A new day and the newspaper provide details of yet another murder in the state of Goa.
This time it was of a 65-year-old Goa-based artist, Shireen Mody, and her
gardener who were found dead on Sunday. According to the police, Mody was
allegedly murdered by the gardener, who later succumbed to his injuries caused
by a fall while he was trying to run away from the scene of crime.Mody was
formerly from Mumbai, was running an art studio in Arpora village in North Goa
district, where the incident took place on Sunday afternoon. She was a resident
of Goa for three decades. This incident shocked everyone and members of the art
community which is a close-knit community. Many artists in the state live in
remote areas to enjoy the peace and quiet. Does this then increase their risk
in such violent times? It was a question that elicited different kinds of
answers.
DhanChitnis who runs Project Café in
Siolim said she loved living in Goa and loved the remote parts of the state.
Goa, she said was evolving and there was greater intermingling of people across
different demographics. People were seeing more and made some of them snap. It
was a pity she said that people were moving towards gated communities. There
wee more single women with children now and their safety had to be looked after
too. Dhan said “I think what is needed for artists and such communities is a
service provider who will check on candidates and offer their services to them.
There is no fool proof system but we should do what we can do. This instance I
believe was a one off. A very unfortunate incident. Goa is safe yes but one has
to take precautions”. Sonijya and Thomas Webber a German couple who run
Sotohaus and have been living in Goa for thirty years felt was shocking what
had happened. Sonijya said “I feel sad that things like this are happening more
often. I knew Shireen for a couple of years. It can happen anywhere. Sadly,
more of these kinds of incidents are happening in India and now it has happened
here. It is sad for Goa because news of this will spread and Goa is just not
that kind of place.”
Raj
Bhandare artist was categorical when he said he did not see any connection
between the incident of it having happened in Goa. Raj said “I don’t see any
artists feeling threatened. They do their work based on what they believe and
people either like their work or they don’t. There is no question about the
security of the artists”. A sentiment shared by SuhasShilkar an artist who said
the incident was a one offand the gardener possibly did it in anger. He said “I
had not met her for a long tie and she did not seem to be a person to have
issues. I however believe that when it comes to recruiting labour, one has to
be cautious and it would be desirable if one conducted a back ground check.
Shilpa Nachnolkar another artist however felt that Goa as a place was changing.
She said “Earlier I could leave my front door unlocked and leave without fear
but now that cannot be the case. There are now gated communities and the
movement of people also is more restricted. I am under no circumstance saying
that life of an artist is at danger because many live alone or in isolated
areas”. Sonia Rodricks Sabharwal an artist was categorical when she said “Goa
is very safe and this was a one off. You are safe and I am safe too. The
gardener was a drunk and reacted. That was a one off. One cannot connect the
murder with Goa in anyway”.
