Today, let us have a good look at one typical Goan village, say Navelim or Chinchinim . It is served by , atleast, one good main road together with other minor roads which give access to the bazaar area or the church. Telecommunication facilities like local and overseas phone calls are available. There are many private cars, motor cycles and scooters; piped water supply to almost all households, electricity though sometimes erratic, cable tv where one can see English/Hindi movies as well as European football matches live, cooking gas cylinders are delivered home ( yes, I am still talking about village life ) . Drainage facilities like sceptic tanks are a must for any village home. Houses are a mixture of concrete and laterite stones, the floors are often of marble and modern furniture go by.
There is , at least , one high scholl with English language as medium of instruction. general physicians , pharmacies, shops in the bazaar stock almost everything so that there is no need to go to either Mapusa or Margao. Fish, beef, chicken, fruits, vegetables, and bakery products are in plentiful supply . There are bars, restaurants and ice cream parlours. And yet, one sees modern buses full of mainly of womenfolk travelling to towns , bedecked with gold ornaments. Why ? Simple, they are a bored folk who frequent Udupi restaurants in towns to regale themselves with idlis, dosas, bhaji puris, wadas with sambar/chutney etc. and above all to watch what other women are wearing. They also take annually a direct train to Potah in Kerala to attend the retreats. Konkane plays are staged at regular intervals. And so what one does think made all this possible in a village. Freedom and democracy and its representatives like panchayat members, MLA s and MP s who tried to provide the infrastructure. Now a question to all those Goanetters who had lived in a Goan village during the Portuguese regime in the late forties and fifties. Do you remember what village life was like and if so, compare it with todays burstling life of any Goan village. Antonio