Hi Cecil, sent Steve the article, he said it was 500 rupees, credit to your new account ! They think Rats was the one who poisoned John Paul 1. Eric. --- Cecil Pinto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Below is the full text of the article by V.M. in > Herald. it has been posted > here with his permission. Any comments? > > Cecil > > ==== > > Goa's Stealth Transformation > by V. M. de Malar > > Our state is really hot right now, and we're not > talking about the > oppressively humid weather. Every second person you > meet declares > blithely that he's "in real estate", and old houses > and sleepy village > vaddos are suddenly coming to life. We've become a > retirement and > investment destination of choice among those who > used to head to the > Algarve and the Costa del Sol. And seemingly > overnight, in a time span > that's a mere blink of the eye given our long > history, our society is > steadily being transformed. > > Real estate agents say that there has never been a > period like this > before. Middle-aged British couples aren't just > tricking into Goa > anymore, they now pound a steady drumbeat of demand > for beach condos. > Israelis no longer come to Anjuna just for a few > months break after > military service; they stay on in the thousands for > most of the year > and have created a closed economy that is for, by > and of the > settlement of Sabras. Italians, Swedes and Danes are > no longer a > novelty; you can scarcely throw a stone at Benaulim > or Baga without > clobbering two. A curious semi-cult of Taiwanese > selling cheap > chappals and expensive tofu lives on our soil, plus > an immense number > of Germans who all seem to either bird-watch or bake > artisanal breads. > > You may think you've discovered the real, untouched, > Goa when you > drive through pastoral scenes to a far-flung beach, > passing only > traditional agriculturalists. But pay attention to > the motorcycle > riders zooming imperiously past on snorting Enfields > those are small > French families among the bullock-carts, and > tattooed and nose-ringed > Spanish girls riding pillion to purple-haired > Japanese. Get to the > coast and your completely typical village store and > you'll see a sign > advertising "fresh feta cheese" and "organic rocket > leaves" right > alongside the usual plastic buckets and sachets of > cheap shampoo. The > bhaile don't just come to visit anymore, they stay > forever, start > hydroponic farms, cure Danish-style bacon and become > yoga instructors. > > How and why is this happening, and should we start > to get worried? > Let's address that last question first. The only > reasonable answer is: > no, not yet. It is irritating, lets admit it, that > this huge influx of > people has made Goans unwanted outsiders to whole > localities and parts > of the nightlife economy. But who among us > particularly wants to > ingest vast quantities of LSD and spend the night > twitching > involuntarily to inhumanly loud electronic noise? > It's their thing, > and if it produces even a small effect for our local > economy then let > these people do their thing without disturbance, as > long as they don't > disturb us egregiously either. And if this sudden > craze for ancient > ramshackle houses results in some of our charming > architectural assets > being renovated, can we really be too perturbed? Our > whole culture is > erected on a relaxed laizzez-faire ethic, why make > an exception now? > > But look at the whys, and hows, and then we might > really want to start > monitoring what is underway. Because we Goans are > scampering at high > speed to sell off our limited property for a > pittance, in an unseemly > and often nauseating rush to make a quick buck. Most > of the people who > are buying here are doing so because you can buy > mansions for the > price of half a hovel virtually anywhere else. > Should we continue to > value our last precious assets so unbelievably > cheaply? And should one > of our unique selling propositions really be that > our system is so > broken and corrupt that you can get away with > anything for a price? > > How it is happening can be summed up in two words > like a lot else in > Goa: total chaos. We don't know how many people have > settled in our > small state, and we don't really know whether they > stay on and buy > property legally. We don't know anything about the > illegal parallel > economy that used to be restricted to drugs and > flea-bitten bazaars, > but now includes every imaginable service and > consumer item. We have > no idea what the precise impact of this stealth > invasion is on > inflation, on health indices, on water tables, on > green cover, on > pollution. We know next to nothing other than it is > happening in a big > way, and these "new" Goans are everywhere. It's > really is time to > start paying attention. > > ===== > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/