issue No: 45

2

3

Thursday, September 19, 2013

streetspicks Belly Dance Saturday

For a sexy, funky, crazy, wild evening, come to Club Ianos in Baga this Saturday. Ianos, in association with Goa Streets, presents two of the best belly dancers in the world – Miya Sabah and Daila – wowing audiences along with DJs Ryan Nogar, Ashton Deep aka Fusion Tribe, Nix and Croidan. These are internationally acclaimed, awardwinning belly dancers. This is one show you DON’T want to miss!

At Club Ianos, On September 21 @ 8 pm onward +91 8888662244/ +91 9011934994

Ladies Night at SinQ Funky, commercial house, R&B, hip-hop tunes with DJs Rinton & Mr E. Open bar with free drinks for the ladies. Dress code should be smart & sexy, (including pool/ swimwear).

At SinQ Beach Club, Opposite Taj Holiday Village, Candolim On Every Wednesday @ 10 pm onward +91 8308000080

September 20 Fantastic Friday

Sing and dance to scintillating entertainment. Music performed by Jonathan and Nashvin.

At Zuperb, Gauravaddo, Holiday Street, Calangute @12 pm – 12 am +91 9869076107/ 9820134503/ 9833156510

September 21 Music For Love & Peace:

Reggae Nite Live

The Live Music Project present a special celebration for change & Peace Day; only official venue in Goa. Line-up features King Jassim & The Knights of Jah and a surprise guest artist. All reggae musicians are invited to be part of the event. Media partners: Goa Streets. At Tawa Resto-Bar, Baywatch Resort, Sernabatim Beach Road, Benaulim @ 7:30 pm onward +91 9323590051/9881568756

Every Monday EDM Nights

Chill out with the latest and most popular dance music tracks.

At UV Bar, Anjuna @ 4 pm – 10 pm +91 9822153440

Karaoke Night

Manic Mondays with Saby. Karaoke sessions included.

At The Backyard, House #248, Bella Vista, Sangolda, Bardez @ 7 pm – 12 am +91 9823593872

Live Music & Fireworks

Enjoy a Bar-B-q on the beach with fireworks & live karaoke.

At Shining Star Beach Shack, Baga Beach, Calangute @ 7:30 pm onward +91 9822481560

Every Wednesday Karaoke Night

Happy hours and international music.

At Resort Rio, Tambudki, Arpora @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm +91 832 2267300

Wednesday Nights at Cavala

Catch the band Rhythm and Blues play live music every Wednesday.

At Cavala Beach Resort, Calangute @ 8:30 pm onward +91 8390055518

Driving Women Crazy

With DJs Nix & DJ Crodin. Unlimited premium alcohol. Dress code: ‘Stylish Best’. At Ianos, Calangute @ 8 pm onward +91 8888662244

The Nightlife Convention Celebrating the Glitter...

Local Media Partner is Goa Streets!

W

hat comes to mind when you hear the word ‘nightlife’?

Glittering lights.

Pounding beats.

Martini glasses and elegant cocktails. Evening gowns. Black ties.

Concerts. Cabaret.

Dances. Shows of every kind.

In just a few weeks, Goa will play host to an extraordinary event that will celebrate nightlife in all its glamour – a first-of-itskind gathering bringing together the best in the industry from India and abroad.

Just the sound of it makes you want to attend: The Nightlife Convention.

In a bid to revolutionise India’s nightlife scene, the five-year-old MyPurpleMartini. com, India’s first and only social networking nightlife and lifestyle portal, is organising the event from October 4-6. It’s fitting that The Nightlife Convention will be held in Goa,

the country’s premier party and holiday destination. The convention will take place at Resort Rio, a five-star luxury deluxe spa-resort in Arpora on the banks of Baga River. Goa Streets is proud to be the local media partner for this fabulous gathering!

Rs 6,500 + taxes for one day.

Rs 10,000 + taxes for 2 days (at a10% discount by booking through Goa Streets.)

Please call Goa Streets at +91 777 392 7153 for bookings or email us at streets@goastreets.com. We can deliver your ticket to you or you can pick it up at our office on Chogm Road in Sangolda (Near Sangolda Lightning Club and Union Bank.)

music & nightlife | 03 The Nightlife Convention

music & nightlife | 05 Indie Bands

Wednesday Nights

Funky Saturdays

Cosmopolitan Ladies Night

Hindi Karaoke Live

With their frequent gigs, DJs David & Ashley entertained hordes of people with their act. Now they join hands together to make the crowds groove to their songs every Wednesday. The fun begins early at Kamaki.

At Kamaki, Baga @ 7:30 pm onward +918322276520/ 9923093408 Free Absolut Cosmopolitan cocktails all night long exclusively shaken & stirred for the fairer sex. Ladies Night, the Butter way. At Butter, Patto, Panjim @ 8 pm onward +91 8308838888

lowdown | 06

Every Thursday

food | 07 Marriott Chinese Food Fest

Lavina Special Thursdays Catch Lavina croon to some of the best pop hits and rock numbers followed by a jam session and Open Mic Time.

At Down The Road, Panjim @ 10 pm – 12 am +91 9637808867

Thursday Grill

& Games

photo gallery | 10 Ganesh Chaturthi

sports | 11 Leander Paes

Music, games & barbeque!

At Soul Souffle, Verna @ 7 pm – 10 pm +91 832 2782100/ 9764694321

Every Friday Retro House

cover story | 12

hot streets | 14

William Dalrymple

Sex column

arts & entertainment | 15

what’s on | 17

IFFI Countdown

Live rhythm & blues.

At The Park, Calangute @ 8 pm onward +91 832 2267600/8805028194

Old School Fridays

Live music featuring Elvis on lead guitar & keyboards. The best of slow rock/ retro & old school music.

At Down The Road, Panjim @ 9 pm onward +91 9823173757

Every Friday & Saturday Monsoon Madness

arts & entertainment | 16

feature | 19

Curtains, the musical

Dance bars in Goa

Embrace the monsoon with Goa’s hottest bands! Go retro in the rain.

At Rewind, Arpora @ 6 pm onward +91 8007112200

Every Saturday Saturdays With R&B

feature | 21 Noise uproar

Catch the band Rhythm & Blues bring the house done with their lively jam sessions.

At The Backyard, House #248, Bella Vista, Sangolda, Bardez 7 pm – 12 am +91 9823593872

Sexy Saturdays

wheels on streets | 20

mind, body & soul | 22

With DJs Joel, Rinton & Mr E. At SinQ Beach Club, Opposite Taj Holiday Village, Candolim @ 10 pm – 4 am +91 8308000080

A lot of youngsters can be seen hanging out at Butter for its Funky Saturdays where everything – from the music to the dress code and even guests’ hairstyles – have to be funky.

At Butter, Gera Emporium, EDC Patto Plazza, Panjim @ 8 pm onward +91 8308838888 If you like crooning to Bollywood tunes, check out this event.

At Appetite Classic, Housing Board, Mapusa @ 7:30 pm – 11 pm +91 9823107114

Exclusive Saturday

Groove to the mixes of DJs Cris, Rosh, Milad, Xavier and Melroy.

At F Cube, Calangute @ 9 pm – 3 am +91 832 2275796/9822176572

Every Sunday Bikini Brunch

A lazy brunch by the pool with live music. Priced at 750/person.

At The Park, Calangute @ 12:30 pm – 4:30 pm +91 832 2267600/8805028194

Sunday Fun with Regan

Music and vocals by Regan.

Sway late into the night with an eclectic mix of numbers courtesy the in-house artist.

At Wok & Roll, Sinquerim, Candolim @ 8 pm onward +91 9049022348

Ongoing Club Ianos

Mondays and Tuesdays are for commercial club and house music.

At Calangute, Baga Road @ 8:30 pm – 3 am +91 832 6528283

Raissa’s Sheesh Mahal Lounge

Delicious food & lovely music.

At Shop #2, 3, 4, Priyadarshani, Margao @ 10 am – 11:45 pm +91 832 2712899

Café La Musica Lounge & Disco

Events performed by professional international artists daily. DJs include Raz& Mike.

At Red Square Lane, Parallel to Tito’s Lane, Baga, Calangute @ 8 pm onward +91 7798932264

Club Margarita

Tuesday Blues, Wednesday Bollywood Nights, Thursday Thunder with DJ Kiran; Ladies Nights on Friday; Sparkling Saturdays and Sunday Hangovers with DJ Kiran.

At Colva Beach Road, Colva @ 9 pm onward +91 832 2789745/ +91 9822799725

Thursday, September 19, 2013

A O G E I D IN

Photographs by Ananda Krishna

G

N I O G

By Puja Roy @AriAsher

I

recently overheard some folks talk about Goa being the hub of ‘bad guitar solos’ and ‘bad Deep Purple covers’. Surprised? Offended? Don’t be.

South Goa-based art and design hub Art Escape, in association with ennui.

BOMB, a Mumbai-based record label, have launched an initiative whereby independent (or indie) artists from around the country will get a chance to perform for music lovers here and open up India’s vibrant indie music scene to Goa. Art Escape says, “The vibe will cut across genres and feature talented singer/songwriters, bands and other musicians performing mostly an array of their own original music.”

Before I go any further, a bit of full disclosure. Goa Streets is Art Escape’s Media Partner, so we do have an interest in getting the word out about the group’s

highly innovative projects, including its latest foray into indie music.

Indie music is different because it doesn’t have a definite style and is produced independently from major record labels, a process that sometimes includes autonomous, do-it-yourself

Onshore

Offshore

Behind Old Secretariat, 1st Floor, The Crown Goa, Bairo Alto Dos Pilotos, Jose Falcao Road, Panaji. Goa - 403001. INDIA Mob: +91 9158883461 Land Line: 0832 2222822/2222833 Email: reception@crowncasino.in Open: 12:00 noon-06:00am | All days

Entry Rs.1500/ Enjoy free unlimited snacks, Veg & Non-veg Buffet-dinner, alchoholic & nonalcholic beverages and loads of live entertainment.

At Panaji, Goa. Open 24 Hrs. +918888807256

Crown Casino

Chances Casino

At Vainguinim Valley Resorts +918322456683/4/5/6 Email: sales@chancescasinoresort.com

Gold finger Casino

At Vainguinim beach, Dona Paula +918322454545

Casinos Treasures

At Majorda beach resort, Majorda +918322881111

Casino Paradise

At Neo Majestic, Porvorim +918326710101

Casino Carnival

Deltin Royale

Deltin Royale, India’s premier casino & entertainment destination, and anchored in the Mandovi, creates an ambience that is at par with gaming destinations worldwide, with international games such as poker, baccarat, blackjack, and roulette, and serviced by dealers trained to the highest global standards. A family destination, it also has a kids’ room where trained staff look after the little ones. Open 24x7.

Entry: Rs 1,500 per person on weekdays (Mon-Thu) and Rs 2,000 on weekends (Fri-Sun).

Boarding Point: Fisheries Department Building (6 pm-6 am only), Opposite Mandovi Hotel, D. BandodkarMarg, Panaji; and Noah’s Ark Jetty, D. BandodkarMarg, Panaji 0832 6519471, 0832 6519472.

Casino Pride

Captain of Ports Jetty, Panjim +918326710101/111/ +91-832-6519641 www.casinopridegoa.com

Art Escape offers a unique platform for rock, punk and garage approaches. The indie music scene in India has been growing steadily over the past few years. In a country where Bollywood music rules, certain artists are making serious efforts to buck the trend and help create an atmosphere for alternative music – to give rock, punk and garage fans a chance to listen to original compositions created by Indians.

Rishu Singh quit his job at Sony Music and The Rolling Stones in Mumbai to found ennui.BOMB, which manages a couple of indie bands, annually brings out an indie compilation (called Stup!ditties) and organises indie festivals across the country, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and the Northeast (which, many say, has an amazing music scene and great talent!). Pioneering the concept of free mixtapes, the record label runs a series of nights in Mumbai where young bands get a chance to get their music

out of their jam-rooms. He says, “So far the perception is that Goa is a place for electronic music. But how much bad techno can one listen to? That’s where like-minded people like Art Escape come in.”

For the past two Saturdays, Art Escape and ennui.BOMB organised ‘Goa Goes Indie’ nights at Tawa Resto-Bar (at Baywatch Resort in Colva) where indie artists from Mumbai and Pune got a chance to share and showcase their original compositions. The event kicked off with a performance by Bone Broke, a one-man garage rock band (inspired by the likes of White Stripes and The Black Keys) comprising upcoming talent Dinkar Dwivedi. He says, “Indie music is going places unlike previously. It’s pretty cool.

It is niche right now, but if people are exposed, they will like it.” He adds, “Indie artists want to make original music, not mainstream Bollywood stuff or covers.

We also want to listen to such music. And it’s happening.”

The Lightyears Explode, who performed later that night, is a threepiece garage/indie/punk band who won the Channel V Launchpad in 2011.

Ever imagine what it might be like to have Mithun Chakraborty dance to a punk version of I am a Disco Dancer or even the legendary Kishore Kumar do a Greenday-esque Eena Meena Deeka? That happened, sans Mithun-da or funny bone Kumar. Guitarist and vocalist Saurabh Roy says, “We live in Bombay and cannot escape Bollywood. It seemed natural

Turn to page 6

6 The Lowdown

The Lightyears Explode’s Vocalist & Guitarist Saurabh Roy performing at Tawa Resto-Bar, Baywatch Resort, Colva.

Why is William Dalrymple on the cover of Goa Streets? For one, he’s a fascinating individual. For another, he opened his heart to us in a candid interview. And for another, through his journeys and accomplishments in so many parts of the world, most notably here in India, we felt he exemplifies the spirit of a life well lived. We hope you enjoy our interview with this acclaimed author and historian who has made India his home for his entire adult life.

William Dalrymple is not the only extraordinary individual showcased in Goa Streets this week. Our piece on Leander Paes looks at a seldom mentioned but nonetheless relevant aspect of this international tennis great: His Goan-ness. And then there’s our story on wellness guru Rujuta Diwekar, who recently conducted a camp at an amazing retreat set amid a virgin jungle in Candolim (yes, you read that right, Candolim).

From page 5 to incorporate old Bollywood with punk because all of us grew up listening to both kinds of music.”

The highlights of the second edition of ‘Goa Goes Indie’ saw Pune’s acoustic pop act Tejas Menon (who writes songs about “real things in life like cats, aliens, stationery and girls”) and threepiece ‘stoner-prog’ alternative rock band Drawing Short Straws take to the stage. Judging by the number of folks who bought the CDs of the artists (including The Lightyears Explode’s The Revenge of Kalicharan), it can be safely said Goa was given a fitting official introduction to indie music.

What next then? There is a lot happening in India right now so far as indie music goes, including a number of festivals like the Ziro Music Festival in Arunachal Pradesh and the popular Nh7 Weekender. Newbies like The Vinyl Records (an all-girl four-piece band from Arunachal Pradesh that counts Manipur’s Irom Sharmila and Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi as inspirations!), The Ganesh Talkies, Blek, Punk on Toast, and Null Friction are travelling on the lines of established indie names like Indus Creed and Pentagram.

It seems Goa is ready for the new tidal wave of indie music that has hit its shores. Watch this space for stories on indie artists and the indie music scene in Goa and the rest of India.

The Lowdown

In this edition, we expose one of the darker sides of the Goan night scene, the prevalence of ‘dance bars’ as a cover for prostitution. And we give you an inside look at the uproar over two government decisions restricting timings of night spots and cutting the cord on music after 10 pm. We also bring you stories on a delightful Chinese food festival at the Goa Marriott Resort & Spa and Art Escape’s wonderful new initiative promoting indie bands in Goa (Goa Streets is proud to be Art Escape’s media partner!)

In this edition, we’re launching two new sections. Wheels on Streets features the best on offer in the world of cars and bikes. We’ve tied up with the extremely popular website www. goaonwheels.com to bring you content for this section. In addition, we’ve launched in this issue our new Mind, Body & Soul section, a space to highlight all sorts of issues relating to health and fitness.

We’d like to take this opportunity to talk about two exciting events that Goa Streets is very much involved with. This Saturday, Sept. 21, Goa Streets has joined Club Ianos in Baga to bring you a world-class belly dancing event, featuring Daila and Miya Sabah, two award-winning, internationally acclaimed belly dancers. Fun starts at 8 pm at Ianos, along the Calangute-Baga Road.

For more information on India’s indie music scene and indie artists, festivals and gigs, check out: www.ennuidotbomb.com www.Nh7.in www.facebook.com/ IndianIndependentMusicScene www.facebook.com/ bonebrokeband www.facebook.com/pages/TheVinyl-Records www.facebook.com/ TheLightyearsExplode (That, of course, in addition to www.goastreets.com.)

Goa Streets is also the local media partner of www.

MyPurpleMartini.com’s upcoming Nightlife Convention, to be held Oct. 4-6 at the Resort Rio in Arpora. This convention is bringing together the Who’s Who in the Indian and international night scene, with top personalities attending from around the country and the world. We invite you to purchase discounted tickets through Goa Streets (details on page 3).

These are exciting times for us and the entire state, what with the season about to get started. Enjoy the ride!

The Goa Streets Team

7

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Photographs by Ananda Krishna

streetspicks

Champagne Sunday Brunch Enjoy brunch at the Grand Hyatt with French champagne and food from five interactive, live stations dishing out Asian, Italian, Middle Eastern, Indian cuisine & desserts. At Rs 2,200 + taxes (includes buffet, champagne, wines & select drinks.)

At Grand Hyatt, Bambolim Beach @ 1 pm – 4 pm +91 832 3011125

Pan Asian Bowl The restaurant gives you a bowl, which you then take to a bar of noodles and raw vegetables and meats. You then fill your bowl with as many of these ingredients as you like, then choose one or more spicy or no spicy sauces from a list of 18 and then hand your bowl over to a chef who cooks the concoction in a sizzling wok before your eyes!

At Next to Hotel Solmar, River Road, Miramar, Panjim +91 832 6455547

Soyaras Biryani House A multi-cuisine restaurant in Panjim, Soyaras is popular for (yes, you guessed it!) its delicious chicken and mutton biryanis. Apart from that, there’s a lot of other dishes to choose from as well. The good thing about Soyaras is that apart from having a meal there, you can avail of the services of the takeaway counter.

Patto Centre, Panjim +91 832 6452940

September 22 Viva Goa

TinTin Bar & Restaurant will be hosting Goan Nights with live performances by guitarist Elvis Carvalho. Enjoy traditional Goan delicacies with on-the-house Caju feni. Special discounts for groups and corporates.

At TinTin Bar & Restaurant, Vagator 7 pm – 11:30 pm +91 9623922796/9623073691

September 1 – 29 Unlimited Sunday Treat

Time 11am-12 midniht non stop food service, open everyday.

Home delivery: 0832-2411959 & 9764159686 Caterin Service Contact: Mr. Roland Rodrigues @ 9890422440

Treat yourself to a Sunday brunch consisting of Goan, Indian, Chinese and Thai delicacies prepared by the expert chefs. (At Rs 250 for adults; Rs 150 for kids below five years of age.)

At Global Shore Restaurant, Porvorim @ 11 am – 3:30 pm +91 832 3267033/2414125

Wok-fried Sliced Pork

Secrets of a Chinese Feast Revealed The Wan Hao Chinese Food Festival

By Goa Streets @GoaStreets

W

ith the amount of Chinese food available in just about every corner of the planet, one might be excused for thinking of it as some kind of a dime-a-dozen, commodity cuisine. But here’s an interesting little factoid. Really good Chinese food is actually quite hard to come by. Food that passes off as Chinese around the globe would very likely be laughed out of town, if the town happened to be Shanghai or Hong Kong.

Fortunately, the cuisine at Miramar-based Wan Hao, the award-winning signature Oriental restaurant of Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, would not be laughed out of town here or anywhere else in the world. On a recent afternoon, we attended Wan Hao’s Chinese Food Festival, on till September 22, and came away pleasantly surprised. The food passed the authenticity test from people in the know, and would certainly not have been laughed out of town – even in China itself.

Visiting Chef Sukhdev (from JW Marriott’s ‘Spices’ restaurant in Mumbai) and Chef Sundar (the newest addition to Goa Marriott & Spa’s oriental kitchen) are clearly hitting their stride in this festival. There’s an all-new a la carte menu featuring specialties like Qia Xiao Bao (barbeque pork buns), Ji Jiao Zi (steamed chicken dumplings), Braised Eggplant & Tofu, Fujian Fried Rice (garlic fried rice with vegetables),

XO Chicken (wok-fried shredded chicken with homemade ‘XO’ sauce), Black Pepper Beef and Chilli Crabs with Scallions, to name a few.

Streets caught up with Chefs Sukhdev and Sundar who, happily defying the age-old injunction against the divulging of chef secrets, were kind enough to share some of theirs. And now we in turn are sharing them with you.

Enjoy!

BLACK PEPPER MUSHROOM

Ingredients (Yield: 4 portions) • 4x200 gm fresh mushroom • 4x20 gm corn flour • 4x15 gm refined flour • 4x10 ml vegetable stock • 4x5 gm garlic • 4x5 gm salt • 4x10 gm castor sugar • 4x5 ml light soya sauce • 4x5 ml dark soya sauce • 4x5 gm black pepper • 4x10 gm potato starch • 4x 1 gm coriander • 4x150 ml sunflower oil

Procedure Make batter out of corn flour and refined flour.

Deep-fry mushroom coated with batter.

Add some oil to the wok. Sauté garlic. Add Turn to page 9

8 Food On Till September 30

Chef Sundar, the newest addition to the Marriott’s Oriental kitchen, with Fried Ice-cream.

Sizzler Fest

Offering a choice of juicy chicken, prawns, fish, chili, paneer, veg kababs, Cajun mushroom steaks.

At Blue Monkey Restro Lounge Bar, Porvorim @ 1 pm - 11 pm +91 832 2411028/ +91 7507061910

Every Sunday Sunday Family Brunches

Rejuvenating cocktails, soul warming gourmet cuisine from around the world, activities to keep the kids entertained.

At Latitude, Vivanta by Taj, Panjim @ 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm +91 832 6633636

Bikini Brunch

Sunday BBQ Brunch at Rs 950 with unlimited alcohol.

Enjoy live Karaoke with Emmanuel.

At The Park, Calangute @ 12.30 pm – 4:30 pm +91 832 2267600/8805028194

Anjuna & Around Alcove Restaurant & Bar

Serves Continental, Goan, Portuguese, Indian, Chinese &Thai cuisine. Expect a variety of seafood with a range of barbeque & grills.

At Ozrant Beach, Small Vagator, Anjuna @ 8 am – 12 am +91 832 2274491/2273349

Artjuna

Baga, Calangute & Around

Set in an Old Portuguese house surrounded by a beautiful garden, the café serves up chilled café au lait, milkshakes, sandwiches, juices &baked goodies, homemade dips, iced lattes, blended coffees & more.

At Monteiro Waddo, Anjuna @ 9 am – 6 pm +91 832 2274794

10 Calangute Beach Hotel

Cantare

Specialising in Indian, European/ Continental cuisine, the seafood at Aquamarine is sought after along with its Mutton Xacutti, Vegetable Moussaka & Risotto Spinach.

At Baga Land’s End, Baga @ 7 am – 10:30 pm +91 832 2276084/2275482

Cantare is perhaps Saligao’s best kept secret. This traditional mansion turned lounge offers a good selection of food & wines and a warm ambience.

At Cruzwado, Saligao +91 832 2409461

Cotinga at the Tamarind

Restaurant has a multi-cuisine menu, including Italian, Chinese and indian dishes, seafood, meats and signature pastas and pizzas.

At Opp. St.Micheal Church, Anjuna +91 9810804063

Curlies

The restaurant serves you everything from charcoal fired oven pizzas/bakes to the best of Indian, Chinese & continental dishes, plus fresh seafood (Anjuna­style), with wine & beer.

At Anjuna Beach @ 9 am – 2 am +91 9822168628

Mamma Mia

Italian cuisine with a blend of imported Italian ingredients &local organic produce with a nice view of paddy fields and coconut trees of Baga’s backwaters.

At Resort Rio, Arpora @ 12:30 pm – 10:30 pm +91 832 2267300

This boutique hotel located in the heart of Calangute is cradled amongst some of the most famous beaches in the world. Enjoy the offerings of its exclusive bar tucked in a corner and refresh yourself with a drink.

At Gauravaddo, Calangute +91 9960524567

Aquamarine Bistro & Bar

Cavala

Specialises in Goan seafood & live music.

The restaurant recommends dishes like Country Captain, Trincomalee Prawns & Chicken Periperi.

At Saunta Waddo, Baga, Calangute @ 7:30 am – 1 am +91 832 2277587/9552551422

KFC

CoBa

CoBa (short for Coastal Barbeque) is known for its starters, grills & steaks. The setting is a treat for the eyes, with the pool on one side and saltwater lagoons on the other.

At Double Tree by Hilton, Arpora @ 10 am – 11 pm +9183266556672

Candolim

Tucked away in a cosy corner in Candolim, L’Orange also doubles up as an art gallery.

It’s open through the year & features a Multicuisine menu with homemade Goan delicacies, seafood & pastas.

At Next to Magnum Resort, Candolim Main Road, Candolim @ 12 pm – 3 pm & 6 pm – 1 am +91 9970173606

Fig & Olive

Offers specialties from Morocco, Spain, Italy, Lebanon & Greece. The menu boasts tapas, fresh salads & seafood, paella & pasta, wood oven pizzas and homemade desserts. At Holiday Inn Resort, Cavelossim @ 9 am – 11 pm +918322871303

Ruta’s World Cafe

Addah specialises in Indian, seafood, European/Continental cuisine. Popular dishes include Paneer Zafrani Tikka, Dum Aloo Kashmiri, Maan Sahari Kebab Platter & Bhuna Hua Anjeer.

At O Hotel, Ground Floor, Dando, Candolim @ 7 pm – 10:30 pm +91 9890800073

A multicuisine restaurant which serves Japanese, Thai and pan-Asian cuisine.

Restaurant recommendations include Honey Glazed Pot Roast, Pork Ribs, Thai Garlic Peppered Prawns and Deep-fried Prawns Tossed in Garlic.

At Sinquerim, Candolim @ 1 pm – 3 pm & 7 pm – 11 pm +91 9049022348

It’s in Margao, but it may as well be in San Francisco with its stylish interiors, comfy sofas, and a great selection of world music. Chef/owner Ruta Kahate spent 20 years in Northern California and you can taste it in her global menu. Everything is made in-house from scratch, down to the breads.

Behind Nanutel, Margao @ 10 am – 8 pm 8pm (Closed Sunday) +91 832 2710757/www.rutas.in

Beach House

Margao & Around

Mog Café

Addah

This Goan & seafood specialty restaurant has a live kitchen counter of Goan­ Portuguese fusion food. Signature dishes include Galinha Cafreal, Camarao Tigre Con Cilantro, and Clam Chops with Mango Chilly Sauce.

At Vivanta by Taj Fort Aguada, Sinquerim, Candolim @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm +918326645858

Choose from a range of goodies like Hot Wings, Chicken Snacker Burger, Chicken Shotz, Hot n Crispy Chicken and Fiery Grilled Chicken. For vegetarians, there’s Veg Zinger Burger, Potato Krisper and Veg Strips. For dessert, check out the Kreamball Sundae and Soft Serves.

At Neelam the Grand, Post Office Road, Calangute @ 11am – 11 pm

Banyan Tree

Fat Fish Restaurant & Bar

Unlimited breakfast offer between 8 am – 11 am for Rs 180 only. Open all days of the week. One of the few restaurants in Goa that serves Parsi food.

At Gaurro Vaddo, Calangute +91 9869076107

Known for authentic Goan cuisine, specialty Goan Thalis, Continental, Tandoor & seafood.

At Agra Waddo, Calangute Arpora Road +91 832 6512288/8806077550

L’Orange

The garden restaurant at the Taj Village specialises in Thai cuisine set under a 300­year­old banyan tree.

At Vivanta Holiday Village, Sinquerim @ 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm +91 832 6645858

Zuperb

Wok & Roll

Café Mardi Gras

A 24­hour café serving seafood, Goan & North Indian cuisine, coffee & snacks.

PanfriedPomfretRecheado, Chicken Xacutti, Pork Vindaloo and Goan Fish Curry are some of the popular offerings.

At Holiday Inn Resort, Cavelossim @ All­day +91 832 2871303

Boat Quay Grill

Boat Quay Grill serves tropical cuisine in a romantic setting. Favourites on the menu include Grilled Tiger Prawns & Beer Battered Fried Fish.

At Royal Orchid Beach Resort, Uttorda @ 7 pm – 12 am +91 8805013553

Firefly Goan Bistro Bar

Firefly features classics which are prepared like they should be, with a touch of artistic flair. At Ground Floor, Vasvaddo, Benaulim Beach Road, Benaulim +91 9822123535

A pastry shop with some innovative décor. Choose from a selection of cheesecake pops, cupcakes, crispy chocolates &lemon pie shots. Also offers ‘designer’ cakes, desserts and chocolates At Shop #3 & 4, Colaco Residency, Off Abade Sariya Road, Comba, Margao +91 8380078252/9892588252

Shandong

An Asian cuisine restaurant with a fine dining ambience focusing on fresh, in season ingredients.

At Radisson Blu Resort, Cavelossim Beach @ 11 am – 11 pm +91 832 6726666

Peppers

If your weakness is Goan cuisine, head to Pepper’s for a wide range of local delicacies cooked in a traditional style with a hint of modernity.

At Gold Road Pajifond, Margao @ 11:30 am – 11 pm +91 9822133506

Food 9

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Upper Deck

A lively coffee shop with an interactive kitchen & communal/bench/roundtable seating; Offers a creative a la carte menu with Continental & Indian fare.

At Radisson Blu Resort, Cavelossim Beach +91 832 6726666

Spice Studio

The award-winning Spice Studio has a dinner menu that boasts the flavours of India’s southeast coast, the dum preparations of the Nawabs of Awadh & Hyderabad, Tandoori fare from the Northwest Frontier & Goa’s rustic flavours.

At Alila Diwa, Adao Waddo, Salcette @ 7 pm – 10:30 pm +918322746800

In & Around Panjim A Pastelaria

This bakery & confectionery serves gateaux, pastries, cookies& traditional Goan sweets. The chocolate & strawberry mousses are hugely popular.

At Vaidya Marg, Panjim @ 9 am – 9 pm +91 832 2426270/2426273

A Tona Bar &Restaurant

Nostalgia’s the first word that comes to mind when one walks in to A Tona (meaning ‘A Canoe’). Specialising in authentic Goan & Portuguese food, the menu here seems to be straight out of a grandmother’s kitchen.

At Carina Desa, Betim @7 pm – 11 pm +9 19823129239

Baba’s Wood Cafe

An Italian wine bar &restaurant specializing in wood­fired pizzas and homemade gelato. Choose from a wide range of pure Italian dishes with beef fillet and fish always on the menu.

At Mala, Fontainhas, Panjim @ 12 pm – 3 pm &6 pm –12 am (Closed on Tuesday) +91832 3256213/9923414098

Carasid

For quick bites like burgers, sandwiches, wraps, cakes & chocolates, drop in at any of the five outlets through Goa to sample the offerings (designed by coowner Christabel Shrivastava, who is also a nutrition expert). The cheesecakes here are also quite nice, we hear.

At Ground Floor Chanson Building, Near Hotel Solmar, DB Marg, Miramar +91 832 2465904/9326111476

Cantina Bodega

Pizzeria, bakery & cafe. Owner Vandana utilisesher her expertise earned from her years as a top pastry chef in New York City.

At Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts, Altinho, Panjim @ 10 am – 7 pm +91 9011662233

AZ.U.R

Catch up with friends or colleagues at India’s first transition lounge with a variety of bites and drinks.

At Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, Miramar @ 8 are – 1 am +91 832 2463333

Chilli ‘n’ Spice

A carnival of fusion cuisine, a bar to enlighten your spirits, this multi­cuisine restaurant serves up exotic traditional fare, with a focus on Oriental cuisine.

At Hotel Fidalgo, Panjim @ 7 pm – 2 am +91 832 2226291

Coffee Cove

A wide range of espresso and specialty hot or ice blended beverages with freshly ground beans. Enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and sample American-style treats - baked fresh daily.

At Opposite Bata Shoes, Above Rooster, 2nd floor, Porvorim @ 10 am – 11 pm (Sundays closed) +91 832 6528222

Confeitaria

The Grand Hyatt’s patisserie, Confeitaria serves homemade products. Ideal for snacks, light lunches & desserts, it also offers chocolates, cookie, teas & seasonal specialties.

At The Grand Hyatt Goa, Bambolim Beach @ 8 am – 8 pm +91 832 3011200

Coros Velvet

Want gourmet food in Caranzalem? Head to Coros Velvet. It’s a multicuisine fine dining restaurant which specialises in ravioli, steaks & pastas.

At Miramar, Panjim @ 12 pm – 3 pm & 7 pm – 11 pm +91 8605020020

Doçaria

Doçaria is many things in one. A coffee shop, beverage counter, cake shop, games centre, snack bar and dessert lounge. It also has a late night menu. In short, it provides everything you want in a relaxed open setting.

At Cidade de Goa, Dona Paula @ 8 am – 11 pm +918322454545

Forrest Veg Food Court

Serves a wide range of fast food from different parts of India: Mumbai’s Butter Pav Bhaji, frankies & paani puri, Delhi’s Chatpata Chaat & samosas and the South’s dosas. Apart from that, there’s Continental, Chinese, Thai & Mexican cuisine to choose from.

At Bhagwan Mahavir Bal Vihar, Panjim @ 11 am – 11 pm +91 832 6454353

Giardini

An alfresco restaurant, the menu here is exclusively Goan­Portuguese with some authentic Goan Catholic fare.

There’s live music on most nights.

At Curca, Bambolim @ 11:30 am – 11 pm +918805873335

Global Shore Restaurant

A multicuisine restaurant serving Goan, seafood, Chinese, Thai, Indian & Tandoori dishes. The Chinese & Thai food here is very popular among its patrons.

At Hotel Chandrageet, Porvorim +91 832 2414125/93731113205

Edu’s Restaurant

A multi­cuisine restaurant with Indian, Chinese, international &Goan food.

Pizzas are one of their specialties.

DB Marg, Miramar, Panjim +91 832 2463777/2463888

Maracas Garden Bar

Maracas is a tapas bar in Porvorim with indoor AC seating and a beautiful outdoor garden area with a water-body and wooden deck.

At Opposite O’Coqueiro Restaurant, Porvorim @ 11:30 am – 12 am +91 8805586728

Sher­e­Punjab

Well-known for its traditional North Indian fare, the restaurant serves Punjabi classics like Sarson da Saag, Paneer Makhani, Dal Makhani, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Biryani& Mutton Dry Fry. At Rue 18th June, Near Levis showroom, Panjim +91 832 227204/227975

Tamari

If a fancy evening out is on your mind, then visit Tamari which does Chinese, Thai & Japanese cuisine (sushi) in fine style. A Teppanyaki counter provides an interactive dining experience while two private dining rooms set the stage for a super exclusive experience.

At Vivanta by Taj, Lobby Level, Off Dayanand Bhausaheb Bandodkar Road, Panjim @ 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm – 11:30 pm +91 832 6633636

Tea Café

Nestled in the Latin Quarter of Mala­ Fontainhas in the heart of Panjim, Tea Café offers a lot of goodies (along with tea). Everything is made in-house, including a wide range of pastries, biscotti, quiches, a mezze platter, sandwiches, and its famed Red Velvet Cupcake. At Empresa Dempo, 31st January Road, Fontainhas, Panjim Contact: +91 832 2223050

Terry’s Restaurant

If you’re looking for a riverside restaurant with scenic views in Panjim and around, Terry’s should be a good bet. The menu offers a range of different cuisines.

At Behind Betim Petrol Pump, Betim @ 10 am – 12 am +91 832 2411961/ +91 9823028448

Urban Dhaba

Urban Dhaba sure lives up to its name of being an urban dhaba – there is a definite fusion of the rustic with the urban. While the menu boasts a host of cuisines (Goan, Chinese, Continental), the Indian food here is noteworthy, particularly Tandoori Chicken, Daal Makhani and the fresh Naans. At opposite O’Coqueiro, Alto Porvorim +91 832 3290939 Email: urbandhaba@yahoo.com

The Verandah

The signature grill restaurant at the Grand Hyatt serves fresh market produce of seafood, meat & vegetables.

At The Grand Hyatt, Bambolim Beach +91 832 3011658

Viva Panjim

Located in an old heritage house in the bylanes of Fountainhas is Linda and Micheal De Souza’s home and their restaurant Viva Panjim. Highly popular for its authentic Portuguese fare.

At Fontainhas, Panjim @ 11 am – 3:30 pm & 7 pm to 11:30 pm +91 832 2422405/ +91 9850471363

From page 7 pepper, vegetable stock, light and dark soya sauces, sugar and salt.

Now add the potato starch followed by the mushrooms.

Toss it nicely. Add coriander as garnish and serve.

SZECHUAN CHICKEN

Ingredients (Yield: 4 portions) • 1 kg chicken leg (boneless) • 100 gm corn flour • 500 ml cooking oil • 100 gm dry chili • 100 gm Szechuan peppercorn • 40 gm chopped ginger • 40 gm chopped garlic • 80 gm chilli-bean paste • 60 ml Chinese rice wine • 20 gm Chicken powder • 40 gm spring onion • 60 gm sugar • 20 gm salt

Procedure Dice the chicken and coat with corn flour. Deep-fry until crispy.

Sauté the dry chilli, Szechuan peppercorn, chilli-bean paste till fragrant. Add ginger and garlic.

Now add the chicken and Chinese wine. Season with salt, sugar and chicken powder. Toss well.

Lastly, add the spring onions. Szechuan Chicken is ready!

WOK-FRIED SLICED PORK

Ingredients (Yield: 4 portions) • 4x250 gm pork belly • 4x10 gm garlic • 4x10 gm ginger • 4x50 gm French beans • 4x15 gm black beans • 4x10 ml sesame oil • 4x15 gm chilli-bean paste • 4x10 ml dark soya sauce • 4x10 gm pepper powder • 4x25 ml cooking oil • Salt • Sugar

Procedure Boil the pork belly till soft and tender. Set aside.

Slice the pork belly. Heat the wok and add oil. Sauté garlic, ginger, French beans and black beans.

Add chilli-bean paste and fry till fragrant.

Now add the sliced pork and the seasoning. Fry all the ingredients well. Serve.

DEEP-FRIED ICE CREAM

Ingredients • 4 scoops well-frozen ice cream (any flavour) • 2 eggs, beaten • 1 cup of crushed cornflakes • Oil for frying

Procedure Make 4 perfectly round (if you can manage it) scoops of ice-cream and put them in the deep freezer for 15 minutes.

Give all the scoops an egg wash once you remove them from the deep freezer, then roll them on crushed cornflakes to give them a nice coating. Put them back in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Repeat this whole process twice, so the ice cream will be thickly coated with the cornflake mix.

Heat oil and make sure it is burning hot.

Deep fry the ice-cream quickly for 5-8 seconds until crispy on the outside.

Serving Serve immediately, with a drizzle of chocolate sauce on top.  At Wan Hao, Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, Miramar, Panjim For reservations, call +91 832 2463333

10 Photo Gallery

The sights and moods of Ganesh Chaturthi in Goa. Photos by Ananda Krishna

Sports 11

Thursday, September 19, 2013

By Revati Upadhya @haathitime

T

he Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City witnessed a momentous day for Indian sports when Leander Paes, along with doubles partner Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, beat Austrian Alexander Peya and Brazilian Bruno Soares to lift the US Open Doubles title on September 9. For us here in Goa, this achievement is probably a little more special, because Goan-born Paes has done his state proud once again.

It would almost be easy to overlook that one of the world’s greatest tennis players has his roots in Goa. That’s because Paes was brought up almost entirely in Kolkata, despite being born here, and it’s fair to say his identity at this point is more Bengali than Goan.

He is a descendant of the Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt through his mother. Still, his father Vece Paes, a noted athlete in his own right, is Goan. And his family hails from Velim, where Paes himself has spent time.

A few years back, he talked about his Goan grandfather and his journeys in Africa. “Grandpa actually designed this home (in Velim) for us. He was quite a man. He came over from Arusha, in Tanzania. He was a great doctor and when the Indians were asked to leave from there, he got a boat with his brother and sailed to Goa.” We made several attempts to chat with Leander and find out how he feels to have achieved this win at an age when most of his peers have retired. Unfortunately, he was not available to share his views.

So we asked a couple of local tennis aficionados how they feel to have a Goan win an international title in tennis.

Nineteen-year-old Goan tennis champ Natasha Palha said she was extremely proud and says Leander is the perfect tennis idol for an upcoming player. She has had the privilege of meeting him thrice and is particularly taken by his emphasis on being a good person first, and a great tennis player next.

While most professional athletes begin to draw the curtains on their careers when they turn the corner of 30, Paes has moved steadily on, overcoming a major health scare (a 2003 brain lesion caused by a parasitic infection) and relentlessly adding Grand Slam titles to his name. Former Doubles Partner Mahesh Bhupathi tweeted on the night of the game, “LP!!! 40?? Really??? Moving like he is 20…Inspiring stuff” – and it was apparent to anyone who watched the game that Paes’ agility and energy were at an all-time high, his 40 years notwithstanding.

At 40, Paes is the oldest Tennis player to win a Grand Slam title – his 14th.

His latest win came at an age long past

He May Be 40, But He Plays Like He’s 20 what is considered one’s prime in the world of tennis (or for that many pretty much any other professional sport). Paes represented India at six Olympic Games, won an Olympic Bronze medal and was the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (the highest sporting honour in the country), the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri.

Back in 1990, at the age of 16, Paes commenced his international career in a doubles match with Zeeshan Ali (who is currently Paes’ Davis Cup coach), to beat the Japanese team in an intense five-setter Davis Cup match. It set the tone for the rest of his career, which only moved upward from then on.

Adding victories consistently as a solo player, he then partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi starting in 1996.

The team went on to reach the finals of four Grand Slams. The duo won Wimbledon in 1999 and the French Open in 1999 and 2001.

While Paes showed tremendous skill and potential to shine in the Singles category as well, he made a conscious choice to focus more on doubles and mixed-doubles.

Perhaps Paes inherited the sporty gene from his Olympic Bronze Medal-winner father Vece and national sportswoman mother Jennifer.

Tennis enthusiast and Paes fan Ranjan Atreya says that although he missed watching the winning match, he was ecstatic when he heard the news. “I always believed Leander had more tennis in him and I’m so glad upcoming tennis champions now have a new idol to inspire them to live their dreams and pursue a less-talked about sport in a cricket-crazy country”, he says.

Speaking about this latest US Open win in a post-match press conference, Paes said, “Today, Radek helped me to get to be the oldest man or the oldest tennis player to ever win a Grand Slam in the Open era. I thank him for that, and we are definitely not done,” making it abundantly clear that his age is not weighing on his mind, and that his best, perhaps, is yet to come. 

12 Cover Story

William Dalrymple with his wife Olivia Fraser at Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts, on Saturday, September 14.

The Joy and Anguish of Being

s t e e r t Goa S

e v i s u Excl

A

William Dalrymple Did you know the acclaimed author has a Bengali ancestor?

By Puja Roy @AriAsher

H

e has dodged sniper bullets in the heart of Taliban territory, befriended a former mujahideen and recently dined with Barack Obama at the White House! What’s it like to be William Dalrymple? To live a life encountering characters as varied as Tantric skull-feeders, possessed temple dancers, Egyptian Orthodox Christian monks, Nobel laureates, Presidents and Prime Ministers? Born in Scotland, this multiple award-winning writer and historian has made India his home for the past 30 years. The self-confessed

‘goatherd’ (who lives in a farmhouse in Mehrauli in New Delhi) says, “The greatest moments of my life have been in this country. It’s provided an endless source of interest, peace, fascination, beauty. The most intense moments of my life have been here.”

Dalrymple arrived in India at age 18 when a friend convinced him to make the journey after his plans to head to Iraq as an archaeologist got cancelled. He said it took him six weeks to fall in love with India, “and thirty years on I’m still here now!”

Last weekend, the 48-year-old was in town for the opening of his artist-wife Olivia Fraser’s exhibition at Sunaparanta,

Goa Centre for the Arts. He graciously granted Streets an interview. Read on to find out some lesser-known facts about William Dalrymple, including that he has Bengali blood and that he counts Virginia Woolf among his ancestors.

PR: You have been someone looking at India and its people from the perspective of an outsider. How challenging has that been for you?

WD: So many writers who have put India on the map in the West writing in English for a Western audience have done this journey from here to London or New York - Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Salman Rushdie. Of the premier division in the West, only Arundhati Roy really

Cover Story 13

Thursday, September 19, 2013

has remained here. Everyone else has gone away at some point. I’ve done the opposite journey. For whatever reason, it’s moving against the crowd. And I think I’m probably the only Western writer who started in the West, lives here and is a major bestseller in India. So I’m slightly on my own. And sometimes there are these Twitter trolls turning up and saying ‘what are you doing here’, ‘who are you?’, ‘go home Gora’. It is mainly on Twitter.

Occasionally some other character rises up from the depths. Ultimately it’s the same thing. You’re an immigrant, you’re in a different culture and the kind of abuse that Rushdie or Ghosh or Vikram Seth might get on a tube – ‘brown guy go home’ – you get from Twitter trolls here.

It’s a universal thing. Immigrants will have friction wherever they are in the world, in whatever culture they arrive in. It’s something you live with. And the good side of that is that you have the interest and excitement of living in a different culture.

PR: Most people aren’t aware, but you’re related to Virginia Woolf?

WD: We share a mutual Bengali ancestor. Virginia Woolf was one-eighth Bengali. Bengalis haven’t woken up to this! There were these girls, five sisters called the Pattle sisters. One (Sophia Pattle) was my great-great-grandmother and another was Virginia Woolf’s aunt.

She was my first cousin twice removed or two generations back.

PR: Through the course of writing your many books on India, you have encountered a wide variety of characters – from devadasis to Baul & Sufi mystics and the ghosts of Mughal princesses and their British lovers.

What I find intriguing is your ability to portray each personality with familiarity, like you recognise their individual essences. How do you do that?

WD: Most of the examples you’ve used are from Nine Lives. In Nine Lives, the key was just long interviews. What you do for that, the technique is you spend time with people, you sit there listening to them. The art is, in a sense, to drill away, keep on drilling, normal conversations with strangers and after 10-15 minutes you try and keep it up for three, four, five hours. The ones in Nine Lives were months. I went to Dharamsala to try and find a Buddhist monk with a vague idea of what I was after and I went to Sravanabelagola to find a Jain nun. But I didn’t know what story I was after and I didn’t quite know how it would fit in.

Nine Lives was difficult only in the sense that I didn’t know what I was looking for.

And in truth, what I was looking for was a good story. Nine Lives was so amorphous in its concept that until you found someone that had an extraordinary story, there was no way of engineering that.

PR: You wrote a touching essay in Edge of Faith, photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta’s pictorial chronicle of Goa’s Catholic community.

What struck you most about Goa and its people in the course of your research?

WD: In Edge of Faith, I was coming in on the coattails of Prabuddha who had already taken photographs before I arrived. That was a luxury project for me. He came to me, I negotiated a deal whereby, rather than having a fee, he got me a house in Goa for six months. What I hadn’t realised was how many Goan Catholics knew about their Hindu roots – what caste they came from, which temple they went to, all the shared festivals between the Hindus and Catholics in Goa. That was pretty new to me.

PR: Which has been the most special book you have written?

WD: I tend to love the most recent one. At the moment it is Return of a King.

The one everyone likes here is The Last Mughal and City of Djinns. I wrote Djinns when I was really young (24 years old).

You always find these kids who arrive at St Stephen’s or Hindu College from Bengal or Goa and they don’t want to be in Delhi.

But they read that book and they go exploring and they find the old mosques.

Every few weeks, even now 20 years later, I get an email from some kids saying how they visited Delhi and found the old underground passages. In the West, the one they really like is From the Holy Mountain. The one I was most obsessed by, although I think it’s the most imperfect book because it’s too long and heavy and needed to be edited, was White Mughals.

(Dalrymple spent five years ‘madly’ researching for the book.)

PR: Your latest literary offering, Return of a King, has made it to the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize longlist.

How hopeful are you, considering all your books have received recognition?

WD: This is the one prize that has always eluded me. This is the fourth time I’ve been on the longlist. All three previous times, I never made it to the shortlist. It’s a strange form of torture.

Let’s see how it goes.

PR: You don many hats – author, historian, lecturer, curator, critic, war correspondent, traveller. Which role is most fulfilling?

WD: Not that many hats! It’s really one hat with lots of different corners.

Fulfilling, there is no question, is writing books, but it’s also the one that’s hardest work. And it’s nice to vary with the other stuff. Writing that big a history book is a project spanning five years and it’s enormously hard work, it’s real grind and gruel and miserable at various points.

But at the end of it, if the book does well and receives good reviews and everyone

buys it, it’s the most fulfilling. Journalism is the opposite from that. It’s not difficult to do. It’s fun and whacky and you can have a good time doing it. I still am a journalist. The ideal thing is to spend the three-four-five year grind doing a big book and then spend a year whizzing around, travelling around. Journalism doesn’t exhaust you, grind you down.

And telly is the same – it is fun to do but forgotten tomorrow. What’s nice about books is that they weirdly have this sort of time-death charge thing whereby you can write a book like City of Djinns and you can get an email 20 years later. So in terms of fulfilment, no question – books.

PR: The Jaipur Literary Festival will be celebrating its tenth anniversary next January. How do you feel about it

growing from 14 attendees in 2004 to about a quarter of a million in 2013?

WD: I’m very proud of it. There were years when we couldn’t keep up with the crowds. By last year, we’d sorted out the problem with overcrowding. Last year was a big success, we had enough seats for everyone. I’m really proud of it.

India’s given so much to me. This is what I have given back.

PR: You have travelled to and written about some of the most beautiful and most ‘contested lands’ on earth – the Kashmir Valley, the Palestinian territories, and more recently Afghanistan. Have these travels enriched your understanding of peoples and cultures, of love and loss?

WD: Any travel increases your understanding of humanity. Contested stuff helps you understand the news better. You can read about Israel for years but not understand what it’s like until you go see Palestinians being killed or some Kashmiris being shot at by the CRPF or see a roadside bomb in the

aftermath in Kandahar. It’s good to see the extremes of things. Life is a rich and varied platter and it’s fun to get to see an art exhibit tonight and it’s equally good to see a warzone tomorrow. I certainly enjoy that aspect of things whereby you live life to its fullest and wildest. My hero is a travel writer called Patrick Leigh Fermor and he wrote a lovely phrase somewhere from his youthful travels: “There is much to recommend moving straight from straw to a four-poster and then back again.” The sensation of roughing it and then living it up – it’s all good. I think if you can amplify the bandwidths of your life, it’s all positive.

PR: Ralph Fiennes is expected to star in and direct the cinematic version of White Mughals. Are you going to be closely involved with the movie’s production, including writing the screenplay?

WD: No, I’m not. I do not write screenplays.

I will be advising. What you do is you choose who you sell it to. It’s got an intriguing team – Ralph Fiennes directing and Frank Doelger, the guy who produces Game of Thrones, doing the production. It’s the third time I’ve sold that book and the reason it hasn’t been made up to now is that it’s one of those projects that’s very expensive – it’s got battles, elephants and it’s going to need a huge amount of money to make it; kind of like Lord of the Rings, it needs that kind of vision.

Thanks to the success of Game of Thrones, there’s a small chance that actually now Doelger could make the movie if he really throws his reputation behind him.

PR: Goa is increasingly being recognised as a destination for the arts. How much potential do you think the state has to become one of India’s premier Art & Culture centres?

WD: Increasingly, a high proportion of Indian artists, writers seem to be based in Goa. The combination of a large relatively wealthy middle-class, lots of artistic life going have something to do with that. I’m not in a position to judge seriously, but it has serious prospects.

PR: Would you consider bidding Mehrauli goodbye and moving to Goa? WD: It’s something we think about, we talk about every so often. I just love it there. All my friends are in Delhi and some are in Goa. It’s certainly a very attractive prospect, particularly in winter.

PR: Finishing words from William Dalrymple for Streets’ readers, especially those who are keen to take up writing in the future?

WD: Lucky people, you live in a gorgeous place. Stay there and write hard!

14 Hot Streets

Dear Acaricia May, I’m in college and in love with a classmate. She’s the most beautiful woman I know. Both inside and out.

And every time I’m near her everything changes, including my heart beat and my breathing. She’s just such a breath of fresh air. I love the way she smiles and the way she laughs and how easy going and fun-loving she is. The best part is that it’s obvious that she really likes me too.

I live with friends in an apartment, and she loves to come over and hang out with me. She also calls me all the time and I look forward to every conversation and every meeting we have. Now here’s the problem. She likes me but doesn’t love me like the way I love her. During one of our conversations, she told me she has a crush on one of my flat mates. All this time I assumed that we were building a relationship that would end up with her being my girlfriend. And now it’s clear she sees me as just a friend, and wants to be with my flat mate and not me. I’m really heart broken. I don’t know what to do. I can’t imagine what my world would be like without her in it. And I think I would die if I saw her with my flat mate.

What should I do?

Rahul, Porvorim

Dear Rahul, Oh if only the world always conformed to our desires! What a world it would be! Who among us has not had a broken heart? The one silver lining about heart break is that without it, the joy of a fulfilled heart would not be as acute.

What I’m saying is that with a little luck, love will come your way and you will rejoice in its bounty. What should you do about this situation? Telling her how you feel is certainly one option. The best that can happen is that she will respond

in kind, despite her feelings for your pal – and the worst that can happen is that you will have just flattered a very special friend, even if she remains just that, a friend. Rahul, let me tell you a little anecdote. When I was in college a guy named Jackson, whom I was very close to, set his romantic sights on me, but I was interested in someone else. Jackson confessed his love, but we did not get together. Still, we remained very close friends and, years later, when my feelings for the first guy had long fizzled, Jackson

and I did get together. Our years of friendship and closeness served us well when we decided to bring a new level of intimacy to our relationship. Rahul, allow the ebbs and flows of life and romance to happen. Embrace beauty and happiness. I am sure good things will come your way.

Hang in there!

Love,

Acaricia May

The

Corner

The Corner is a regular space where organisations, entrepreneurs and all those with noteworthy projects can ‘strut their stuff’.

I

t’s one of the fastest growing industries in the world and a pressing need in our time: To ensure a true sense of wellness for society and future generations. The importance of diet and wellness cannot be overstated. Here in Goa, we have growing numbers of obese people and yet until now there was not even a single clinic in the state dealing with health, diet and nutrition.

All that has now changed.

The Diet Clinic, powered by Harpreet Pasricha, is the answer to this urgent requirement. It is holistic in its approach to the management and analysis of an individual’s diet.

Harpreet Pasricha, Goa’s well-known celebrity nutritionist, has been in this field for over 15 years. She has now franchised the Diet Clinic in Panjim, Vasco and Margao. She has had many

years of experience in the wellness industry and her belief is that no two people are the same. Just as our finger prints, our voice prints and our lip prints are unique, our individual genetic profiles are also different, and fad diets are not always suitable for every individual. After years of research on Western nutrition, obesity journals, fad diets, Atkins, GM, Blood Group diets, Ayurvedic diets, Harpreet has evolved the concept based on individual body constitution. The individual’s life and body are constantly evolving and food or food supplements used today may not be the best choice next month or next year.

Harpreet’s personal mantra is each individual has to be respected, encouraged and motivated to achieve their target and feel a change in the quality of life. All of Diet Clinic’s

trained dieticians are committed to this principle.

Weight management and diets can leave gruesome scars, both emotional and physical, if not handled with care and precision. The Diet Clinic is focused on a holistic wellness experience, with real, measurable progress in feelings of wellness to weight management to a total body transformation that lets people feel better, look better and enjoy more confidence.

The Diet Clinic does not use any gadgetry, gizmos, powders, supplements or additives. Instead, nature’s bounty is tapped to prepare a pure, healthy and individually beneficial nutritional program right in the comfort your own home. Each individual’s body type is assessed and monitored on a regular basis to offer a suggested customized dietary plan, which is also

carefully monitored.

Besides weight management, Diet Clinic is dedicating special diet plans for ailments, thereby increasing people’s energy levels, which in turn leads to improved work efficiency and a healthy change in lifestyle. The clinic’s plans are thus not just for weight loss/gain, but also for disease management like thyroid, BP, diabetes, osterioporosis, cholesterol, coronary heart diseases and many others. There are diets for each gender and for all ages.

Also at Diet Clinic, certain foods are recommended which help detoxify toxins in the system, and that in turn helps delay the process of aging, in addition to fighting long-term ailments. 

Turn to page 18 for more on The Corner

15

Thursday, September 19, 2013

streetspicks French Poet Aurélia Lassaque In Goa

The Alliance Française, Panjim, in collaboration with the French Institute in India, will host the poet Aurélia Lassaque. She will give a presentation on the topic ‘Languages and Poetry’ at the University of Goa and on ‘Culture and Poetry’ at the Allaince Française. Aurelia Lassaque writes poetry and has collaborated with painters and visual artists with exhibitions in France, the US and Italy. Her poems have been translated in magazines and anthologies in English, Dutch, Portuguese, Catalan, Asturian, Finnish, Basque, Romanian and Italian.

At Goa University, French Department (2:30 pm onward); Alliance Francaise, Panjim (6:30 pm onward) On September 19 +91 832 2420049

Classical Music Soiree A musical evening with German violin virtuoso Rasa Zukhaukaite who has been invited to India by Art Chamber and the German Consulate. Listen to the compositions of Beethoven and Mozart accompanied by the violin and piano.

Donation passes (Rs 300/ person) are available at Art Chamber, Calangute and Furtado’s, Panjim.

At Art Chamber, Calangute On September 20 @ 7:30 pm onward +91 9823217435

Cultural Talent Search Competition The Directorate of Art & Culture, Government of Goa, is organising the annual Cultural Talent Search Competition for school students. All students from Classes V-X can participate in the competition to be held in the fields of Tabla, Harmonium, Guitar, Keyboard, Violin, Indian Classical Vocal, Light Music, Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Monologue, Western Solo, Drawing, Essay Writing and Poetry Writing.

At Ravindra Bhavan, Margao On September 24 – September 25 @ 8:15 am onward +91 832 2726980

Gearing Up For The Th 44 International Film Festival Of India

By Puja Roy @AriAsher

I

f you happen to visit the official website of the International Film Festival of India or IFFI (www. iffigoa.org), you will be welcomed by a clock that’s keeping track of exactly how many months, days, hours and seconds are left for the event to kick off this year.

Currently, there are two months, one day, and about four hours and a few minutes for the inauguration of IFFI in Goa. Come November and students, professionals and aficionados from across the country and overseas will be congregating in Goa for 11 days to celebrate all things cinema. The festival is scheduled to be held from November 20-30. (Buzz is Tamil superstar Rajnikanth will be the chief guest for the opening ceremony.)

IFFI will be celebrating its 44th anniversary this year. What also makes it special is the fact that 2013 will mark the tenth year of the festival’s presence in Goa. Shripad Naik – General Manager, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), says his team began preparations in earnest about four months in advance. “More than 500 people are working on the event”, he adds.

The ESG is a Government of Goa agency incharge of handling logistics for IFFI. It is essentially the engine that keeps IFFI running smoothly. Naik says that about 5,000-6,000 delegates participate on an average.

“IFFI is an international event. To accommodate all the delegates, to make their stay comfortable so that they go back from IFFI happy – that is our biggest challenge”, he explains.

While the ESG manages IFFI’s operations, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B Ministry) is in charge of programming and selecting movies that are screened at the festival. Officials travel to festivals all over the world and select and showcase some of the year’s best movies at IFFI. Screenings take place under different categories like Cinema of the World, Indian Panorama and Country-focus, to name a few. Earlier this year, I&B Minister Manish Tewari said Japan would be the ‘focus country’ at IFFI 2013 followed by China in next year’s edition.

Naik feels ESG should have more say in the festival’s

decision-making process, especially considering “how much we spend on it.” This year, certain events like short films will not be held at the festival. (In previous editions, many local Goan moviemakers got the opportunity to showcase their works in the Short Film segment and received recognition for the same.) Naik says that the ESG even wanted to hold movie premieres but “even that is not there this year. It depends on the I&B Ministry, what it chooses”, he adds.

Because IFFI is a government event, says Naik, the festival faces more rules and limitations than, say, events like the Mumbai Film Festival. Still, IFFI has managed to work some wonders for Goa and its people. It has impacted Goa’s image as a film destination in a big way. Film shootings have increased over the years. (Shah Rukh Khan’s latest, Chennai Express, was extensively shot in Goa.) In addition, fees for shooting movies in Goa have gone up by at least a hundred per cent since ESG took up the venture four years ago, Naik says, providing valuable revenue to the state.

And what about the benefit locals are reaping from IFFI? Hotels/restaurants benefit from the delegates who come to stay in Goa, manpower (for backend operations) is hired from the open market, young talented people are getting jobs (as dancers, support staff) on sets of movies that are being shot in the state. Also, the film culture in Goa has increased in the sense that Goans are producing many more movies now. (Take, for example, National Award-winning filmmaker Rajendra Talak.)

Having successfully hosted many editions of IFFI in Goa, the ESG has some grand plans for this year. “We have never disappointed. We try to make it better every year. There is no comparison between any two years”, Naik says. He explains how 11 days go by in a jiffy with little sleep or relaxation for his hardworking team. “We don’t get time, we are actively involved in managing.

For me, I have not seen a single picture throughout the four years…”, he adds. While it is chaotic, there is fun in the madness of organising an event on the scale of IFFI. Before running off for a meeting, Naik gives me one last minute to say, “The hallmark of IFFI is that no matter what time of the day or night, there are people here doing their work with smiling faces.” 

16 Arts&Entertainment a number of exhibitions and workshops to art-lovers.

At Majorda @ 10 am – 6 pm +91 8888862462

September 18 – 30 Hosting Matoli, An Exhibition

by Goa-based Artists

Works on display by artists Sailesh Cabohalkar, Adi Vishal, Nirupa Naik, Navso Parvar, Shridhar Kamat Bambolkar, Noreen Carniero, Naguesh Rao Sardesia, Anagha Deshpande, Harshada Kerkar and Shammiulla Sayyed.

At Harshada Art Gallery, Opposite Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, Miramar @ 11 am onward

Fundacao Oriente Art

Gallery

Permanent exhibition of paintings

by António Xavier Trindade, (18701935), a painter from Goa. At Fontainhas, Panjim @ 10 am – 1 pm; 2 pm – 5 pm +91 832 2230728

Galleri Esperanca

September 21 – 22

Retrospective art in oils, water colours, crayons portraits, landscape, still-life photographs of artist Francisco Joao Fernandes.

At Near The Our Lady Of Merces Church, Merces @ 4 pm – 7 pm +91 9922509704

Agile India 2013

The purpose of this conference is to address the growing interest in lightweight software development methods and to provide a comprehensive overview of current state-of-the-art Agile and lean values, principles and practices.

At Taleigao Community Centre, Panjim @ 9 am – 6 pm +91 9011058876

A display of paintings by Goan artists.

At Opposite Don Bosco, Panjim @ 9 am – 1 pm; 2 pm – 7 pm +91 832 2420929

The Pepper Cross: An

Gallery Gitanjali

Exhibition

This art gallery showcases works of artists from Goa, Mumbai and Karnataka, including Suhas Shilkar, Jayshree Patankar, Kerky & Devi Prasad. At Fontainhas, Panjim @ 9 am – 9 pm +91 9823572035

Photographs, sculptures and installations about a theme from history.

At Kerkar Art Gallery, Gauracwaddo, Calangute @ 5 pm – 7:30 pm +91 832 2276017

Konkani Play

‘Ticket’

Directed by JR Reagan.

At Hanuman Theatre, Mapusa @ 10:30 am onward +91 9545410760

October 7 – October 19 Concept of Drupad in Indian

Classical Music

Learn about Indian classical music with Ustad Baha’ud-din Dagar, Visiting Professor in Indian traditional music.

Organised by Goa University in collaboration with the Department of Art and Culture.

At Goa University, Dona Paula rudraveena@unigoa.ac.in www.unigoa.ac.in

Galleries of Note Akasha – The Art Space

This new art space in the heart of Margao is the brainchild of Sidharth Yaji and Radhakant Divkar.

At Opposite Gaylin Restaurant, Near Yogita’s Lifestyle Store, Margao

Arte Douro Art Gallery

The gallery displays paintings on canvas of original art & international print arts.

At Porba Vaddo, Calangute @ 9 am – 9 pm +91 832 22882266/9822147148

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem, the newly opened art and learning centre in Majorda, brings

Humour

Gallery Attic

September 21–October 14

September 22

Harmony &

The cast of Curtains performing at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao

Kerkar Art

Gallery

The Kerkar Art Gallery exhibits installations and sculptures by local artists such as Subodh Kerkar and selected works by contemporary artists from all over India. At Gauravaddo, Calangute @ 10 am – 7 pm. +91 832 2276017

Panjim Art Gallery

Catch a display of figurative & individual works of art by local Goan artists. At Panaji Art Gallery @ 9 am – 8 pm. +91 9822168703

Ruchika’s Art Gallery

Ruchika’s Art Gallery displays fine art, performing art and new forms of art. Opposite Goa Marriott Resort, Miramar @ 10:30 am –6 pm +91 8322465875/9850571283

Surya Art Gallery

Surya Art Gallery is situated in a quiet location where contemporary works of canvas paintings & artefacts of Goa are displayed.

At Bandawalwada, Pernem +919404149764

Xavier Centre of Historical

Research

Catch exhibitions of paintings, rare books and symposiums with particular emphasis on contemporary cultural & social issues affecting Goa. At BB Borkar Road, Porvorim +91 832 2417772

Curtains, the musical comedy, leaves audience in a laugh riot

By Goa Streets @GoaStreets

T

wo years ago, they spammed our minds with melodious slapstick dialogues bringing to life Monty Python’s Spamlot which turned out to be a super hit. This year the same Bangalore-based cast began exactly where they had left off, tearing the audience apart with fits of rhythmic laughter. Curtains, staged at Ravindra Bhavan in Margao, was presented by Big Ticket Entertainment, a Goan company that is bringing highend Broadway musicals and stand-up comedy from around the world to Goa. Curtains, a live musical whodunit murder-mystery comedy, was a play within a play that left everyone with a funny beat in their hearts. It begins with the mysterious death of the leading lady, Jessica Cranshaw, of the Boston Colonial Theatre on the opening night performance of a new musical.

Pained by miserable reviews and unmerciful critics, the crew wastes no time in trying to fix the problem and replace her. They work hard to move on from the tragedy, but somehow or the other things aren’t that easily ‘pushed under the carpet’.

The Director of the play (who bears a striking resemblance to Woody Allen) was quick and witty with his responses. A small distraction arises in the form of a homicide detective, Lieutenant

Frank Cioffi (also a musical theatre fan), who turns up at their rehearsals and has the cast and crew under lockdown. Everyone is a suspect. But this doesn’t stop the killer when the Producer is discovered ‘absolutely positively dead’.

All Lieutenant Cioffi has to do is to merely piece together the clues he’s gathered, correctly unmask the killer, save the life of the murderer’s next intended victim, render the fiend harmless, make sense of a troubling but telltale observation, and find a new finale for the show, little knowing that the curtain is just about to rise on the greatest joy of his life!

The singing was done in perfect harmony and the dancing had everyone tapping their feet to some original compositions. As the bodies piled up, the homicide detective blended in as an integral part of the cast and helped improve the quality of the play. Also holding the play together

were two love stories – one of them being between the investigator and a cast member.

The musical held the integrity of the drama and producer-director Leila Alvares did not disappoint. Based on Peter Stones’ book and concept, it was liberally scattered with one-liners, witty dialogue, imaginative choreography, a few murders and a happy ending! It will definitely be a tough act to follow. And those who missed it missed a great show. 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

streetspicks Cookery Workshop Bring your friends along and learn to cook in a healthy way with Chef Rego of the Taj Group of Hotels and nutrionist Rohini Diniz. For age groups 16-20 years. Do carry cutting boards, knives, peelers, plates/trays for display and kitchen dusters.

A one-day trek for hardened trekkers; there will be a good climb of about 8 km from Morlegao village to Fort Pargad followed by a nice local lunch. Participants must carry their own plates, glasses, spoons & drinking water.

Wearing of shoes is compulsory. Participation fee is Rs 450, including breakfast, lunch & tea, transportation & briefing from locals.

On September 22 +91 9822168112/9822522119

Live Book App Readings Live Book App Readings has especially been designed for English Literature college students and book-lovers. The Readings entail the study of authors, the plot, technique and themes in books. Works under discussion include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai, The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, The Glass Palace

by Amitav Ghosh, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Poetry Readings. Entry fees at Rs 150 for members and Rs 200 for nonmembers.

At The International Centre Goa, Dr E Borges Road, Dona Paula On September 21 @ 3 pm – 5 pm +91 832 2452805

The Abyss Spice Farm is located on high hills amidst stunning surroundings near Ponda. Many tourists visit it for the medicinal herbs grown here on a large scale. An Ayurvedic doctor takes guests on a tour of the medicinal plants, fruit and betelnut gardens. The plantation also offers Ayurvedic massages. This spice plantation is also among Goa’s premier organic farming practitioners.

At Sai Farm, Savoi Verem, Ponda

September 5 – 24

Northeast Trade Expo

Exhibition, display, demonstration & sale of exquisite crafts by crafts-persons from Northeastern India.

At Ravindra Bhavan, Fatorda @ 10 am – 9 pm +91 832 2726980

September 20

Workshop on Lie Detection

An interactive workshop on the ‘Pinocchio Effect - detect the lie behind the line of truth’ by Leona Fernandes. At The International Centre Goa, Dr E Borges Road, Dona Paula @6:30 pm – 8 pm +91 832 2452805/10

Ancestral Goa

TukTuk

Goa Chitra

From apparel to silver jewellery, bags to accessories and souvenirs to curios, everything at TukTuk is handpicked from across India.

At A 104, Pereira Plaza, 1st Floor, Opposite Hospicio, Margao @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm & 2:30 pm – 7 pm +91 9049017182

White-water River Rafting

This river-rafting adventure commences from Ustem village and ends at Sonal village covering a distance 10 km in 90 minutes. On Monday – Wednesday (at Rs 1,400); Weekends (at Rs 1,700) www.bookings.goa-tourism.com @ 10:30 am onward +91 832 2224132/ +91 832 2226515

Every Monday & Wednesday Learn this traditional Brazilian martial art form that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music.

At Tito’s White House, Anjuna @ 7 pm – 8 pm +91 9769341128

Every Friday Tabla Classes

September 18 –October 4 Spice Farms Padmashree awardee Shubha Mudgal will conduct a music course titled ‘Diversity, Hybridity and Experimentation in the Music of Contemporary India’.

At Goa University, Taleigao +91 832 2451345

Museums

A centre for the preservation & promotion of art, culture & environment started by Maendra JA Alvares.

At Big Foot, Loutolim @9 am – 6 pm +91 832 2777034 Email: ancestralgoa@gmail.com Website: www.ancestralgoa.com

At Swami Vivekananda Society Junta House, Panjim @ 3 pm – 7:30 pm +91 832 2224098

Music Course

Sahakari Spice Farm

Spend a day among the lush green environs of the 130acre Sahakari Spice Farm. Relax under a dense forest cover and take in the aroma of a variety of spices grown in the farm. Also, enjoy a traditional Goan lunch served in earthen pots & banana leaves.

At PondaBelgaum Highway, Curti, Ponda +91 832 2312394

Organised by Walter Mascarenhas; every day by prior appointment only.

At The International Centre Goa, Dr E Borges Road, Dona Paula @ 5 pm – 7 pm +91 9822911161

Capoeira Classes

Abyss Spice Farm

Organised by Chowgule College, classes will be held two-three times a week at the college premises.

At Chowgule College, Panjim +91 9890194857

Organised by Chitra De in association with the International Centre Goa. Fees at Rs 700/person (inclusive of workshop material).

At The International Centre Goa, Dr E Borges Road, Dona Paula @ 3 pm – 6 pm +91 832 2452805/10

Free Swimming Guidance

Trek to Fort Pargad

Spanish Language Classes

Warli Painting Workshop

Everyday

At Dempo House, Panjim On September 21 @ 3 pm – 6 pm +91 832 6651111

September 5 Onward

September 21 – 22

Atreya Vedic Farms

Set amidst nature’s abundance at the foothills of the Western Ghats in Molem is Atreya Vedic Farm, a unique ecotourism venture. At Bondu Mol, Mollem @ 9 am – 5 pm +91 832 6570877

Savoi Plantation

Offers traditional Goan Saraswat cuisine served in mud pots & banana leaf plates along with seasonal fruits grown in the plantation.

At Ponda +91 832 2340272/9423888899 Email: savaiplantation@rediffmail.com

With a collection of over 4,000 artefacts, Goa Chitra is an ethnographic museum that focuses on Goa’s traditional agrarian lifestyle and technology. At Mondo Waddo, Benaulim @ 9 am – 5 pm +91 832 6570877 Email: goachitra@gmail.com

Museum of Christian Art

Open all days of the week At the Convent of Santa Monica, Old Goa @ 9:30 am – 5 pm +91 832 2285299

Casa Araujo Alvares

Goa’s first automated sound & light museum. A 250-year-old mansion showcasing traditional inheritance.

At Big Foot, Loutolim @ 9 am – 6 pm +91 832 2777034 Email: bigfoottrust@gmail.com Website: www.casaaraujoalvares.com

Dance

Cyrus Da Costa Dance Classes

Learn Viennese waltz, foxtrot, cha cha cha and jive from Monday to Saturday.

At Sanvordem, Margao +91 832 2715906/9921039537

David Furtado Dance &

Aerobics

Learn salsa, jive, waltz for adults & Bollywood, hip hop & contemporary dance for kids. At Panjim, Mapusa, Porvorim, Candolim, Aldona & Saligao +91 9975914195

Jason & Sylvia Dance Academy

Kids aged between 4-12 years can learn hip hop, Latin dances, jazz ballet, zumba and Bollywood. Classes for adults are held for three weeks where waltz, Viennese waltz, jive, cha-cha and the basics of tango and salsa are taught.

At Las Viegas Dance Studio, Taliegao; BPS Club, Margao +91 8322451167/ 9822161652/ 9822151614

North Goa Sephora Salon & Spa

A Dubai-based beauty services chain Nr. Don Bosco School, Panjim. @ 9 am to 9 pm, Open daily 2231314, 3260890

Papiillon The Beauty Lounge

Virginkar Bhavan, Opposite Saraswat Bank, Margao, Goa 9822488355, 9822488366, (0832) 6483110, 6483111, 6480107, 6480106

Spa Sitara

At Fort Aguada Rd, Candolim +918888886084

Dreamz Salon & Spa

Rio Sol Tower, Near Bal Bhavan and Campal Clinic, Campal, La Campala Colony Main Road, Caculho Colony, St Inez Panaji, 403001 Goa 0832 222 3628

Neomi Salon & Spa

Navelkar Legend Dhempe College Road Tonca - Caranzalem Ph. 2461674 / 2462147 F9, Joe Leitao Residency Opp. Hari Om Jewellers Naika Vaddo Ph. 6513658, 6513659

Sevanta Salon & Spa Pvt.

Ltd.,

Shop No. 1/284 B, Gourawado, Calangute, 0832-6524999

The Shamana Spa

Grand Hyatt Goa P.O. Goa University, Bambolim, North Goa, Goa, India view map +91 832 301 1603

Snip Salon & Spa

the SNIP Salon & Spa offers an array of treatments specifically including massages, scrubs, ayurvedic therapy, hair treatments and anti aging facials.

At Calangute candolim road, Candolim +91 832 2275421

South Goa Park Hyatt Goa Resort

and Spa

Sereno Spa at Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa is a unique health and wellness oasis that offers holistic treatments through a blend of unique therapies.

At Arossim Beach, Cansaulim +918322721234/+919923207075

The

Corner

18

Worldwide Release of Elvis Rumion’s Debut Album Rumion For more information on Elvis Rumion and his debut album, visit: myspace.com/rumionrecords youtube.com/user/rumionrecords facebook.com/Rumionrecords twitter.com/Rumionrecords soundcloud.com/rumionrecords

G

oa’s multitalented artist Elvis Rumion, popularly known as just Rumion, is on a high these days. The Dubaiborn, London-educated composer, producer and singer/songwriter, (already a celebrity in Goa’s musical community), recently released his debut album titled Rumion. With a passion-driven heart for all things rock, Rumion delivers the goods. The album has 12 tracks in all. The songs are lyrically great and invite listeners to take a unique inner and sonic journey. Inspired lyrics are sung to rocking beats that would have been welcomed at Woodstock or even at Glastonbury today. Complete with powerful guitar solos that can instantly transform any listener into an impromptu air guitarist, Rumion shreds his way from his eponymous album and into a new perception of what it is to be a virtuoso. With his fan-base that’s constantly expanding, Rumion’s debut album leads his admirers into the future with world-class rock. The album is a part of the Blue Pie Records label and is being distributed worldwide by Blue Pie Records.

Silk Micro Mocktails

I

ndian Jones, House of Indian Food, with strong roots in unearthing and showcasing various types of ethnic cuisine, was launched in North Goa by Money Singh Wadhwa and Sonu Ahluwalia. Unhappy with the unavailability of good North Indian food in Goa, the two friends came up with the idea of Indian Jones which received a glittering opening on Saturday, September 14. The launch was attended by politicians, industrialists, celebrities and many well-wishers.

Located at Chogm House, Indian Jones is spread out over five levels including ‘A La Carte’ to the ‘Jones Bar’ to a ‘Party & Event Place’. The restaurant can accommodate small intimate parties for 20 people and also host events for 200 folks. Overlooking Goa’s party zone of Calangute, Indian Jones offers foodies an opportunity to discover the hidden secrets of cuisine from the Northwest Frontier, Dilli, Kashmir and Lucknow.

The chefs at Indian Jones have been

Tandoori Aloo Paswan

Indian Jones, House of Indian Food Launched in North Goa specially chosen from the North to bring to Goans an amalgam of flavours with different authentic spices. Partner MS Wadhwa says, “The main purpose of hosting Indian Jones is to give our guests and the local residents of Goa a taste of authentic Northwest Frontier cuisine.”

Now on to the menu. Meat-lovers can choose from a range of 40-45 dishes.

There’s Dilli ka Butter Chicken, Tandoori Murgh Amritsari/Afghani & Surkh Murgh Tikka Islamabad. Gastronomic delights like Paya Shorba, Makhmali Murgh Tikka Masala, Malabar Soft-shell Crab and Kache Ghosht ki Biryani are also

available. Among kebabs, you could try out dishes like Dum Kakori Kebab, Patthar ke Kebab and Galouti Kebab. There are also some innovative preparations like Methi Murgh Khaas and Curry Pattey aur Harey Dhaniya ka Jheenga. Keeping diabetic patients in mind, there’s the special Karela Chicken. Vegetarians can look forward to dishes like Reshmi Paneer Tikka, Pindi Chholey, Palak Corn homestyle and lots of other exciting fare.

Indian Jones is open from 12 noon to midnight. Drop by to indulge your senses in the flavours and fragrances of India’s North. The ambience is great, the music

blends in perfectly with the place and the food is seriously good! Overall, an experience to be enjoyed with friends and family.

Indian Jones, House of Indian Food; Chogm House; Naika Vaddo, Chogm Road, Calangute For bookings, call: +91 9767655999 The Corner is a regular space where organisations, entrepreneurs and all those with noteworthy projects can ‘strut their stuff’.

Feature 19

Thursday, September 19, 2013

By Pedro Menezes

R

ecently, residents of Panjim were treated to a rather nasty reality check when cops busted a ‘dance bar’ clandestinely operating on the terrace of a city hotel. When the place was raided late in the night, six women were found gyrating to loud music on a make-shift stage, while guests, including an MLA from Uttar Pradesh, lolled about on cushions on the ground, mujra-style.

Nothing wrong with watching women dance, you’d say; you can do so at any discotheque anywhere. But the women dancing seductively on that terrace were setting the mood for what was to follow.

Soon, many retreated to the privacy of a bedroom for sex, said the cops. One of the women dancers was later found to have been ‘rescued’ in a prostitution case a few months ago.

Of course, that particular Panjim dance bar had to close, but who knows how many such dance bars operate clandestinely around Goa? Quite a few, say people in the know, all in the coastal tourism belt. Until recently, many of them were operating openly – and some still do – in the Calangute-Candolim coastal belt which is visited by thousands of tourists every day.

It’s not for nothing that Goa has come to be known as something of a sex destination, even if it’s not exactly Thailand. Goa’s ‘dance bars’ clearly thrive on tourism, and also from the fact that Mumbai’s dance bars were closed five years ago. In one fell swoop, thousands of women who earned their living dancing to Bollywood hits in Mumbai’s dance bars were rendered unemployed. Most dancers had large families to support.

Enterprising middle-men, spotting an opportunity, brought hundreds of these dancers to Goa and some attempted to set-up Mumbai-style dance bars in the Calangute area, with varying degrees of success. Unlike Mumbai, where the majority of the women were actual dancers and not involved in prostitution, the running assumption in Goa is that most of the bar dancers are prostitutes.

In Mumbai, prostitution (which also existed in many of the dance bars) was a parallel activity involving other women, not the dancers.

“In Goa, it’s not like in Mumbai.

Here the dance bars are simply a front for prostitution,” says Calangute MLA Michael Lobo who, since being elected in March 2012, has launched a campaign to rid the Calangute-Candolim area of these

S ’ ' A O G sleaze rackets. After he launched his antisleaze campaign by targeting massage parlours and dance bars which were a front for prostitution, most of the dance bars had to shut down following police raids and widespread media attention.

In June, for example, a ‘disco’ near the St Anthony’s Chapel junction on the main Calangute-Candolim road was raided on a Saturday night after police received a tip-off that 18 women had been spotted ‘entertaining’ customers there. In return for a ‘cover charge’, the male guests could dance with the women, most of whom were from the Northeast. And then for a price, other things would follow, Calangute Police Inspector Nilesh Rane said.

When police raided the place, the management ‘blacked-out’ the disco by putting off the electricity and in the darkness, as the police fumbled around, the 18 women, including one from Goa, were hustled into a store-room at the back, and the room locked. In the darkness the customers also escaped.

When the lights came on, the police searched the premises and found the frightened girls huddled inside the store-room. When questioned, the management claimed that the women had been brought as waitresses and dancers. Says Nilesh Rane, “If they were not doing anything illegal, why were they hiding in the store-room? We may not have caught them red-handed in the act, but there was definitely something fishy going on.”

S R A B E C N DA

Michael Lobo says that despite all the raids, prostitution activities are continuing in Calangute. “They have to continue the raids until prostitution is completely stopped because this leads to other crimes like drug abuse.” He alleged that the owners of dance bars in the coastal belt are trying to restart their dance bars following the recent Supreme Court order directing the Maharashtra government to allow dance bars to function.

“I have received information that they are taking legal advice on whether they can use that order and restart their dance bars which had been shut down. The CM has said he will not give bar licenses to these places, but they already have excise licenses. They are trying to start as restaurants and then convert them into dance bars by saying they will only have karaoke or music bands,” Lobo said.

He added that in Mumbai, dance bars have strict rules about men not touching women, but that is not the case in Goa. “It’s okay in Mumbai because they have very strict rules. The women dance in one area and men only watch. They’re professional dancers. But in Goa it’s all a front for prostitution,” he said.

A controversy erupted in early August when BJP spokesman Wilfred Misquita said there was nothing wrong with having dance bars in Goa “as the worst vice of all, alcohol consumption had taken firm roots in Goa”. This prompted Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to announce in his Independence Day speech that

dance bars would not be allowed in Goa. Calangute Panchayat member Joseph Sequeira says, “Before, Baina was known for prostitution and drugs.

Now Calangute is becoming known for prostitution and drugs. This is not a good sign. All these dance bars are being run by outsiders who have purchased or leased the properties, not by locals.”

But what about the dancers themselves? Perhaps nobody has captured the story of their lives in Mumbai better than Goan writer Sonia Faleiro who wrote Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay’s Dance Bars based on five years of research.

Says she of bar dancers, “The dancers certainly consider themselves ‘better’ than sex workers. Most bar dancers earn enough money from dancing to support themselves; they don’t have to sleep with customers for money. Sex workers of course do just that. And bar dancers have greater acceptance with their communities.”

Of course the story of Goa’s dancers is different. Are they doing it out of necessity or out of choice? Are they victims of the sex traffic or are they willing participants? Authorities in the know believe most of Goa’s prostitutes fall into the latter category, having chosen that life to make ends meet. But that doesn’t mean there’s no trafficking at all in Goa, and there have been cases of women forced into the trade. And even one trafficked woman in Goa is one too many. 

20 Wheels on Streets

Wheels On Streets Presented by Goa Streets and goaonwheels.com Goa Streets has teamed up with the popular website goaonwheels.com to launch this new automotive section, featuring the best on offer in the universe of cars and bikes. Content courtesy of goaonwheels.com.

Live it up – and rev it up! all under one roof. The showroom is spread over a total area of 8,000 sq ft with a dedicated workshop with 5 service bays which can service 50-60 two-wheelers each day. Suzuki retails scooters, motorcycles and superbikes in Goa. The scooter range includes Access 125 and Swish 125 while the motorcycle range has Hayate (110cc), SlingShot Plus (125cc) and GS150R (150cc).

BMW Launches 1 Series In India BMW has launched the all-new 1 Series in the India market. The car was unveiled in Mumbai by legendary sportsman Sachin Tendulkar and Armaan Ebrahim, FIA GT1 World Championship race driver from India. The 1 Series starts at Rs 20.9 lakh making it the most affordable BMW. The all-new BMW 1 Series is available in petrol (BMW 116i) and diesel variants (BMW 118d, BMW 118d Sport and BMW 118d Sport Plus). The Sport and Sport Plus appeal to the athletic and powerful with more aggressive design features and highlights.

Powered by TwinPower Turbo engines with eight-speed automatic transmission, the 1 Series does 0-100 km/h in just 8.6 seconds from the diesel mill and 8.7 seconds with the petrol engine. The compact hatch is loaded with technology which includes six airbags, BMW Restraint System, passenger cell system with defined deformation zones, impactabsorbing front and rear bumpers, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and run-flat tyres.

The BMW 1 Series is equipped with BMW EfficientDynamics, a comprehensive technology which packages to reduce fuel consumption and increase driving dynamics – such as Intelligent Lightweight Construction, Auto Start-Stop, ECO PRO mode, BrakeEnergy Regeneration, 50:50 Weight Distribution, Run-Flat tyres and many other innovative technologies.

The BMW 1 Series is targeted for people with urban lifestyles who are passionate about driving and want to make their mark.

Variant break-up with prices (exshowroom Delhi):

Kawasaki Launches Superbikes In India

For feedback, send an email to goaonwheels@ gmail.com looking to purchase one of these super machines will have to travel to Pune where the bikes will be sold and serviced through the exclusive flagship shop. (At Kawasaki Shop, Address – 12/B, Bajaj Brand View Building, Wakdewadi, Pune; Phone: +91 20 67276727)

What’s Launching Soon?

Skoda Octavia

‘The legend is back’, says Skoda, which will soon introduce the all-new Octavia in the Indian market toward Septemberend. The Octavia sedan, which began the Skoda innings in the Indian market, will be offered in a choice of petrol & diesel engines. The Octavia is an all-new model and the first to be based on the Volkswagen MQB platform.

116i: Rs 20.9 lakh 118d: Rs 22.9 lakh 118d Sport: Rs 25.9 lakh 118d Sport Plus: Rs 29.9 lakh

(Note: Goa launch will happen on September 27, but one can book and testdrive the car at BMW Goa showroom in Verna, South Goa.)

Suzuki Motorcycle Opens New Dealership In Goa

Suzuki Motorcycle India has opened a new dealership in Goa, Kunde Suzuki, to cater to the growing demand for Suzuki scooters & motorcycles. The new dealership is located at Nuvem, on the National Highway opposite Rhea Estate.

Kunde Suzuki is a 3S facility which includes Sales, Service and Spares

Japanese superbike maker Kawasaki is getting serious in the Indian market.

After introducing lower cubic capacity bikes namely the Ninja 300 and Ninja 650, Kawasaki has launched its high-end flagship motorcycles – Ninja ZX-14R and ZX-10R for the Indian market to strengthen its product portfolio.

The superbikes will be imported as completely built units (CBU) from Japan and will be retailed through the newlyestablished Kawasaki flagship store in Pune. One will have to shell out Rs 16.9 lakh for ZX-14R and Rs 15.7 lakh for ZX-10R, (ex-showroom Pune). The Ninja ZX-14R ranks amongst the fastest production motorcycles ever offered to the public.

Kawasaki aims to sell 100 units of these high-end bikes per year. Those

Nissan Terrano

Nissan will launch its all-new Terrano SUV, based on the Renualt Duster platform. The Terrano SUV comes with typical Nissan styling, with butch styling and solid built. Interiors are premium and are loaded with many comfort features. This new SUV will be the seventh model and will come with similar power trains as the Duster.

Harley Davidson Showroom In Goa

Harley Davidson has opened its new store in Goa and the official inauguration is expected to happen very soon. Bookings have already begun and deliveries will start once the dealership is officially opened.

Feature 21

Thursday, September 19, 2013

By Pedro Menezes

G

oa’s famed nightlife could lose some of its shimmer if the state government and the courts stick to their recent decisions to restrict timings of night spots and cut the cord on music.

The Bombay High Court bench at Goa passed an order this week restricting all establishments from playing any kind of loud music beyond 10 pm. Post that, they are allowed to play music only at 55 decibels till midnight, after which they have to shut down. That’s a sound level at par with regular adult conversation – below even unplugged levels.

Last month, the government surprised the state by saying all bars and nightspots should shut down latest by 1 am, except for those in star-category hotels which can stay open till 5 am. Even liquor outlets like wine shops have been told to down shutters by 9 pm. The decision was taken because of a number of factors like late-night crimes, drug peddling, prostitution and drunken driving accidents.

Predictably, the entire tourism industry has raised a hue and cry, with Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who owns Café Looda in Anjuna Beach and the Baga Deck Lounge and Bar, besides two resorts, being the first to raise his voice against his own government. He said the decision would negatively impact the booming tourism industry in his constituency, which is known as the party hotspot of Goa. “This will finish the nightlife. Why will tourists come to Goa? Our North Goa beach belt is fully dependent on the nightlife. If this continues, there will be a 60% reduction in tourists. The youngsters who come on the weekends to party will stop coming. Tourists have dinner and leave their hotels at 10 pm and go to party at nightclubs and restaurants and they like to sit there and chill out till 4 am,” Lobo points out. “In an attempt to crack down on drugs and prostitution, they’re now going to shut down all the pubs and discotheques. This will finish them. Like mining, tourism will also become dead.

This is not a healthy decision.”

He also said the decision would have an adverse effect on the employment scenario as the people, mostly Goans, who are now employed by the pubs, restaurants and nightclubs during the late-night shift will be rendered unemployed.

A tourism industry stakeholder, requesting anonymity, said Bangalore, too, once had a roaring nightlife and was famous for its pubs. It was even known as India’s ‘Pub City’. But all that changed when the Karnataka government ordered all pubs to shut down by 11 pm. In one single move, Bangalore’s entire nightlife changed and it has never regained that party atmosphere. Which is why the Goa government’s decision has caused consternation amongst nightspot owners here. Popular nightspots like Tito’s, Mambo’s, Hype and SinQ are usually packed with party animals till the wee

KEEP THE MUSIC LOW, OR ELSE… How a recent government decision could transform Goa’s nightlife hours of the morning. All that will change now.

Says Savio Noronha of Tin Tin Café in Vagator, “This will finish off the tourism industry in the coastal belt. It doesn’t make sense. They’re going to implement a law from Madhya Pradesh here. All owners of restaurants and bars in Anjuna are getting together to fight this. How can we shut down by 10 pm?

First came the government notification saying everything must shut down by 1 am, and now the HC order which says loud music must stop by 10 pm.”

However, not all nightclub owners are worried, with some even expressing the hope that the notification will bring some kind of order to Goa’s famously chaotic nightlife.

Nandan Kudchadkar, owner of LPK Waterfront says, “I don’t think they’re going to completely shut down all places at 1 am; they’re trying to target the dance bars and other shady establishments. I don’t think genuine, legal places will be affected. I think it’s being done to rationalise the nightlife in Goa. If they want to organise it better, then it could be a good thing.

They might have criteria like is there enough parking space, is the place in a residential locality, is it close to a hospital. If Goa’s tourism industry has to survive, the late-night licences I agree with the new commercial noise restrictions but can you extend them to residential?

have to continue. There are only two reasons why people come to Goa, you can drink late into the night and you can party on the beach. What other tourist attractions are there? There has to be some reform, no doubt. I feel the government is just trying to regulate the nightlife.”

Desmond Oliveira, Vice President of the Entertainment Association of Goa echoes Nandan’s views. “The nightlife should not be stopped, but controlled. I feel it’s a good thing. These nightclubs are a menace to us, we don’t go there; it’s only the tourists who go there. So for tourism, they should continue with the late night licences, but with some controls,” he says.

Says Michael Lobo, “I request the CM to keep the old timings in the interest of tourism. They should stop people from drinking and driving, which can be done by the RTO or the Traffic Police, but why shut down the nightlife?” 

22 Mind, Body & Soul

By Sheela Jaywant

I

didn’t know a virgin jungle existed in Candolim.

Its virginity exists because those mighty banyans and tall, thick bamboos were planted about thirty monsoons ago, according to Ajai Lakhanpal, the owner

Rujuta Diwekar, the new-ageWellness Guru

of the place I’m talking about, ‘Aashyana Lakhanpal’. A very narrow no-signboard lane takes one to the first villa. After that, unless one is driving nothing broader than an Alto, one has to foot it to the very exclusive, expensive (naturally) (uh, pun not intended) main hotel complex. Natural building material, the best fittings and plenty of good art set amidst that tropical, shady greenery, a visitors’ book that indicates a la-di-da list of guests who’ve come here to get away from London/ Paris/New York: the ideal setting for a rich person’s Wellness Camp.

A Wellness Camp (my first) is a place where likeminded people meet. In this one, I guessed, the minds collectively liked to shed weight, mostly extra and unwanted. The sprightly, firm and muscularly graceful thirty-something lady with the bouncy ponytail and cheerful attitude who was telling them how to correctly bend, breathe and stretch into yogic postures was Rujuta Diwekar, a new-age Wellness Guru. She’s the one whose books are bringing in the Wellness gyaan to corporate managers, businessmen, housewives with time and cash to spare, and more importantly, athletes, marathon runners and other sportspeople. Also among her clients: Anil Ambani and Kareena Kapoor.

Whispered a Rajnikant fan to me: “Mind it, they’re also being exported to NRIs.” He was sitting next to me on the floor, on a mat, resting on a comfortable long pillow. After that momentary interruption, we both turned to concentrate on Rujuta’s lecture on “Nutrition for Exercise”.

Rujuta is a sports science expert, trained in the USA, who has been advocating common-sense eating and exercising to wellsoled, well-fed urban Indians. She sells her advice by appointment, mainly, to those

interested in personal answers. But during the warm season, she holds these camps at easy to reach places in the Himalayas. All arrangements are taken care of. Participants have to relax, inhale the unpolluted air, enjoy the sunrises and sets, do yoga, appropriate aerobic stuff and learn to eat correctly. his particular camp was a first, in Goa. Her students had come from Raipur, Surat, Mumbai, Bangalore... We Goans could label them wellness tourists looking for a holiday that gave them more than spa-restricted massages. Rujuta taught them about metabolic pathways, changes in their physiology before and after routine exercise sessions, the benefits of ghee and rice (which some wellness thinkers shun). By the end of the three days, she seemed to have convinced them that they could follow the regime earnestly even at home. The cloth bags the participants were carrying had ‘Rice is Nice’ printed on them. Those of us who based our eating habits on what magazine diets told us, were happy to hear that ‘traditional snacks like thalipeet with dollops of homemade white butter’ were good for our health. I’d always suspected that the Western hysteria against ghee was uncalled for: Rujuta told us there isn’t any equivalent of ghee in the Western world. Unsaturated fats weren’t ghee. Saturated vegetable fats weren’t ghee either. Ghee stood on its own, nutritious, tasty, traditionally soundly backed by the age-old system of medicine, Ayurveda. I loved that lecture. I couldn’t agree with all she said, though. I found it hard to believe that ghee dripped through the nostril could prevent dementia. Or that ghee rubbed on the feet at night would give me blissful sleep. Why ghee?

Even Johnson’s baby oil or Nivea cream might do the trick. A foot rub is relaxing. Period.

She also suggested small meals to be consumed through the day. Eat the carbs, she said. Then work them off. Don’t fast, don’t stay hungry for too long, otherwise your glycogen levels will drop. Some fastingis-good fanatic is going to take her to task one day.

If you lack sleep, you put on weight, she said. Why? There’s a scientific explanation to it. Rujuta has studied the ingestion, digestion and absorption of long-distance runners across the globe. She knows what she’s talking about. Who’m I to disagree? I’ve taken that point seriously. An extra hour in bed helps, I tell myself these days. Why uncuddle at dawn whilst it is still the cloudy season?

At the end of three hectic days, Vini Tandon Kini and Kalyani Dempo of Panjim tell me they’re tired. A free massage at the in-house spa seemed to have helped, for they looked cheerful and chirpy enough. “It’s the routine and the good food”, they say in unison. The meals at this camp, unlike the vegan or ‘satvik’ stuff advocated by many organo-naturo (I invented this word) freaks (lovers sounds better?), had helpings of fish and ‘pakodas’, both fried to crispness. I like the philosophy of not denying my body anything I like the taste of. ‘Moderation’ is the mantra to be followed, says Rujuta.

By the time the participant-tourists were ready to leave Goa, they had sly aches in muscles they didn’t know existed. No sores, just gentle reminders that when they went home, they needed to be ‘worked’.

Even though I was an observer, not a participant, I felt pretty good at the end of it all. The only thing that made me ill were the fees: seventy thou for three days.

Ouch.

The others shut me up. Said it was worth it.  For more information, contact: Aashyana Lakhanpal Goa, Escrivao Vaddo, Condolim Phone:+91 32 248 9276