Feb. 16th 2007.

Going Going G O A

It is Shivaratri, but here in Goa you wouldn't know it. In these Christian dominated beach towns it's only an inconvenience that the servant boy might be taking the day off for fasting. Had I gone to Varanasi as planned, after a short few days in Delhi to get some stock for a wholesale client I would be in the midst of hordes of devotees and saddhus right now. But I couldn't imagine another few days of the cold and wet of North India.

Pahar Ganj is the cheap and convenient place to stay in Delhi, but it is one of the dirtiest streets in India. If you move one block away it is fine again, but the main bazaar of Pahar Ganj is dusty, littered and patty smeared, and in the rain becomes a rutted sludge track with polluted puddles. In between the showers I put together an 82 kg shipment of cloth and got it sent off to Boston - then I was ready to get out of New Dehli

I love all the new cheap air carriers that have sprung up in India the last two years. I booked a jet to Goa and found myself smack dab in the middle of the busiest tourist beach of India: Calangute.

Who can really resist a tourist trap? So I stayed a couple of days here at Casa Soriano, a mid priced family run hotel with mostly Indian tourists. Indian tourists come in herds, littering and loud, there are jet skis and and all kinds of motor boats on the beach, so it's not so good for swimming. The beach is lined with any number of beach shack restaurants.

What we all want and need is peace, inner and outer. I moved to Anjuna Beach where it's much more peaceful.

This Russian tourist was so still. I watched him quite a while, imagining what it must feel like to lie there so quietly. Finally I snuck up behind him and took a picture. I bet he got a hellacious sunburn. The Russians descend on Goa and bring with them a one week party. They start out white as the driven snow, quickly pinken, over the days turn somewhat tawny, and then they jet back to fade again in the cold north.

GOA ROCKS

Beautiful geology in action here in Anjuna. The stone splits along very straight lines and these pools give the impression of something man made and ancient.

Chariots of the Gods? DEFINITELY.

This is the place that put Goa on the tourist map. The hippies discovered it, enjoyed it, spread the word. Everybody came to party. The rave scene gave birth to Goa Trance Music, which can be heard streaming from all the beach shack cafe's. Drugs are readily available. Walking into Anjuna the first time I got hit up for opium, cocaine, ganja and charras. Wow, what no black sugar? The rave scene has been quenched quite a bit by the police now and there have been busts. I'm actually happy about that 24/7 blaring techno doesn't sound too restful.

It's not just the illegal drugs, people drink more in Goa than I've ever seen anywhere else in India. Alcohol is very cheap here, so the people who like to drink alot have discovered this place and with government cooperation in low taxes on liquor the market has flourished.

The Christians did a big number on the inhabitants they found living in Goa when the Portugese first established their reign here.

According to the Puranas, Parashuram, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu was looking for pure land to perform sacrificial rituals. He stood atop the western ghats and shot an arrow, ordering the sea to retreat where it landed, between Goa's two main rivers, the Gomati and the Aghanashini. He then peopled it with high caste Brahmins. The also say that Lord Krishna came to this place and fell in love with beautiful cows and milkmaids and named it Govepuri. In the Mahabharata Goa is called Govarashtra.

During this ancient time a group of Brahmins populated this area and established civilization among the Kunbi, the native hunter gatherers of the area. There were 96 Brahmin families. 66 of them settled in Salcete, which derives it's name from "sassast", 66 in Sanskrit. The other 30 settled Tiswadi, which comes from the sanskrit for 30 or "tees".

Goa was conquered many times over the centuries to come, by Buddhists, tolerant Muslims and then the Christians who in the early 1500's set about slaughtering Hindus and Muslims and destroying their temples. From 1560 to 1812 there was a brutal inquisition, notorious for burning people at the stake, stretching them on the rack, and even taping parents eyes open and then dismembering their children limb for limb until they converted. During the 252 years of inquisition they managed to convert 90% of the population.

Think you might want to wade around barefoot in this water? Look out for all kinds of slippery things you can step on.

SLIPPERY SEA SLUGS!

I think Krishna was right about the cows here. They are exceptionally beautiful, for me this place is definitely Govapuri.