Why are there two types of Shigmo in Goa?
Shigmo or Śigmō is a festival celebrated across Goa that marks the return of warriors to their houses after fighting the invaders. Its name is derived from the Prakrit word Suggimaho and the Sanskrit word Sugrishmaka. It may also be denoted by other names such as Shishirotsava and Shigmotsav. The festival marks the farewell to […]
New plan to boost tourism between Goa and Thailand.
Thailand Consul General Ekpol Poolpipat told the Goa government of his new plan to boost tourism between Goa and Thailand. He said the Thai airlines will soon start Goa – Thailand direct flight service. Ekpol Poolpipat along with his officers called on Goa tourism minister Dilip Parulekar at the secretariat on Wednesday. These services will […]
Goa – Revisiting Dil Chahta Hai 15 years later!
The year was 2001. America had just been rocked by the infamous 9/11 attacks. The entire world was shocked and shattered at the same time. Goa, whose economy had just begun to be boosted by tourism seemed to be heading for a bleak future. A question was looming, Will the foreign tourist continue to flock […]
Goan tourism – Who to blame for the troubled sector?
Editorial Reading a paper written about the Goan tourism scenario in the year 1997 brought forward many revelations. The writer has mentioned various difficulties the tourism industry faced and its impact on Goans, in terms of resource distribution and share in revenue. What caught the attention most were the problems faced during 1997 by Goans […]
The legendary ‘Eight Finger Eddie’, father of Goan tourism?
Who was the first hippie to visit Goa? Or rather, ever wonder? Who was the first tourist to visit the state after the liberation? Well, the search is over. Yertward Mazamanian (1924 – 2010) popularly known as ‘Eight Finger Eddie’, was the first hippie to visit Goa and eventually introduced Goa to the hippies. Thus, […]
Dona Paula – fact or fiction?
Some say she was an adulterous woman, some say a lonely widow. How many actually know the real story behind Dona Paula? There is one quality that is repeated in all those versions; Dona was a charitable lady with a kind heart. It is because of this quality the villagers decided to honour her by […]
STRANGERS BURIED IN GOA
A peculiar site reveals itself near Raj Bhavan (Governor’s official residence) in Dona Paula. A cemetery located right next to it, which looks like any other cemetery found across Goa. Strange aspect about the cemetery is that, graves in it aren’t the graves of Portuguese or the Local Goans. They belong to the British soldiers […]
Goan tourism past, present & the future
Back in the colonial times Portuguese men were referred to as ‘Paklo’, but after liberation (19th December 1961) another type of Paklo entered the scene. These white men and women did not use military force to conquer, they arrived as guest and gave boost to a tradition that still lives on; today known as ‘Tourism’. […]
