Recently, the CM of Goa made a statement regarding the G20 members appreciating the culture of Goa. However, one wonders what culture of Goa is he really talking about, and are there any efforts made to maintain this culture or distort it?
The Goan culture is nothing but a blend of East and West. We have seen the best of both worlds and that is why we are unique from the rest of India. We have imbibed the true ethos of Portuguese culture and made it our own; it could be in our mannerism, our dress, our food and even our outlook to life.
But sadly, we are misunderstood and this can be seen very blatantly in the way Goa and Goans are portrayed in Indian movies, more so the recent regional movies which are being aired on Netflix. If you look closely, the bad guys don crosses and have Catholic names. They are alcoholics or drug addicts and usually head a gang. No wonder then, when tourists come to Goa, they feel they are at liberty to do anything and behave and dress the way they like, even to the extent of driving their vehicles on our shores with no adherence to any rules. It was shocking to see that the movie “Doctors” now running in Netflix, portraying Goa and Goans in these lines “ more so, when it filmed in one of Goa’s popular heritage homes.
It is time we Goans make the rest of the world realize that we are people with integrity. We need to be more cautious when we give our homes for photo shoots by at least finding out the background of the movie and the storyline even it means big money. Incidentally, the old Hospicio building, which was in the news recently, regarding a proposal to make it a hospice for the sick, was lately used to film a movie, where the production company apparently showed no regard to the sanctity of this erstwhile home. On one hand our hospitality should not be taken for granted and on the other hand we Goans should adopt some sort of scrutiny.
