Coconut Cruncher

Woke up to read this absolutely aweful news about Tiracol. Leading Hotels Ltd. has proposed to set up a massive resort on the northern most tip of Goa, in Tiracol village. They have already acquired 90% of the land by bribing the goan government. The proposal includes a resort with 198 villas and a US PGA Standard championship Golf Course set across the lush, rolling hills of Tiracol. The golf course will destroy (more like CRUSH) the livelihoods of all the local communities which thrive on small-scale businesses like cashew plantations and fishing. Not only this, but it will completely destroy the eco-system of the hills in Tiracol. Several ads in local newspapers featuring the project come with the tagline ‘From Barren to Beautiful’. LOL. However, Leading Hotel’s own Impact Assessment show that there are 19,000 trees and plant species on the property and at least 1966 trees will be felled for the project! It's so so disheartening to read things like these in the papers....

August '14 She looked at me now and again. I didnt know she was goan. She was checking on me see if I was okay. She was probably well over 60, thin, dark toned with deep set eyes. She never saw a girl of my age travelling in a long distance train alone.She had never travelled out of goa herself. Her son had taken her to visit his work in Mumbai. She had lost all her teeth but one. There was one long tooth in her lower mandible. When I asked her a question in Konkani she wore a look of surprise. Most of the goans I've met outside goa wear that look. I guess I don't look goan enough. She beamed, and told me about her journey, and her son. "Bombay is not for me. It's so crowded, so dirty. Still people go there. I got sick there." Yet she went. And now she will love goa more. We passed the open fields and crossed broad clean rivers with coconut palms on both sides. We knew we've touched down goan soil. She smiled at me - "I think we've reached....

8 th May 2013 As Aakash and I rode to the theatre, we chatted about work and our personal growth. “Man, I spend about 8 hours on it. I don’t even know when it’s a weekend. I thought today was Saturday. ”  “That’s it? I easily spend 10 hours on work everyday” he said. “Well, I wouldn’t mind, it’s just that it’s a different pipeline, we’re going from pixel to vector based work, and I have to learn new softwares that I find so time consuming to learn and get accustomed to. Sometimes I feel like I’m that old senior in the studio who has a bunch of good skill sets, but the newbies have learnt to do the same thing in an hour’s time instead – and you do it great alright, but you’re slower. You could learn to use the new software by letting go of your comfort zone, but you’re too old now. I used to be that way, but I’m learning how to let go and shake my ground. It’s too early for me not to learn different methods and mediums.” I said. “Exactly. I’ve been completely shak...

9th November 2013       I approached the coconut seller and asked, "how much for one?" "30 for malai wala and 25 for paani wala" "Patli malai wale ke liye kitna?" "30 memsaab", he said.        I asked for one with the thin malai. It was delicious. The first sip from the straw, and images of coconut trees and paddy fields flashed in my mind. Narrow roads and clear skies, palms swaying in the breeze - it cut back to the straw. The water was over. I looked inside the coconut, hoping for more water. "Kahan se laate ho aap?" I asked. "Mysore se. Yaha toh koi nikaalta nahin hai pedh se. Pakh jaate hain." he said. "Aur aap kaha se ho?" "Main Allahabad se" he said, smiling. "Itni door se? Poori family yaha hai?" "Haan ji. Ek flat tha, lekin usme jagaha nahin thi, toh hum bhaade pe reh rahe hain." he said, "aap kaha se ho?" "Main Goa se hoon" I said. He smiled. "Toh a...

Found some old notes in my tiny notepad.. So just decided to post them here. :) 3rd April 2011 - Homeland Somehow there are things you notice everytime. The GA on the cars, the coconut trees, swaying at the side of the road, saying goodbye. Salty breeze while crossing the Mandovi bridge, familiar places like Cuts and Colours - where you got your hair cut everytime. The terrace of a hotel where you celebrated a birthday. You look out and kiss the land. The bus seems to make the images flash by faster, stealing you away from your homeland. the last puri tasted the best, because your dad ran back to your bus' window, knowing you'll never get a chance to relish it where you're heading, until you're back again. The last look your mum throws at you, speaking a thousand words that were left unspoken. This will always be my homeland, and I will always belong here. I tell myself now - my foster home awaits me. And I get on with my dreams.

25th Dec '11 Merry Christmas to all!!! Here in India we don't celebrate much of Christmas - unless we're christian! Being Goan does has its advantages of being part of this festival. Goa is paradise in December. It's lit, people are jolly and exchanging cakes, Bebinka, Dodol and chocolates. You see Christmas trees and cribs around you and the churches have the traditional Konkani midnight mass. Although I didn't do much this Christmas, I think it may have just been the best 2 days of Christmas I've ever celebrated. My family got together and me and my cousins made it through an impromptu plan of Shaami(my elder cousin bro - Abhinav)'s reckless driving (he's gonna kill me if he reads this), a match of beach Frisbee, swimming at Shivani-Soham's place, Rummikub and Pictionary (with Dhanu's innovate drawing skills), ghost stories at the terrace, and more swimming and eating at my place. So much that my body's been ACHING! :'( BUT here's...