My new endeavor

Goa rains have been a damper for last one month. No more beaches and brimming tourism. Not much to notice but to soak in the greenery around and the patterns in the drops of rains. Not to add the 'I am married now' woes. Wondering what am talking about? Well my clothes don't dry. My fresh batch of laundry starts stinking. Leather items are atacked by fungus. And my asthma issues seem to have gone bonkers.

But the point is not to complain about all this. The point is what did we decide to do to keep ourselves entertained nonetheless.
Well it was a thought in our heads for a long long time. And things just added up and convinced us that this is something we want to try. And by this I mean fishing.

Yes, though fishing is no longer safe in the sea. But Goans to their true nature and their need of their staple diet have their own ways. When you are driving by you will often see people on the bridges, next to ponds and water bodies trying their luck to catch fish. And believe me some of them are really good at it. The equipments vary. from a simple thread and hook to swanky fishing rods. But, fishing does appear as a good hobby here. Like this wasn't enough, my husband happened to go to his ship and saw someone catching a fish every minute with a simple thread and hook and we knew we had to do this.

So off we go, all excited to buy our new equipment.  Well it happened to be a Sunday evening. So here's the bummer. One thing you must know about Goa. Goans don't do business on Sundays. The one's who have a crucial one only work half day. Which could easily mean 11 to 1. Also, on a normal day there is a mandatory lunch break. From 1 to 4 sort of. Depending on the business. Some get back at 3 some by 4. So yes, we were definitely in for disappointment as the 2-3 shops we had narrowed down upon were shut.

But our spirits were so high that next day we left again. It being a Monday we were in luck. So we found this place Ibrahim's in Vasco, near the China market. He seemed to have all the funky things. But, for beginners like us we had to narrow down to the most basic things. So we set our eyes on hooks and nylon thread. Now there are various kinds, we decided to go for the mid range. Once we had the stuff with the shop owner's guidance, we began with our routine questions. How to connect things and where to go, what time, types of baits et all. The owner even taught us a knot for the hook.

So off we went gladly waiting for next day to begin our fishing journey. Come next day, we are all excited and hit the nearest bridge where we saw people fishing with our brand new fishing equipment. Well our excitement knew no bounds when we saw a couple of people already there and one already had a few fishes next to him! Now came the time to observe. And slowly it dawned on us that it wasn't as easy as droppping your hook in the water and waiting for the fish to go for it.

Apparently, the  side of the bridge we were on had opposite winds and our hooks went flying where we couldn't even see, under the bridge. Hehe.. Secondly, well poor beginner's we got dough and bread as bait which thanks to all the wind won't even stick to the hook by the time it reached the water surface. And soon we realized that the hook didn't have to go straight down. You have to be good at lasso to get it in position. Well enough lessons for a day, not to mention the hooks are way too sharp, even though they seem really really tiny. They PRICK! And prick very hard. And all put together it's a thing that needs patience. Lots and lots of it.

Eventually we did come back empty handed, saw a video or two on youtube and decided to try it again. Haven't been able to try our luck this week so far. But, hoping for a better performance whenever we do.

The 80's

Yesterday, while going down the lift, there were two kids with me. The kids must be around 8-10 years old. Suddenly the younger one asks the elder one, which 2000 were you born in? And the kid proudly replied 2002. And I thought the year I finished schooling!

Back in our days we used to talk in 80's. Born in the lovely, still quite innocent years. When summers meant playing in big empty grounds, swimming, eating bucket full of mangoes, the frilly little cotton dresses and Bata sandals. Sadly now we think of summers and two things pop in our head - hot, A/C. I no longer wait for the summer for mom to make the crispy bhindi, nor do I have to wait for the watermelons. It's all there, all year round, and yet it would never taste the way it used to back then. The grapes, the watermelon, the mangoes, muskmelons. Ah! I can still imagine the way they used to taste back then. And I wish I could go back. And I think am glad I was born in 80's.

Goa - It gives you wings

Lovely beaches, beautiful sunsets, great cuisine and people, people of all kinds. That's what makes Goa tick. Tick for people who come for a short sweet vacation, to have fun, unwind, relax and leave. One may ask why? One could do the very same in their houses, in their own city with not so expensive spas and resorts.

The answer I figured on one such lovely evening at the beach when I sat alone watching the sunset and looking at people all around me, lost in their worlds. There were people, people of all kinds, a young hep couple, a young conservative couple, a couple in their fifties, a grandfather and a grandchild, a group of engineers, a couple of tourists, local fishermen, few joggers and some slum kids. The only thing common among all of them was the feeling of freedom, presence of these imaginary wings that made them feel they were free, they could do anything and had noone to answer to. Things that they wouldn't think of doing in an ordinary situations, things that they would be ashamed of or think twice before indulging in. It's like Goa sets you free. You feel couples becoming oblivious of the crowd, you see kids smiling in the best of their creativity, getting dirty in murky water and sand, you see a grandfather reliving his childhood, you see a couple of young tired professionals trying for hours together to get that perfect crazy shot which they'd cherish for the rest of their lives, in a corner you see people drinking away to glory and the other corner a bunch of health freaks jogging into the sea. Each and ever person is in their world, like the other's on the beach just did not exist, as if this land, this beach, this beuaty was all theirs to keep and be lost, be free from the shackles of the society, criticism, being judged. They were free, free to be themselves, free like birds, like they had wings. Cos that's what Goa does - It gives you wings.... And so far, am loving it...