Goa Tourism: Return of the Bikini Killer

Goa Tourism is again in news for wrong reasons. The violation and murder of a child of British  origin has  reopened  a host of issues on sustainable development of tourism sector specially in that small state.  NDTV  hosted a panel discussion  under screaming headlines  “Whether  Goa’s underbelly is exposed ?” . Despite of the fiery oratory of TV anchor  and some mini fire works from local  intellectuals during the discussion, the core issues were still left wide open.  

Goan beaches have for long offered attraction not only to the newly weds , courting couples as well as   lovers in suicide pact but also to criminals of various origins and tastes. Mention of crime on beaches brings   back memories of Bikni Killer days of mid seventies when a compulsive murderer Chalres Shobhraj  due to his serial killing  of unsuspecting tourists on Goan beaches had become an international icon in the crime world.  

 The NDTV panel discussion surprisingly included Ms. Bina Ramani whose involvement in covering up the famous Jessica Lal murder case was  topic of similar fiery discussions  quite recently . Her inclusion as opinion giver also highlighted the fact that the memory of our media is rather short and issues are dealt with rather superficially. More so because at the time when Bina Ramani was arrested at Goa , the local press was quick to condemn her along with all those so called dubious persons of her kind  who settle at Goa in the name of business. 

The queen of ceremony during the discussions was the mother of the murdered child seated in the centre and given the privilege of firing indiscriminately at all and sundry. The lady who boasts of eight children sired by her four male companions, innocently pleaded that the fourteen year child was not a drug addict but occasionally indulged into intake of marijuana. The lady it seems has all of a sudden developed  a very dim view of Goa Police and has been threatening to blow the lid off certain drug running racket but has apparently not done any thing in that direction so far.  T

he debate as always veers around  the issue as to how safe are the Goan beaches. A plump local politician boasted that he feels safe even while roaming around the midnight without any security guards. The funny statement was reflective of mind set of ruling Goan politicians and their  inability to appreciate humanitarian issues. Who would molest or assault a person of his bearing? Or whether he could be the target of harassment or cause of fear  for someone while roaming around the streets at midnight ? This  single comment thus  also gave some hint about  the real suspects in the game. 

The fact that on the very next day a female tourist faced sexual harassment in Pushkar and subsequently complaints popped up from Russian tourists at Mumbai regarding similar difficulties, indicated that the crisis is not confined to Goa alone. Fairly well known  incidents of ruthless killing involving persons of decent  origin like Shivani Bhatnagar , Jessical Lal and Nitish Katara  by well connected goons in and around Delhi and the case in which a Swiss diplomat suffered abduction and assault in broad daylight  coupled with the fact that the culprits are yet to be punished underlines the conclusion that such questions can be raised about the National Capital also. The long drawn series of murders of young children at Nithari and abduction and release of the child of an executive in a multinational at Noida bear testimony to the standards of safety of human life in adjoining areas. Clearly enough the underbelly Is exposed at a number of other places too. Then why single out Goa? 

The reason for this concern is that in Goa there has been an unprecedented deterioration in quality of life due to unabated influx of  semi clad, back pack  tourists. Who are these people and what is their special interest in Goa ? Where are they rushing in half naked conditions on motorcycles and scooters.  Certainly enough it is not only the Sun and Sand which draw more than two million tourists to Goa. Is it not that the benign attitude of upholders of law  and their unwillingness or inability to venture out in the field acts as a catalyst for facilitating inflow of tourists with  business interests of dubious kind. And could a system of such unprofessional standards have survived if the political patronage was not available ?  These are some questions which the Goan society would have to address to itself if it wants to reinvent the paradise that Goa was in the past. 

Sanju baba in trouble again

Marriages are said to be made in heaven but an act of indiscretion or shall we say an unfortunate slip in compliance with law has lead to unmaking of a marriage of two stars of the earth. The much hyped marriage between Sanjay Dutt and his friend now known as Manyata (meaning recognition) appears to be unrecognizable as per law of the land. It has been discovered that the stars submitted false evidence in support of their proof of residence in Goa and thus the registration of the marriage is held up by the Registrar of marriages. The Govt functionaries who facilitated the submission of false certificates are facing disciplinary action for facilitating the an act of forgery.

It is not known as to what prompted the two film personalities to decide to get married at Goa . Perhaps Sanjay being ignorant of legal impediments and encouraged by some over enthusiastic goan lawyer friend unwittingly allowed himself to be caught in a legal wrangle of his own making. Having just temporarily managed to extricate himself from imprisonment in a criminal case relating to possession of unlicensed AK-47 gun and then getting it destroyed to conceal the evidence, he seems to be heading for another troubled phase in life due to the latest development. To add to his trouble now an ex husband of his lady love who claims to be not properly delinked from his marriage to her is also sending signals from his prison cell about illegality of the whole show.

If the marriage was planned in Goa to make it a secret affair or to escape the demanding ex husband, the move seems to have badly misfired. Media would always be happy if a marriage goes on rocks in comparison to a case where it is over peacefully and away from media glare.

Moreover in our country we have different standards for compliance with law for different social categories. While a politician living in Delhi can claim to be a resident of Assam for facilitating induction in the Parliament, and another one can remain a member of Parliament despite persistent controversies surrounding her nationality , others must not tinker with law. Remember, Delhi Police accused of gross negligence and fabrication of evidence in the Jessica Lal murder case went all the way to Goa for arresting socialite Bina Ramani on charge of giving a false address in her ration card !

It is sad to see Sanju Baba , son of such respected parents finding himself in such embarrassing situation while trying to seek a settled lifestyle, but February 2008 seems to be the month of falling satellites, having gone out of orbit due to calculation errors , perhaps a watchful astrologer could have forewarned the two stars.

Marginalise and Kill : The Politics of Raj

Sare jahan Se accha Hindostan hamara. Hum Bulbulein hain iski yeh gulsitan hamara. ( Our loveable Hindustan is above all others in the world. We are it’s singing birds and this is our garden) . This is how poet Iqbal described India before independence and partition. After independence from the British Raj, the Indian Constitution framed by politicians brought up with such liberal and romantic ideas gave us a free nation which bestowed on all citizens unfettered rights to freely move and settle in any part of the country.

Encouraged by this liberal constitution and newly found freedom the post independence era brought about a great intermingling of it’s people . Our great cities at one time took pride in being labeled as cosmopolitan in nature or sometimes being called a mini India. The south Indian Idly Dosa cuisine found it’s way to each north Indian eating joint and south India in turn felt proud to have a “ Shere Punjab” Hotel in every nook and corner of major metro cities. The Kathak dancers of Lucknow performed to fully packed auditoriums in Goa and the Hindi Cinema anchored at Mumbai established as a million dollar industry with the participation of Kapoor Khandans of Punjab. Considered as the heman of his times actor Dharmendra fell to the charms of South Indian belle Hema Malini and Masoor Ali Khan Nawab of a princely State in Punjab found solace in marriage with an actress of Bengali origin.

But the happiness and enjoyment of the newly born nation in creating a multidimensional social fabric was short-lived. The political leadership which in post independent India found itself overwhelmed with the task of nation building and in turn felt threatened for survival due to lack of imaginative problem solving capabilities reinvented the politics of divide and rule . The desperation and frustration, infact painted the obnoxious agenda with much sinister colours . The agenda got upgraded to marginalize and kill.

The new trend of political one-upmanship is leading to an astonishingly grim scenario . Firstly it was a war between north and south later on we narrowed down our boundaries and developed hatred for natives of all states other than our state . Majority of states now have some grouse with the neighboring state. Process of free flow of human beings across the state borders is considered as an invasion for financial exploitation. Each state has it’s own database to explain as to how business men and jobseekers from other states are choking the sons of soil in their states. Migration is considered as an act of crime to enjoy hard earned economic benefits of the other state. With every passing day the boundaries are shrinking further , now it is a question of culture being confined to cities.

So while Mumbaikars may enjoy their New Yea’s eve in Goa but the north indian taxi driver who ferried them across the border for enjoyments may get mashed up by Shiv Sainiks on return for not belonging to Mumbai ! In not too distant future a railway train running from one end of the country to other end may carry only dead bodies of passengers at the last stop because people of each state (or city?) would attempt to eliminate those passengers who are aliens i.e. from other states or cities.

Who said that the Raj is dead it has emerged in a new avtar.

Wake up call for Goa Tourism

I saw a news item on a foreign tourist who has reported to the police about a case of sexual assault on her in Goa. The tourist was duped by a youth posing as motorcycle taxi operator in late hours and led to an isolated place for committing of this crime. The tourist who was looking for a lift around 10 PM has no idea about the place where she was taken and also failed to note down the number of the motorcycle on which the youth had given her a lift.

Goa has normally been considered as a very safe station for tourists and given the liberal culture of place and the large numbers in which tourist are seen roaming around the beaches and in the city during all parts of the year, the incident comes as an aberration. Normally the foreign offices of various countries give reasonable amount of guidance to their tourists about dos and don’ts in alien places but tourists are bound to ignore security instruction while trying to corner maximum enjoyment out of their stay in a place like Goa.

It is also worth remembering that while enjoying the exciting lifestyle of Goa a very large number of tourists crowd the hotspots in extremely provocative manner. The nightbazars of Goa which I have seen on a recent visit are like a foreign territory . During our visit there were only a handful of Indians in a crowd of hundreds of tourists indulging into drinking ,dancing ,eating and roaming around till late hours. A person seeing this scantily clad group of men and women with all the arrogance of the white man would be quick to form a very dim view about the status of civilization of these so called guests of the country and a semiliterate motorcycle driver may deviate from pattern of normal behaviour on being witness to such crude behaviour.

However nothing can justify a crime of this nature and prompt action against the accused would be the only solution to avert the possibility of recurrence of similar incidents in future. More so because Goa being solely dependant on tourism for the sustainability of it’s economy, can ill afford to loose even a fraction of tourists by such adverse publicity. Goa I remember has an active union of tour and travel operators. The union should try to ensure that the taxi operators are all registered with them after proper screening and all genuine operators should be given their logo and identification tag which a tourist could be able to ask for before taking a ride .

The Tourists also need to be cautious and alert in their own interest. Remember it was Goa which was once the killing field of the notorious bikini killer Charles Shobhraj.

Film Festival at Goa

Every year the arrival of the season for international film festival brings in it’s train a debate over the next venue for the festival. Goa or elsewhere is the present topic for debate. In a country with so many cultural streams merging in the film making arena, controversy on such issues is quite expected. Everyone has some pride for regional cultural heritage and would like to see it in the forefront at the national stage . There is a belief that a film festival provides the best opportunity for such showcasing of regional talent and highlighting the respective achievements. Some creative thinkers have expressed the feeling that by creating an all India format the opportunity for such exposure would be shared by film makers , artists , writers and all those connected with the film industry all over the country.

 

But is that a logic good enough for reducing this international event linked to creativity to the status of a sports competition or a traveling circus ? If we are keen to make this festival an icon of world ranking celebration, comparison with the formats for other comparable events is inevitable. Other famous international festivals are attached to permanent venues which is the identification mascot for the respective events. By changing the venue every year the festival would be having the status of an infant among a group of well established names. The new venue each year would fail to recall any memories of previous celebrations. The festival would be devoid of emotional contents which draw creative arstists from various nooks and corners of world to such events year after year. So let good sense prevail over personal prejudices to strengthen the international event , let it remain confined to one permanent venue.

 

Now the next issue would be why Goa instead of Delhi. For seeking an answer to this question it is necessary to see as to how IFFI or any other film festival stands apart from other mega events of international importance. A film festival is a celebration for creative instincts of mankind collectively brought from various civilizations under one roof. It is an occasion for sharing tears of joy and sorrow over suffering and enjoyments of mankind all over the world, mirrored in the films collected from the master craftsmen of the art. As denizens we know the international city into which Delhi is shaping up and the hectic life style of the city does not offer the ambiance for such emotional and sentimental activities now. The laid back life style which was the hallmark of Lutyen’s city at some stage of it’s growth is now only a part of our memories .

 

The city is fast moving towards virtualisation of all human activities where computers may sometimes take over our lives very much like the scenario visualized by the creator of masterpiece Matrix. In this fast paced journey we have no time to lament over the loss of film festival.City of Delhi served the interest of the festival in the evolutionary stage by providing the infrastructure and exposure.Now let it move to serene beaches of Goa which otherwise has the biggest exposure to international tourist in the tourism season and is the best known city for fun and frolick in the international stage.The poetic , emotional, creativity inspiring atmosphere missing from Delhi is however something with which Goa is blessed in abundance.

 

Having witnessed one of the film festivals leaves no doubt that the beautifully painted houses, smartly dressed locals in all nature of dresses, the lavish sprinkling of places of worship of each religion all over the city, the liberal spirits and free flowing wines of all descriptions leave Goa as the only natural choice for the International festival. All over the world people love Goa more than any place in India . It conjures up pleasant visions of celebration in minds of everyone who has visited or heard about the place. So let the film festival remain like that. Let it have the stamp of Goa.