Team Herald
CALANGUTE: An ‘invasion’ of an affluent population, who have the liberty to party at night and spend their mornings in tranquillity in a luxurious lifestyle, is not sustainable for Goa, according to Loutolim-based writer and anthropologist Katharina Poggendorf-Kakar.
“That fantasy of living in a space that gives you the freedom to not only party at night, but to also have your morning coffee to birdsong and an evening walk at the beach, that’s the most luxurious lifestyle one can think of. It’s just not sustainable, if we have an invasion of so many people not being conscious about how their imprint is changing the environmental and ecological balance,” She said.
Kakar, during a talk on ‘Goa: A Journey of Rediscovery,’ at the Museum of Goa (MOG) in Pilerne, also said the cultural fabric of Goan villages has been disrupted by huge construction projects, injecting insecurity among local communities.
“People are not really truly interested in living a simple lifestyle, but rather to have it all, to have nature, but also to recreate their urban, modern lifestyles,” she said.
Katharina Kakar who moved to south Goa’s Benaulim village 21 years back, with her late husband, world renowned psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar, said she was mesmerised by all that Goa had to offer. But not anymore, she said.
“My worst fantasies kind of came true of a serene Goa, where small villages had a cultural fabric that was pretty much intact. It is now being disrupted by huge construction projects, especially post-Covid,” stated Kakar.
According to Kakar, this influx of people settling in Goa is changing the very social fabric of this State.
She said, “I fell in love with this State when I first came here because of the hospitality I was offered by the locals. Now, for example, the Delhiites come here and build huge walls around their houses, changing the very warm and homely atmosphere of Goan villages.”
She emphasised the need for dialogue and respect towards local cultures, advocating for initiatives that can sustain Goa’s beauty and ecology.