http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=10732&boxid=17260109&uid=&dat=1/25/2015
A conversation between Vivek Menezes and Charles Correa about the Inaugural Address of the 5th anniversary edition of Goa Arts + Literary Festival in December 2014. VM: Mr. Correa, you entitled your Inaugural address for the 5th anniversary of Goa Arts + Literary Festival intriguingly. What do you mean by “A Direction”? CC: Well, there is a wonderful phrase, coined by Cyril Connolly back in the 1930's: "Inside every fat man, there is a thin man struggling to get out." I am interested in thinking about that Goa, that new Goa, that is struggling to get out. Q. Could you give us an example of what you mean? A. Well, this Litfest itself is a great example. Goa is becoming a truly urbane place to live - but without traffic jams. Otherwise for us in the rest of India, this kind of Urbanity and Choice exists only in big cities - and we have accepted that. So we live in Bombay or Delhi or Bangalore. And put up with the mess. But that's not necessarily true in Germany or France or California - where people can live in houses . . . and have urbane choices within easy reach of their homes - all easily accessible because of the evenly dispersed, low-density, population. Q. That is an interesting distinction. How did Goa come to have this evenly dispersed pattern of habitation? A. Well, because Goa has always been feudal. And one thing feudalism creates is an evenly distributed population. You live in Quepem or Piedade because you own land there - or you till someone else's land there. Otherwise you move on to somewhere else. This is why, even today, there is no big monster city dominating Goa. Panjim's population is still under 80,000 - a bagatelle by Indian standards. Have you ever wondered why Goa looks so different from the rest of India? It's the lack of crowds. Driving through Saligao you don't see hundreds of people and assorted cattle milling around - instead, you see just one old woman crossing the street. Q. That’s very true. What is the history behind this characteristic of Goa? How did it happen? A. Because for decades, Goans have had to leave Goa to try and find their livelihood elsewhere. That’s the downside of feudalism. There are no jobs – and almost no possibility of getting one. Goa was not alone in facing such a dismal situation. Mangalore for instance, shared much the same fate. Then sometime during the 19th century, Mangalore solved its problem – it discovered the tile industry. And with it, came a proliferation of jobs and income. But the very same tile industry that saved Mangalore, also ruined it. For like most industrialisation, it encouraged the kind of concentration of population which led to the monster city we know today. In that sense, Goa has indeed been very lucky!!! It missed out on the tile industry (or any other industry for that matter) and so it stayed with its feudal pattern of an evenly dispersed population - which today is one of its most crucial assets. So to find the new Goa that is struggling to get out, we must, at all costs, avoid any development policies that generate highly concentrated populations. Q. In this process of moving away from feudalism, Goa is also becoming more cosmopolitan, don’t you think? A. Well, Goa was always cosmopolitan. But now, much more than ever. For now it is being exposed to people from all over India, in fact, from all over the world. And Goa takes it all in its stride. Without a hiccup. That’s the real test of being cosmopolitan. You know, in the 1930’s, Bombay was the only city in India that was truly cosmopolitan – and for much the same reasons. Madras was always a Tamil city; and Calcutta, a Bengali one. But in Bombay, Gujaratis, Parsis, Maharashtrians, Biharis, Goans, Punjabis, all felt at home. Then came the Shiv Sena - and the situation changed drastically. So the mantle moved to Bangalore – until that city began to self-destruct because of its horrendous traffic jams. Q. Interesting you should mention traffic, because this past year has seen real trouble on the Goan roads, with delays and bottlenecks becoming routine. Are we going the way of congestion that now is the way of life for so many other places in India and the rest of Asia? A. Yes, and this is why we should not allow mindless construction anywhere and everywhere. There just isn't enough landscape left in Goa to mop up all the excess black money sloshing around in urban India. People who add to Goa's value, from carpenters to organic farmers to bookshops, should be encouraged. But not just mindless additions. Q. After many years of struggling to preserve Goa’s identity and character, the people of the state are becoming increasingly fatigued (and often maligned as anti-development and obstructionist). What are the chances that this place can stave off the fate of, say, Bangalore? A. As you will recall, all through the 60's and 70's, Bangalore was known as a 'Pensioners Paradise'. Now, there's nothing wrong in retiring to a beautiful, peaceful place - like Goa. Just make sure you also ADD to its value. Which is what began to happen to Bangalore in the 1990's, when the new arrivals were dot.com engineers who added immeasurably to the economy and value of that city. For Goa, it may not be dot.com - and let's hope it is not tourism, which in the long run only degrades the local people, as we can see from Bangkok to Naples. Goa deserves a better future than that. Perhaps Goa could develop as a major medical centre. Or perhaps as the Educational Hub of India - what Boston is to the USA, and increasingly, to the world. So when young students anywhere in India are asked by their parents: where do you want to go to study? They reply: GOA! Q. Do you see Education as one of the main attributes of the new Goa that is struggling to come to life? A. Yes, that and Medical Care. We could easily have the best hospitals in the country. Goans have always been good doctors, surgeons, nurses. And Goan manual workers prefer jobs in the pharmaceutical industry above all others. That would increase employment - just what Goa needs. At the same time, we should go ahead with our existing plans for building village schools, anganwadis and creches, so that children of all income groups are well looked after. And having the best schools and hospitals in the country would encourage head-offices to locate here – which would mean a huge jump for tertiary employment in the State. And Goa needs those service and clerical jobs as well! In other words, this new Goa would be generating the kind employment opportunities that match the skills of Goa’s existing work force. Q. Goa’s government – like other parts of India – is heavily focused on what it calls “infrastructure building” and prioritizes funds for this. What should be the state’s priorities in this regard? Without doubt, one of the top priorities should be: Public Transport! Because of the lack of adequate services, people are forced to travel on scooters, rickshaws and cars – and our roads are a mess. Just connecting the major towns with efficient bus services that leave, say, every ten minutes would reduce inter-city traffic on NH17 - and the accidents it engenders. And what’s more, travelling from Margao to Mapuca, or from Ponda to Panjim, would once more become affordable! How does the average Goan deal with the grotesque prices that taxis and rickshaws charge? For someone travelling by train from Mapuca to Bombay, the cost off the short taxi ride from Mapuca to Tivim station is several times greater than the price of the train ticket from Tivim to Bombay! Isn't that absurd? Q. Yes, good bus services would make a big difference. Also, it appears one big reason tourism has drastically slumped in Goa this year is the unavailability of reasonably priced transportation options from coast to city, and other relatively long hauls. Well, I‘m not talking only about ground transport - but also about the wonderful rivers and waterways of Goa. We must bring those old boat services back – and improve on them! For instance, we could have hop-on hop-off boat services that which go from Panjim up the Mandovi river and then turn left to Aldonha, Moira, and Tivim, etc. This would be a wonderful way to explore Goa – not just for tourists, but for Goans themselves. And we could have other boat services that go up the Zuari from Courtalim to Raia, Loutolim and Rachol. And of course one along the canal (complete with crocodiles) that connects the Mandovi and the Zuari. Q. Are there any good examples in India or the rest of Asia to emulate as the “new Goa” struggles into existence? How did it work for them? What can the citizens of the state do to make it happen? Well, to begin with, don't just be negative and criticise government for whatever it’s doing, Instead, try to make positive suggestions. Citizens participation, especially when it is positive, can help local government a great deal. This is happening in several Indian cities, from Hyderabad to Lucknow to Coimbatore - where citizens use their phones to photograph piled up garbage, and then email the image to the civic authorities - who immediately respond with an official complaint number and a rectification date. Our Foundation has been working with the Municipality to introduce such systems into Panjim. And as you will recall, earlier this year we developed a strategy for decongesting Panjim traffic, by using bus loops - and pedestrianising the most crowded areas in the heart of the city. Q 11. So – despite collective pessimism - perhaps the new leaner Goa is emerging faster than we realize? Do you think that with better planning and strategic effort, that we could actually make it happen? Yes part of our problem is that we’ve become smug, comparing ourselves to All-India averages. But those averages include places like UP and Jharkhand! Why don’t we compare ourselves to something more relevant - like Kerala? Education in Goa looks acceptable until you see what Kerala has achieved! The standards we aim for should be the highest. As discussed earlier, we could have hospitals as good as any in Bombay or Delhi. Manipal and Vellore have done it – so why can't we? Such hospitals, combined with some of the existing luxury hotels would ipso facto create a Goan medical tourism industry that could easily rival those in KL or Singapore. And as for Education, we should go full speed developing village anganwadis and schools - and we should also take steps to make Goa University the best in India. The Supreme Court has already decreed that 10% of Goa’s mining revenues should be used to for the development of the State – why not use some of those funds to create a truly great University right here in Goa?
