ARAMBOL: The scene at
Arambol
is set — neon fabric drapes the trees, billows of smoke emanate from chillums and fire dancers cast a fleeting light on people invoking Lord Shiva. While a
war
rages between
Ukraine
and
Russia
, their citizens holidaying here in Goa were organising parties for
Mahashivratri.
Monday night saw several events organised by foreigners at Morjim and Arambol. A party held in an empty space in front of a house at the far end of Arambol village had at least 200 guests, mostly foreigners, dancing to Shiva and Ganesh stotras and devotional songs in the Indipop style.
While they may be in a distant country, war is not far from their minds. This past week, citizens of the two nations residing in Arambol, Ashvem and Morjim along the state’s northern coastal belt tapped several modes of spreading the message of
peace
, including by way of a mini-carnival conceptualised by the Russian community in the Arambol-Morjim area. Although the theme of the event was ‘Save the bees, save the flowers’, there was a sprinkling of calls for peace.
Last Monday, a group of Ukrainians held a peace march at Arambol beach. While no Russians participated, they agreed that the war should end at the earliest.
“I don’t like war and am all for peace,” said Lisa, a Russian who is in Goa with her family for a month-long vacation.
Although she did not attend the protest march, she questioned why its participants were holding Ukraine flags when the march was all about peace.
Another Russian, Arsenij, who has been in Goa for a little over a month, said he was extremely worried when he heard his country had begun invading Ukraine. “For two days on the trot, I read only war-related news on the internet. But there is a lot of propaganda and it is unclear as to what exactly is going on,” he said. While he added that he would like to stay longer in Goa and work, a 40-year-old Ukrainian woman nearby preferred to take in the sunset from her deck bed rather than speak about the fighting in her country.
On Sunday, another rally as well as a concert will be held in Arambol. Anxiety about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has petered down to the local community too — from the shack owners and taxi drivers to even those who hardly keep abreast with the news. They worry not so much about how the war has damaged Ukraine, but about the impact it is likely to have on their tottering businesses which were only just picking up after being battered by three waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There can’t be a solution to the problem unless (Russian president) Vladimir Putin is made to sit across the table and discuss,” Inacio Daniel, a shack owner at Arambol said, as he attempted to delve into the geopolitics of war.
It appeared that business in Goa would pick up after the third wave, he rued, despite the arrival of fewer Russian tourists. “In a few days, Russian and Kazakh tourists will be without money. Some are already returning empty-handed from ATMs as their economies are in the doldrums,” he said.
Goa presently receives one chartered tourist flight from Russia every 10 days and one a week from Kazakhstan. There have been no charters from Ukraine this season.
Another local maintained that Russians staying long periods in Goa do not necessarily depend on remittances from home. “They have their own sources of income. Some of their events are close-knit and organised for their people, although even Indians are allowed,” the villager said.
Like Monday night’s Mahashivratri party at Arambol, the events are ticketed, include food and beverages, and are held in the evenings, mostly in a courtyard or an empty space outside a house located away from populated parts of the village. Mandrem, Arambol and Morjim fit their requirement perfectly, thanks to the symbiosis they share with the local communities whose houses, courtyards and even terraces are given on long lease to Russians and other long-staying foreign tourists.