The Day We Celebrate Holi

Holika Dahan

       Holi is celebrated all over India every year in the month of March. Popularly known as the festival of colours, Holi has all the people big or small soaked in festivity and drenched in colour from head to toe. But, how many of us know the real reason behind celebrating Holi? I'm sure most of us do. But the thing is that we have forgotten the reason why Holi is celebrated and according to our convenience very easily converted the festival into something of our liking.

        The name Holi is derived from Holika. According to legends, Holika was the evil sister of Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu was a king who had seeked a boon from God that no one could kill him. This made him feel powerful and made him greedy. He felt he was more powerful than God and wanted people to worship him. However, his own son Pralhad refused to do so. This made Hiranyakashipu much angry and he tried every bit like putting Pralhad in a vessel of boiling oil or throwing him off a mountain to kill Pralhad. But none of them worked and Pralhad was saved everytime by Lord Vishnu. 

          Upon seeing the failing attempts of her brother to kill Pralhad, Holika offered help and said that she would sit on a burning pile with Pralhad to kill him. Holika had a boon that she could stay safe in fire, but, it worked only if she entered the fire alone. Holika must have forgotten this and entered the fire with Pralhad thinking that nothing will happen to her. However, as the boon only worked if she entered the fire alone, Holika was burnt to death by the fire and Pralhad was once again saved by Vishnu. This was the victory of good over evil.

         The legend has a story, but there was also a scientific reason behind celebrating Holi. Now the weather has mood swings (because of us humans, of course), but before the weather was all good all set. The day of Holi was the end on winters and the start of summers. So in olden days on the day of Holi people would burn a bonfire for the warmth & the next day would apply the ashes on the body and bath with cold water. 

        We still see Holika Dahan, but now, colours have made a way through, way before Rang Panchmi. The main reason behind celebrating Holi is the Holika Dahan, the victory of good over evil. However, people don't seem to get it. Therefore, people start to play with colours way before Rang Panchmi & the amount of water wasted, I better not talk about that.

        Like I said in the beginning, we have completely forgotten the main reason behind celebrating Holi and very cleverly converted the festival into something that we want. And I am not returning home all drenched in colour and writing this blog. I am not even someone celebrating World Water Day a day before and then wasting all the water saved the next day on Holi. I have stopped playing Holi from the past 10 years, because I realised that this is not Holi that we our playing. It is just wastage of water. I am not against celebrating Holi, I really love to watch people play Holi, meet friends, have fun, etc,etc. I am just against people not realising the main reason behind celebrating Holi. & I just hope that this bit, helps people realise what is Holi really celebrated for. Lets do our bit to save the earth. Its better to save than to sit and cry later. So, if you can please try to save water that is wasted during Holi. & celebrate Holi with true spirit and not just to show off. & save the colours for Rang Panchmi.

Saras Baug (Garden)

        Everybody living in Pune & even some living outside Pune is familiar with this place, Saras Baug or Saras Garden.

             

   

           Saras Baug is famous for its talyatla Ganpati meaning the Ganpati in a pond or Ganpati of the pond (don't know how exactly to say it). So basically, there is a Ganpati Temple built in the middle of a pond, thus the name talyatla Ganpati. This is the main source of attraction. Many people and devotee come to Saras Baug to seek blessings from the deity.

           If there are children in your house- Saras Baug, want a place to study- Saras Baug, you have guests over, take them to- Saras Baug, want to hang out with friends- Saras Baug, want to spend time with someone special- Saras Baug. Because Saras Baug has a garden and hawkers and a khau galli (a lane with food stalls all over) it becomes a perfect option for people to spend time.

            Saras Baug or Saras Garden wasn't always a garden though. An artificial pond was built on the banks of the Ambil canal in 1750 during the reign of Shrimant Nanasaheb Peshwa.  At that time it was at the base of Parvati Hills. It took a total of three years to complete the work of the pond. While building the pond an artificial island was also created and kept reserved for a temple and garden. The pond spreads in approximate 25 acres of area. This pond was used to row ferrys. After sometime a garden was created on the island and Shrimant Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa named the place Saras Baug. In 1784 Madhavrao built a small temple and established an Ganpati idol there.

           In around 1869 many places in the city were handed over to the municipal corporation, at that time everything except the island on which the temple is, was transferred to Pune Municipal Corporation from Mumbai Municipal Corporation. In 1966 Pune MNC developed a garden in place of the lake.

          Saras Baug is completely different now, than what it was 100-150 years ago. Now there is no pond, just a garden and the temple. However, keeping the significance in mind the temple is still surrounded by water from all sides. Now if one goes to Saras Baug, the first thing that comes at sight from the entrance is the temple. Since the traffic in Pune has become crazy,  a bridge is built to help people cross the road. While one goes from the bridge, you can see atleast 4-5 tota maina (couples) either hugging or pecking. This is quite a shame as Saras Baug has an historical importance and is also a home to a deity. But as my research says, couples are most likely found on historical sites.

       The garden is filled with people. Many come to spend time and some come to sleep. Yes, you can see people sleeping under the shade of a tree. The water around the temple has many fishes in it. So people stand besides the water either watching the fishes of feeding the fishes.

      The Ganpati Temple is quite big. There is also a museum which displays different Ganpati idols. Saras Baug is lit up with diyas and floating lanterns in Diwali during the Diwali Pahat. Diwali Pahat is a program celebrated every year on Padwa. It begins at around 5 AM. Almost all Punekars are seen here. The place is so filled that even mobile networks have congestion. During Diwali Pahat diyas are kept is several shapes and forms and people light them up, there are also orchestras and celebrity visits to entertain the people. This is the time when the place is the most crowded.

        Other than Diwali Pahat there isn't much rush in Saras Baug. It is a quiet place with people spending time there.

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Aga Khan Palace

      Sometimes, I really feel ashamed of myself. I mean I love travelling, visiting new places and getting to know about them, but at times I don't know about certain things in my own city.

      I wouldn't often go to Kalyani Nagar, but whenever I went, I would see this bridge called the Aga Khan Bridge. I never paid much attention to it. But for a few days I had been visiting Kalyani Nagar more often and I read this sign board which had Aga Khan Palace written on it. One day, I decided to visit the Palace. I had an extra hour, so I thought why not go and see what it is instead of wasting time here and there.
      As I was on my way to the palace I was thinking how did I not visit this place even once in my lifetime. I never even really paid attention to it. I mean I would read the name, but I don't know why I didn't pay attention to it. Also it is on the same road that leads to my hometown. Yet I never gave myself a chance to peek out and take a look at the palace.

     So as I was on my way, I was thinking, who is this Aga Khan and how will the palace be. First thought-

This is what I thought the Palace will be like

       I thought it will be an old broken into pieces structure, with just a few pillars left, with rats running here and there and surrounded with barren lifeless land. But when I reached there, to my surprise, it was the complete opposite.

The Palace had a nice big gate.

The entrance of the Aga Khan Palace

        Then I parked my bike and read this board right near the entrance.

Well OK!!

         Then as I walked in there was a big circle with a huge banyan tree.

Is it one or many? :-P

        I walked further and I saw a clean white building from a midst the trees.

Peek-a-boo!! The Palace from the entrance

         And then I walked towards the Palace and as I stood in front of it, I was left awestruck.

The Palace from different angles.

        It was the complete opposite of what I thought (as I said before). It was so clean, white and surrounded with lovely green grass and big trees from all sides. It was very clean and very green. How the heck in life did I miss a visit to this place, was all that I thought as I stood there looking at the beautiful Palace.

      Well there was no one who could give me some information about the palace, so I had to read the display boards and collect the information by myself. So here's presenting The Aga Khan Palace from my point of view.

     So basically many many years ago, many villagers suffered a huge loss in a famine. So in 1892 the 3rd Agakhan Sultan Mohammoad Shah Agakhan built this Palace as a source of employment for these famine-struck villagers. The palace provided a source of employment for about 1000 people and took about 5 years to be constructed completely. All the employees were given full hearted wages for their livelihood.

     Then during the British Rule, Gandhiji was arrested in Bombay (Mumbai) for his 'Quit India' movement and was bought to the Aga Khan Palace on 9th August, 1942. He was held captive along with his wife, Kasturba and his secretary of nearly 35 years, Mahadev Desai. On 15th August, 1942 Mahadev Desai suffered a heart-attack and lost his life. Gandhiji had lost a dear one and did not want to hand over the body to the officials. He also wanted to perform the last rites himself for Mahadev.

       Gandhiji was not allowed to go out of the Palace so the last rites were performed in the Palace itself and the samadhi of Mahadev Desai now lies in the palace. Kasturba also lost her life while at the Aga Khan Palace. Even her samadhi lies in the palace itself. Gandhiji was held captive for 21 months and released on 6th May, 1944.

Mahadev Desai and Kasturba Gandhi

        10 years after the independence, in 1957, Shah Karim Agakhan became the 4th Aga Khan after the death of his grandfather the 3rd Agakhan Sultan Mohammoad Shah Agakhan. In 1969 he donated the palace to the government of India in memory of Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy.

A little info about Agakhan 3rd and 4th

        This palace is a simple memorial to Gandhiji and his life. Inside the Palace is also a museum which has many of Gandhiji's belongings put to display. There are letters, photographs, utensils, clothes, paintings, etc used by or related to Gandhiji in this museum.

The various things related to Gandhiji's life put to display in the museum

         The Aga Khan Palace has been declared as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.

      So basically, the Aga Khan Palace was build by a noble Agakhan to provide employment to the famine-struck people in that region. Then Gandhiji was held captive here for almost 2 years and later on the Palace was donated to the government of India by the grandson of the Aga Khan who had built it.

     This is what I know about the Aga Khan Palace, if there is anything more than this that you know, please comment it down below. I would love to read more about it. :-)

Parvati Hills

           Climbing a hill top with the help of 72 long steps with the sun blazing right on top of my head!! I must be a true explorer, right??

           So I've been living in Pune for about 14 years now & I have even been to the Parvati hilltop before, but I hadn't explored it. Means I had never been to any place on this hilltop. I didn't know there was so much to see there.

          

           Tired & overcoming the torture of the hot blazing sun I finally reached the hilltop. On my way I saw small stalls selling chips and other eatables & a children park in the midway.

          On reaching the top there was a small canteen on the left and a chappal stand on the right. Then there was a temple of Shiv & Parvati and besides that there were temples of Vishnu, Ganesh, Bhavanimata & Suryanarayan.

entrance to the Shankar-Parvati Mandir

Shankar-Parvati Mandir

                  There is a Peshwa Museum. They charge ₹10 & photography isn't allowed (I don't know why). There are many interesting things in the museum. Lampshades, dinner sets in which the Peshwas would have their dinner, jewellery, swords, guns, chariots, clothes, photographs are some out of the many things in the museum. I spent most of my time in there. There was so much to see. Actually there were so many things to see. & outside the museum there is a wall/blackboard with thoughts & quotes written on it.

Peshwa Museum

the wall with thoughts & quotes

              Walk a few steps away from the museum and there is the samadhi of Nanasaheb Peshwa. Its big enough, with the information of the Peshwas (their birth & death). Besides the samadhi was a Shri Kartiki Swami Temple. On the walls were stories of 'samudra manthan', Kartikeya goes around the world and some other. & there is a 'maknicha darwaza' which was used to carry water from the well on the hill. Then at a distant there is a Vishnu temple.

samadhi of Nanasaheb Peshwa

              So basically, Nanasaheb Peshwa built the Shankar-Parvati and Vishnu temple & also a place to stay (wada). After that Bajirao Peshwa II built the Kartikeya temple and the steps that lead to the hill top.

So these are all the things on the hill top. Parvati Hills are the second tallest hills in Pune and give a panaromic view of the city. Climbing all those steps can be a good exercise routine for all and some people do it. Or one can just climb those steps to get a beautiful view of the city. Or just to explore everything that is on top of the hill.

Kartikeya Temple

maknicha darwaza

stories on the wall

Vishnu Temple

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Mahalakshmi Temple

            A place to worship 'Adi Shakti', located opposite the Saras Baug, this is the Mahalakshmi Temple.

Mahalakshmi Temple

           The temple is a symbol of prosperity, wealth & strength. The Mahalakshmi Temple was a work of service towards the society by Shri Bansilalji. Shri Bansilal was born in Moribeda, Pali district in Rajasthan. He belonged to a poor family but believed that hard work, determination & intense desire for success can surely help overcome the sufferings suffered while being in a poor family. Bansilal worked hard enough, not only to overcome poverty, but was also able to get his family to Pune from Rajasthan. Day by day he became more responsible towards the society and turned towards the service for the society.

inside the temple

                  Bansilal's wife Smt. Sushila Devi who was an invaluable partner in all of Bansilal's endevours and was also an avid reader of holy books, wished to build a temple opposite Saras Baug, instead of having a residence there. Bansilal wished for the same. And thus began the construction of the Mahalakshmi Temple.

                However, in December 1977, Shri Bansilal took his last breath. The work of the temple was still incomplete. Sushila Devi not drowning herself into grief and despair gave all her support to her son Rajkumar Agarwal for the completion of the temple. It took a total of 12 years to complete the work of the temple.

            The temple is located on the main road and has idols of Goddess Saraswati- The goddess of learning, Goddess Lakshmi- The goddess of wealth & Goddess Mahakali- The goddess of strength. All the three idols are 6 feet tall and and carved with pristine marble. The summit of the temple is 55 feet tall & 24 feet wide and the length of the temple roof is 54 feet long. It has all been carved in the Dravidian style of architecture. The pillars and walls inside have also been carved with intricate patterns that enhance the beauty of the temple. Images of saints like Shri Basaveshwara, Shri Tulsidas, Shri Tukaram Maharaj, Shri Jalaram, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shri Kabir Das, Shri Sur Das, Shri Ramdas, Shri Guru Nanak, Shri Ramakrishna, Shri Narasi Mehta, Sant Shri Mirabai have been carved on the temple walls.

the roof

              The carvings of the temple was done under the guidance of Hemraj Sompura of Sumerpurand and others. Artisans for carving the temple arrived from the Kala Kendra at Jaipur. On 15th February 1984, the deities of the three Goddesses were consecrated and declared open for public worship by the hands of Teertha Swaroop Swami Shri Ghanshyamji Acharya.

                       The temple is mostly crowded during Diwali festival, when end number of devotees come to offer their prays. It is beautifully decorated. A few years ago, the idol of goddess Lakshmi was dressed up in a saree made of pure gold, which weighed around 9 kgs, cost about 15 crores and was made in Kanchipuram. Other sarees of the goddesses are also put to public sale by the management.

idol of Goddess Lakshmi in the gold saree

some of the information was extracted from- http://mahalaxmimandirpune.org/

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Be A Traveller, Not A Tourist

   

                       

             There is no right point of view or wrong point of view, there is just your point of view and my point of view. & according to my point of view a tourist's life is much better than a traveller's life (in money wise terms), but still I urge to be a traveller.

           A tourist goes to a destination for leisure, whereas a traveller goes to a destination for exploring.

           I became fond of travelling from a very young age. Trips with family in every holiday made me fond of travelling. I remember how we would go to all these lovely places during our holidays. We would go in our own car and stay at all these luxury hotels and eat all tasty food. It was all good and we had lots of fun. But I realised it was all because all the money was spent by my parents. I and my brother were just having fun.

    

          Travelling needs money. If someone else is spending that money travelling becomes fun. But when you have to spend the money you think twice before spending the money. Now I really love travelling, but here's the real deal. When you grow up you enter this world of competition where you have to compete with yourself to get a good job and earn a good living.

     

         Since I've grown up I've started travelling less. The reason, obviously money. When I was a kid my parents would take us on holidays, but now if I want to go somewhere I need to spend my own money & damn that's hard.

    

         This is when I realised the difference between a tourist and a traveller. A tourist gets a nice accommodation, but a traveller is ready to live in a tent or even couchsurf. A tourist eats tasty delicious food, a traveller sometimes eats street food or sometimes cooks his/her own food. A tourist travels in luxury, a traveller doesn't. Basically, a tourist spends money whereas a traveller saves money.

   

        But is it all just about the money? No, absolutely not. It is about the reason of travelling. Being a kid I was a tourist. I would go on holidays for leisure, to get away from the daily routine, to relax and have fun. But now I want to travel to explore new places, meet new people and eat local food. It isn't about spending or saving the money. It is all about exploring new places, meeting new people and spending time with the locals and not yourself.

    

        The real fun of travelling doesn't lie in going to different places, it lies in understanding the culture of different places. When a tourist goes somewhere, he/she just breaks contact with the world and spends more time with his/her self. But a traveller will make much contact with the people and understands the culture of that place & this is the best thing ever. Going as a tourist will give you a break from your busy life but going as a tourist will give you memories for life & life is all about making memories.

      So be a traveller, not a tourist.

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Shinde Chhatri

A memorial dedicated to a great Maratha ruler Mahadji Shinde. Situated in the Wanowrie area of Pune, This is Shinde Chhatri.

The Entrance

Shinde Chhatri was built in the year 1965(according to the Samvat Calender Era) by Maharaja Madhavrao Scindhia as a memorial to Mahadji Shinde. Mahadji Shinde was the fifth & the youngest son of Ranojirao Shinde. He was the ruler of the Maratha Empire in the Gwalior State in Central India. He was one of the three pillars of the Maratha Resurrection. Mahadji Shinde is also the founder of the Shinde Dynasty. His great works have been noted in the history. The Chhatri is a memorial to this great ruler.

about the chhatri

Chhatri means umbrella in Marathi. A temple of Lord Shiva was built in the complex by Mahadji Shinde himself. Apart from Lord Shiva's temple there is a temple of Vittal Rukmini, the samadhi of Mahadji Shinde and much to my surprise, a gym. There is a Maruti temple just opposite to the entrance. This temple was built by Madhavrao Shinde Ist.

The Chhatri

Lord Shiva's Temple

Vitthal Rukmini Temple

Shinde's samadhi

a gym in the complex

the Maruti temple opposite the entrance

The entry fee is Rs. 5 for Indians & Rs. 25 for foreigners. As soon as one enters the complex there is The Chhatri & Lord Shiva's temple. On the left hand side is the samadhi of Mahadji Shinde. A little distant from the samadhi is the temple of Vitthal Rukmini. Behind the Shiv temple and besides the Vitthal Rukmini temple is an office & even a changing room, which I believe belongs to the gym which is besides this office. There are benches for seating and a gong outside the temple. Upon inquiring I got to know that many years ago when there were no watches, they would ring the gong every hour for the people to know about the time.

the gong

The achitecture of the chhatri depicts the Rajasthani style of architecture. It is built of yellow stone and there are carvings of saints on the rooftop. Inside the chhatri are photos of the Shinde Dynasty.

It is overall a great piece of architecture. The Scindia Devasthan Trust of Gwalior looks after the Chhatri.

carvings of saints on the rooftop of the chhatri

inside the chhatri

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The Goan Diary

Who wouldn't love a trip to Goa as a birthday gift? My brother was lucky enough to have one. He was 3 when we had a family trip to Goa and till now he didn't have a chance to go to Goa again. So we decided to gift him with it. And I thought I should share the fun here on my blog.

Day 1- We left Pune at around 3:30 pm. Pune to Goa isn't a short journey and considering that my father gets tired while driving we decided to have a halt in Kolhapur. Now that we were in Kolhapur we thought we should visit the famous Mahalakshmi Temple, but we were unlucky I must say, the deity's idol was to undergo a chemical conservation due to which the worshipers couldn't worship the actual idol. But we did get to go the temple and what a wonderful feeling it was. We reached Kolhapur at 8 pm and even after four and a half hours of travelling all the tiredness went away the minute we stepped in the temple. It was amazing. After that we went to have dinner. And how can one miss the 'tambda rassa' and 'pandhra rassa' when in Kolhapur. So we had it and then went to the hotel.

heading towards Kolhapur

everything was green due to the rainy season

inside the Mahalakshmi Temple

                                                                 

The Mahalakshmi Temple

                                         

Yummy spicy Kolhapuri food

Day 2- So we were pretty much excited to start our journey to Goa. We had our breakfast and left for Goa. It was a continuous journey till Amboli Ghat. We did stop for a minute or so just to confirm the route. As we started towards Amboli the climate began to change. Clear skies turned cloudy, dusty roads turned wet, the sides all green and the climate all cold and foggy. We stopped by the Amboli waterfall for about one and a half hour. It was simply awesome. We were in the lap of nature. Beautiful waterfalls, lovely green grass, beautiful birds and butterflies and monkeys of course. We enjoyed the scenery with some mouth-watering kanda bhaji and hot hot coffee. We didn't want to leave this place but this wasn't our destination. I remembered last year when I had visited Goa with my friends. Amboli was beautiful but not as beautiful as it was now. We then started our journey towards Goa. We then didn't halt anywhere and straight reached our destination at around 4 o'clock. The hotel we had booked for our stay was a good budget hotel. However, being an OCD freak for cleanliness I will say I did not love it. It was nice but not awesome. We then freshened up had our evening snacks and hit straight to the beach. Last year when I visited Goa I had a strange reaction on my skin due to the sun. Though this time it was the rainy season, I was a bit hesitant to go to the beach, but I really couldn't resist it. We enjoyed on the Candolim beach which was just 5 mins away from the hotel and even collected sea shells. We even saw a fishermen family pulling out the net they had put for fishing, however, there was just one fish in it. We even saw a few star fishes, however they were broken so we just let it be. After enjoying at the beach we came back to the hotel, had a bath and went to Baga beach and did some shopping and then went for dinner. After dinner we came back and went to sleep.

On our way to Goa

the beautiful road towards Amboli

The lovely Amboli waterfall

time for some pet-puja

my brother enjoying the waterfall

look who's here

the road was quite foggy

Candolim Beach

Day 3- We were in Goa for my brothers birthday and shopping was a main part of the trip. So day 3 was all about shopping. We got ready and left for Panaji. First we visited the Panaji church and then started our shopping spree. It was a Sunday so the main market was closed however there was this local market where we got all things cheap. From there we went to Anjuna beach, did some photography and then again did some shopping. After that it was time to get inked. Tattoos were really cheap in Goa, so I and my brother decided to go for it. After getting inked, we went for dinner. Nothing much on the 3rd day, it was all about shopping. After dinner back to the hotel and straight to the bed.

Panaji Church

                                                                                                                                                                

Calangute Beach Market

Anjuna Beach

                                       

my brother's tattoos

Day 4- Day 4 I must say was a day of worship. St. Xavier's Church, Basilica of Bom Jesus and Mangeshi Temple. We did all this on the 4th day. But before that my mother also wanted to get a tattoo. So we went to this tattoo parlour which was near the hotel. My mother got inked and then we left for the church. We first went to the St. Xavier's Church. It was huge and so divine. It was calm and silent. And there was a feeling of peace as soon as we entered the church. There were a few people but all were busy offering prayers. We also sat down for some time and let ourselves go with the flow. It was a lovely feeling. After St. Xavier's we went to Basilica of Bom Jesus, which is just opposite to St. Xavier's Church. This is the place where lies the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. From outside the Basilica is a very old construction, however, it looks lovely. Inside is a church and on one side is the body of St. Francis Xavier. The body is kept in a glass coffin on a height. It is however put to public display after every 10 years for 45 days. Followers come to seek blessings from the saint himself. They say according to Christianity, a person cannot be called a saint until and unless a part of their body is kept in Rome. Hence, the right hand of St. Xavier is in Rome. We came out from there. Mangeshi wasn't on our list. But my father inquired about it and when he got to know it was nearby, he insisted on going there. So we went to Mangeshi temple. The guard of the temple was very kind. He gave me a cloth to wrap around as short dresses are not allowed in the temple premises. We then went and offered prayers. There is this 'beediwale baba'. We have to light up a 'beedi' and wish. They say the wish comes true. After that we went to Calangute Beach for some more shopping. & after much efforts we found the correct route to reach 'Dona Paula'. However, it was already dark so we were there for just 10-15 minutes. We did get tired after that and also were hungry. We just wanted to eat and sleep. So we straight hit the hotel had dinner and went to sleep.

my mom getting a tattoo

Basilica of Bom Jesus

                                           

the body of St. Xavier

St. Xavier's Church

                                                 

Mangeshi Temple

Dona Paula

Day 5- The Birth Day and the day of our return journey. We woke up and first wished my brother. We then got ready had our breakfast and checked out of the hotel. We then went to Candolim beach and spent some time there and then left for Pune. On our way we took a cake. We decided to do something different. We again stopped at Amboli and cut the cake in the ghat. A totally different birthday celebration. He was happy, we were happy, we ate cake and then started our return trip. Non-stop to Pune. We did halt to have tea in the evening. After that straight to Pune.

the birthday cake

the celebration

on our way back home

It was an off season so Goa wasn't to crowded. Though rainy season, it would rain heavily only for about 10 minutes and then stop completely. Alcohol as usual is was and shall remain very cheap. Over all our trip was great and we enjoyed it completely.

So if you are someone who needs a break from your hectic schedule. Want to sift away from the crowd and booze Goa can be a good option. :-)