Trial by media? No problem for Goa Vivek Menezes | Dec 15, 2013, 12.44 AM IST
The proof of the bebinca, one might say, is in the eating. When it comes to Goa's reputation, we see that a storm of gleefully sensationalist media coverage around India and abroad has not prevented another unprecedented horde of tourists from pouring into India's smallest state. >From Keri to Galgibaga, bebinca is being consumed by the truckload, along with everything else the state has to offer. Travellers to Goa have shrugged off all the screaming headlines and dire warnings: despite steep hikes in airfare and hotel tariffs, there will be at least 20% more visitors to India's resort state this year. How did this happen? After all, if you have been watching national TV, or reading the myriad smarmy columnists who've been heaping dung on Goa for at least the last two months, you would imagine that most people would think that the sussegado state is now overrun with rapists and harassers, drug lords and prostitutes. Just this week, an endlessly shameless gossip columnist titled a typical throw-away column, 'We know what you did in Goa', that claimed, "Throw in feni, the sun, the sea, and boom! Men's libidos explode." But if that is the case, why do women from all over the world feel far more comfortable in Goa than any place in India? Why do Indian women-especially young Indian women-insist that they have never felt more liberated from onerous and unfair social strictures than in this state famous for its tolerance and laissez-faire? Just ask any young woman who has real experience of, say, Delhi and also Goa. Where does the male libido run more publicly rampant? Where does she feel more safe at all times? I bet the world's largest bebinca that there isn't a single one who would name Delhi! A further truth is that everyone knows this, including the columnist. The little state of Goa actually represents something quite different in the minds of most Indians: peace, tolerance, hospitality, inclusiveness, liberation, freedom. These are the intensely powerful strands of Goa's very real brand identity, which have been hard won over many generations. They are even somewhat embodied in our polity, where (nonsensically) alleged Portuguese citizens proudly represent the BJP, and the straight-talking and modest Manohar Parrikar becomes ever more prominent in the national imagination. Less than a week ago, the wonderful novelist of Assam, Mitra Phukan eloquently testified about what Goa really means to the rest of India, especially the troubled region of her origin, the North East. Delivering a keynote address at the fourth annual Goa Arts & Literary Festival, she said, "Goa's culture of inclusiveness that is so different from what much of Assam is now going through, constantly amazes," and spoke of the state's "invigorating air of freedom". Phukan described the young people of many parts of the subcontinent -- from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to the North East -- when she said, "The fears and uncertainties back home result in closing off the mind to fresh ideas, fresh perspectives, even to fresh emotions. When the minds of the youth become ossified in this way, it becomes impossible for a state, a society, a region, even, to move forward." But, she continued, that is why the difference of Goa is so essential to the region's future. "It is important for these stifled minds to come to a state such as Goa where literature is being written in several different languages. Amazingly, Konkani is written in four different scripts, yet it is the same language. A vibrant writers' group encompasses within itself several tongues... It has been pointed out that historically Goans have written in 13 languages. And miraculously, this diversity is not divisive, for together, these form the writings of Goa." Phukan concluded, "It is sometimes said that the uniqueness of Goans is that they understand different cultures. Not only that. They also help others understand each others' cultures. To people like us, who are coming in from a region that seems to be self-destructing, this quality, this mindset, is of immense value." For that depth of perception of the true dimensions of the Goan character, Phukan surely deserves plaudits. But also a very large measure of gratitude (as well as bebinca!), because she has robustly described why the idea of Goa is so important to the region, precisely in a time when it is enduring a media trial for no good reason whatsoever. The people have spoken. Now it's time for the talking heads and gossip columnists to shut up. The writer is a well published author and photographer. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Trial-by-media-No-problem-for-Goa/articleshow/27377392.cms