Rediscovering Goa

My very first web log and what do I write about...Rediscovering Goa....Ma Home!

It sounds weird to my ears but that is exactly what I am gonna be doing from the 4th of Dec till the 12th. Please condone my grammatical errors. I am new to this whole blog thingy.

If you've ever felt like you've wanted to travel the world's exotic places but did not have the time to visit your own backyard, you will know precisely how I feel right now. A quarter of my life is almost over and I have not yet valued what I had all this while. I have lived, ate, studied and played in Goa, and seen almost every nook and corner of my very own Tiswadi Taluka but not once in these 24 years have I looked. Yeah all my literature frollegues would be scrutinizing this to know if I got the difference between seeing and looking. Please let me know if I got it right. Anyway, it has finally dawned on me that the ice melt in its own water (courtsey Swades--the movie). So this time around I have resolved to put a pause on my exotic escapades and go visit my backyard. And see what it looks like now.

I should have titled this entry as the Homecoming coz that is what it is. But I'll humor myself and keep the current name. Rediscovery is what it seems to me. A rediscovery of myself and my roots. Follow me as I tread along and find out what it truly is to be a Goan.

A sneak peek on my itinerary:
First stop...Goa Chitra, an ethnographic museum in Benaulim. From what I have seen on their site, I am already all eyes. Post that I would be visiting Big Foot in Loutolim. Yeah I know what you are thinking but I think the best way to learn and grow is to first unlearn everything and then write on the clean slate. These museums are a centre for preservation of Goa's heritage. Ain't that the best place to start looking at what your ancestors were like. I know where I want to go when I can tell where I came from. Disagree, tell me what you think. I would love to hear some of the world's tried and tested strategies. All my youth I have been running away from Goa and have ardently denied being a Goan. I, now, am prepared for the Homecoming.

In addition to the museums, I plan to visit a local favorite when it comes to words like wildlife and ecotourism. These guys, I am told, know their land and their ecosystem like no one else. Southern Birdwings....Nice name. I sure want to go see our very own 'Mugger'. For the benefit of the english speaking crowd, I am referring to our old survivors--the crocodiles. Mugger is a corruption of the Hindi/Urdu word 'Magar' which means 'water monster' (Courtesy Wikipedia). Water monster, why? All I know is that these guys are quite an inspiration if you wanna be crowned as the survivor. Back home in Goa, we worship the Mugger in Ponda. I am quite nervous and excited about the face-off.

Yeah, there's more. I would be visiting some beaches as would be the obvious choice for most. But only with a different aim this time around. I have always been a water baby. Incidently, my birthday coincides with the World Water Day. So yeah, I love H2O, l'eau. But while I was growing up I overlooked the importance of the sand dunes. Last time I went back home only to buy this great book by Claude Alvares (Fish Curry and Rice). I had heard a lot about it and finally, after the purchase I must say I am glad to have laid my eyes on it. The book is for the keeps. It is elaborate and very informative. It is in this book that I came across the sand dunes once again and this time I looked and read. Not just skimmed through like I did umpteen number of times before. So this trip back home is crucial for all the right reasons.

My next post will contain thoughts and experiences of my journey back home. It is time to reconnect, to re-member. Au Revoir!