PANAJI
Unlike the migratory birds that flock to the calm and serene locales of Chorao, young islanders have steadily moved out of the island towards the mainland leaving behind the older generation to tend to their ancestral villas and fertile plots of land.
Seeking lucrative employment, economic progress, convenient and comfortable life for their children, young Chodankars have gradually settled down in Miramar, Panaji, Ribandar, Porvorim and even Bicholim.
Lack of conveyance and absence of gainful employment appear to be the two main causes of the migration of younger Chodankars towards the mainland.
Exceptions do exist with Chorao having produced many success stories of musicians, academicians, bankers and IT professionals of world renown. But of these who have done brilliantly in their professional life, majority have done so only after moving out of Chorao and settling elsewhere in Goa, India or world.
On the other hand, not many younger generation islanders have explored the possibility of doing something worthwhile on the island itself.
Over the time, rather than venturing out into the unexplored realms of business with a spirit of entrepreneurship, Chorao’s population has sought comfort in being service-oriented. This comes as a surprise mainly because almost all islanders own pieces of land of varying sizes.
To add to this, Chorao continues to have vast expanse of khazan land, most of which is lying uncultivated allowing the mangrove cover to take over fertile pieces of land.
Very few young Chodankars have considered self-employment and an overwhelming majority continues to rely heavily on government employment, tourism, hospitality or catering.
A huge number of youngsters have also moved out of the island to United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Australia and West Asia in search of greener pastures. They eventually lose the connect with the land and mangroves, something that is evident among the older generations.
Chorao’s educational institutions also provide an avenue for employment to budding teachers, but these too have very limited recruitment capacity.
Visible in the name of business in Chorao were also small bars and restaurants and grocery shops scattered along the main road. However, these are operated by those who have crossed half a century of their life.
