Deconstructing the Goan facade
Business Standard|November 01, 2024
My earliest impressions of Goa are etched with images of colourful caricatures personifying life there by the famous Mario Miranda, who belonged to the coastal state.
NEHA KIRPAL
Deconstructing the Goan facade

The country's quintessential Sunshine State, Goa has over a period of time become a kind of escape from reality for millions of Indians. With idyllic palm-fringed beaches, exotic casinos and tropical climate, it's the hedonistic paradise, particularly for those residing in congested metropolitan cities. When we first took our (then) five-year-old daughter for a vacation to Goa, she fell head over heels in love with it. As we jumped the waves and ate delectable meals at beachside shacks every day, she incredulously asked us why we did not live in Goa. No wonder that so many people permanently moved to Goa during the pandemic, and continued living there long after it was over. And the fact that it has become de rigueur for the rich and upper middle-class to own luxurious second homes in Goa comes as no surprise.

Renowned Goan writer and cultural critic Maria Aurora Couto's posthumously published book, At Home in Two Worlds: Essays on Goa, attempts to deconstruct the myth about Goa. By tracing its complex history, unique culture, language, religion, and social change over the decades, the book offers a comprehensive set of writings on the state's evolution – "its glorious yet turbulent past, its vexed present, its precarious future." Both as an objective outsider and passionate insider, Couto began writing the book in 2017 and completed it just before she died in 2022.

This story is from the November 01, 2024 edition of Business Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 01, 2024 edition of Business Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BUSINESS STANDARDView All
Business Standard

Markets dip amid selloff in Adani group stocks

Conglomerate's combined market capitalisation falls by 2.2 trillion

time-read
2 mins  |
November 22, 2024
Nifty 50 may hit 27K by 2025-end: Goldman Sachs
Business Standard

Nifty 50 may hit 27K by 2025-end: Goldman Sachs

Conglomerate's combined market capitalisation falls by ₹2.2 trillion

time-read
1 min  |
November 22, 2024
°GST on health insurance needs to be reduced,
Business Standard

°GST on health insurance needs to be reduced,

IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Limited (IFFCO Tokio) has sent its suggestions to the government, seekingto reduce goods and se Nices tax (GST) rates on health insurance premiums to 5 per cent from the existing18 per cent, said the f Irm's Managing Director and Chief Executive 0ff\cer (MD and CEO) SUBRATA MONDAL in an inte Niew with Harsh Kumar in Gurugram. Mondal discussed the future plan of insurance companies alongwith emerging challenges forthe sector. Edited excerpts:

time-read
2 mins  |
November 22, 2024
Draft guidelines to upgrade 1,000 ITIs in the works
Business Standard

Draft guidelines to upgrade 1,000 ITIs in the works

Talks with stakeholders for proposed scheme completed

time-read
1 min  |
November 22, 2024
Business Standard

Adani Green abandons $600 mn bond offering

Adani Green Energy on Thursday announced it has decided not to proceed with the proposed USD-denominated bond offering, hours after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani, his nephew and six others over allegations of bribery.

time-read
1 min  |
November 22, 2024
Business Standard

Corporate irregularities can impact economy at large: Justice Kumar

Financial misconduct and corporate irregularities can impact the economy at large and come at the expense of shareholders and banks, cautioned Justice PS Dinesh Kumar, presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), on Thursday.

time-read
1 min  |
November 22, 2024
Quant MF's big Adani bet may have sense of deja vu
Business Standard

Quant MF's big Adani bet may have sense of deja vu

Quant mutual fund (MF) may have taken the biggest hit among fund houses from the slump in Adani group shares on Thursday.

time-read
1 min  |
November 22, 2024
Business Standard

US charges: Legal experts see no knee-jerk response from Sebi

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) may not be in haste to take any action on the charges levelled by the US prosecutors on Adani group executives, according to legal experts.

time-read
1 min  |
November 22, 2024
Premium Valuations may cap upsidesforlndian Hotels
Business Standard

Premium Valuations may cap upsidesforlndian Hotels

Indian Hotels (IH) has an ambitious strategy of doubling its hotel portfolio and is aiming for a 14 per cent annual revenue growth. The goals are achievable, given financial discipline and agility.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 22, 2024
Vedanta Resources defers dollar bond issue due to mkt volatility
Business Standard

Vedanta Resources defers dollar bond issue due to mkt volatility

Billionaire Anil Aggarwal's Vedanta Resources has deferred the company's $1.2 billion bond issuance following volatility in the market after US justice department, in a report, charged Gautam Adani and others with $250 million bribery. The Vedanta dollar bond issue was to be priced on Thursday.

time-read
1 min  |
November 22, 2024