Book Review: Another Goa

Review of Another Goa
By Simran "Judi" Silva

He shows us the positives but is not blind to the negative aspects, and shares those with us also. One comes to understand the effects of four hundred and fifty-one years of Portuguese colonial rule and what takes place afterward, as he journals with preciseness in describing Goa both in the past and the present.

It covers very specific and serious issues that affect Goa and how those issues shape the thinking of her children - the struggles of everyday life for them. Goa is very diverse, and with this diversity comes complexity. The multifaceted situations that the residents of such a beautiful land encounter need addressing and solutions attained. However, to do so, the people of Goa must band together in a united front in order to take each issue head on and work to come to decisions that all can agree with, since these decisions will affect all of them.

The questions are posed. Will the people of Goa be able to answer them resoundingly? Can they achieve a measure of success in not only preserving their homeland but also in moving forward and improving upon it? If so, it will certainly add to the betterment for not only its inhabitants but for the thousands of tourists who come to visit each year, bringing in revenue to use for further developments.

Looking through the eyes of several expatriates of Goa and what leaving and coming back meant to them, is a very enjoyable part of Another Goa to experience. Reading about Goa opened my eyes to all that she has been through, continues to go through, but also what she has to offer, and I hope to come to experience this for myself one day soon.

I will leave the summary of Another Goa to the author in his humble way. “These pages are a small effort to share with the reader—specially the reader in Goa — some perspectives which might lend to the debate about Goa. It is a small measure of ‘paying back’ to the region I’ve called home for over four decades, and to a place I have to be grateful to.”  (ENDS)

__________________________________________
First published at India New England - March 19, 2010