Neither Going Nor Gone, Goa Is Evoking A Groan

It's been a Goa-filled new year's week for me even though I am still freezing in Delhi's bitter cold. It's just that I am getting news and views from the coastal state enough to generate some heat in this awful weather. Goa is facing a crisis, with rising costs and a changing atmosphere impacting its tourism industry. The author explores the various perspectives on Goa's transformation, from its economic growth to the loss of its laid-back charm.

- MADHAVAN NARAYANAN

It's been a Goa-filled new year's week for me even though I am still freezing in Delhi's bitter cold. It's just that I am getting news and views from the coastal state enough to generate some heat in this awful weather.

First, I saw an Instagram post in which one of those who treat the social media app as an evangelical pulpit announced Goa is not what it used to be: hotels and taxis are outrageously expensive, and other costs are up, too. Indeed, a conversation starter on Goa these days is often not about its pleasant environs and deep culture, but how you are at the mercy of arbitrary local cab cartels.

I posted that Goa has only 110 km of India's 7,500-km coastline, and yet it succeeds as a tourist destination because of its real estate hype, laissez-faire lifestyle, brand value and marketing efforts. In short, it's not about the beaches. No one really disagreed with me; but there were additions, twists and quibbles in the energetic responses.

Someone pointed out that the length of India's coastline has been significantly revised upwards, thanks to a new methodology that also takes into account estuaries, inlets, bays and other geomorphological features. Thanks to that, the home ministry recalculated the coastline at 11,098 km last year from 7,516 km in 1970. The home minister's home state Gujarat contributed the most to this growth, almost doubling from 1,214 km to 2,340 km. One eagle-eyed soul pointed out that the state has over a fifth of India's coastline, but no beach tourism to speak of.