Dear Ms. Kapoor,
If I may take a few liberties, I wish to call you Eden-searcher. And on that note, let me write a little adieu note to you, dear Ms. Kapoor , who is choosing to leave Goa (cue the tears?)
I am besides myself, to understand why you chose , no not to make Goa your house (because quiet clearly you never made it your home, else you would have understood matters better), but why, oh why, did you choose to leave wherever it was that you were residing before coming to Goa?
You know what? I am not leaving Goa. You know why? Because I did not come to this Eden 8 years back to study yoga (leaving some other Eden behind , once that Eden had done its bit for you). I am digging my heels even more , in those same sands of the sea , which Manu from Mexico calls filthy. You know what else? There are people who do not go city-hopping , forget country-hopping, as and when a better Eden beckons. And you know why? Because , they have the inner strength to want to improve matters, not leave matters hanging and move elsewhere, even when they may have the financial resources.
God, dear Ms. Kapoor, at one point of your article , you say that the doubts did creep in with the garbage piles and construction boom. And you are brazen enough to conclude that “And our village of Assagao – we said – was special, hidden from the corrupted beach-belt; things would be fine.” So, as long as it was all okay by some standard of yours, it was all NIMBY. Till, you saw “the trickle of new construction becoming a torrent”. “And the construction … it has exploded” How convenient to call it a trickle when it housed you and a torrent when your housing needs were met and finally an explosion? Terribly exciting that the only mention we get , other naming a few entities, is by your loose reference to “unscrupulous local business people” . May I ask, as against whom? “Highly-moral Eden searchers”? I would have taken your article for what it is, if it was not for this condescending tone of your article, which again and again draws on the fact that this Eden is ruined beyond repair AND hence, you wish to move. How extremely disappointing!
It hurts deeply that for some reason, you chose to think that Goa is different from India and now have (a la Ms. Kiran Rao , she of the ‘I am scared, lets go’ fame) decided to look towards Europe or Latin America. Ms. Kapoor, do all of us a favour, don’t go searching for Edens (whatever your kind of Eden might be). Because you may possibly want to leave that Eden , once that Eden had done its bit for you. Just, like poor good ol’ Goa. May I also suggest that perhaps a little soul-searching would be more in order?
And to any other Eden searchers, here’s the fine print : Goa is a regular place with regular folks who work regular business. YOU want it to be YOUR Eden, well, maybe Goa has finally woken up and realised that it does not have to conform to your idea of happiness.
And may I suggest before you leave , please feel free to remove every shard of beer bottle glass and plastic, because who knows how much of it may have been created by you?
With regards
Sonia Kuncalienker
PS : I first heard about your oh-so-cringeworthy article during Chavath time and while I almost immediately wished to respond, I did not get sufficient time. I chose not to write. You may choose to peg this down to a sussegado Goan , who does not care much. But, it just happens that Chavath is our biggest festival and we practice and savour our culture. Amongst the torrents of matters that no longer work for you is your realisation that “many who had created Goa’s culture were now looking elsewhere” . Really? Where in the world is “culture created”?. So, allow me to say this to you; while so many of you, searchers of Eden, visit us to also seek culture (amongst other things), we live the culture in our everyday life and in our festivals , with all its raucousness, happy feasting and open welcoming of guests.
Guests of all kinds ; those who will be ours forever and be a part of our culture, our problems and our growth; and those , who will leave us after savouring our best.
The above was in response :
An idyll no more: why I’m leaving Goa
Deepti Kapoor
The beautiful, laid-back Goa of old is disappearing amid pollution, over-development and fears over personal safety. It’s time to leave, says resident Deepti Kapoor
www.theguardian.com/…/07/deepti-kapoor-why-i-am-leaving-goa…