ‘boil gaddis’ (bullock carts) and ‘voddins’ (boats). At night we moved around with ‘chull’ (coconut fire-torches) and ‘ponnttis’ (small oil lamps). In those good old days, Goa did not have electricity but had honesty. Goa had beautiful cottages and no real estate developers who now swallow the dilapidated and even well-maintained bungalows.
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Gone are the days of drudgery; of drawing water from the village well; and attending the gatherings that shaped the folk life. Gone are the shouts of the shepherds, guiding their herds along dirt tracks and hill slopes. Goa was pristine, palm fringed and very peaceful.
Goa is a great melting pot of cultures and faiths; where Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and others live sharing lives and festivals; a symbol of unity in its rich diversity. Goa is known as a land of fish, ‘feni’ (country grog) and football. Goa is also referred as a Garden of Eden and as Rome of the East, because of its greenery and hillocks; and for its majestic churches, chapels, temples and mosques that became center of attraction for people of various faiths to pray and to please the Gods for their abundant blessings showered on this beautiful land.
Tourists come from far and near as they are pulled by its wonderful charm. They romance with nature, among the sun, sand and sea. They enjoy the spell-binding solitude of a hill top. They relax on the golden sands of the surf-lapped virgin beaches in spite of the busy atmosphere; where everyone seems to refresh and find new energy.
Goa is blessed with natural beauty. It looks like a picture postcard with its flora and fauna, swaying palm trees, winding rivers, fast-moving streams and waterfalls that gives a magnetic feeling to this beautiful land of Goa. Yes, Goa is indeed, ‘God’s own abode’. We are not the owners of this land given to us by the Almighty; but we are mere caretakers entrusted with it; to preserve its beauty and heritage.
In modern times, Goan scenic beauty is fading; its forests are spoilt its hills are razed into flat surfaces; its flowing rivers are contaminated and polluted with garbage and sewage release; its plains are increasingly covered by countless shanties and plastic bags all over the roadsides; its paddy fields have been disappearing to give place to concrete jungles; its sand dunes, protecting our coastlines on our virgin beaches, have been razed to make way for rich hotels.
Many Goans have left for Dubai, America and Canada for better prospects. On their way out, and in order to show sufficient funds, ancestral homes were being sold and farm lands were abandoned, without an inch of guilt. Therefore, many houses stand empty; homes that were built with the sweat and blood of our ancestors; and barren fields that were once painstakingly cultivated, and which provided our parents and grandparents, a square meal. But now, all that has been a forgotten dream. Now, it seems, politicians are all out to sell Goa for ‘kolso’ (coal); putting profit before future.
We do not want our children to grow up in Goa that has been ruined and looted in the name of development. We do not want Goa which is witnessing violence which is turning into a paradise for drug peddlers and prostitution. We do not want a Smart City where there is non-stop digging; many say, a smart way of plundering public money.
It is necessary to reflect on the soul of Goa which was once a beacon of peace, unity and natural beauty. It is time to shift from mindless development to balanced progress.
