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Faut que j’écrive un peu en francais pour certain(e)s de mes ami(e)s francophones. Excusez-moi les fautes d’orthographes et de la grammaire.
Les matins la cloche de l’église sonne lentement vers 06h30 et, a 06h50, sonne rapidement comme un reveil matin avec fonctionne snooze. Dehors il y a une cacaphonie incroyable : les oiseaux. Certains chants je connais, d’autres pas. Le plupart des oiseaux se calment aveac la chaleur, sauf les corbeaux. Ils ne sont jamais entierement silencieux.
Mornings the church bell tolls slowly at 06h30, then rapidly at 06h50 like some priest-driven alarm clock with snooze control. I waken to an incredible avian cacophony. Some I recognize, others are new sounds. Birds calm down as the sun begins to heat the day, but they’re never entirely silent, particularly the crows.
Rented a motorcycle about a week ago to go to the outdoor market in Anjuna about 20kms from Arambol. Chromatic feast for the eyes and enormous quantity of stuff to sell. Primarily a crafts market: silver jewellery, clothing, wooden sculptures, trinkets, etc. Bought a colourful skullcap to protect my new head against the sun.
Jusqu’a maintentant ca s’est passé comme n’importe lesquels vacances : je traine a la plage, je mange, je dors, je lis. Ici, les gens experimenté me dissent que Goa n’est pas comme le reste de l’Inde. Ils parlent d’ici et de la-bas. Goa n’est pas trop difficile. Beaucoup des Indiens ici parlent anglais et les indications routieres sont en anglais. La nourriture n’est pas trop relevé. Ce n’est ni trop sale, ni trop bondé des gens. Tranquil.
So far this has felt like any vacation: lie around at the beach, eat, sleep, read. I could be at any beach spot in the world and would be doing about the same thing. Experienced India travellers say Goa is not like the rest of India. Refer to the two as “out there” and “in here”. So far Goa has been easy. Many people speak English. Roads signs in English. Food not too spicy. Things not too crowded and dirty.
Been thinking about the Goa dopers - the current crop. I’m calling them the Goa dopers, but many of them refer to themselves as freaks. They don’t mean it pejoratively as in circus freaks. It has more to do with living an alternative way. And there is something of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers about them (for the uninitiated, these were underground comic book characters drawn by Robert Crumb in the 1970s).
The original baby boom generation hippies came here as part of a spontaneous thing. Mouseketeers in the 1950s followed by sock hops, then Beatles and flower power in the 60s. Big change as self-awareness grew, as their capacity to think for themselves and as their political awareness grew, particularly with Vietnam as backdrop. But, and here I think is the key, they went through the stages from childhood to adulthood as a collectivity and because they were so numerous their individual spontaneity in this growth became a collective spontaneity that emerged both as a consumer and as a political force. Love as a solution to all woes and Give Peace A Chance are fine sentiments that are typically youthful and somewhat naïve. Therefore, as youths, they sought alternatives and came to India. Some of them managed to live that dream for the long term and they’re still here. Barry from Vancouver who sells jewellery in Anjuna is a good example.
Those in their 20s, 30s or early 40s and who are coming here now are not of the same generation. Theirs is not a collective reaction, however genuine or spontaneous it may be. Recent underground mythology says the first generation came to live the Eastern experience as Indians lived it. Those who come today are following other Westerners who preceded them, to live what they’ve heard other Westerners talk about. Some say coming here has to do with rejecting Western values and that they’re seeking an alternative way and no doubt this is true. But others are just here for cheap living and cheap dope.
Am I glorifying - even reifying - too greatly the first generation? Some were truly spiritual seekers looking for a true alternative. Some were not. Am I slandering the current generation too much? Some are drop-out dopers looking for a cheap ride. Some truly seek what the first generation sought. It’s a broad range of personalities, values, goals and objectives and no single brush can paint all the portraits.
Ultimately, most of the first generation went home because staying here for life wasn’t feasible. We know what happened to most of them. I suspect that the second generation will come and go in dribs and drabs. A few hardcore ones will stay. Most will not. You don’t really discover enlightenment and a viable alternative here if you haven’t really, truly and fully rejected your origins.
One thing can certainly be said: to simply group them all as the "Goa Dopers" is to simplify things too greatly. It reduces them collectively to potheads and their activity to getting high and nothing else. This is unfair. Some I've met are sculptors, journalists, craftmakers and masseurs or masseuses. They all have interests and passions.
La semaine passé j’ai acheté un moto : un Royal Enfield Bullet. 350cc, le Harley Davidson d’Inde. Maintenant, a la fin de mon séjour a Goa, je planifie mon depart pour demain. Cap vers le nord, direction Rajasthan. Je vais passer un mois et demie sur la moto.
Last week bought a Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc motorcycle, the Harley Davidson of India and, now at the end of my stay in Arambol, am scheduled to leave tomorrow to go North. Heading toward Rajasthan. Expect to spend the next month and a half riding.
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