The not-so-secret diary

Aaah, much has been said and written about tourism in Goa lately that I prefer not to add to the multitude of voices and opinions on this subject - from pure ecstasy displayed by professional beach bums to the sad 'lost-tranquility' stories of Goan Holiday veterans and the smug 'we've-found-an-as-yet-unspoilt-strip-of-white-sand' finds of the yuppies. I will however re-affirm the good nature of the people of Goa who are ever-welcoming, warm and helpful even as they stoically watch their beautiful state being swallowed by mass commercialization. As far as I can tell their economic growth now depends largely on tourism. These tourists, both national and international, flock here for the lovely sandy beaches much like the one in the photo below. (Bambolim Beach, Central Goa) I hope sooner rather than later, the Goans will be able to find and enforce a balance that keeps bringing in the tourists who crave their natural beauty and rich history but prevent the pla...

Today I called a business associate’s phone to get some important information and the ring tone was a two decade-old Indian film song- ‘Mera Dil bhee kitna pagal hai yeh pyaar jo tumko karta hai.Par saamne jab tum aate ho, kuch bhee kehne se darta hai…’. Which translates roughly as ‘My heart is so silly to love you. But when you are in front of me it is too scared to say anything…..’ Actually it’s a nice, romantic and melodious song but not quite what you expect to hear when you call your financial consultants on a mega-city project! Its really bizarre how the film song-ring tones have caught so many people’s fancy in India. In most other parts of the world where I’ve travelled/ lived, I have seen mainly teenagers and college students having proper songs as ring tones. Of course there are always a few ‘grown-ups’ who go through a phase of trying out different songs as ring tones, but the majority of the population is usually OK with just the nokia beep beeps, tring trings, buzz...