The old man and Goa
Happy New Year to you all! Hope this new year (despite the soothsayers and the paranoia specialists and factualists and pragmatists) brings in a lot of peace, happiness and laughter.
Back from a quiet stay in Goa, after spending interesting times with spouse and good friends. With Goa fast becoming a second workplace for the spouse, this holiday felt like being very much at home but with an additional celebratory atmosphere. We stayed at a concept resort in Salcette that called itself the ‘Soul Vacation’. Apart from the usual beach hopping, most of the time was spent at the shacks watching the sun set into the sea and children play. Sunsets were a spiritual experience for me each day - be it on the Mandovi River or any of the beaches, they had me addicted. The festive mood in the shacks - with Trans music playing even for breakfast - can’t help but make you feel upbeat. I guess that’s the spirit of Goa.
Goans follow a tradition of burning effigies of ‘old men’ constructed specially for the 1st of January - symbolic of doing away with the old. You find many such old men and women made of rags standing guard around street corners, and sometimes, perched on chairs looking tired and weary, and ready to be set on fire. (2008 was definitely filled with memories many of us don’t want to relive. But it is a time to remember the brave people and pay homage to those who didn’t make it to 2009.)
On a personal note, I celebrate the wonderful people I have in my life - friends, family and colleagues. I made new beginnings, too, in many ways - with new people entering my life as the year ended, and new activities promising to make the year eventful. Almost like "taking a risk and giving up some of the good in one’s life for the great"!
So, here’s a celebration to the old and the new. And, to a year that maybe frugal but also wiser.