It is a cliche but a fact. Nothing captures the imagination of a Goan better than
though they were sucking their breath and reaching for their beer repeatedly for
relief from the spicy preparation! And the fact that my fish starved friends were
enjoying 'formalin free' and fresh fish - just short of putting it live in their
mouth - enhanced their pleasure to a great extent. I am not entitled to that
pleasure and I stuck to my grass but I should accept that even my grass was
well prepared and I enjoyed it.
We (my swimming group) made an overnight trip to Malvan last weekend. I think
fish fry and an opportunity to get yourself photographed wearing scuba gear - for
use in your FB and Whatsapp posts - is what Malvan is all about. If you enjoy that,
you had a great time there. It has nothing to offer for picky people like me
and I wasn’t impressed. But since I was with my friends, whose company is enjoyable
irrespective of where you are, I had a good time.
I was imagining Malvan to be a peaceful, isolated and clean sea side place but it is
none of that. Probably It was like that some years back but now that it has shot to
fame as a cheaper alternative to Goa, it seems to be just “making hay while the sun
shines" and not bothering about the after effects.
My complaints (by nature, I am prone to look at the darker side usually) begin with the
travel to Malvan from Ponda - Goa. One hundred and forty
travel to Malvan from Ponda - Goa. One hundred and forty
kilometrs took four hours. The road is good but the traffic congested till the
Goa - Maharashtra border and after that, traffic is reduced but the road condition
gets worse. Once you reach the place you directly head to the beach. When you
find rows of fishing boats along with cars, goods vehicles and rikshaws, you are
on the beach. The great line of trash is the border between the land and water.
Initially I thought that we were on a somewhat crowded part of the beach and
maybe it gets better as you move away. But the next morning we walked for nearly
eight kilometers along the beach - crossing Tarkalli and going upto Devbag - and there
is no difference.
The highlight of our trip to malvan was the scuba diving. I thought that the eight of
us would be taken to the diving spot by a boat,
you dive down using the scuba gear, see whatever there is to see, pay for the
pleasure and get back. But no. You will be herded to a large boat which already
contains two or three more groups who have bargained for similar pleasure.
The agent will dump all of you in the boat and goes out looking for more people.
You remain baking in the boat for an hour or so. Once he is sure that he can’t find
anymore, he give a thumbs up and the boat leaves for the place meant for diving,
about half a kilometer away from the shore, right next to the Malvan fort.
The place meant for diving is about 50 feet by 50 feet in area and as you near the
place, you will notice another half a dozen boats, containing about twenty people
each, jostling for a vantage spot. The Scuba operators take two or three at a time for a
dive lasting about eight to ten minutes and concentrate on making you pose above the
corals and attracting fish to your face using fish food spray. They used some foam
like spray - I think it was fish food because fish come rushing. One of them
takes your picture, and you are done.
So, you dive for about eight minutes and spend about two to three hours idling/ baking
in the boat. Not something that I would enjoy. Since it is a considerable duration people
are forced to eat in the boat, rinse their mouth and spit into water and children who
have to let go, are encouraged to stand on the edge of the boat and relieve themselves.
Mercifully none of the adults did that. And that is the water you dive into. An oxygen
cylinder is on your back and you bite on to the mouthpiece and hold it tight, sealing
it with your lips. The same mouth piece which has been held by thousands
like you and which has never been washed except for the dip it gets into saline water
between two people using it.
I just could not do it but I could not back out too. Everyone else was doing and enjoying
it ! So,I went for it. But however much I tried, I could not hold the mouthpiece tight and
cover it with my lips. As a result seawater kept entering inside and I had to come out in
between and face reprimands from the operator for not following the instructions. After
five minutes, I was done and glad that I was done! I climbed out, gargled my mouth
repeatedly, spat into the same water everyone else was spitting into, and we returned
to the shore soon afterwards.
The tide had cleared some of the trash littering the beach and the beach was looking
clean and calm. we went for a swim. The sea was smooth, water was cool and clear
and the company as I said was great. We enjoyed a good swim before our lunch.
The fish plate, which I have mentioned in the beginnig. We left Malvan by three
and were back in ponda by seven after a refreshing tea break at a roadside gada
at Banda.
What I have written, is what I felt about Malvan and the fact that I enjoyed the visit in
spite of the reservations that I have expressed here, indicates the effect my buoyant
friends have upon me! And I end with that happy memory and the taste of hot sweet
tea we had in the roadside gada at Banda - Maharashtra.
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| My Friends : From left to right - Praveen, Rajesh, Sandesh, Viren, Rajaneesh, Shivdeep, Triambak. |
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