Many foreign tourists enjoy easing out on the Goan beaches with sun kissed tanning, fine seafood
platters, chilled glass of beer, sunny climate, and the lazy breeze in the air.
The relaxed atmosphere produced on the beaches becomes an easy attraction for
visitors to have a warm body massage and foot massage. From the illegal running
businesses on of masseuse on beaches. Yes, you read that right. Most of the
masseuses are from the Lamani community, a nomadic tribe with origins in central
and southern Indian states like Rajasthan and Karnataka. Known for their
colourful costumes, they indulge in the business of seasonal tourism trade,
selling trinkets and handmade clothes along the coastline and offering foot and
leg massages to tourists who frequent the coastal state annually.
A recent video posted on Facebook
showcased these women quarreling and fighting in front of the foreign customers
in order to claim ‘who their clientwas’. The masseuse women were assaulting
each other, tugging violently on each other’s hair and saree. The foreign
customers who were present at the scene tried to stop these women but the women
paid no heed. The foreign customers then left the area embarrassed and
terrified at what they witnessed at the beach in a Goa where everything seems
so exquisite.
There have been similar incidents in the
past as well as now. The crowded beaches of North Goa are the ones which are
mainly targeted by these masseuses. In South Goa, the issue has been resolved
after a law was passed in the Benaulim Village Gram Sabha for a ban on all the
illegal business by the Lamanis on Benaulim beach. According to reports in the
media, the village Gram Sabha passed a resolution seeking the panchayat
withdraw all ‘no objection certificates’ given to businesses operated by
Lamanis, including taxi operations. The resolution sought a ban on all
businesses operated by the Lamanis.In the year 2017, Tourism Minister Manohar
Azgoankar had announced that Lamanis ought to be banned from Goa because they tarnish
the reputation of Goa and don’t fit in the coastal state’s culture.
Another video posted on YouTube shows a foreigner relaxing on a
beach mat surrounded by six masseuses massaging his body. It does portray an
image of a scandalous Goa. It has been known that the masseuses have even
forced people on beaches to be their customer. As per a local, Ashlesha
Noronha, who is a constant visitor on the beach , she has noticed these
masseuses annoy the tourists by going up to them and begging them to be their customer
with excessive amount as the cost. They are quite persistent and can keeping
roaming around you until the person agrees to do the foot massage or body
massage. Also, if it is a foreign tourist then they are more likely to be
cheated with more money and no bargain. Ashlesha expresses, “Personally I have
never seen any fights take place but I have seen them going up to foreigners
and harassing them for massages, they do not take no for an answer and when it
comes to buying things on the beach they raise the prices depending on your
nationality.If the government can ban drinking on the beach due to pollution
control they can also ban these Lamanis from causing chaos and disrupting the
peacefulness of the beach environment.”
Recent
reports from sources suggest that these massages provided at the coastal area
are not only illegal but also dangerous. This is because these masseuses are
not trained and are not conversant with the techniques of massage. A man from
US reported on an online forum the incident his wife had faced with a foot
massage session on the beach. “Three days into our visit to Goa my wife decides
on having lower leg and foot massage which was fine at the time…the next
morning however it was like an elephant leg, swollen and found it hard to walk.
So from the chemist we purchased anti inflammatory and pain killers made it a
bit better. Flying home caused it to flare up again and back to elephant leg. I
had had enough and had an x-ray, the conclusion was a broken foot, and we had
to plaster it from foot to knee for the next 6/8 weeks. Hence, my advice is to
stay clear of these guys”
