Please delete my email I'd form your mailing list . Sent from my iPhone
> On 05-Mar-2017, at 4:12 AM, Goanet Reader <[email protected]> wrote: > > The Home Staging of Goa > > By Christine Russon > [email protected] > > http://chasingxine.blogspot.in/2017/03/home-staging-of-goa.html > > My last essay [1] hit a nerve with a Scottish reader, who argued > that after living in Goa for five years, he should be > considered a Goan. This is despite the fact that he doesn’t > socialize with Goans; he claimed that this is irrelevant. > > I responded that being viewed as a Goan is not a > question of time spent in Goa but of engagement > with the place. Engagement is a critical topic, as > Goa is treated like a reward for those with money, > who have fuelled the demand for investment property > or who have chosen to abandon the rat race for a > quiet life here. Add to this the numerous domestic > and international tourists, who occupy different > spaces that tend not to include Goans. As I have > already argued (see above-cited essay), this is how > hospitable Goa is -- you can pretend there are no > Goans here. > > A travel blog called Inditales.com [2] is an example of both > the lack of engagement with Goa and the erasure of Goans that > I observe whenever I'm here. The author of the blog, Anuradha > Goyal, has written pieces on the North Goan villages of > Aldona [3] and Assagao [4] that read less like the insights > of a traveller and more like advertorials -- that is, paid > ads masquerading as opinion pieces (sticking with the theme > of selling off Goa, here [5] is an example from 2007). > > Goyal states on her blog that she has lived in Goa for more > than three years, and yet she writes about Goa as if she has > just visited for the first time, with no prior knowledge of > it. The descriptions portray a surface-level interaction, > with no probing to learn about these villages or the people > who inhabit them. Even more striking are the photographs. The > only people in the few images that contain human figures are > far in the distance, faceless and nameless. And yet in this > absence of signs of life are photographs of well-preserved > churches and homes. So, while their existence might be > overlooked, these villages evidently have inhabitants. > > (House in Aldona; Source: realestateIndia.com) > > This reminds me of a day last fall, when I was taking a walk > around downtown Hamilton. As I made my way through the MacNab > Street bus terminal, I passed by a large tour group whose > professionally dressed participants were sporting name tags > and holding clipboards. Not wanting to stare, I glanced > briefly and made out the word "Toronto." Interesting, I > thought. I heard the tour guide inform them about the history > of the buildings towering over them. > > Later on, I ran into this same group again on James Street > North. Now more curious about what they were up to, I slowed > my pace and detected a turn in the tour guide's script. > Instead of highlighting the history of the neighbourhood, the > subject was the neighbourhood's potential. > > It hit me: this was a group of developers looking > to acquire property in this already gentrified > neighbourhood. The gentrification [6] of my > hometown is a topic on which I've written before. > This particular street was already reinvented as an > artists' hub, and now it is undergoing a > transformation into a downtown-Torontoesque > neighbourhood of restaurants and condominiums. The > advertorials selling Hamilton to investors have > been churning out of Toronto's newspapers for > years. A city that was once known for its > affordable detached homes and green spaces is being > increasingly concretized to allow developers to > make money. As I eavesdropped on this tour guide's > sales pitch, I wondered if these people noticed or > cared that the space they were coveting is already > inhabited. > > This brings me back to Inditales. The images of the houses in > the blog posts remind me of real estate advertisements. > Realtors in Canada advocate home staging [7] to enhance the > likelihood of selling one's house. The basic rules of home > staging are that the premises must be pristine and lacking in > personal touches, to make it easier for potential buyers to > envision themselves filling that space. Thus, instead of > providing information to would-be vacationers, these posts on > Inditales exhibit the home staging of Goa. The blog is guilty > of subtly conveying the idea of Goa as a vacant plot through > its envisioning of the state as a land of quaint, almost > empty villages. > > (Like Inditales, selling an empty Assagao on a real estate > website) > > Of course, the erasure of Goans from the Goan > landscape is nothing new. I remarked once in a > comment on a Facebook post (Sept. 7, 2016) about > the habit of referring to houses of a particular > style as Portuguese, as if they were never -- and > are still not -- inhabited by Goans. It had > occurred to me that this terminology reinforces the > idea that when the Portuguese withdrew from Goa, it > was deserted. No wonder, then, that acquiring one > of Goa's old "Portuguese" houses offers so much > prestige. In fact, I was told once by a local that > there is a saying: "You’re not a proper Delhiite > until you own a house in Assagao." > > (Home in Assagao marketed as a Portuguese house; Property > Management Group -- Goa) > > In tandem with the promotion of the construction and sale of > second homes in Goa, the tourism industry plays its part in > catering to the desire to acquire a piece [8] of Goa. Look at > the following ad. > > See http://chasingxine.blogspot.in/2017/03/home-staging-of-goa.html > > The third line, "At your very own Goa," begs the > following question: To whom does Goa belong? Not > only does the ad invite tourists to visit Goa; it > suggests an entitlement to claiming it for > themselves. In Goa, where does tourism end and > colonization begin? Furthermore, the ad promotes > Goa on the basis of its Catholic identity, in stark > contrast to the larger vision of India as a Hindu > nation. > > Vishvesh Kandolkar [9] recently wrote a poignant opinion > piece in The Goan (Feb. 9, 2017) on engagement with > monuments. In it, Kandolkar argues that while the local Goan > Catholics continue to use these monuments, to the average > tourist, they appear to be relics from a bygone era. > > This argument serves as a microcosm for the greater issue of > engagement with Goa. The colonial history of Goa is primarily > acknowledged for its sales appeal through promoting stays in > "Portuguese houses" and visits to old Catholic churches, with > an emphasis on their Iberian character. However, any further > mention of the imprint of Portuguese colonialism is > discouraged. After all, as the Goa Tourism Development > Corporation ad tells us, all of this belongs to the Indian > consumer. Although tourism and consumption go hand in hand, > this promotion of possessing the territory in question is > something I haven’t encountered anywhere else. > > (Source: lonelyplanet.in, Photographer: Jeremiah Christanand > Rao) > > The question of how we consume Goa is one that I have been > pondering for a while now. I use the pronoun "we" because I > recognize that I am not exempt from this. I am but a visitor > to this beautiful land, and though my relationship with Goa > is a long one, and I have been writing on local issues for > some time, it occurred to me that I have been guilty > occasionally of romanticizing Goa and of wishing for what I > remember from "the good ol' days" to be preserved for my own > benefit. > > However, over years of personal and intellectual > growth, I have come to understand that there is no > such thing as "the good ol' days"; one person's > comfort and pleasure always come at the expense of > someone else's. For that reason, nostalgia is > harmful. It can blind you to the problems that > others face. And willful blindness to others' > problems and to the capitalist system that creates > them is as bad as actively promoting the > consumption of Goa for short-term gain or pleasure. > Those who recognize the erasure of their identity > should seek ways to forge solidarity and assert > their presence by demanding that we -- the insiders > and outsiders -- all engage with Goa. > > [1] http://chasingxine.blogspot.in/2017/01/modern-colonial-encounters.html > [2] http://www.inditales.com/ > [3] http://www.inditales.com/aldona-goa-beautiful-village-world/ > [4] http://www.inditales.com/assagao-flower-village-north-goa/ > [5] http://bit.ly/real-goa > [6] http://chasingxine.blogspot.in/2016/09/city-for-sale.html > [7] http://www.remax-western.ca/home-staging-tips > [8] http://chasingxine.blogspot.in/2016/09/city-for-sale.htmls > [9] http://wishvesh.blogspot.in/2017/02/thomassons-de-goa.html
