Reflected in Water: Writings on Goa

Described variously as the Kashi of the South, the Rome of the east and the pearl of the orient, Goa, located on the west coast of India, is renowned for its scenic charm, its beaches, and the architectural splendour of its temple, churches and old houses. With its sun-sand-surf leitmotif it is also the land of the lotus-eater, a tourist’s paradise of fun and frolic, raves and revelry. But Goa is more than just the world’s favourite holiday destination. Its unique history, shaped by the various dynasties that ruled it–the Rashtrakutas, the Kadambas and the Bahmani Muslims, before its 450-year-long occupation by the Portuguese from 1510–has given it a distinctive flavour, a different rhythm, an easy cosmopolitanism. Reflected in Water is a collection of essays, poems, stories and extracts from published works that bring to life both the natural beauty and the changing social and political ethos of India’s smallest state. From Mario Cabral e Sa’s delightful take on the earliest Portuguese women to come to India to Gita Mehta’s description of hippies at Calangute, from Alexander Frater’s mesmerizing account of Goa in the monsoon to Manohar Malgonkar’s ode to the Mangeshi temple, this anthology celebrates the irreverent and the sacred in equal measure.