The Golden Goa

OUR GOLDEN GOA

A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE PARADISE, SERVED WITH FENI

This title for the state was given by the Portuguese - which originally meant 'Goa Dorada' - and they also called it 'perola de orient,' meaning the 'Pearl of the orient'. There's no doubt that Goa is a paradise - I've been born and brought up on this land and I, frankly speaking, loved every second of it; a land of laughter and song, a land where the trouble minds find tranquility and where no one is ever in a hurry. Slowing down the pace of life is a built-in quality in every Goan local, you can say. We locals colloquially call it "Sussegad," which literally means slow or lazy.

From my experience, my favourite getaway from the hustle, anxiety and pressure was a short visit to the beach. The cold affectionate sea-breeze would spontaneously calm your nerves and replenish your vibe. I especially used this tactic during my board examination whereby after being weary of studying incessantly, I would take a respite and head to the beach for as little as 2 minutes.

 Boy! I tell you. It was so relaxing and comforting that you would feel energised without any energy drinks of any sort. Scientifically speaking, taking a short stroll at the sea shore does come with a pack of medical benefits. The white sands of the beach is said to contain healing properties, let alone the salty sea water. For example, a person having chronic skin allergy can say goodbye to it with frequent swims in the sea and rubbing the sand on his/her body. You could research deeper if you find it hard to believe me.

Goa is a beauty spot and boasts of some of the finest beaches in the world.

I feel that there is something unique and quite distinct about this little beauty spot of India where the Portuguese left its great impact. The family names like Braganca, Albuquerque, Da-Gama and a lot of others mark on the way of lifestyle, culture, food, etc. is yet unknown to most of the folks. Thus, Goa always with its relaxed way of life, natural beauty and amiable inhabitants, provide a welcome retreat .

And to talk about the Goan food and the cooking is to bring your taste buds to life. It is the blend of the Indian-Portuguese cuisine, being more pronounced when it comes to the meat dishes. If you ever have a good fortune of visiting Goa, one will get high on the tempting aroma of food in the air and so much so that you will be tempted to look around in your neighbours plates. Even the casual conversation among the local neighbours centres around food, usually asking each other what type of fish did they buy that morning OR what type of curry are they preparing today are the uncommon niceties exchanged by the Goan housewives. Traditionally, for any occasion in Goa, coconut cubes and chick-peas were distributed to friends and neighbours such as those of religious festivities. But nowadays, it's been replaced with the 'arros (yellow rice)' with meat (usually beef or pork) among the christian communities.

 An engagement in Goa is announced by the distribution of bananas and sweet brown bread (made with coconut and molasses) and at the time of Christmas, sweets are offered to visitors and trays of tasteful home-made sweets especially kormola, bebinca, cocad, nevreo, dos which are mainly made using coconut are exchanged with relatives. It's a common practice to distribute sweets to the bereaving family, since they are mourning and hence, don't prepare any sweets.

Traditional Goan foods are best blended to make the hottest or mildest dishes which helps improve flavour with keeping and freezing. Also, the ever popular SORPOTEL cooked by my mother made with the spices carefully and skillfully selected and blended for its nutritional properties makes it suitable for all the age groups in the family. And talking about the GOAN DRINK - FENI (a spirit distilled from the juice of either cashew or the milk of a young coconut tree which has the local names; kazuchi feni, for the former type and madachi feni for latter. Both these are very popular amongst the local people of Goa and so to the visitors. The alcohol content in these is usually 40% concentrated.

The Goans are a very likeable, easy-going , music -loving and warm-hearted people who have a great reputation of making the stranger feel at home. Their great hospitality knows no bounds. Most of the youth and the adults usually take up hotel management coincidentally - maybe it's for the same reason.