Paradise Found

A holiday home in Goa for an NRI family, once written off by many, has transformed into a delightful space with the right mix of colour, craft and creativity

- By MANU MANSHEET RAI

Owning a holiday home in Goa is practically a membership card for the well heeled. One NRI couple followed the script and bought a villa in Assagao: four bedrooms, a pool, decks that flirt with water bodies, greenery on all sides and a hilltop address with just two or three neighbours. Picture-perfect on paper. In reality, it was a bare shell, low on soul and even lower on practicality. The owners weren't sure about the buy or the purpose. Predictably, a few dealers began whispering that it was “for sale” and “not really livable”. In Goa, rumours travel faster than scooters.