The Konkan Monsoon is Calling, Where are You?

The Konkan coast has held my attention, because it allows me to escape into a world, which is as Indian as it gets, but it’s a little far from the India we know in the cities. Goa makes you at home, by showering on you the basic amenities that you are used to at home and allows you to get a bohemian feel across cultures.

India has largely been a tropical country and rain here is sometimes seen as the ‘manna’ from heaven. The memories of rain always evoke feelings of happiness, unless and until the rain converts your area into Venice. From Childhood, rain in India meant a respite from the hot weather, a different paint applied to your natural environment, a time when the family bonded cozily over some warm samosas, a time when you just wanted let go off the mask and get wet in the rains, a time when you relax over some tea and biscuits admiring the sudden sprout of greenery around you, and a time when sensual pleasures run high.

The wet earth smell, almost always smells the same, wherever it rains for the first time, but as a compliment to the smell, the eye needs its visual appeal to go with the smell, and so the greenery all around in the first rains, just adds to the appeal of the monsoon. My dad chides me, almost always what’s there in visiting so many beaches, when the sand is same, and what’s there in doing flash air trips from one side of India to the other to witness a monsoon? Logically correct, but there are a few things one must experience with the place to feel one with the surroundings.

So what’s with Goa, that makes me run a thousand kilometers from the east to the west, every time? I just counted my trips to Goa. I have done 11 trips in 53 months. That’s one trip in 5 months. (Earlier the numbers were 10 trips in 38 months, which resembles a quarterly commitment to Goa).I have been in that same time period, twice to Mahabalipuram and thrice to Pondicherry, which is a couple of hours from Chennai. So the numbers speak for itself, and as I research why, I am realizing I may have a long list to share.

Being born in the 80’s and growing up in the 90’s necessitated travel only on Indian railways and now being habituated to travelling that way, it’s a nasha that still lingers on. Aviation has made travel quicker, but nothing like the lazy joy of conversations with friends/family in a cozy compartment as you crisscross the country on rail, seeing the real India in its farms/towns and its railway stations. Now having developed this natural love for Indian railways, how can you miss a journey on the Konkan Railways? You could try doing a Mangalore-Goa by the unreserved (KR 2) which allows you to sample the people of this region, their interests, and their way of life. It’s a bit like pre-reading for a classroom session, which helps you see your destination, being better informed. Travelling the KR2 educates you and gives you more Konkan vibes than a guide book would. You should do a monsoon ride from Mangalore to Vasco or from Bombay to Madgaon. Its one of the most scenic rides, where the monsoon paints a sense of expectancy in you, after seeing the clouds painted grey and the grass painted in various shades of lush green.

When you finally set foot in Goa, you see some places that nature has decided to side with and with the charged feeling of expectancy; you enthusiastically chase the paradise that the good weather promises. Its not that every part of Goa, resonates with the same frequency in the rains, but finding the right part of Goa, to relax you is what makes you explore the little state with more gusto.

The Goan monsoon has a certain fury, which is unmatched in other parts of the country. I remember being caught in a huge downpour in the Chaudi bus stand at 5 am(Near Palolem). The rains were so heavy, that my friend and I feared that the roof in the bus stand would collapse in this onslaught. The monsoon had made its mark right away, by making me its slave. The best way to enjoy a Goan monsoon is head to Palolem, put a chair near the beach with an umbrella, pick a book, feel the winds and the rains attempting to spoil your peace, and look at the raging ocean that may show signs of regurgitating in the enthusiasm of the monsoon.

If you want another experience of the rains, stand at the footboard in a train that whizzes past the country side, have a water proof MP3 player, switch the music on and feel the rains caressing your face from an angle and the wind that leaves your hair disheveled.

If you want more experiences like this, then get into random conversations with go and Goans in the trains, at tea shops, at bus stops and ask them about their lives and the places to head, once you’ve been able to strike a basic conversation with them. The Goans are the most friendliest people around, knowing fully well that Goa blooms in the monsoon, than in the high season, and they are your guides to finding the most exotic and unheard gems that Goa has to hurl at you.

As you explore the real Goa, you will come across simple Goan Ladies in their 20’s who would either be on a walk or would be at household chores. Their sense of dressing sometimes defines how I’d like to see a woman. Ladylike and simple with no sense of ostentation, with a short colorful skirts, low necklines, perfect waistlines and beautiful legs! This combination along with the monsoons can run quite a riot with increased blood flow to the lower part of your body.

To add to the colour are the Portuguese houses in its various shades of Blue, Green, Violet, Pink and Orange, which you thought were colors best reserved for paintings. Goan houses and bright colours indicate a certain boldness in experimentation and add to the existing enthusiasm that the monsoon brings with it.

Goa has a vibe attached to it, which is Konkani blended with universal spirits all over. You head to Panjim to get that Portugese feel, go a little east towards Ponda and attach yourself spiritually with the Hindu temples, while going north towards Morjim and Arambol, you find yourself in a Russian and Hebrew environment. And to add some more data, if you are the typical Indian tourist, with kids in both hands, and a wife to boot, and a budget to be tied to, Colva and Calangute, are your Goan value-for-money places. The more discerned European traveler trades for some ‘Sussegad’ in peace in the southern hamlets of Agonda and Palolem. Goa, is like an MNC bank, ruthless but provides great service, and is always in the minds of the consumer, wanting to provide a WOW service, completely straying away from being conservative, providing irritable service, taking its customers for granted.

The last one hour, I have been trying hard to put pen on paper and conjure more thoughts of the monsoon. I just realized, I enjoy feeling the monsoon than talking about it. So I am going ahead planning my next Konkan trip across the Sahyadris, before the monsoon runs out of steam. See you in Goa!