I just had lunch with the Miranda family in South Goa. Lovely as they were, Mrs Miranda and her friend were also angry campaigners. They confessed to being the odd ones in a laidback land.
Why are they angry? Because of people like us. Kim and Geraldine said they did not like all of us wanting a piece of their land. Apparently that had driven up the property rates so much, Goans could no longer afford it.
We asked whether they understood why we all wanted to head there - the beauty, the food, the people. They said that if people continued to encourage builder properties in Goa, then the place wouldn't be the same anymore.
"Many people have come from Gujarat and they all have built walls in their complexes - we never had such high walls before!" They went on to say how many new residents didn't know or want to learn anything about the local culture, how they complained about practices like sacrificing piglets during festival season and generally dumped garbage in local fields.
Kim and Geraldine were lovely people but I could sense the resentment they were feeling. Apparently even politicians were sold out to the builders so citizens had to rally and organise themselves. They were sick of national parties and felt local parties weren't doing much either.
It gave us an entirely different perspective also on the way we treat Goa. If we decide to make Goa our home, we should really act and campaign like a local. Maybe then Kim and Geraldine will feel less angry about us sharing their space.
