Plastino D’Costa
Not so long ago, Bandra (West) used to the best scenic suburb in Bombay, then uncontrolled crowds started pouring in as usual, and it became just another extension of the crowded city.
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However, there are certain parts of Bandra that still maintain the old charm, such as the area around Carter Road. So, few years ago when India’s beloved cricketer Sachin Tendulkar decided to build his home on Perry Cross Road, located close to Carter Road, he sent a personal letter to around hundred families living in the vicinity, apologising for the inconvenience the construction activity in building his house might cause. There is no law that required Sachin to send these letters, yet he did the right thing by choosing decency over arrogance, so that he does not start on the wrong foot or take his neighbours for granted.
Unfortunately not a bit of Sachin’s decency has rubbed on his 2011 World Cup teammate Ashish Nehra, who recently purchased some land in a no development zone in beautiful Cavelossim Goa area, arrogantly destroyed the vegetation while flattening the sand dunes, all in the name of developing his ‘personal property’. In the process he broke the Costal Regulation Zone rules with absolutely no respect for the law of the land or people inhabiting it.
Compared to Sachin’s civility, Nehra has come across as an arrogant bully, who will do whatever it takes to achieve his personal goal, society be damned.
Now here is the problem, Nehra comes from Delhi where people usually have a tunnel vision of taking care of their own business and will hardly interfere if someone is found destroying public property. Remember the guy who was all over social media taking away flower pots the government had purchased for the G20 summit in his fancy car.
Similarly destroying vegetation is probably considered inconsequential in Delhi, a place which in any case has messed up the air they breathe and are yet to figure out a solution. The thought process is simple; they will leave no stone unturned to keep their personal residences clean with manicured garden and what not, while the rest of Delhi public spaces can go to hell.
Delhi is not the only culprit; even Mumbai struggles to keep up, because their collective consciousness has reached such a low point that it is beyond redemption.
Delhi is yet to figure out a solution to its winter air pollution and Mumbai its water logging woes that paralyses the city every monsoon, it does not matter that one is the capital and the other a financial powerhouse.
Goa is different; people do give priority to keep their homes and personal space in great shape, but will also not shy away in devoting time and money to make sure public property also remains spick and span. Goa could have easily chosen the Delhi-Mumbai destruction path, messed up public spaces. But then it would cease to be a tourist destination which the entire country seems to be in amazement and also envious at the same time.
Goans chose decency, contentment and tourists happened to notice it and fell in love with the vibe. Our content nature and not to participate in the rat race makes it attractive for tourists seeking a break and go slow on a vacation.
Some want more out of Goa; want to make it their home because it probably matches the way of life they are secretly aspiring for and also to eventually escape from the mess the mega cities have become.
But the Goan way of life is not some commodity you buy off from the shelf and claim you are in possession of it. It needs a lot of understanding, nurturing and spending time on ground zero.
Hospitality among Goans is natural, so much so, if you mistook a fellow Goan for someone else and smiled by mistake, 99% of the time he will reciprocate and if time permits both might get talking after exchanging pleasantries. Eye to eye contact among us is mostly common, therefore we find it very amusing when these so called tourists mostly from our own country wear dark glasses carry a grumpy face and disregard the local population.
There are no paparazzi chasing celebs in Goa, unless you have paid them to cover your trip, because we don’t have a celebrity-fan culture here. It is not at all surprising if you manage to strike a conversation with our biggest celeb Remo Fernandes, or meet him at an inexpensive restaurant. Nobody is a crazy fan of anybody who will squat in front of actor’s residences for hours hoping to get a glimpse.
In Goa everyone gets its own space and can live a normal life, there is nobody to hound you and make you feel you are some demi-god.
Although hospitality comes naturally to us, Goans never thought of monetising it. Our basic goal was seeking a stress free life and everyone was free to join us provided there is no hidden agenda that will harm our way of life.
Starred hotels were the first ones to notice Goa and its people’s nature, made business sense out of it and set up shop. Goans really did not care because they were few and far between catering to tourists that were hardly noticeable.
Then Facebook and Instagram happened and Goa became the biggest FOMO of the country. Tourism grew exponentially and today Indians make a beeline to come to Goa just so that they can post pictures on their social media handles, they hardly have time to soak in the place, its nature, cuisine and lack the attitude to respect the local people.
Adding to it, has been the addition of AirBnb and its equivalents, hotels being pricey, tourists have started looking for cheaper and independent options sans room service, many deep pockets Indians sensing the opportunity have gone on a buying spree taking on debt and buying more and more units so that they can rent it out for tourists and make a quick buck.
Unfortunately very few have calculated their eventual Return on Investment after deducting maintenance and finance charges but that’s too late, they have already bit the bullet.
One of the important reason Indians have gone berserk in dabbling with Goan real estate is because after their arrival as a tourist in Goa they are in awe that the average Goan lives a comparatively comfortable life mostly in ancestral palatial homes or modern spacious bungalows.
Here is the blunder my countrymen are making; they have wrongly concluded that tourism have made Goans rich so as to afford such a lifestyle missing in other parts of India. Sorry to break it to you, but not even 5% of Goans earn on tourism.
Most of these structures exist because of inheritance, remittances from Non-resident Goans and recently money pumped by Portuguese Passport holders. There is another reason; you observe wonderful homes because Goans crazily allocate a very high percentage of their wealth, sometimes even 100% in building a good home with no respect to asset allocation ratios, because the desire to live in comfort and in style is paramount to Goans.
Recently there has been a coordinated attack on social and mainstream media on the viability of Goa as an affordable tourist destination from the point of view of the tourist, sure we have our issues and when Indians get visa free access to other Asian countries Goa will lag by miles in comparison.
There are talks that foreign tourists are on the decline, but nobody seems to point out the obvious that Indian tourists have filled Goa to such an extent that it has made foreigners uncomfortable.
Meantime, lot of retail money is being pumped in the tourism sector not by Goans but Indians piggybacking on our basic instinct of hospitality. North Goa has already fallen and it is not Goans who are saying this, it is the Indians who visit Goa earlier are finding that the vibe of Goa is changing.
No wonder the North is called NOT Goa. South Goa is still holding the fort, but it does not have Goan boots on the ground, the Portuguese Passport has dealt a severe blow. The ones choosing to remain in Goa are now becoming hostile because hospitability has its limits.
(The author is a business consultant)
