Goa’s much-vaunted charm fading with crowds: Wendell
Friday, 04 November 2011 22:09
Mayabhushan | Panaji
Goan beaches are not as white and pristine as before, but are now sullied and red with over-exploitation due to tourism,” painful, but true words of renowned fashion designer Wendell Rodricks sent a hush across the conference hall where the designer had just announced launch of a collection of year-ender party special.
The collection, according to Rodricks, is an attempt to recreate the nostalgic charm of the sparkling sands brought the hippies in droves giving rise to the hippie era of Goa, but today is sadly no more.
To most Goans like Wendell who love their State, the reality was never clearer. “I remember Calangute as a pristine beach until say 1985, when you could walk in quiet and Baga (an adjoining beach north of Calangute) was a nudist colony. But now it is muddy and red and I do not go to that stretch anymore,” Rodricks said.
In a bid to save whatever’s left of his beloved State, Rodricks has made an impassioned plea that Goa be given a special status on the lines of those given to hilly States.
“Delhi (Central Government) should give Goa special status, like the rights the hilly regions have where land can only be bought by local residents and there are slabs on development,” said Rodricks.
Rodricks is not alone. Civil society groups in the State have been actively campaigning against multi-unit dwelling colonies, which they say cater only to buyers in Delhi and other metro cities as they are beyond the reach of the Goan buyer.
For Rodricks it is especially dear since he resides in the remote village of Colvale in Goa that is yet untouched by rapid development and maintains its quaint pre-modernisation era looks.
“I am in a best position to understand Goa, just as Rohit Bal understands Kashmir or Sabyasachi Mukherjee does Kolkata,” Rodricks said, adding that Goa was just not about its beaches. “There’s quiet villages, like the one I live in (Colvale 20 km from Panaji), there’s the forests of Goa, the tribals living in them,” he said.
Rodricks is known more for his classically minimalist fashion statement, and has managed to remain in the mainstream of the fashion industry creating new looks each season which inspire and influence Indian fashion.
Goan’s biggest grouse today is that while the number of tourists visiting the State is growing exponentially every year and so does the number of housing colonies, infrastructure such as width of roads, sewerage and garbage management systems continue to remain archaic and unable to support current loads of pressure.
Goa-born fashion designer Wendell Rodricks’ on Wednesday talked tough about preserving the identity of Goa, whose beaches he said “were not as white and pristine” as before.
The designer said that he tried to portray Goa in his designs as much as possible, because he was best suited to understand the vibe of the region where he was born in.