Goa..Misinterpreted!!

One day I came across a video posted on a social networking site.The song was "goyche nav vhad karunk lhan jale mahan" a lovely poem by our great poet Bakibab Borkar who dedicated this poem to great Goan freedom fighters who sacrificed their life for the liberation of Goa, those who saw the dark nights and hoped for a better morning.And the picturisation of that video was a complete contrasting picture of Goa. They saw the sun of liberation but today when we see Goa and its culture being misinterpreted the real Goan who actually knows what Goa is, feels pathetic. Some days ago media tagged Goa as "rape hub" was that fair? Just because some rape cases from Goa got media attention they had to tag us as "rape hub" till what level is this justified? Who gave them the right to spoil the image of Goa?

Goa the land of vivid cultures, the land of kind people, and the land of greenery has been always misinterpreted by the media.

Not just the news channels but if you remember some of our old Hindi movies then you will remember that a typical Goan is shown as someone chilled out, drinking fenny and always a Christian, as if people of no other religion live here. A very few people know the fact that Goa has Hindu and Muslim population too. And ironically the Hindu population of Goa is higher than the Christians and still the film makers feel that it is dominated by Catholics.

Even when outsiders or tourists are asked to describe the image of Goa they will say it’s the land of beaches... When will they realise that Goa is not just the land of beaches and wine? Its lot more than that... this sand sun and surf image of Goa is being popularized so much that now even Goans while boasting about their land are flaunting about the beaches.
Why can’t at least we be the “Goan”in real terms and start changing perspective?

Goa.... you know what it is about? It’s the land which has one of the largest biodiversity in the world, it belongs to Western Ghats one of the “hotspots” that is the places which has a huge biodiversity,and one of the rare species of flora and fauna of the World. Why Goa is not popularized as green land instead of making it a sand land? Goa... it’s about the divinity....the old temples and churches which carry on the messages of worshiping nature, the traditions filled with zeal, enthusiasm and joys... the art, maybe in the form of paintings, drama or music... Goa... the land of purity...Kindness and oneness... And finally the land where west and east meets, the union of two cultures but prevailing in harmony...That’s Goa...the smallest state but “by heart” the largest state in India...feel It is high time that all the Goans, inside and outside Goa  come forward and do something to change the “misinterpreted” image of Goa... It’s not just our duty but it’s our right to get interpreted in a right way. One doesn’t need to go and shout out. A small thing people can do is just tell others what is true...before that you make yourself aware about the “real” image of Goa and then spread it everywhere however possible... I think as a Goan we can do this bit to “retain” or “regain” the real image of Goa. Let us all “reinterpret” this Golden land.