Goa, a state on India's West
coast, is a former Portuguese colony with a rich history. Spread over 3,700
square kilometers with a population of approximately 1.4 million, Goa is small
by Indian standards. It has a unique mix of Indian and Portuguese cultures and
architecture that attracts an estimated 2.5 million visitors each year
(including about 400,000 foreign tourists).
Since
the 1960s, Goa has been attracting a steady flow of visitors -- first the
hippies and returning expat Goans, then the charter tourists (starting with the
Germans in 1987), pilgrims visiting
Catholic and Hindu shrines, those opting to
settle in Goa as their home, people going for medical treatment, and a growing
number of those who attend seminars and conferences in Goa.
Culture:
Goan culture has been
shaped mainly by the Hindu and Catholic population. People are mostly easy
going ( 'sossegado' in Portuguese). With better connectivity by Air and Rail,
there has been an influx of people from neighbouring states that has led to
different cultures. Many Indians from other states have now come and settled
here.
Goan Catholics generally
acknowledge their Hindu roots, and carry traces of a caste-system within their
social beliefs. It is recorded that in many instances the Hindus left one son
behind to convert and thus continue to own and manage the common properties
while the rest of the family preferred to emigrate to neighboring areas along
with the idols representing their Hindu deities.
Over the years large numbers of
Catholics have emigrated to the major commercial cities of Bombay and Pune and
from there onward to East Africa (to the Portuguese colonies of Angola and
Mozambique), to Portugal itself, and towards the end of the 20th century to
Canada and Australia. Many old Goan ancestral properties therefore lie either
abandoned or mired in legal tangles brought about by disagreements within the
widely dispersed inheritors of the property. In recent years, expat Goans have
been returning to their home state, often purchasing holiday homes along the
coast (which are then converted into 'rent back' apartments, hired out to
short-staying tourists by realtors).
The best time of the year to
visit Goa is mid-November to mid-February when the weather is comfortable, dry
and pleasant.
Talk:
Goa's state language is Konkani.
Most Goans speak Konkani, English, Hindi, and Marathi. Portuguese is also known
by a small segment, especially the elite and earlier privileged class or the
older generation which studied in pre-1961 Portuguese-ruled Goa.
Different languages tend to be used
for different purposes in Goa. Konkani is the most widely spoken. English and
Marathi tend to be most widely read (most newspapers are read in these two
languages too).
Catholics largely use Konkani for
their prayer services, while the language for religion is largely Marathi for
Hindus. The administration is largely conducted in English, which is also the
language of publication of the official gazette, and the language mainly used
in the courts.
It can be rather difficult
currently to learn Konkani, with options for learning rather restricted. The
language is written in four to five scripts, in and beyond Goa -- Devanagari
(the official script), Roman or Romi (widely used in Goa), Kannada-script,
Malayalam-script and Perso-Arabic, reportedly used by some Muslim communities
further south along the Indian west coast. Recently, books to learn Konkani in
the Roman script have also been published, making it easier for those not
knowing the Devanagari script (used to write Hindi, Marathi and other
languages) that is the officially-recognized script for Konkani in Goa.
Art & culture :
Goa has a more than its fair
share of museums, art galleries and libraries. You will find many government
run museums in Panaji, including the Goa State museum, the Kala Academy, the
Central Library and the Goa Science Centre. In Vasco da Gama, you can find the
Naval Aviation Museum, a great place to see vintage aircraft.
Old Goa is a great place to see
examples of Christian religious art, and sometimes, secular art. There
you can find the Christian Art Museum and also a modern art gallery containing
the works of surrealist Dom Martin. In Mormugao, you can find the Religious
Museum of the Blessed Joseph Vaz. The Xavier Centre of Historical Research at Bardez
also has a gallery on Christian Art.
Attracted
by Goa's bohemian life, many artists, painters and architects have made their
home here. They too have proceeded to set up art galleries and museums. An
example of this is Subodh Kerkar's art gallery in Candolim. Benaulim also has
the Goa Chitra Museum, containing the largest collection of ethnographic
artifacts ever assembled in one place.
Other museums of note are
Gerard da Cunha's architectural museum Houses of Goa in Benaulim, Big
Foot(aka Ancestral Goa) at Loutolim, Salcette, an attempt to illustrate and
recreate Goa's traditional past. There's even a vintage-cars collection of
sorts -- Ashvek Vintage World, in Nuvem, Salcette
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