Wonderful Day in Calengute, Goa

Today was one of the best days in India yet. This morning we set out for a town called Calenjun. It’s a small town near Baga beach in Goa, and its mixture of Portuguese Catholic influence and local heritage make this area spectacular. We set out with a mission today, and that was to engage the locals in conversations, something that we had not yet attempted fully, cowarding behind our tourist identities.

I met Jackson, our first driver, a 30 year old man from the area who seemed all too thrilled to show off his music repertoire while driving us to the town. “Nice music”, I said. He cranked up the volume with a broad smile across his face. In the short distance that we were together during this ride he told me about his family, with whom he lived, all 3 generations of them; all of them working in the rice fields during the off season. It’s hard work, he says, and he’s glad that the season is over. During the tourist high season, which will start shortly, he drives a cab.
If you need a safe driver, he told us, you call me. I will keep you safe.

In town I met 14 year old Michael when I stepped into a small t-shirt shop along main street. He was working the store. He was small, and looked no more than 12, but he assured me – he was 14. Where are your parents, I asked? He stared at my curiously. “Why do you ask?”
Because I wonder, why a boy your age isn’t in school?
He simply shook his head.
He was desperately trying to sell me a t-shirt. He offered me tea.
“Do you want to have tea? My sister can make some.”
He took every single shirt off the shelf for me to look at. I felt bad not buying anything, too sheepish to tell him that the only reason that I had entered his shop was to talk to him.
I’ll take that one.

On the way back I met Raj, our other cab driver, who was all too willing to tell us about himself. He was from Rajastan and had been driving for 22 years. For a while he was an ambulance driver in Mumbai.
How did you get around in that traffic, I asked?
“I put the siren on all of the time”, he laughed.
He had been a driver in Dubai, in almost every state in India, and was proud to claim that he knew every single main road in the country.
We asked him about the night scene here. It was, after all, Saturday night. Should we go out to the nightclubs in Goa tonight?
“No”, he said firmly. “Too many Indians, not safe”.
We told his about our travels around India.
Apparently, if we make our way to Jaipur, we can call his brother who owns a good hotel and who would be more than happy to help us around there too. He gave us his number.
All of these encounters keep bringing me back to the overarching theme that keeps astounding me here in India – the people. They are truly caring and warm.

A tailor that we met on the main road.

Now the nightclub scene might be a different story.