The Big Goan - Goa Holiday Blog

The media in Goa has indeed come of age in recent years. For a long time it was ruled by mainly newspapers which were the lifeline of the Goan news bringing to Goans every daily happening occurring in the state of Goa. However nowadays the television media has also taken over and Goa has its share of news in different mediums and various languages which include English, Konkani and Marathi and has a wide readership among the masses of Goa. Here in this post, I am only detailing the Goan newspapers which have served Goa impressively since the liberation of Goa.

Goan newspapers in English
Broadly there are currently four newspapers in Goa serving the English palate. They are the Navhind Times, The Herald ,The Gomantak times and the recently launched Goa edition of the Times of India launched in Goa on 7 May 2008.

The Navhind Times is widely regarded as the newspaper with the highest circulation and is equally concentrated in north Goa as well as South Goa. As a result the Navhind times gets the major share of advertisements and its classified advertisement category is considered to be very populated compared to other English newspapers and has a wider range of subjects which helps its circulation permeate to all markets in Goa with the Goan news. The Navhind times is owned by the Dempo Group of companies, one of Goa’s major industrial houses and is one of the foremost newspapers from Goa and began its operations of covering Goa news since the year 1963.

The Herald goa,  the voice of Goa since the year 1900 and is a fierce traditional competitor to the Navhind times. It has a wide readership which is more prominent in South Goa where the Herald is a leader in circulation with almost every Goan household opting for the Herald Goan newspaper to make up their day. Herald has an edge over its competitors in terms of obituary advertisements and can be easily considered as a leader in this segment. Its classifieds segment is also fast catching up with some innovative schemes being launched to woo advertisers to the table. The Herald also specializes in compiling a lot of detailed local news from Goa which makes it endearing to Goans as the newspaper to look forward to every morning to get a bite of what’s happening in Goa on a daily basis to get the much awaited Goan news. The Herald is arguably the oldest newspaper to originate from Goa and was originally known as oHeraldo Goan newspaper in Goaduring the Portuguese rule , having established itself in the year 1900. It is owned by Mr R.F Fernandes and was made exceptionally famous during the stint of its former editor Mr Rajan Narayan who is known to have had a penchant for sensational news, humour and the “tehelka” factor. Mr Rajan Narayan has since left the newspaper to launch his own publication. The Goan herald newspaper has a nostalgic following among Goans worldwide to herald Goan news to them wherever they are

The Gomantak times is the English cousin of its Marathi sibling and was introduced in the last decade. It has much lower readership in compartison to the navhind Times and the Herald and its circulation is considered to be low. However it attracts a lot of public service advertsiemnts as well as personal advertiosemtns, court notices, legal notices, etc. Its classified section is almost non-existent but it has its own readership base and continues to serve Goan readers. Its weekend edition is known as “weekender” and has had a catchy readership due to its sensational headlines.

The Times Of India launched its Goa edition on May 7 2008 with a catchy Mario Miranda cartoon on its main page. It was marketed in goa under a very innovative marketing concept which was first credited to some major newspaper in southern India. It offered readers an option to subscribe to their newspaper by paying an annual fee of Rs 350/- odd for a 12 month subscription. Added to this was a token gift of a shoulder bag. the delivery was initially believed to be free at the doorstep but later was mired in controversies with local paper distributors. However the newspaper continued to offer such schemes every year offering gifts of clocks and umbrella in 2009 ad 2010.

The Times of India on the whole is a country specific newspaper but has adapted well to the Goan psyche.It focusses on pan-India news but ensures that Goa has its major share on its first few pages. It has a magazine called Goa times which often features various happenings in Goa with photographs of many prominent faces of Goa being splashed across its party pages. Its classified segment is slowly but surely catching up and advertising costs are a fraction of similar advertisements in its metro editions. Its quality of the English language is incomparable to any other newspaper in Goa and it has set a trend in Goan newspaper photography which is being quickly lapped up by its competitors. Its print quality and newsprint feel is absolutely outstanding and justifies its position as India’s premier news paper. The Times of India is a paper owned by Bennett, Coleman & co. ltd and its Goa edition is printed at Thivim in Goa

The other English publications include the weekly Observer, a news edition published by the former editor of Herald Mr. Rajan Narayan and strives to give Goans an insight into various notorious happenings in Goa. It is ably supported by many prominent Goans who contribute to its columns on a regular basis.

Marathi and Konkani Newspapers in Goa include the Devnagrai Konknni newspaper “Sunaparant” which is Goa’s only daily konkani edition to hit the stands. The Tarun Bharat, Gomantak, Sanatan Prabhat, Govadoot and the Navprabha are Goas’ marathi editions catering to the marathi speaking population of Goa

Other Goan publications in the state include the monthly English magazine “Goa Today” , Vavraddeancho Ixtt which is the oldest Roman script Konkani weekly newspaper, the Goa Messenger, Gulab – a konkani magazine and Bimb (Devanagari-script Konkani) .

Besides these newpapers, Goa also receives the editions of “The economic times Mumbai, The Business Line, the Financial times, The Indian Express and many other vernacular editions catering to the Gujarati, tamil, malayalam and kannada communities.

The Goa beach has long been the place to unwind from the din of the world and pamper yourself on the seashore by simply lazing into the clear soft sand and let the breeze do its natural work on you.

You can  choose to sunbathe on the Goan beach and let the sun do the talking on your wonderful body allowing yourself the tan that you always wanted to have but could never devote the time to get. Meanwhile let your kids and family enjoy the waves of the Goan seashore and indulge themselves in some beach activities of building castles, playing  beach soccer or a game of beach cricket.Volleyball can also interest you on the Goan beach.

Goan beaches are divided into north and south Goa and the north Goa beaches are relatively crowded compared to the south and are more frequented by tourists from all over the world. North Goa also has more share of parties than the south. but tranquility and peaceful holidays normally get the attraction of south Goa which has a peaceful outlook.

So if you are seeking serenity and wish to spend your vacations away from the maddening crowds south Goa beaches are ideal else the north opens its arms in a broad welcome. Beaches in the north are Anjuna, Agonda, Baga, Dona Paula, Vagator, Calangute and Arambol. Popular beaches in the south are Colva, Benaulim, Majorda, Utorda, Mobor, Arossim etc. You can also indulge in some good beach activities in Goa which include parasailing, snorkeling, windsurfing, scuba diving, water-scooting and many more such activities.

When you look for a holiday to Goa, you indeed look to make your vacation a memorable event and there is no better place for this than the idyllic destination called Goa. Going to Goa is an exciting thought  as you are imagining beaches, green landscapes, beautiful temples and majestic Churches and above all a westernized culture to top a beautiful place.

Indeed holidays in Goa are bound to guarantee the gleam of the beaches, green coated picturesque landscapes, historical forts, gushing water bodies and exciting nightlife parties that dwell long into the night. Such excitement is enough to woo holidaymakers to Goa in droves and that’s why Goa is always besieged with tourists all year round.

Known as the beach capital of India, Goa is a laid back place full of  fun and frolic . This beautiful place was once ruled by the Portuguese who reigned in Goa from the year 1510 till 1961 for over 450 years which left a deep western legacy on Goa and Goans which brought in a merger of traditions, cuisines and cultures. If one interacts with people in Goa who are very affable and friendly, one will understand the reason why Goa is such a fun place to be in.

When it comes to parties, Goa has them by the houseful and there is a feast at every church in Goa once a year and for the hundreds of churches in Goa, the Goans love their feasts which comes with a lot of festive activities and parties that one would feel like living forever in Goa.

Parties and carnival in Goa often go hand in hand.Goa’s unique lifestyle is unmatched by any other state in India and its relaxed attitude with a pleasant climate , some stunning attractions and beautiful locations truly draws and fascinates tourists arriving in Goa.

So if you wish to just unwind by rolling on the sandy beaches or immerse yourself in the beach waters or better indulge in sports activities all over the sea, the fun is there for the taking and Goa suddenly becomes the favorite sport for all your hidden iota of undiscovered talents. The soothing breeze of the beach will leave you spellbound by its magical weave and send you into a tailspin of a good afternoon nap if you wish to take that succegado Goan siesta.

Goa is also known for its ancient temples which are mostly part of the new conquest in areas such as Ponda, Mangueshi, Mardol, Bicholim etc and Goa also has its share of Portuguese and Moorish influenced colonial architecture and beautiful churches built according to gothic design.

Built by the Portuguese rulers,  when they conquered Goa in 1510 from the Adil shah of Bijapur, the temples, monuments, churches and the old towering monumental architecture of this state make it a interesting destination for history lovers.

As appearing in the Herald newspaper in the opinionated column dated 31/3/2011

In response to the rally of the Forum for rights to childrens education(FORCE) a new opposition seems to be foisted by old minds warped by their outdated mode of thinking. Besides inducing the vandalism of politics into a subject which is the sincere anguished voice of parents of Goan children, these anarchic brains are actually batting for the unaided schools lobby whose trade is virtually threatened by the genuine demand of parents to include English as a medium of instruction in aided schools of Goa.

This new outfit, pompously called “Bharatiya Bhasha suraksha manch” is full of retired brittle bones and is actually a front of unaided private schools who are ensuring that some opposition worth the salt is made lest the demand for inclusion of English has a smooth passage and their own private trade closes down.

Heading this manch is a spent force called Shashikala kakodkar whose father unsuccessfully failed to merge Goa to Maharashtra . She is obviously nursing his wounds upon herself and energizing herself to fulfill her fathers lost causes by instead opposing English and pitching for Marathi. (Most Goans who even voted for her father in the opinion poll will be thanking their stars today that his plans never took shape else Goa would have been relegated to another rambling district of Maharashtra.) Add to this group a certain Mr Arvind Bhatikar, incidentally an IAS officer, who seems to have found a new arena to spend his retirement days after the GBA venture. To him, saving Goa has probably taken a new dimension and it appears that saving Goan children from excelling is his latest mantra. His support for this unholy cause obviously undermines the ideals of the Goa Bachao Abhiyan and will befittingly serve to dwarf his credentials. To add some saffron colour to this group is the voice of Mr Suresh Amonkar and you do not need to imagine hard to discover the wisdom of his presence. Throw in a freedom fighter in Mr Naguesh karmali, whose stubborn colonial hangover simply refuses to relieve him. Curiously, in this group enters a seemingly errant clergyman in Fr Mousinho Ataide who threatens to be the rebellious martyr owing allegiance to no one but to his own brand of Konkani and Marathi and whose mysterious penchant for unwittingly inducing closure of the Archdiocesan board of schools seems to be unrelenting. Pillioning his joyride is another priest Fr Jaime Couto. Together they bring the desperate catholic flavour to the table. Sprinkle all these language policemen with a stale heap of septuagenarian and octogenarian self-appointed educationists and you have a perfect recipe of redundant ingredients shaping up an insipid crusade.

Most of these people have no idea where the world is currently placed or where it is headed. Instead they are desperately wishing to enforce an era of their whims. An era which they wished existed. They live in the cloistered past and have no vision for the future because their eyesight has turned myopic, they bite more than their few teeth can chew and their legs are weak and bereft of any strength of direction. Their views showcase their shrunken minds and their foresights are the joy of a beggars dream. They have no wisdom to perceive proposals or plans for the employment of Goan children but their frailties surprisingly gush with the last remnants of fossilised energy with detrimental plans galore to lead our children into the throes of a backward class.

In a few years they will be history, but they wish their hegemony of dictatorial thought continues. Despite being under one banner pitching for mother tongue as medium of instruction, all these characters have their own private mother tongues. For some it is Konknni Devnagari .Some others are immersed in “shudh” Marathi for the super tongue, and while the two clergymen should have been obvious ambassadors of Romi Konkani, their behavioral symptoms indicate that it is either Devnagari Konknni or Shudh Marathi galloping in their veins. These two appear to be twiddling on the fence probably wondering which side is more greener to take the plunge. This whole team of strange bedfellows who otherwise bayed for each others blood on each others mother tongue now speak a language of convenience. Their motivation is only to oppose English which has brought the world together. This motivation to oppose English seems to be clearly inspired by the strong lobby of private unaided English schools who have lost their sleep ever since the massive rally demanding English to be included in aided schools was made. Most unaided schools face certain closure if English is made the medium of instruction while the ones who survive will have fewer takers and so this lobby appears to have worked overtime to carve a boring club of so called champions of many mother tongues( and its bitter cousins) which is merely a front for the unaided lobby. Probably even on their payroll.

One would think that since the Forum for rights to children education(F.O.R.C.E) have not antagonized any language or religion but have merely pleaded for inclusion of English as a medium of instruction, everybody would live happily ever after. Every Goan having the choice to decide where to educate their children was their sincere plea. But instead of hailing such noble and harmless pleas, the self attested language protectors have displayed their bankruptcy of thought to oppose the move.

If you call these people over their mobile phone to enquire about their new sense of madness , the first thing they are bound to greet you with is the all too English “hello”. Obviously their private mother tongues failed to provide them with an appropriate translation. But the lack of ordinary depth of their mother tongues does not matter to them. They are like horses with blinkers, in a hurry to transform Goans into donkeys.

If these lazy bhasha champions have any love for their language they should conduct mass awakenings among their Marathiwadis and ensure that those aided schools have good enrollment. But who are these wasted brains to tell the rest of Goans to follow their brand of education? The two priests who have joined these Marathiwadis are not only a disgrace to the community but an insult to the church which has finally woken up to the harsh reality awaiting it.

It is a known fact that at the time of implementing the regional languages as the medium of instruction, the government had also stipulated not to allow any more English schools in Goa. However the government flouted its own provision by allowing the number of English private schools to rise from a mere 11 schools to a staggering 127. How come this number rose so high if there was no demand for English schools from Goans? Today middle class Goans have to pay thousands in fees to educate their children in English, which is the obligation of the government. And while there is a hue and cry about the prices of petrol, milk , onions and chicken, average Goans are quietly being robbed daily of their hard earned money by unaided schools for the basic right of education, because the government of Goa desires so. As one speaker at the FORCE meeting pointed out- “ the education in English is only for the rich and not for the Aam Aadmi” . The Aam Aadmi of Goa is condemned to learn in the vernacular tongue or spend a huge sum for education in English.

A close look in unaided English schools in Goa will clearly reveal that Goans irrespective of religion are more keen to send their children to English medium schools. Our MLAs are themselves bent on English medium schools. Why are they then bent on applying another standard for the rest of Goans? Why are our leaders resisting our desire?

The FORCE should also demand closure or takeover of all unaided schools which have sprung up in Goa after 1990 since their introduction was in direct contravention of the provisions laid down by the government. If there is no desire to see aided English among Goans how can unaided English among Goans be justified?

If our politicians do not rise up and show their strength of character to include English as the medium of instruction , the Church should show its mettle by opposing all these candidates in the forthcoming elections. The FORCE should also abandon any reluctance to stay away from elections and field its own candidates and canvass to open the eyes of the masses to the deception of the government in power. While this may help communal forces, it is preferable to reject people who do nothing to improve our living and are instead playing to the gallery of thoughtless comedians